Serbia is experiencing the largest wave of protests in the country’s history. At its forefront stands a horizontally organised student movement with mass support. However, President Vučić’s regime is not giving up yet, and a cunning confrontation occurred at Saturday’s demonstration.
On Saturday, 15 March, the largest demonstration in Serbia’s history took place in Belgrade. It was the culmination of activities by the student protest movement that has been active since November last year. “I’m an environmental activist, so I’ve been to many protests. But for the first time in my life, I experienced people from both the left and right standing side by side, not trying to convince each other of anything,” 25-year-old participant Tijana from Belgrade describes the atmosphere of Saturday’s demonstration to Alarm. “They were simply there to support the students. I haven’t seen such tolerance for many years.”
The protests began because of a tragedy that occurred in the second-largest city, Novi Sad. The roof of a newly renovated railway station building collapsed there, claiming a total of fifteen lives. Protesters immediately framed this event as a systemic problem related to enormous corruption and the incompetence of the state administration, rejecting the notion that it was an unfortunate accident.
Back in November, several faculties of Belgrade University were occupied in connection with the protests. Students barricaded themselves in university buildings, which became the main places where protesters gathered and planned further strategy. The blockades spread to other university cities in Serbia, and the students gradually won over the majority of Serbian society. Decisions about further actions are made at public plenary sessions open to the public.
In addition to the actual use of a weapon against its own population, the timing of its deployment is symbolically crucial. It happened precisely during the 15 minutes of silence observed at demonstrations for the 15 victims of the collapsed roof in Novi Sad.
They are proceeding in a very coordinated manner, have no formal leaders, and are seeking an investigation into the entire incident in Novi Sad as well as deeper changes in the country’s political system. According to researcher Nina Djukanović, this is the largest student protest movement since 1968.
“People attend the protests in good spirits, have more patience than usual, and treat each other considerately. When someone steps on your foot or bumps into you, they apologise immediately,” says another protest participant, 39-year-old Marija, who arrived at Saturday’s demonstration in Belgrade from the city of Čačak.
In recent months, student marches have been traversing the country, heading from various cities to Belgrade for Saturday’s demonstration. In addition to them, thousands of workers from the regions arrived in the capital, but protests were also held in other locations.
Regime on the Edge
According to the non-profit organisation Archive of Public Gatherings, there were nearly 300,000 people in the streets of Belgrade, whilst student organisers estimated the number at 800,000. State authorities unsurprisingly report significantly lower figures – according to the police, there were 107,000 people, according to the army, only 88,000. However, students claim that such numbers can only be reached if only a few main streets and squares are counted. Yet, as footage shows, absolutely all streets in Belgrade were filled on Saturday.
Even according to moderate estimates, it would be the largest protest in the country’s history. “A large part of the public expected a political resolution from Saturday, something like when we overthrew Milošević 25 years ago. But the students did not demand anything like that,” explains Marija.
Recently, Vučić’s regime has adopted a conciliatory strategy towards the student-led movement. It claims to be willing to negotiate and has made several formal concessions. However, the students refuse to negotiate with Vučić – their demands are directed at specific institutions, thereby emphasising the fact that the offices are filled with people loyal to the president.
But Vučić cannot afford direct confrontation, partly because of the broad support for the students – according to public opinion polls, 80 percent of Serbs support their demands. A crucial role is also played by the horizontal organisation of the student movement, which means the regime has no one to target either through direct repression or a smear campaign.
Back in November, however, Vučić and his people responded to student protests with violence – sometimes directly from the police, other times from unidentified groups of people who were later proven to be members of the ruling party. In January, the public was shocked by footage of a car driving into demonstrators and nearly killing one of the female students.
Before Saturday’s demonstration, a question hung over the streets of Belgrade: How would the regime respond to such a large mobilisation? Some more optimistic voices pointed out that the police simply do not have the strength to take action against such a huge number of people. However, fears were also heard from Serbia about the use of traditional techniques to delegitimise and repress protests – infiltrating the crowd with provocateurs who would initiate attacks on the police, which would then react with violence against all participants. “I approached the protest with tension and fear, because I’d rather not even imagine what this government is capable of anymore,” says Marija.
Interventions Without Shots
According to all indications, state forces did not resort to open violence. However, they may have used an even more insidious method than the aforementioned provocateurs. According to testimonies from the scene, videos, and experts, a weapon known by the acronym LRAD or in Czech as a “sonic cannon” was used in the country for the first time. It does not act lethally but is designed to paralyse or incapacitate the opponent using high volume.
According to the Czech Army News, these weapons can “cause unbearable pain to affected persons”, but they also cause longer-term effects – headaches, nausea, tinnitus, or even hair loss. The origin of these weapon systems well describes the well-known trajectory of the so-called imperial boomerang: They were first used by the American army to “control hostile crowds” during their invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the mid-2000s, however, they have also been adopted by American police against demonstrations on American soil, most recently receiving increased media attention during their deployment at Black Lives Matter protests after the police murder of George Floyd.
