Students Protested Outside Serbian TV Headquarters
Last night, students in Belgrade clashed with police for the first time since they started protesting three months ago. The students were demonstrating outside the headquarters of the Serbian state TV (RTS) after one of its journalists called them a “mob” earlier that evening.
The students had been staging a 24-hour protest to show their anger at being insulted by the journalist during an interview with President Aleksandar Vucic. The police, in riot gear, used shields and batons against the students. They pushed student leaders wearing yellow vests and struck some of them with batons.
The police broke through the student line using force and formed two lines in the parking lot at the back entrance to the RTS building. Students were still protesting and chanting slogans like “Put Down Your Shields” and blowing whistles.
The police then rushed to the back entrance of the RTS building, pushed their way through the students, and entered the building. This is the first time the police have used force against protesters in three months.
President Aleksandar Vucic had warned a few days ago that violence could be expected at next Saturday’s mass protest in Belgrade.
