Riots in Serbia: The Belgrade government has miscalculated

On Wednesday morning, the situation in Serbia was calm, but whether it was the calm after or before the next storm, no one would have known to say for sure. The night before had played in Belgrade, scenes of violence, as they had Serbia's capital already long not more seen.

Michael Martens

a correspondent for Southeast European countries with headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Initially peaceful protests against President Aleksandar Vučić, ended by a violent minority of the protesters, as well as the disproportionate response of the police ready for battles in hours-long street. Protesters threw stones at police officers and fired rockets from light. A small group even managed to occupy briefly the Parliament building. According to the police, 43 officers and 17 protesters were injured. Nearly two dozen protesters had been detained.

Inflamed the protests of a notice Vučićs, according to the in Belgrade at the weekend, a curfew is introduced had. Even gatherings of more than five persons should be prohibited. Finally, the public life in Serbia from mid-March until the beginning of may was partly limited. The President justified the new measures, with a last ominous increase in the Corona-infection numbers, the bring the hospitals in the country to their load limit, which was reached in Belgrade itself.

football games and tennis tournaments were approved

The announcements would probably have been less resentment if the government would not have been to its citizens a model, which was not the case. Prior to the parliamentary elections on 21. June, the Serbian society had been opened to an extent, the looked in all of Europe. So also mass events such as football matches and tennis tournaments were approved, as well as night clubs and discos has been re-opened. Your election victory Vučićs "Serbian progressive party" celebrated with a Party, in which all spacing rules have been broken.