Belgrade: Serbian officials have denied security forces used an illegal military-grade sonic weapon to disperse and scare peaceful protesters at an anti-government rally in the capital that has been described as the biggest ever in the country.
At least 100,000 people descended on Belgrade on Saturday for a mass rally seen as a culmination of months-long protests against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and his government, with some estimates putting the crowd at more than 300,000.
Opposition officials and Serbian rights groups claimed that a widely banned acoustic weapon – which emits a targeted beam to temporarily incapacitate people – was used during the protest.
They say they will file charges against those who ordered the attack with the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts.
Military experts say those exposed to the weapon experience sharp ear pain, disorientation and panic. Prolonged exposure can cause eardrum ruptures and irreversible hearing damage.
Serbian police and the Defence Ministry denied that the illegal weapon was used, while Vučić described it as “a notorious lie”. Serbia did not deny having such an acoustic device in its arsenal.
Thousands of protesters hold up their mobile phones during Saturday’s major rally in Belgrade.Credit: Getty Images
The rally was part of a nationwide anti-corruption movement that erupted after a concrete canopy collapsed at a railway station at Novi Sad in Serbia’s north in November, killing 15 people.
Almost daily demonstrations that started in response to the tragedy have shaken Vučić’s decade-long firm grip on power in Serbia, where many blame the collapse on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of construction safety regulations, demanding accountability for the victims.
Large crowds of flag-waving protesters clogged the downtown area of the capital on Saturday, with people hardly able to move and many stuck hundreds of metres away from the planned protest venue.
A deafening sound of whistles, drums and vuvuzelas filled the air on Saturday. Crowds chanted “pump it up” – a slogan adopted during the past four months of student-led protests.
Anti-riot police cordon off the area near the parliament building during the rally.Credit: AP
The government estimated that 107,000 people turned up to protest on Saturday, while an independent monitoring group estimated the crowd to be up to 325,000, The Washington Post reported. Serbian independent media described the rally as the biggest ever in the country.
The rally was dubbed “15 for 15” – a reference to the date of the protest and the number of people killed at Novi Sad on November 1.
The crowd fell silent for 15 minutes in the evening to honour the victims. Unverified footage shared on social media showed people standing silently with their mobile phone lights turned on while suddenly experiencing a whooshing sound.
An Associated Press photographer at the scene said it triggered panic as people started scrambling for cover, leaving the middle of the downtown street almost empty as they fell over each other.
Protesters march during a major rally against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, a non-government organisation, condemned “the unlawful and inhumane deployment of prohibited weapons, such as acoustic devices, against peaceful protesters”.
“This act represents a blatant display of force and an attempt to incite chaos, aiming to delegitimise protests and criminalise peaceful citizens,” the group said.
On Sunday, the Serbian president urged judicial authorities to respond to the information “that sonic cannons were used during the protests”, the state RTS broadcaster reported.
“I am asking … the Ministry of Justice and the prosecutor’s office to react, either to prosecute those who used it, and we know they didn’t, but let’s check,” Vučić said.
“Let there be a proceeding, but then they should also prosecute those who went public with such a notorious lie.”
Belgrade’s emergency hospital has denied reports that many people sought help after the incident, and urged legal action against those who “spread untrue information”.
Ahead of the demonstration, Vučić repeatedly warned of alleged plans for unrest while threatening arrests and harsh sentences for any incidents.
As rallies were under way on Saturday, he said he had heard the protesters’ message, The Washington Post reported. “All people in the government have to understand the message when this many people gather. We will have to change ourselves,” he said.
AP
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