Opposition Official: Protests Will Create Results, However Long They Last

Miroslav Aleksic (Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

People's Party MP Miroslav Aleksic said at the latest Serbia against Violence protest on Aug. 12 that the regime was continuing to ignore the people's demands, adding that the rallies, however long they may last, would lead to results.

He told BETA that "the regime continues to promote violence in institutions and in society" as if the recent tragedies in Serbia never happened. "Ignoring Serbian citizens and their justified demands confirms that they are not ready to get to grips with violence in society," Aleksic said.

The protests began in Belgrade and have since spread to a number of Serbian cities after two mass shootings in the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade and villages near Smederevo and Mladenovac on May 3 and 4 which claimed the lives of 19 children and mostly youths.

The demands being voiced at the protests, which are being held in Belgrade and several other towns and municipalities under the same watchword, include firing the members of the Regulatory Body for Electronic's Media Council and the management of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation. The demands also include shutting down print media outlets and terminating the programs of television networks that promote violence and hatred and revoking their national coverage along with the resignations of Serbian Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic and Security and Information Agency director Aleksandar Vulin.