Belgrade Protests Start Spreading Across Serbia

Tens of thousands of people marched again in Belgrade on Saturday evening near most major public institutions, protesting against what they call the "political violence" in Serbia, while a day earlier people gathered in several other towns and cities.

One of the informal organizers of the protests, Jelena Anasonovic, told BIRN that the energy and desire of people to support the protests is spreading spontaneously.

"One of the best things with these protests is that the revolt is spreading in the country in which there's no freedom and democracy," she said.

She added that the list of towns and cities that want to organise their own "1 of 5 million" protest is growing longer.

"People are calling us constantly, asking for our help and advice," Anasonovic noted.

The scale of the protests, she added, showed "in what kind of abyss this state is in".

The latest protest, following established tradition, started on Saturday at 6pm in the centre of Belgrade, with speakers calling on President Aleksandar Vucic and the government led by his Serbian Progressive Party to resign.

A column of people then walked near various important national institutions such as the public broadcaster, RTS, the parliament and the presidential building, blowing whistles and carrying banners reading: "There's something rotten in Serbia", "Wake up and rise Serbia", "There's more of us".

In front of the RTS building, protesters again performed "Five minutes of noise" with music and whistles, demanding that the broadcaster give more equal treatment to the opposition and the protests in its news reports.

The series of anti-government protests in the capital has meanwhile motivated people across Serbia to gather on Friday in...