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Serbian leader digs in, slams early elections rally / Photo: OLIVER BUNIC - AFP
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Serbian leader digs in, slams early elections rally
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic insisted Sunday that he would not cave in to the 140,000 protesters who rallied in the capital overnight demanding early elections, while vowing more arrests after clashes broke out.
Saturday's rally was one of the largest in more than half a year of demonstrations triggered by the roof collapse at a train station in the city of Novi Sad in November, killing 16 people -- a disaster widely blamed on entrenched corruption.
Unlike previous gatherings, which took place without incident, clashes erupted between demonstrators and riot police.
"Serbia has won, and you cannot defeat Serbia by violence as some wanted," Vucic said in a public address.
He accused the student-led movement of causing "terror" and promised there would be more arrests over the violence.
AFP journalists saw riot police using tear gas and batons as protesters hurled flares and bottles at rows of officers in several clashes following the massive gathering in Belgrade.
Authorities said 48 officers were injured, one seriously, and put the crowd size at 36,000 -- well below an independent estimate by the Archive of Public Gatherings of around 140,000.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said 22 people sought medical help, of whom two were seriously injured.
- 'This is not the end' -
Police detained 77 people, with 38 still in custody, according to Dacic.
"There will be many more arrested for attacking police... this is not the end," Vucic said.
He added that there would be "no negotiations with terrorists and those who wanted to destroy the state -- accountability follows".
"Revenge must not be our language, but responsibility must be part of our consciousness," he said.
Later on Sunday, six people were arrested on accusations of several crimes, including planning to block roads and attack state institutions "in order to violently change the state order", the Higher Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
An operation was ongoing, the statement said.
Protest organisers meanwhile called for the release of a "large number of citizens" and "numerous students", and announced a rally in front of the prosecutor's office.
"This is not a moment for withdrawal," the protest group said on Instagram.
Ahead of Saturday's protest, organisers had issued an "ultimatum" for Vucic to call elections -- a demand he rejected well before the rally began.
On Sunday, he reiterated there would not be any national vote before the end of 2026.
The outcry over the Novi Sad disaster has already led to the resignation of the country's prime minister.
Yet the governing party has kept power, with a reshuffled administration and the president still in office.
Vucic has repeatedly alleged the protests are part of a foreign plot to destroy his government.
More than a dozen people have been arrested in recent weeks, a crackdown that has now become routine ahead of large demonstrations.
After the rally, organisers played a statement to the crowd calling for Serbians to "take freedom into your own hands" and giving them the "green light".
"The authorities had all the mechanisms and all the time to meet the demands and prevent an escalation," the organisers said in a statement on Instagram.
N.Zimmermann--BlnAP
