Thousands stage anti-government protest in Serbian capital after mass shootings

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Thousands of people held an anti-government protest late Monday in Serbia's capital Belgrade after two mass shootings in less than 48 hours left at least 17 people dead.

Crowds also gathered in the cities of Novi Sad and Nis following a call by opposition parties.

The protesters called for an end to the violence and issued three demands.

They called for an urgent end to the further promotion of violence in the media and public space.

They also demanded the dismissal of Education Minister Branko Ruzic, Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic and the director of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), Aleksandar Vulin.

Ruzic had already submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Sunday.

The protesters also demanded an urgent session of parliament at which the responsibility of the government and security situation in the country would be considered as well as long-term solutions that must be implemented so that such events never happen again.

The deadline for meeting all of the protesters’ demands is set for Friday, May 12.

The crowd also called for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s resignation and for the dismissal of the management of Serbian state TV (RTS).

Vucic said on Serbian regional news and entertainment channel Happy TV that he expected to hear some proposals from the protests but noted that the opposition abused people's emotions.

''In the end, of all the proposals, everything came down to dry politics. They didn't worry for a second about the future of our children," he said.

As part of new measures taken by the government, 1,800 schools across the country have been assigned two police officers each.

At Vucic’s direction, the process of the voluntary surrender of weapons also began Monday.

The Interior Ministry in a statement said that 1,500 guns, 50,000 bullets and more than 100 bombs were received on the first day of the call, which will continue until June 8.

Serbians are in shock in the aftermath of the double mass shootings.

Vucic on Friday announced amendments to the law on arms and ammunition control and beefed up police patrols around schools in the wake of the incidents.

At least eight people were killed and 14 others were injured when 21-year-old Uros Blazic, the suspected shooter, opened fire late Thursday in the town of Mladenovac, located 42 kilometers (26 miles) south of Belgrade.

The latest incident occurred just a day after a school shooting.

On Wednesday, a teenage boy opened fire on a school in Belgrade, killing eight students and a security guard.