Police and a crowd of several thousand protesters faced off with some pushing and shoving in front of the Serbian Presidency building during a newa conference by President Aleksandar Vucic, but moved to the central police station to demand the release of arrested protesters
The crowd, which gathered following a call to protest by Alliance for Serbia leaders, tried to interrupt the news conference with cries of shouts of Vucic Thief and by blowing whistles.The crowd broke through a temporary fence in front of the entrance to the Presidency building. The street was blocked off by protesters with white tape which said It’s Started on them.
The police was reported to have thrown tear gas canisters some 50 metres from the presidency building to try to disperse a part of the crowd coming to the protest. Reporters said that Gendarmerie troopers were deployed along with the regular police to keep the crowd back.
Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic and 1 in 5 Million protest organizer Jelena Anasonovic called the crowd to form a chain around the presidency building in an effort to prevent President Vucic from leaving the building. Vucic responded later with a Twitter post showing him playing chess in the building.
Protest organizer Srdjan Markovic said that two people were “dragged” into the Belgrade city assembly building by what he said was a private group. He added that the police refused to disperse the crowd in front of the presidency, adding that the military police had been brought in.
Obradovic called the crowd to march to the city's central police station to demand the release of a young man who was sentenced to 30 days in jail for taking part in Saturday's protest at the RTS. The police confirmed that several people had been arrested.
The protest continued in front of the central police station where a cordon of officers in riot gear prevented anyone from entering the grounds of the station. Internal Affairs Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic was present at the station.
Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic warned the crowd in front of the central police station that Vucic had ordered his party to gather people at their local branches to come to Belgrade and added that the Alliance for Serbia would not take part in any conflict. He said that the police had till Monday at 03:00 pm to free everyone who was arrested over the RTS protest or else protest organizers would set a date for another gathering of people from across Serbia.
President Vucic left the building four hours after the end of his news conference with several protesters who were still in front of the building booing and shouting at him.
Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic called people to gather for the protest during the noon news conference after being pushed out of the Serbian state TV (RTS) building late on Saturday night.
