BELGRADE: After nearly eight months of marches that have shaken his solid hold on power in the Balkan nation, Belgrade is preparing for yet another student-led protest on Saturday to put pressure on Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic to call for a hasty legislative election. Ahead of the protest led by Serbian university students, who are a major driving force behind the country’s anti-corruption protests that began when a refurbished train station canopy fell on November 1st, tensions have skyrocketed.Many attributed the concrete roof collapse to widespread corruption in the administration and carelessness in public infrastructure projects.
The call for an early vote was rejected by Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, who also charged demonstrators with inciting violence under vague foreign commands.
As his supporters set up camp in a park in the heart of Belgrade and declared they would host a “literary evening,” the Serbian president presented presidential prizes in the city to those he judged deserving, including journalists and artists. Vucic assured reporters on Saturday that “people need not worry—the state will be defended and thugs brought to justice.”
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