Tens of Thousands Joins Serbia's Latest Protest March

A long column of people attending the tenth anti-government protest in nine weeks in Belgrade called on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to resign - as the first solidarity protest took place also in the divided northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica.

In Belgrade, protesters attending Saturday evening's "1 of 5 million" event as usual marched past the presidential building, the parliament and the public broadcaster, RTS.

Speakers repeated the movement's main demand - for Vucic's resignation and an end to what they call the usurpation of state institutions and political abuses by his ruling Serbian Progressive Party.

During their march, protesters stopped at the Presidency building to leave letters in boxes for Vucic, telling him their personal reasons for taking to the streets. They also glued signs and wrapped tape at the entrances to the offices of Serbia's national broadcaster, RTS, and pro-government daily newspaper Politika, calling for more media freedom in the country.

Ahead of the protest, several hundred college professors, actors, artists and other public figures expressed their support for the protests in open letters.

On Saturday, students at Belgrade University's Faculty of Political Sciences joined a 5.5 kilometre-long walk from the faculty to Students Square in the city centre to join the protest.

Students of the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences marching to join the protest. Photo: BIRN.

Angering supporters of the movement, Education Minister Mladen Sarcevic told N1 regional television on January 29 that he did mind some professors lending support to the protests, as he had seen no "serious names" on the list of supporters.

Some professors reacted by accusing the minister of trying to humiliate the...