(14 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Belgrade, Serbia – 14 March 2025
++ NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Various of people with flares and torches waiting for the march
2. Various of marching students
3. Various of bikers parading
4. Flares and marchers
5. People and tents
6. Flares and marchers
7. Fireworks
STORYLINE:
Thousands of people were converging in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Friday evening, ahead of a major anti-government rally, despite official warnings that violence was planned and populist government fear-mongering aimed at dissuading people from attending.
Marching university students have been arriving to a festival-style welcome in downtown Belgrade from across the country while tens of thousands more people are expected to gather for the rally on Saturday.
The protest is seen as a culmination of months of anti-graft demonstrations in the Balkan country and a test for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s right-wing government, which has faced mounting popular discontent.
The autocratic leader has repeatedly warned that violence is planned at the rally and threatened arrests over any incidents.
Vucic’s supporters have been camping in the city center, fueling fears of clashes with the protesters.
At a news conference on Friday evening, a defiant Vucic again said that authorities have received multiple reports of alleged planned unrest and described Saturday’s rally as “illegal.”
Vucic reiterated claims that Western intelligence services were behind the protests with an aim to oust him from power.
Earlier, police detained six opposition activists on suspicion of “preparing actions against the constitutional order and security” a day after an alleged recording of their meeting was broadcast on pro-government television stations on Thursday.
On Friday, police also reported finding a car with German license plates in Belgrade with two bags inside containing Molotov cocktails, baseball bats, balaclavas and protective gloves.
Responding to tensions, the European Union’s mission in Serbia said on Friday that “freedom of assembly is a fundamental right” and the safety of participants and institutions must be ensured.
Students from other cities and towns in Serbia have been coming to Belgrade after marching or cycling for days.
A small red carpet was placed on the pavement for their arrival while a flag-waving crowd cheered loudly to welcome them.
A group that set off from the northern city of Novi Sad received a warm welcome along the way on Friday in Nova Pazova, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Belgrade.
Previous student-led rallies in other Serbian cities have been peaceful while drawing huge crowds.
AP video shot by Almir Alic and Eldar Emric
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/21eb2593fc8f4e7e9e5518e18fc3c493
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in March 20, 2025, 12:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
