site.btaFour Arrested over Tractor Vandalism amid Serbia’s Deepening Protests

Four people were arrested in Serbia on Thursday on suspicion of vandalizing tractors positioned around Pionerski Park, where counter-protesters had set up a tent camp before a major protest in Belgrade on March 15, Serbian National Television RTS said.

The suspects were placed in detention for up to 48 hours, after which they will face indictments by the competent prosecution service.

After the tractors were found in the morning with shattered windows and some toppled onto the pavement, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said “the property of Serbian farmers, for whom these agricultural machines are everything, was destroyed.”

Vucic noted that the tractors were intended to protect the counter-protesters, who identified themselves as students and wanted university classes to resume by mid-March.

Social tensions in Serbia have mounted since a tragedy in Novi Sad, where on November 1 last year 15 people lost their lives when the newly renovated roof of the city’s railway station collapsed.

For more than four months, ongoing protests—organised mainly by students blocking over 60 faculties nationwide—have accused the government and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of corruption and nepotism.

Due to this unrest, two ministers in the cabinet resigned, although they said they did not feel responsible for the Novi Sad tragedy.

The prosecution service filed charges against 13 individuals, including former Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic, who stepped down.

Prime Minister Milos Vucevic also resigned, and on April 7 President Aleksandar Vucic said he tasked a non-party candidate, Djuro Macut, to form a new government.