BELGRADE - July 4. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged protesters on the morning of 4 July to abandon their plans for a complete blockade of traffic in a number of cities, including Belgrade.
"Unfortunately, those who do not love Serbia - and there are such people both abroad and in our country - have decided to turn your lives into hell. They have decided to block your way to work, disrupt your normal life and deprive you of your sense of freedom," the Serbian leader said in a video message posted on Instagram (a social network banned in Russia because it is owned by the Meta corporation, which the Russian authorities classify as extremist).
"They have planned complete blockades in several cities, including Belgrade, for early tomorrow morning. I am asking them to do this not only as the President of the Republic and the man who has earned the greatest trust of the citizens. I am asking them to do this as a common man. Don't do it. Think twice. Don't hate your country so much. Understand that these are serious crimes that violate road safety laws and constitutional norms on freedom of movement," the Serbian leader said.
The President assured that the authorities were trying to avoid the use of force and were ready to ensure the freedom of citizens, but would not tolerate "violence that destroys the foundations of statehood". "We do not want to use force; we are simply trying to avoid it. The state wants to allow all forms of assembly and expression. But the state cannot allow violence of this kind, because then it is no longer a state. Then the state simply does not exist," Vučić stressed.
"Serbia is a serious and responsible state. It will be so tomorrow and on any other day," the President concluded.
Protesters plan to hold a new rally on July 4. They say they intend to block traffic in the Serbian capital at 7:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
Protests in Serbia
According to the Serbian Interior Ministry, some 36 000 people took part in the unauthorised opposition protest on 28 June. During clashes with protesters, police officers were forced to use special measures to disperse participants from a number of central streets. As a result of the riots in Belgrade, 48 police officers were injured and 77 people, including one minor, were detained. Protesters continue to block key traffic junctions in Belgrade and other cities on a daily basis, erecting makeshift barricades with garbage cans. They are demanding the release of the detainees, the holding of elections and the dismantling of a tent camp set up in front of the parliament building by supporters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
TASS/gnews.cz-jav
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