(12 May 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Belgrade, Serbia - 12 May 2023
1. Various of protesters marching with banner reading (Serbian): “Serbia Against Violence.”
2. Various of protesters filling street and marching
3. Various of protesters walking on bridge above highway
4. Various of people gathering at the start of the protest outside parliament
5. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Spokesperson for organisers of rally, no name given:
"We have waited for too long, we have been silent for too long. Violence and evil have to be stopped. In order to succeed, we need to change - our society has to change. This is not an easy task, but last Monday we showed that we can do it. We don't have any time to wait anymore."
6. Crowd applauding - pan to crowd
7. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Spokesperson for organisers of rally, no name given:
"Those who are making decisions in this country, those who hold absolute power and absolute responsibility in this country showed us that they have a different opinion. These longest nine days and 10 hours (since the massacre) were not enough for them to do everything they can to protect our children from violence. They refused demands from Serbian people who are against violence."
8. Protesters gathering in front of parliament
STORYLINE:
Tens of thousands of people marched through Serbia’s capital Belgrade and then blocked a key bridge and a highway passing through the capital on Friday.
They were responding to last week’s mass shootings in the Balkan country that left 17 people dead, including many children.
The crowd gathered in front of the parliament and then went past the government headquarters.
At the head of the huge column of people was a black banner reading “Serbia Against Violence.”
As the largely silent crowds passed by the government buildings, many in the crowd chanted slogans against Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic whom they blame for creating an atmosphere of hopelessness and division in the county that indirectly led to the mass shootings last week.
As the protesters reached the bridge over the Sava River and stopped traffic, drivers turned around to try and avoid the jam.
Pro-government media criticized the blockade - the Novosti daily reported that “harassment has begun, hooligans have blocked the bridge.”
Opposition politician Srdjan Milivojevic told N1 television that “this is a battle for survival.”
Police were present, but did not intervene.
Earlier when the protesters gathered outside parliament a spokesperson for the rally said: "We have waited for too long, we have been silent for too long. Violence and evil have to be stopped."
Ahead of the protest, Serbia’s autocratic leader Vucic said that the opposition protest amounted to “violence in politics” and “harassment” of citizens.
But, Vucic said, police would not intervene to prevent it “unless people’s lives are in danger.”
Opposition parties have said that Vucic’s populist government has fuelled intolerance and hate speech, while taking hold of all institutions, thus stoking divisions.
Vucic has denied this. He has called his own rally for May 26 in Belgrade that he said would be the “biggest ever.”
Serbia is estimated to be among the top countries in Europe when it comes to the number of guns per capita, many of them left over from the wars in the 1990s.
Other anti-gun measures after the shootings include a ban on new gun licenses, stricter controls on gun owners and shooting ranges, and tougher punishments for the illegal possession of weapons.
AP Video by Predrag Barbul
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