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Southeast Europe
June 2, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
solutions, insist on dialogue and compromise, because he deeply believes that this is the basis of all progress, successful business and a safe future, B92 reported.
The ceremony was attended by Vucic’s family, as well as former presidents, members of the Serbi- an government, representatives of Serbia's reli- gious communities, members of the diplomatic corps, Serbian Army Chief Ljubisa Dikovic, and top officials from Bosnia’s Republika Srpska such as President Milorad Dodik and Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic, according to B92.
Shortly before be was sworn in as president, the assembly took note of Vucic’s resignation as prime minister. His first deputy, Foreign Minis- ter Ivica Dacic, has taken over as acting head of government until Vucic nominates a long-term replacement.
Despite all the preparations for the ceremony, the day was full of disputes. While Vucic was about to take his oath at the parliament building at around noon, a scuffle broke out between rival groups of supporters and opponents, both heading toward the parliament building.
Those against Vucic yelled to his supporters that they were “betrayers”. His supporters responded: “we are not betrayers, we are the majority”. In the clash in a tunnel in downtown Belgrade, a group of citizens attacked a journalist from Radio Beo- grad when she asked them who they were. Ac- cording to regional broadcaster N1, police did not react to the incident.
Earlier in the day, police stopped citizens from the informal Against Dictatorship group, who were
trying to reach the parliament. Police claimed they were not allowed to gather as they hadn’t given notice of the protest (which is required by law).
The Against Dictatorship group had been pro- testing for about a month against Vucic and his political dominance following the April 2 election. The group claims it has no leadership or official organiser, and that it has no links to any political party or movement.
Another incident involved former supporters of Against Dictatorship, now now protesting under the title Seven Requests. However a group of men disturbed the protest, took the sign reading “Peo- ple are hungry while the elites are happy” and destroyed it. The same group also attacked jour- nalists from local investigative journalism net- works Insider and the Vice while they followed the protesters on their march, N1 reported.
Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) reacted to the incidents, claiming that its supporters were attacked at multiple places in Belgrade, though this does not seem to tally with news reports. “Participants of a counter-rally, gathered around the absolute losers of the elections, today physi- cally attached sympathisers of the SNS at several locations... A group of hooligans physical as- saulted elderly women, yelling derogatory exple- tives and insults,” N1 quoted SNS’s press release issued on May 31.
The day ended with a joint protest by opposition parties and their supporters, organised by the newly established Movement of Free Citizens, founded by former ombudsman Sasa Jankovic, the runner-up in the April presidential election.