Third Day of Protests in Serbia Peaceful

Belgrade peaceful protest (FOTOBETA/Milos Miskov)

In a protest in Belgrade, late on July 9, most demonstrators sat on the ground chanting: "We don't want a beating."

There was a small fireworks display staged for the protest in front of the Serbian parliament, to loud cheering from the crowd. Some protesters danced the kolo circle dance. The protest was for the most part peaceful, though there were minor altercations among the demonstrators.

Dveri (Doors) movement leader Bosko Obradovic said a peaceful protest was "a real protest." He told N1 TV that there had been peaceful protests in Belgrade for over a year, adding that the protests should remain peaceful.

There were demonstrations in other Serbian cities, too, including Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Nis and Cacak.

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said it was clear and obvious to every citizen of Serbia that, if no-one attacked police officers or vandalized the property of our country, there was no need for the police to intervene in any way.

He pointed out that there had been violations of the law and unscheduled rallies, violations of epidemiological measures, and incidents in certain cities.
He dismissed as false claims that the police were using parapolice formations in these protests.