Fights broke out and an N1 crew was assaulted during Wednesday’s protest at the Belgrade Waterfront complex between protesters and a group of hooded men which allegedly included ruling party local officials.
An N1 reporter was hit in the scuffle and one of the men tried to knock the microphone out of her hand. The N1 cameraman was also assaulted.
Opposition politicians Borko Stefanovic and Branko Miljus identified the man leading the group that attacked protesters and media crews as the municipal mayor of Zemun, adding that he is an official of President Aleksandar Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Another opposition official said that several SNS members of the New Belgrade municipal assembly were in the group of hooded men who, he said, arrived in cars with license plates from several towns in the Belgrade area.
A group of uniformed police arrived several minutes after the fighting and scuffling broke out to separate the protesters and alleged SNS supporters. The police were not in riot gear, unlike the two cordons of police at the nearby historic bridge whose demolition the protesters have been trying to prevent for days.
The alleged SNS supporters hurled verbal abuse at the protesters blocking the road.
The road block protest was organized as part of efforts to prevent the demolition of the Savski bridge.
Source: N1