Serbia: Activists arrested after protests turn violent

DW (English)

In the weeks since the collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad Central Station, there has been no letup in the protests in Serbia. At least 15 people were arrested after riots some claim were organized by pro-government groups.

Transcript

00:00Murderers, you've got blood on your hands.

00:04This is the only message student Mila Pajic wants to send to the Serbian government.

00:10For days, she and others have been protesting and seeking accountability

00:14for the collapse of the canopy at the entrance to Novi Sad Central Station

00:18that left 15 dead and 2 seriously injured.

00:22Mila was even brought in for questioning.

00:24But this was no ordinary arrest.

00:27She told DW that none of the officers showed any identification

00:30and there is no written record of her detention.

00:34We were surrounded by six men dressed in black

00:37who told us to go with them.

00:39When I refused to go with them, they picked me up,

00:43carried me to a black jeep and put me in that car

00:48when we were driving in an unknown direction.

00:52Over the last three weeks, dozens of people,

00:55including opposition politicians, activists and students,

00:58have been detained in this way in Serbia.

01:01At least 15 people are still in custody.

01:03There are reports that the health of a number of these people

01:06has deteriorated due to poor detention conditions.

01:10Opposition MPs have been given permission to visit them.

01:13They are in a room with people who are accused of serious crimes.

01:18This is not an environment where young people should be found.

01:21These young people expressed their dissatisfaction in a very exemplary way.

01:25In the end, it cannot be pleasant to be found in such a situation,

01:29deprived of freedom.

01:55The Serbian SPARTE is the name of the organization.

01:58They are the ones who are in charge of education,

02:02of GEPEC, as a baton for all the critics of the government.

02:07The Serbian president has called the protesters thugs

02:10and accused them of terrorizing the country.

02:13What is left for us in the state of Serbia,

02:16decent citizens, regardless of political orientation,

02:20is to give in to the work of state bodies

02:23and not to take any measures against them.

02:26This is what is left for us.

02:29This is what is left for us.

02:32This is what is left for us.

02:35We will not take any measures to show on the streets

02:38who is more numerous, who is more powerful.

02:54This repression comes out of nervousness.

02:57It is possible that it will intensify

03:00because this regime is losing its ends.

03:03It can control some social processes less and less.

03:06We can expect more and more repression.

03:09However, it seems to me that at that moment

03:12the government will have to look at its options

03:15and see how such behavior towards citizens

03:18communicates with its European partners.

03:31At the end of the day, the only thing left for us

03:34is the streets and the struggle.

03:37I can officially tell them now that we will not be afraid

03:40and that whoever is taken from the streets

03:43and arrested cannot arrest us all.

03:46In the end, at least someone will be left alone.

04:00For more UN videos visit www.un.org

Category

Transcript

Recommended