Thousands protest violence after two shootings

Tens of thousands of people marched Monday night in Belgrade to demand the resignations of political leaders and against the promotion of violence in the media, days after two shootings that left 17 dead, including at a school.

The demonstrators gathered in front of the Parliament in the centre of Belgrade, at the call of several opposition parties of left and right, behind the slogan "Serbia against violence".

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We are here because we cannot wait any longer. We have waited too long, we have been silent too long, we have turned our heads too long," Marina Vidojevic, a Serbian teacher at a primary school, told the crowd. "We want safe schools, streets, villages and cities for all children," she added, before protesters left for the government headquarters.

'Cataclysmic tragedy'

In their call to demonstrate, broadcast by the left-wing party "Ne Da(vi)mo Beograd" ("Let's not drown Belgrade"), opposition parties demand "an immediate end to the promotion of violence in the media and in the public space (...) and the resignation" of political leaders, including the interior minister and the head of the intelligence services, accused of inaction.

The departure of Education Minister Branko Ruzic was initially among the demands, but he resigned on Sunday, offering his condolences to the families of the victims of a "cataclysmic tragedy".

The opposition is also calling for the suppression of reality TV programmes that "promote violence, immorality and aggressiveness" and the closure of pro-government newspapers that they accuse of spreading "false information" with the aim of harming political opponents.

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This climate was created by the system (in place), concretely the 'first man' is at the root of this Serbian misfortune," Radovan Bojicic, a 67-year-old pensioner, told AFP, referring to President Aleksandar Vucic, whose departure protesters have also demanded.

Disarmament plan

Several leaders of Aleksandar Vucic's conservative Serbian Progress Party (SNS) accused the opposition of "politicising" the two killings to attack the head of state and the government. Serbia was shocked by two shootings last week in less than 48 hours.

In the first, a thirteen-year-old schoolboy opened fire Wednesday at a school in Belgrade, killing eight classmates and a security guard. Then, on Thursday, a 21-year-old man killed eight people with an automatic rifle in two villages south of Belgrade.

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After these shootings, the Serbian president promised to launch a large-scale disarmament plan. According to the Small Arms Survey (SAS) research project, 39% of Serbian residents own a firearm, the highest rate in Europe.