Serbia’s populist president has called for dialogue with antigovernment protesters in the Balkan country following more than nine months of demonstrations that have challenged his rule.
“Serbia has to solve its problems with democratic dialogue, not with violence,” President Aleksandar Vucic wrote in a post accompanied by a video that he shared on Instagram on Friday.
“I invite the representatives of the blockade movement to a conversation and a public debate about visions, to discuss our plans and programmes for the future and all together condemn the violence on our streets,” he added.
In the video address from his office in Belgrade, Vucic said he was ready to speak with the representatives of students and other antigovernment protesters, including in TV debates.
“I propose … discussion and debate on all our televisions, on all our [internet] portals with legitimate representatives, that is, those they choose,” Vucic said.
The months of protests across Serbia were prompted by the deaths of 16 people when a roof on a renovated railway station in Novi Sad collapsed last November.
Protesters have blamed corruption for the station disaster and are demanding early elections in the hope of ousting Vucic and his party.
They also accuse the government of using violence against political rivals and suppressing media freedoms. The government denies all the allegations.
The protests were mainly peaceful until earlier this month, when dozens of police officers and civilians were injured in clashes, and hundreds were detained.
‘You don’t make a fire department with an arsonist’
“I want us to confront visions … to solve that through dialogue and conversation … no conflict, no violence. To rebuild the country again, to get it back on track where it was nine months ago,” Vucic said.
Savo Manojlovic, the head of the centrist opposition Move-Change party, dismissed the possibility of talks.
“A president who resorts to violence is not someone with whom you can debate about political issues, this is a … corrupt government that tramples on … democracy and human rights,” Manojlovic said.
“You don’t make a fire department with an arsonist.”
Vucic’s second and final five-year presidential term ends in 2027, when parliamentary elections are also due.
Representatives of the students said they would debate with Vucic only during an election campaign.
“He [Vucic] has no answer to the popular rebellion … We will debate … during the campaign, after the elections are announced,” students from the Belgrade-based Faculty of Philosophy said in a statement.
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