Milica StojanovicBelgradeBIRNNovember 3, 202512:32A day after a huge commemorative rally in Novi Sad, clashes between ruling party supporters and protesters erupted in front of parliament, resulting in 37 arrests.
Riot police separate pro-government supporters from supporters of Dijana Hrka, mother of one of the victims of the Novi Sad train station disaster in Belgrade, 2 November 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC
Serbian police arrested 37 people in Belgrade on Sunday night following clashes between supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, and their opponents in front of parliament, where SNS supporters have erected a tent camp.
On Monday, the Interior Ministry said police had arrested people who were “disturbing public order and causing incidents during an unregistered public gathering” in front of parliament. The phrase “unregistered public gathering” is an expression used by officials in Serbia for all the anti-government protests that have been held since the Novi Sad railway station disaster last November, which caused the deaths of 16 people.
The tensions erupted around noon on Sunday when police prevented Dijana Hrka, whose son died in the Novi Sad disaster, from coming to the parliament building where she planned to start a hunger strike.
Hrka had previously issued three demands: for the interrogation, custody and trial of all suspects concerning the disaster, the release of all detained student protesters, and snap elections. She set up a tent near parliament, with security provided by supporters.
As more people gathered in support of Hrka, SNS supporters from their camp started throwing rocks, fireworks and bottles at them. Riot police were present but videos suggest they did not react when the SNS supporters started throwing objects. Later, the SNS supporters started playing loud music.
Former basketball national team player Vladimir Stimac was one of those arrested. The Higher Prosecution Office in Belrade on Monday said he was held for having allegedly called for a violent change to the constitutional order and for urging participants of “an unregistered rally” to attack another gathering and the police, and to overthrow top state officials.
A lawyer, Vladimir Terzic, wrote on X that Stimac cannot be accused of the crime for calling for a violent change to the constitutional order because ‘Caciland’ – the common name for the pro-government tent camp – is not a state, nor are SNS supporters representatives of the state. “This is about repression and abuse of institutions,” Terzic wrote.
President Aleksandar Vucic, speaking on the pro-government TV channel Informer on Sunday, said people had gathered in front of the parliament building “with the intention of setting people on fire”, and also blamed what he called “foreign influence” for the incident.
“They decided to attack a symbol of freedom and resistance to foreign pressure, which is Pionirski Park, known as Caciland,” Vucic said.
The situation in front of the parliament building was calm by Monday morning, although rival supporters of Hrka and the SNS began to arrive as the day went on.
Hrka announced her hunger strike during a speech in Novi Sad on Saturday, at a mass gathering to commemorate the first anniversary of the 2024 train station disaster. The police claim that around 39,000 people attended. However, the Archive of Public Gatherings, an NGO that counts people at protests, estimated that 110,000 people participated.
The Novi Sad tragedy sparked a nationwide outpouring of grief and a student-led mass protest movement demanding accountability from the authorities, who they accuse of negligence and corruption.
Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned in January after a student protester was attacked. Two other ministers have also stepped down. However, although three investigations related to the disaster are ongoing, no officials have been charged or sent to trial in connection with the 16 deaths.
Read BIRN’s coverage of a year of protests by downloading our free e-book ‘Serbia on the Streets’ here.
Source link: balkaninsight.com
