Thousands protest outside Serbia’s state TV accusing it of pro-government bias

Tens of thousands of protesters led by university students have held a protest outside the headquarters of Serbia’s state television in Belgrade to protest against what they call the broadcaster’s pro-government bias.

The rally comes a day after a student was seriously injured when a driver rammed his car into a crowd of protesters in Belgrade.

The demonstration, one of the biggest in years against alleged pro-government bias by the RTS television station, is part of wider protests that have taken place across the country after a concrete canopy collapsed at Novi Sad railway station last November, killing 15 people.

The protesters say they are angry that state television is reporting President Aleksandar Vučić’s accusations that they were paid by foreign secret services with the intention to overthrow him and his government by force.

The protesters were silent for 15 minutes in memory of each of the train station canopy collapse victims.

They also chanted demands for a general strike throughout the Balkan country.

Many in Serbia blame the deadly collapse on government corruption that led to sloppy renovation work on the station building, part of a wider deal with Chinese state companies involved in a number of infrastructure projects in the country.

The canopy collapse has become a flashpoint for broader dissatisfaction with what the protesters see as Vučić’s increasingly autocratic rule, reflecting public demands for democratic changes.

Daily protests have been held since the canopy collapse on 1 November in Novi Sad as well as the capital Belgrade and other cities throughout the country, which have sometimes turned violent.

On Thursday, a car driver fled the scene in downtown Belgrade after the young woman he struck was thrown onto his car roof and then to the ground with bleeding head injuries.

Police said they detained the driver and that he was charged with attempted murder. Several such incidents have been reported during the protests and traffic blockages since they started, but this was the first time there was a serious injury.

Tensions have risen since that incident, including a threat against the protesters in Novi Sad on Friday by a man who wielded a knife against them.

Separately, riot police evicted a group of opposition politicians from the town’s City Hall after they took over the building in support of the student protesters.

Vučić called the opposition officials “hoodlums” and again pledged they would never come to power by force.

He has sided with people who are against the daily street protests saying their freedom of movement has been jeopardized by the daily blockades of traffic.

His opponents say that Vučić has created an atmosphere of violence in the country with his anti-protester rhetoric.