INCIDENT IN FRONT OF BLOCKED PARLIAMENT IN NOVI SAD: Gendarmerie pushed citizens, young man hit in the head with a shield!

Citizens and students declared a blockade of the Novi Sad City Assembly last night and called on protesters to remain overnight on the streets in front of the city parliament. After a peaceful night of blocking the Novi Sad Assembly, without any incidents, the Gendarmerie arrived from the direction of the Provincial Government shortly before six this morning, N1 reports, formed a cordon and began to push citizens towards the city assembly.

A conflict occurred between the intervention unit and citizens standing in front of the entrance on Mihajla Pupina Boulevard, when a young man sustained two blows to the head from the police and consequently lost consciousness.

The intervention unit continued to push with citizens even after that, and then retreated through the passage towards the courtyard, towards the assembly building.

The gendarmerie cordon served to prevent a part of the citizens and students, who were at the entrance to Žarka Zrenjanina Street, from joining the other group, against which the intervention unit was acting at that moment.

The student, who was hit in the eye and groin by the intervention unit, told N1 that he and a colleague “held the line” during the pushing with the police, but did not attack them.

According to him, they started beating him without provocation. His glasses were also broken when he was hit in the eye. An ambulance arrived for the young man who was beaten by the police shortly after 6:15 AM.

He had previously told N1 that the police officer first pushed him away from the entrance several times to make way for ruling party councilors, who were escorted through the police cordon into the Novi Sad assembly building.

As the young man told N1, the police officer then hit him on the head twice with great force from above and pushed him away again. The young man then moved away a little and lost consciousness.

During the intervention of the riot police, a student of the Faculty of Philosophy was also detained.

Around 6:50 AM, the riot police began packing up their crowd control equipment, N1 reports.

The representatives of the citizens’ assemblies told the thousands of gathered protesters last night: “Let’s not let them enter the assembly, let’s not let them lie to us and steal from us anymore. Happy freedom to us, free Novi Sad!”

They asked the gathered citizens to stay all night at the blocked intersection, to block all entrances to the Novi Sad assembly and not allow the city assembly session to be held tomorrow, because that way Novi Sad will enter into forced administration and elections will be held within two months.

“This government does not listen to and respect the will of the citizens, it does not respect the constitution and laws of this country, it fills its pockets and convinces us that it is in the best interest of all citizens of Novi Sad. This government has destroyed our city and laughs in our faces. If we manage to prevent them from entering the assembly in the morning or tonight, we will have elections in two months and victory in the city,” they said.

Farmers parked their tractors near the entrance to the city assembly.

Around the city parliament building yesterday, before the protest, a metal fence was erected, and riot police forces were present in front and inside the building itself.

Students and citizens requested presence at the session, but this was not allowed, as in the previous few times.

Citizen assemblies from all 30 Novi Sad local communities blocked the intersection in the city center, near the buildings of the provincial government and the Novi Sad Assembly, at a protest called “Final Intersection Blockade,” from where they announced that from tonight “nothing will be the same again.”

A little later, students from the University of Novi Sad, who had previously gathered in the university campus, joined the gathered citizens at the blocked intersection.

At the moment when the students joined the gathered citizens, flares were lit. The student column was accompanied by farmers in tractors, as well as numerous motorcyclists.

Citizens at the protest said they demand that elections for local community councils be called.

“Calling elections for local communities would be the first step towards Novi Sad becoming the first free city in Serbia. Tonight we begin a new chapter of our struggle. From tonight, nothing will be the same again. We no longer ask for anything, we no longer demand, but we go for what belongs to us by law and constitution. Now we push to the end!” it was said at the protest.

Representatives of the citizens’ assemblies said that citizens have the right to manage their area, their streets, their city, because citizens, according to the Constitution of Serbia, are the bearers of sovereignty.

“We want to return sovereignty to where it belongs – to the citizens,” they said from the stage set up at the intersection.

“Most importantly, in just a few months, we have become friends and comrades-in-arms from fellow citizens and neighbors. We have shown that ‘all for one’ is not just an empty slogan; it has become the basic principle of our struggle. That is our strongest weapon. That is what this evil will retreat before,” they said.

Student Vukašin Đinović said that citizens and students will fight for the courts to start working according to justice and law.

“We demand that you call elections for local communities. And early parliamentary elections. And the fact that you are not calling them means you are done. If you don’t want to listen to us in the assembly, you will listen to us on the streets. You have wounded this city, but from those wounds an unprecedented resistance was born, the resistance of youth proving again why it is the symbol of this city,” said Vukašin Đinović.

Professor of the Faculty of Philosophy Nevena Jevtić said that citizens are tired, but not of rebellion, but of regime lies.

Representatives of the Serbian National Theater ballet said that today they are not defending the right to theater, but the right to honesty, the right to art, “to live in a country where the capable lead, and the incapable are held accountable.”

Citizens carried banners “Gari, are you chickening out?”, “What about vacation? When we win”, “For the freedom of the city”, “Against scams”, as well as flags of Novi Sad.

Music at the protest was played by DJ Blockade, and Atheist Rap and Marčelo also performed.