Danas Daily: Gendarme Claims Several Sound Cannons Assigned to March 15 Belgrade Protest

Sound Cannon (BETAPHOTO/Serbian Interior Ministry)

During the protest in Belgrade on March 15, several “sound cannons” were present on site, a member of the Gendarmerie, whose name is known to the editorial office, has told the Danas daily.

The gendarme, who was on duty during the protest, has stated that one of the “sound cannons” was positioned behind the Assembly building.

“The device was mounted on the front hood of our ‘Defender’ vehicle, which we colloquially refer to as ‘the Indian’. It’s a ‘Defender’ without a roof. Beside it was the operator in charge of manipulating the device. Besides that, to the left, one more same vehicle was parked, with a same device. We were told that the device would be used if necessary and were instructed about how to behave during activation,” the gendarme told the Danas daily.

He said that he was not alone near that vehicle at that time, but together with his entire platoon. “The vehicle was concealed and not visible, because of the barrier that surrounds the parliament building due to construction works. In the end, this device was not used. However, there were several such devices, positioned in different locations. We have been told that mobile devices, not mounted on vehicles, also existed,” stated the gendarme.

He added that each battalion of Gendarmerie (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kraljevo, Nis) had two such devices and that this had not been concealed from the members of the force, but that they were never taken out of the bases until the protest in Belgrade. “We were told that one such device was placed inside or next to the Presidency and that the tractors parked around the Pioneers’ Park had been placed there to deflect the cannon’s impact, were it to be used, because our force was also deployed within the park,” he stated.