Serbian opposition organizations and politicians in Kosovo warned that members of this community will go to Belgrade next week to create a "human wall" in front of the Presidency of the Republic of Serbia and to "protect" the president of this country, Aleksandar Vučić, from a color revolution.
For the goal of "protecting" the president to be successful, it is said that incidents cannot be ruled out.
Serbian opposition organizations and politicians claim that behind this organization is the Serbian List - the largest Serbian party in Kosovo, which has the support of Belgrade and the Serbian president himself, Vučić.
However, Radio Free Europe was unable to independently confirm these claims.
Citizens of the Serbian community, who say they have knowledge of these plans, do not want to speak publicly.
Radio Free Europe contacted the Serbian List and the Serbian Presidency to ask whether it is true that this party is behind the organization of the Serbs from Kosovo to Belgrade, to "protect" Vučić, what is the purpose of such an organization and who Vučić should be protected from. However, by the time of publication of this article, no response was received.
The allegations of such organization come amid protests by students and other citizens across Serbia, who are demanding criminal and political accountability for the demolition of a shelter at the Novi Sad Railway Station.
In this incident, which occurred on November 1st of last year, 15 people lost their lives.
Vučić describes these protests as a "color revolution" aimed at the "violent overthrow of the state."
Otherwise, "color revolutions" are the protests that overthrew authoritarian regimes in former Soviet countries.
The last major rally organized by students was held on March 1 in Niš - a city in southern Serbia - while the next one was announced for March 15 in Belgrade.
Vučić, for his part, announced a large rally in Belgrade, to which he said "we will invite you soon."
"We will invite everyone to Belgrade, throughout Serbia, to show that Serbia is not a handful of oats that they will swallow easily," he said on March 2.
The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, later said that there will be no counter-protests on March 15.
So far, Serbs from Kosovo, organized by the Serbian List, have regularly participated in rallies in support of Vučić and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
How credible are the claims about Serbs going to Belgrade?
The organizations National Movement of Serbs from Kosovo "Homeland" (Otadžbina), Serbian National Forum and Serbian National Council announced through a joint statement at the end of February that the Serbian List is preparing the departure of Serbs from Kosovo to Belgrade to "protect" Vučić.
These organizations claimed that they have "convincing information" that around 500 Serbs from Kosovo plan to set up tents in front of the Presidency in Belgrade and disrupt the protest announced for March 15.
"For their performance, Vučić's supporters will have a good salary and food and drinks provided. Their departure to Belgrade is planned for March 12, while the 'protection' would last at least 25 days - as long as Aleksandar Vučić estimates he needs to protect him," the statement from these organizations reads.
Nenad Radosavljevic from the Serbian National Forum tells Radio Free Europe that information about Serbs going to Belgrade was obtained from citizens on the ground.
"Some people are brave enough to pass on the information they receive to people who are on the right side," he says.
Radosavljevic claims that the Serbian authorities' plan is to somehow "provoke a major incident in Belgrade", to which the police would respond, with the aim of "protecting Serbs from Kosovo, who have come only to support President Vučić".
"This is not support, it is protection of the regime in Belgrade. This is what is dangerous, but I hope the police are not fooled," says Radosavljevic.
Stojanovic: Serbs from Kosovo are being used for political purposes
Serbian politician Branimir Stojanović from Gračanica says he has identical information about the organization of Serbs from Kosovo to go to Belgrade.
It is tragic that they are exploited for daily political purposes."
"We, as a party, have heard from people on the ground - both in the south and in the north - about some who are organizing to go to Belgrade and set up some kind of camp there, in front of the [Serbian] Presidency, right at the time when a big protest is going to be organized," Stojanović tells Radio Free Europe.
He believes that the purpose of this plan is to suppress student protests in Serbia.
"Clearly, there is a goal to do some kind of sabotage to this student protest. We don't need people from here to go. It's tragic that they are being used for daily political purposes. This is a bad message that the government [in Serbia] is sending us - that Serbs from Kosovo are being used for political purposes," says Stojanovic.
He adds that he is making this information public to prevent Serbs from leaving Kosovo for Belgrade.
"We have a lot of problems. We have seen that when something like this is organized... the last time municipalities in the north were raided," says Stojanović, alluding to the developments of May 26, 2023, when Kosovo authorities took control of municipal buildings in North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvečan and Zubin Potok.
On the same day, representatives of the Serbian List led Serbs from Kosovo at the "Serbia of Hope" rally in Belgrade, at which Serbian President Vučić also spoke.
Otherwise, the entry of Albanian mayors into municipal buildings in the north, after local Serbs boycotted the elections, also became a cause of conflicts in the following days.
Over 100 people were injured during a clash between protesting Serbs and members of the NATO mission, KFOR, on May 29, 2023, in Zvecan.
Tensions peaked in September of that year, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in the village of Banjska, Zvecan, and killed a policeman. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three more Serb attackers were killed./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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