University Students Block Public Service Facilities

University Students Block Public Service Facilities(BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Late on March 10, Serbia’s protesting university students blocked the building of the RTS public service in downtown Belgrade, dissatisfied with how the media house has been reporting on their rallies and blockades. During the night, the protestors managed to reach another RTS facility, located in the capital’s Kosutnjak neighborhood, stopping in front of its gates.

Both the inside of the RTS downtown headquarters and the yard of the Kosutnjak facility are guarded by a large number of police officers in riot gear.

During the initial blockade, one policeman was injured. The students maintain he was dressed in civilian clothes and hit by his own colleague, while a video which seems to confirm their claim has been circulating on social media.

The RTS has urged the students to “give up their violent blockade,” claiming it is “completely at odds with the protesting students’ prior claims of supporting the free operation of institutions.”

For their part, the students have asserted that their peaceful blockade will last 22 hours, while many members of the general public have joined them on the ground.

The trigger for this latest blockade was likely the behavior of President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and an RTS journalist who, during a live broadcast in the evening of March 10, called the protestors “rabble” and used other derogatory terms to describe the students who have been on strike since late November 2024.