Protests in Serbia Betray an Anger That’s Ominous for Europe
More violence over the summer has shown the depth of discontentment in a country that the EU has been trying to keep onside.
Serbian riot police clash with anti-government protesters in Belgrade on Aug. 14.
Photographer: Marko Djokovic/AFP/Getty Images
Lazar and Tara, two University of Belgrade students in their early 20s, remember clearly how the protests started for them. It was November last year after a tragedy at a railway station claimed more than a dozen lives and sparked outrage. Police clashed with some of their peers from the drama school as they blocked a boulevard in the Serbian capital.
The show of dissent was more spontaneous than organized. Spin forward 10 months, though, and the demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vucic and the government are still going on, erupting in more violence over the summer and betraying an anger that doesn’t bode well for Europe.