Thousands of protesters have gathered in Serbia’s of Belgrade, for the third time in a month in response to two mass killings, even as the authorities in the country previously rejected the opposition remarks of how they managed the issue.
Protesters have called for the dismissals of two high-ranking ministers, as well as the cancellation of broadcasting permits for two television networks, that protesters claimed, incited violence and glorified criminal personalities.
However, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, and other government figures addressed the legislature today, outlining their plans to deal with the menace, focusing on the May 3 and 4 massacres. The opposition have called for the termination of the Interior Minister, and the Intelligence Head, following the atrocity that had killed people, many of whom were children.
The two massacres ignited public sentiments because, the first occurred at a Belgrade primary school, where a 13-year-old boy, fired on his classmates, with his father’s gun. Eight children and a school security guard were killed, while seven others were injured. Another girl died afterwards, at the hospital from head trauma.
A day the first massacre, a 20-year-old man, indiscriminately fire persons he encountered, with an automatic rifle, in two towns south of Belgrade, killing eight and injuring 14.
Prime Minister Brnabic denied that, the populist authorities were in any way to blame for the attacks. Instead, she accused the opposition with inciting riots and the attacks on President Aleksandar Vucic. Brnabic slammed the opposition-led protests as “purely political,” claiming they were aimed to forcefully depose Vucic and the administration.
“You are the core of the spiral of violence in this society,” Brnabic said to opposition legislators. “You are spewing hatred,” she added.
Ana Brnabic disclosed that, “everything that has happened” in Serbia, after the massacres have been “directly the work of foreign intelligence services.” She further said, her administration could only be replaced through elections, not through street protests.
The scheduled demonstration near the Parliamentary Palace in Belgrade, would be the third since the fatal shootings. The last two events drew thousands of protesters, who marched peacefully, but sometimes yelled some anti-Vucic slogans.
Aftermath Of The Massacres
In the aftermath of the massacres, authorities initiated a weapons crackdown and deployed police officers to schools in an effort to restore public trust.
Faced with criticisms, the growing dictatorial Vucic has arranged his own protest for next week. Vucic would also attend a pro-government event in a city north of Belgrade, which has been scheduled to commence at the exact time as the opposition-led march in the capital.
Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic, whose removal has been requested by protesters, justified police actions, in the aftermath of the assaults. He also informed parliament that, since the one-month amnesty was established on May 8, citizens have surrendered over 23,000 guns and a million rounds of ammunition.
“Police could not have known or predicted that something like this would happen,” Gasic said of the school shooting, the first ever in Serbia.
Gasic further confirmed media rumors that, a man just released from psychiatric hospital, launched an anti-tank missile from a grenade launcher into an unoccupied apartment in Ruma, outside Belgrade. No one was hurt in the event, and two persons have been arrested, Gasic disclosed.
Serbia has been flooded with weapons left over from the 1990s battles, such as missile launchers and grenades. Other firearm-control measures announced after the shootings, included increased oversight over gun owners and shooting ranges, a ban on new permits, and stiff penalties for unlawful weapon ownership.
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