BELGRADE: Serbia’s capital Belgrade was on edge on Friday ahead of a major anti-government rally this weekend with populist authorities of President Aleksandar Vucic ramping up efforts to dissuade people from attending.
The protest on Saturday is seen as a culmination of months of anti-graft demonstrations in the Balkan country and a test for Vucic’s right-wing government, which has faced mounting popular discontent.
The autocratic Serbian president has repeatedly warned that violence is planned at the rally while also threatening arrests over any incidents. Vucic’s supporters have been camping in the city center, fueling fears of clashes with the protesters.
Despite mounting tensions, tens of thousands of students and other protesters are expected to converge on Belgrade from all over Serbia.
Students who have been marching or cycling toward Belgrade for days are expected to arrive on Friday evening for a festival-like welcome downtown.
Previous student-led rallies in other Serbian cities have been peaceful while drawing huge crowds.
On Friday, tractors were parked around a park outside the Serbian presidency building in Belgrade where Vucic’s supporters, including former paramilitary fighters, have organized a counter-protest. Authorities said the Parliament building across the street will be locked for the next three days for security reasons.
Also on Friday, Serbia’s railway company Srbijavoz said it was stopping all intercity travel over an alleged bomb scare, a move seen as a way to prevent people from traveling to Belgrade.
University students in Serbia are a key force behind the nationwide anti-graft movement which started after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s north more than four months ago, killing 15 people.
Almost daily protests have rattled Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia with the momentum gradually building in favor of the demands for change.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry but the ruling populists have been accused of stifling democratic freedoms while strengthening relations with Russia and China.
Vucic has rejected proposals to form a transitional government that would schedule an election in six months. He has said he will step down “only if they kill me.”
The Serbian president has described the protests as a Western-orchestrated ploy to oust him from power and “destroy” Serbia. He is set to address the nation later on Friday.
Many in Serbia blamed the crash on Nov. 1 in Novi Sad on government corruption and negligence that resulted in poor renovation work on the central train station building.
