A Pride march in Serbia’s capital on Saturday condemned police violence at anti-government rallies and voiced solidarity with university students leading months of demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vučić, while security forces elsewhere used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse large student gatherings.
Organizers in Belgrade said the event was a protest rather than a festival and that participants observed a commemorative silence that has marked the persistent student-led movement challenging Vučić. One banner read, “Gays against police state!” and another echoed the students’ rallying cry, “Pump it up!” Organizers said they were protesting frequent police brutality and the jailing of demonstrators.
Hundreds of people marched in central Belgrade, where organizers deliberately avoided festival-style features and instead emphasized solidarity with students who have staged blockades and protests at state universities. March leaders said they could not ignore what they described as a pattern of police excess and the criminal prosecution of some protesters.
In the northern city of Novi Sad, police used tear gas and stun grenades Friday evening to disperse several thousand anti-government protesters at the state university campus, authorities and witnesses said. The crowds demanded snap elections, carrying banners that read “We don’t want blockades, we want elections,” and “Students have one urgent demand: Call elections.” Protesters shouted “Vučić leave,” referring to the president and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Witnesses reported scuffles in front of the philosophy faculty and that some demonstrators threw flares. Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades to push the crowd away from university buildings, according to local accounts. Authorities did not immediately release detailed casualty or arrest figures.
The two events reflected parallel strands of unrest that have convulsed Serbia in recent months: an entrenched student movement pressing for early elections and broader grievances over government power, and a civil-society push for rights and protections by minority and activist groups. Organizers of the Belgrade Pride framed their action as both a defense of LGBTQ+ rights and a denunciation of state tactics used against peaceful dissent.
Serbia’s protests have at times drawn broad public support and large street turnouts. Students have organized sit-ins and blockades at several state universities to press the demand for snap polls they say would allow voters to remove the current ruling party. Authorities have repeatedly broken up demonstrations, citing public order concerns, and protesters and rights groups have accused security forces of using disproportionate force.
The rallies came amid a politically charged atmosphere in which the opposition accuses Vučić and the SNS of consolidating power and undermining democratic institutions. The president and his party deny wrongdoing and say they maintain public order and stability.
Organizers in Belgrade urged continued peaceful protest and legal pressure, saying Pride would not take part in creating confrontational scenes but would stand with students seeking democratic change. In Novi Sad several thousand demonstrators dispersed after the police intervention, and plans for further gatherings were expected to be announced by student organizers in the days ahead.
International human rights groups and some Western governments have periodically called on Serbian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and to investigate reported abuses by security forces. Local organizers and protesters say independent investigations and accountability are necessary to restore public trust and avert further clashes.
The developments on Saturday underscored the persistence of domestic tensions in Serbia as activists, students and minority-rights groups continue to press demands that include both immediate political reforms and broader protections for civil liberties.