Civil disobedience continues in Serbia, dozens of people detained

Protests with roadblocks continued in Serbia on July 2.

Protesters are demanding the holding of extraordinary elections, the release of arrested students, and the removal of the tent camp that officials of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have set up between the Presidency and Parliament buildings in Belgrade.

Radio Free Europe journalists report that a group of people, on Wednesday morning, stopped traffic near the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, but that police later removed them from the road.

The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that, on the night between July 1 and 2, 72 people were detained from protests, and the identities of 976 participants were checked.

According to her, over the last 24 hours, 117 unannounced rallies have been held in Serbia and 87 traffic blockades have been set up - 68 of which in Belgrade.

"Incidents were recorded in Zemun, Niš, Novi Sad and Valjevo, where several people were detained for violating public order and committing criminal offenses, while the police acted in accordance with the law," the Serbian Interior Ministry said.

The academic organization "Students in the Blockade" called for civil disobedience after the June 28 rally in Belgrade.

Students have been protesting since the accident in Novi Sad, where 16 people died when a concrete shelter collapsed at the railway station on November 1.

Their demands include the publication of full documentation on the reconstruction of the Railway Station in Novi Sad, the identification and prosecution of those who attacked protesters during rallies across Serbia, the release of activists arrested in protests and the termination of criminal proceedings against them, as well as an increase in the budget for universities.

Since May, their demand has also been to call early elections so that the new government can work to fulfill their previous demands.

However, the protests now appear to have taken a nationalist turn.

The students are not only demanding a more just state, but are also calling for the protection of Serbia's territorial integrity and its military neutrality./ REL