Serbian Nationalists Try To Raid Presidential Building To Protest Normalization Talks With Kosovo

Serbian nationalists tried to raid the presidential building to show their rage against normalization talks with Kosovo.

In this video, at around the 52 second mark, a man gives a speech to the riot officers:

“equal right to attack us, people.
We came democratically to issue demands.
So, the responsibility is on you. Not on us.
According to the law on policing you have no call to attack us.
Don’t do this. Don’t be like this.”

As we read in Radio Free Europe:

The leader of a far-right political party in Serbia has been arrested by police in Belgrade after a rally he organized of nationalists turned violent on February 15.

Damjan Knezevic, the head of Narodna Patrola, or People’s Patrol, was detained by police on February 16 along with two other unidentified members of the far-right group. They were charged with inciting violence and weapons violations.

The arrests come a day after hundreds of Serbian nationalists rallied in Belgrade, demanding that President Aleksandar Vucic reject a Western plan to normalize ties with Kosovo and pull out of negotiations.

Shouting “Treason!” and carrying banners reading “No surrender,” the right-wing protesters blocked traffic as they gathered near the Serbian presidency building in central Belgrade.

Some of the estimated 1,000 protesters tore down protective metal fencing around the building at the end of the rally but were prevented by riot police from reaching the entrance.

The protest came amid efforts by U.S. and European Union officials to mediate a solution for the long-standing dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, a former Serbian province whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade does not recognize.

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