With LRAD, unlike ordinary speakers, sound “does not spread in a circle, but precisely and only in that narrow cone. If you stand just a few metres from the affected zone, you will only watch in bewilderment as people writhe on the ground, lying just a few metres from you.” This corresponds to videos from Belgrade, in which people suddenly scatter from the middle of the street to the edges.
Despite this, the Ministries of the Interior, Defence, and President Vučić deny its use. “However, the weapon has been part of the Serbian state’s security system for several years,” journalist Anastazija Antanasijević from our partner server Mašina explains to Alarm. “And its use will likely have a crucial impact on the further development of the protests.” Marija agrees: “I was a bit afraid that nothing would happen and the protests would simply fizzle out. But after the use of the sonic cannon, public anger is intensifying with each hour.”
In addition to the actual use of a weapon against its own population, the timing of its deployment is symbolically crucial. It happened precisely during the 15 minutes of silence observed at demonstrations for the 15 victims of the collapsed roof in Novi Sad. “At the stroke of seven o’clock, the entire city suddenly fell silent. You could suddenly only hear the echo in your ears from all the noise before,” Tijana describes her experience from the demonstration. “After 11 minutes of silence, I suddenly heard people far behind me start screaming. I learned about the use of the sound cannon later. And it made perfect sense. Because no normal person would dare to dishonour the memory of the victims like that.”
“It frightened all of us. I immediately started running and looking for shelter for my mother, who is already of retirement age. Then we left the protest,” Marija describes her experience with the sonic cannon. “Ambulances were driving around us, and since Sunday, I’ve been reading reports on social media that many people ended up in emergency care afterwards.”
The incident will thus likely harm not only the president but also members of the security forces. In several shots, policemen were seen putting down shields or applauding protesters. But videos of the mass exodus show how groups of policemen left the impact area just seconds before. “I really don’t care that the police suddenly greeted us nicely, when until now they’ve been beating, arresting, blackmailing, and harassing us for years. They enjoyed serving the regime and would continue to do so, were it not for the student protests that turned into a popular uprising,” Marija adds her indignation.
Beyond the Horizon of Protest
President Vučić seemingly has no plans to step down. At the rhetorical level, he continues with a strategy that combines recognition of students and protesters with mild counterattacks. In Saturday’s speech from the presidential palace, on the one hand, he described the demonstration as large. He acknowledged that “99 percent of protesters did not want problems” and declared that as people in power, they must “learn and change.” On the other hand, he complained that protesters are driven by “negative energy, anger, and indignation directed against Serbian government officials.” And if someone questions his legitimacy, they should challenge him in elections.
In addition, he again warned against a colour revolution, a series of regime changes in Eastern Europe and Central Asia towards a pro-Western direction. A large part of European media – and in this they agree with Vučić, albeit with the opposite sign – likes to view political conflicts in the region through the proven template of “local autocrat versus pro-Western opposition.”
From the student demands and a look at the protesting streets, where we see no EU flags, it is clear that this interpretation does not fully capture the Serbian situation. “We’ve given our mines to China, our energy to Russia, our lithium and banks to Germany. Most of the EU remained silent or supported Vučić because of lithium,” Marija enumerates foreign influences.
That is precisely why the fate of the country should be decided primarily by Serbs. As surveys and the course of protests show, they now believe in the students. “Now we’re waiting to see what they come up with, so we can support them as much as we can. But I’m afraid that over time, the regime will use more and more brute force,” Tijana describes the prospects for the future.
Journalist Antanasijević from our partner Serbian media Mašina considers Saturday’s protest absolutely crucial because it clearly showed how many people are currently willing to get involved in the protests – despite explicit intimidation, threats of physical violence, and the disinformation campaign of the pro-government camp. “Hundreds of thousands of people had the courage to come to Belgrade,” she tells Alarm. “Now they need to find the courage to organise locally with their colleagues, neighbours, and friends. Strikes, blocking institutions, and creating pressure on the people who make decisions – all this must continue, and the students cannot manage it alone.”
The students are turning to Serbian society and talking about the need to hold civic assemblies at the local level and that people must start organising themselves. According to her, this protest has the potential to transform not only Serbian society. “Saturday’s action also brought incredible displays of solidarity and care,” continues Antanasijević. “Citizens protected the students and each other, and the city was infused with an unprecedented sense of belonging and unity.” If these protests are to be successful and achieve something specific, this unity must endure.
While the rest of Europe dreads the rise of the far right, Serbia is experimenting with radical democracy, which has no parallel on the continent for many years and can, without exaggeration, change the world. However, besides the shadow of state violence, Serbian optimism is also overshadowed by a historical lesson from the past decade. The mass protest movements of that time, from the Arab Spring through Occupy to the Greek demonstrations against cuts, showed that successful mobilisation does not necessarily mean taking over and transforming political power. However, the student-led movement also differs from the global movements of the 2010s – for example, by the strict instruction (and its fulfilment) not to enter any government buildings. Thus, not only Vučić but also the whole of Europe should be waiting with bated breath for the protesters’ next step.
*Alarm
Translated for ESSF by Adam Novak, from Alarm, 17.3.2025