Serbia: 1 in 5 Million protest shows solidarity with retired soldiers

The retired military personnel have been housed there for years after coming to Serbia from the former Yugoslav republics, waiting for the military to provide them with the housing that they have the right to under the law. The hotel is one of the buildings being taken over by the Belgrade Waterfront project. Its residents have been told to move out and have started a hunger strike earlier this week after the electricity was turned off. Heating was turned off last winter.

The protesters ended their weekly march in front of the hotel with shouts of You’re Not Alone and Boycott in response to a speech from one of the organizers who was critical of the authorities.

The weekly announcement of the protest said that the Hotel Bristol residents are fighting for the temporary home that the war veterans and their families were put in more than 20 years ago.

The 38th protest was also the first one at which street vendors sold badges saying Boycott, alluding to the opposition’s announcement of a possible boycott of the elections next spring.