Belgrade's city center was closed to traffic on April 11 ahead of a rally by supporters of the Serbian government. The protest, called "We Will Not Give Up on Serbia," was called by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
A boulevard and a square in the center of the Serbian capital have been closed to vehicle traffic, but citizens are allowed to pass through.
Police have taken to the streets to provide security during the rally, and some citizens are writing letters to Vučić and joining the "Movement for the People and the State," said Radio Free Europe journalists reporting from the field.
REL spoke with citizens who are signing the membership application at a checkpoint in Belgrade, asking them why they are joining Vučić's movement.
"Because I love Serbia," said Milan Loncar, adding that he is not a member of the ruling party, the Serbian Progressive Party, but is a supporter of Vučić.
Government representatives in Serbia have repeatedly described the protests that students have been organizing for several months as a "colorful revolution."
Students are also blocking faculties and demanding accountability for the deaths of 16 people when a concrete shelter collapsed at the Novi Sad train station in November last year. The protesting students have said they do not want to negotiate with Vučić on their demands because he does not have the authority to meet them.
On April 8, Vučić invited citizens to participate in the rally, which will start on April 11 and last until April 13. He made the invitation to the rally on behalf of the movement he has just formed called "Movement for the People and the State."
Vučić, one of the founders of the Serbian Progressive Party, had announced the establishment of this movement several times.
The rallies from April 11 to 13 will be held at a time when Serbia has been facing months of massive protests organized by students, who are demanding accountability from the authorities for the tragedy in Novi Sad.
Vučić has stated that at the rallies of the "Movement for the People and the State" he will present his conditions "which are in accordance with the Constitution."
"The demands are serious and will represent the will of responsible people in our country, the will of the majority in Serbia," he said in a post on Instagram.
In addition to citizens, he also invited "all political parties and movements" to join the rally.
The leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, Miloš Vučević, said that demands will be set out at the April 11 rally, and one of them will be to stop the blockades.
Several groups of supporters set off on foot to participate in the rally called by Vučić – one group set off from Novi Sad, and another group of Serbs from Kosovo headed towards Belgrade.
They said they want to support Vučić, but also oppose the students who are blocking the faculties and returning to classes.
Opponents of the protesting students call themselves "students who want to learn." They have set up tents in a park in central Belgrade, located near the Serbian Presidency. These students, who are protesting in Pioneer Park, have rejected claims that their protests were organized by the Serbian government./ REL (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
