At least three Serbian MPs were injured in a chaotic incident wherein opposition Leftists threw smoke grenades inside the country’s parliament on Tuesday.
“Serbia is rising up for the regime to fall,” read a banner which was unfurled on the chamber floor amid the mayhem. The dangerous action was supposedly in protest against the government under President Aleksandar Vučić and support of demonstrating students on the streets in major cities.
There were several injuries, including one member of parliament who suffered a stroke during the scuffle, which saw politicians clashing with security guards and with each other. The lawmaker was said to be in critical condition.
The law which was about to be voted on before the smoke bombs went off would have increased funding for university education, and the opposition charged that the ruling majority was going to use this to ram down several controversial new laws.
“We believe that only one item can be on the agenda, and that is the fulfillment of the student demands,” Radomir Lazovic from the Green-Left Front stated in front of parliament.
Regional media describes that this was jut the latest in months of raging student-led anti-Vucic protests:
Mass protests sparked by the Novi Sad railway station disaster in November, which left 15 people dead, have continued for three months. Protesters say the disaster highlighted official corruption and the government’s disdain for the population.
The ongoing protests represent the most powerful challenge to President Aleksandar Vucic’s rule since he came to power, and have already claimed the resignations of several senior officials.
JUST IN: 🇷🇸 Chaos in Serbian parliament as opposition sets off smoke grenades and tear gas to protest against the government. pic.twitter.com/DBtOluCmSU
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) March 4, 2025
Serbia is another one of those East-West fault line countries in which Europe and NATO would like to see a government which moves away from friendly relations with Russia under Vladimir Putin.
“This is just a Tuesday in a Balkan parliament, shall we continue?” Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in the aftermath of the scuffle.
More scenes from the Tuesday effort to disrupt parliamentary votes…
🇷🇸 Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin says, “This is just a Tuesday in a Balkan parliament, shall we continue?” pic.twitter.com/N3KpVBlNWR
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) March 4, 2025
As it turns out, after the smoke cleared (literally), the lawmakers actually continued to convened and worked in a session until early evening as normal. Just another Tuesday in a Balkan parliament indeed.
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