Serbia is bracing for violent clashes on Saturday, with western diplomats warning President Aleksandar Vučić not to order a brutal crackdown of anti-government protests.
Hundreds of thousands of Serbs were on their way to the capital, Belgrade, to demonstrate against alleged graft and authoritarianism by Vučić. The Serbian parliament closed access to its premises on Friday, and western embassies warned their citizens about the risk of violence and disruption, echoing the end of the Slobodan Milošević regime 25 years ago.
“It’s on a scale that has never been seen before in Belgrade,” said Aleksandar Matković, an opposition figure and former green politician. ‘‘I don’t think any political actor can regulate this. That is where the danger lies.”
The EU on Friday called on Serbian authorities to protect the right of protesters to assemble peacefully and to ensure their safety. “Violence must be avoided,” its statement read.
Authorities are expecting protesters to storm parliament and the headquarters of the national broadcaster RTS, according to to six people with knowledge of law enforcement planning.
Tensions have run high, with flares and smoke grenades going off in parliament last week and landing several MPs in hospital, after months of street protests since a deadly train station accident last year that was blamed on government corruption.
Belgrade was readying riot police to stomp out any violence and possibly start a wider crackdown, going as far as calling a state of emergency, according to a law enforcement official. A government spokesperson denied that such plans were being considered but said police would try everything to preserve peace.
The US embassy on Thursday told its citizens to stay away from central Belgrade and prepare for possibly widespread violence and a disruption of communications and basic services.
Srđan Cvijić, from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy think-tank, said there was a fear that Vučić would “abuse the situation for a wider crackdown against students, activists or civil society”.
“He was hoping that the protests would die down but as they are even gaining steam he is losing patience.”
Protests began when a concrete train station roof collapsed in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad in November, killing 15 people. Students blockaded universities and gradually attracted protesters from across the country.
The EU’s public prosecutor’s office was investigating “possible misuse of EU funds involving the Novi Sad railway station”, its press office told the Financial Times. The body is responsible for investigating and prosecuting fraud and corruption with EU funds.
The revolt has already forced the resignation of the prime minister, and has grown into the largest popular resistance since strongman Milošević was overthrown after a similar escalation of street protests in 2000. The Serbian leader died in captivity in The Hague while on trial for war crimes.
Vučić, a former propaganda minister under Milošević who has been in power since 2012, has survived big demonstrations in the past.
The government spokesperson admitted that any crackdown would be futile. “We cannot end the student protests with one night of beating people. It would just provoke more people to come to the streets.”
People have been filmed piling up bricks in a park in Belgrade where pro-Vučić supporters were camping out, and sacks full of rocks and construction materials were left in places around the city centre, according to three eye witnesses contacted by the FT.
Some civil rights groups estimate as many as half a million people will gather in Belgrade on Saturday, “more people than anyone can control,” Matković said. “There were fewer people on the street when Milošević fell.”