Incident in Front of Belgrade City Assembly

(BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

An incident took place in front of the Belgrade City Assembly on March 6, during and after a session at which the rebalance of financial plans of public enterprises and several plans of detailed urban regulation were adopted.

A strong police force in riot gear was deployed in front of the Assembly after a fight broke out between the Assembly security and the protesters, several of whom were arrested. Opposition assembly members did not participate in the session, staging instead a performance during which they played the Serbian national anthem and held national flags in front of the speakers’ podium.

Members of opposition parties were among the gathered citizens. Author Dejan Atanackovic was among the four people arrested after the incident, according to information that was confirmed to BETA.

Opposition parties have called for the release of the arrested, while the authorities have condemned the incident. The speaker of the Serbian parliament, Ana Brnabic, has assessed that the incident represented “an act of terrorism” performed, as she said, by the opposition.