BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of individuals in Serbia’s capital rallied Saturday exterior a pro-government TV station that protesters say promotes a tradition of violence and ought to be stripped of its broadcasting license after two mass shootings shocked the Balkan nation.
The protest began exterior the Serbian parliament constructing earlier than hundreds marched towards the Pink TV constructing situated in a residential space of Belgrade that additionally hosts overseas embassies and residences. The protesters booed loudly in entrance of the station’s workplaces, chanted slogans in opposition to populist chief Aleksandar Vucic and his authorities, and threw rest room paper rolls on the constructing.
“This is a factory of evil that has been spewing poison for years,” stated opposition politician Radomir Lazovic.
Serbia’s populist authorities have rejected any accountability for the May assaults. The president’s opponents, nevertheless, say hate speech and intolerance fueled by pro-government media and officers have helped foster violence in a society nonetheless reeling after a collection of wars within the Nineties.
Protesters have referred to as for measures to be taken in opposition to Pink TV and one other business broadcaster, in addition to pro-government tabloids, after the shootings on May 3-4 that left 18 folks lifeless and 20 injured, a lot of them kids.
The anti-government protesters even have demanded the ouster of key safety officers and a media monitoring physique throughout the road demonstrations – the most important in years in opposition to Vucic and his authorities.
PHOTOS: Thousands in Serbian capital protest pro-government TV station after 2 mass shootings in May
Vucic, a former ultranationalist who now says he needs Serbia to affix the European Union however who has confronted accusations of imposing more and more autocratic rule, has dismissed the calls for. Vucic has accused opposition leaders behind the rallies of exploiting the taking pictures tragedies to focus on him.
The shootings in May shocked Serbia, notably as a result of the primary one occurred in a Belgrade elementary college when an adolescent used his father’s gun to open fireplace on his classmates. A day later a 20-year-old shot randomly at folks in a rural space south of Belgrade.
Critics have cited Pink TV’s actuality reveals, with their violent scenes and appearances by crime figures and convicted warfare criminals as being among the many the reason why the TV station ought to lose its nationwide broadcasting allow.
Dozens of guards have been deployed throughout Saturday’s protest exterior the Pink TV constructing, which was coated in an enormous Serbian flag. Smaller protests have been additionally held Saturday in a number of cities and cities in different elements of Serbia following a blockade of most important north-south freeway on Friday.
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