By Associated Press
(CNN) 鈥 Belgrade (Associated Press) 鈥 Riot police fired tear gas at thousands of anti-government protesters in Serbia鈥檚 capital on Saturday.
The major rally in Belgrade against Serbia鈥檚 populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, was called to back a demand for an early parliamentary election.
The protest by tens of thousands was held after nearly eight months of persistent demonstrations led by Serbia鈥檚 university students that have rattled Vucic鈥檚 firm grip on power in the Balkan country.
Tensions were high before and during the gathering. Riot police deployed around government buildings and close to a camp of Vucic鈥檚 loyalists in central Belgrade. Skirmishes erupted between riot officers and groups of protesters near the camp.
鈥淓lections are a clear way out of the social crisis caused by the deeds of the government, which is undoubtedly against the interests of their own people,鈥 said one of the students, who didn鈥檛 give her name while giving a speech on a stage to the crowd. 鈥淭oday, on June 28, 2025, we declare the current authorities illegitimate.鈥
At the end of the official part of the rally, students told the crowd to 鈥渢ake freedom into your own hands.鈥
University students have been a key force behind nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations that started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed, killing 16 people on Nov. 1.
Many blamed the concrete roof crash on rampant government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects, leading to recurring mass protests.
鈥淲e are here today because we cannot take it any more,鈥 Darko Kovacevic said. 鈥淭his has been going on for too long. We are mired in corruption.鈥
Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have repeatedly refused the demand for an early vote and accused protesters of planning to spur violence on orders from abroad, which they didn鈥檛 specify.
Vucic鈥檚 authorities have launched a crackdown on Serbia鈥檚 striking universities and other opponents, while increasing pressure on independent media as they tried to curb the demonstrations.
Serbian police, which is firmly controlled by Vucic鈥檚 government, said that 36,000 people were present at the start of the protest on Saturday.
Saturday marks St. Vitus Day, a religious holiday and the date when Serbs mark a 14th-century battle against Ottoman Turks in Kosovo that was the start of hundreds of years of Turkish rule, holding symbolic importance.
In their speeches, some of the speakers at the student rally on Saturday evoked the theme, which was also used to fuel Serbian nationalism in the 1990s that later led to the incitement of ethnic wars following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
Hours before the student-led rally, Vucic鈥檚 party bused in scores of its own supporters to Belgrade from other parts of the country, many wearing T-shirts reading: 鈥淲e won鈥檛 give up Serbia.鈥 They were joining a camp of Vucic鈥檚 loyalists in central Belgrade where they have been staying in tents since mid-March.
In a show of business as usual, Vucic handed out presidential awards in the capital to people he deemed worthy, including artists and journalists.
鈥淧eople need not worry 鈥 the state will be defended and thugs brought to justice,鈥 Vucic told reporters on Saturday.
Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections are due in 2027.
Earlier this week, police arrested several people accused of allegedly plotting to overthrow the government and banned entry into the country, without explanation, to several people from Croatia and a theater director from Montenegro.
Serbia鈥檚 railway company halted train service over an alleged bomb threat in what critics said was an apparent bid to prevent people from traveling to Belgrade for the rally.
Authorities made similar moves back in March, before what was the biggest ever anti-government protest in the Balkan country, which drew hundreds of thousands of people.
Vucic, a former extreme nationalist, has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power more than a decade ago. Though he formally says he wants Serbia to join the European Union, critics say Vucic has stifled democratic freedoms as he strengthened ties with Russia and China.
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