Serbians march in 4 cities against government pressure and hate speech

BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of Serbians marched in four cities on Monday protesting government pressure and hate speech directed at university students and professors behind months of anti-corruption protests shaking populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

The marches were organized a day after a woman attacked a faculty dean in Serbia's south with a knife, which protesters blamed on a hate campaign that they say is fueled by top officials and pro-government media.

Increasingly authoritarian Vucic has struggled to quell persistent demonstrations triggered by a train station canopy collapse in November, which killed 16 people. Critics have blamed the deadly crash on rampant government corruption leading to sloppy and unsafe renovation work on the station building.

Serbian university students and their professors have been a key force behind the nationwide demonstrations also reflecting a wider discontent with Vucic's rule. He has accused protesters of working against the state interests.

Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry but Vucic has maintained close ties with Russia and China while facing accusations of stifling democratic freedoms.

Ivan Videnovic, assistant professor at Belgrade University's faculty of physics, said he joined the march Monday in the capital city “because of repression against people ... because of physical and verbal attacks on university professors and deans.”

Natalija Jovanovic, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis on Sunday, suffered a hand injury in Sunday's knife attack in the southern city of Nis. She blamed the attack on Vucic, who has repeatedly branded her a “criminal.”

Last week, a senior government official called for the arrest of Vladan Djokic, the head dean of the University in Belgrade.

Apart from Belgrade, demonstrations were held in the northern city of Novi Sad, the central city of Kragujevac and Nis, in the south. The four cities are the university centers in the Balkan country.