US EditionSerbian President Calls for Dialog Amid Protests: A Political Turmoil Unfolds
President Vucic proposes televised debates and public dialogue to address political divisions after nine months of protests sparked by a fatal Novi Sad station collapse.
- On August 22, 2025, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed his willingness to engage in discussions with opposition demonstrators amid ongoing protests in Belgrade.
- The protests began over nine months ago following a tragic incident in which the roof of an upgraded railway terminal in Novi Sad gave way, resulting in 16 fatalities and triggering accusations of corruption and violence against the government.
- Vucic proposed televised debates with legitimate protest representatives, aiming to resolve issues through conversation without violence, while students insisted such debates occur only during the election campaign.
- Recent clashes resulted in multiple injuries among law enforcement and civilians, with hundreds taken into custody; opposition leader Savo Manojlovic rejected negotiations, accusing the government of corruption and suppression.
- The sustained demonstrations and official refusals to negotiate suggest ongoing political tensions ahead of Serbia's 2027 presidential and parliamentary elections.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Student protests against Aleksandar Vučić have been shaking the country for the last nine months, writes the New York Post (NP), stating that the West's mistake is in thinking that things will get better after Vučić.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will not be the master of the protest movement. Now he tries to discredit the demonstrators with conspiracy theories and to blame them for the collapse of a station roof of foreign powers.
Serbia's protest movement spreads to small towns
The anti-corruption movement that began in universities in November 2024 is spreading. In Valjevo, law enforcement officers beat and arrested protesters while masked men, apparently sent by those in power, ransacked businesses owned by President Aleksandar Vucic's opponents.
The Serbian president called for dialogue with representatives of the student movement for the first time since the protests began nine months ago.
The president of the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG), Pavle Grbović, assessed that the president of Serbia sent the students an invitation to dialogue, "so that it will be rejected", and that this is also indicated by the quick reactions of the pro-government media.
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