Government Claims Dec. 22 Massive Protest Aimed at Toppling President

Ana Brnabic (BETAPHOTO/NARS/Pedja Vuckovic)

The Dec. 22 gathering held at Belgrade’s Slavija square was not a non-partisan rally organized by university students but rather a political protest against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic stated on Dec. 25.

Speaking for Happy TV, Brnabic insisted that the opposition’s leaders “don’t care” about the collapsed Novi Sad railway station overhang which killed 15 nearly two months ago, but rather that the entire event was aimed at toppling the president.

“The gathering included opposition politicians, [members of] the ProGlas (ProVote) initiative, [and] all civil society organizations which support Vucic’s removal. Students were few and far in between,” she said.

Tens of thousands of people – some estimates claim as many as 100,000 – rallied it the capital on Dec. 22 at the invitation of the country’s university students currently blockading their schools and demanding justice on several issues, but first and foremost for the 15 dead and two critically injured victims of the Novi Sad railway station tragedy.