**Central Belgrade Shut Down for Weekend Gatherings**
This weekend, parts of central Belgrade will be closed to traffic as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic prepares to hold two large public gatherings. The events, titled “Belgrade Family Days” and “Not Giving Up Serbia”, are scheduled to take place on Saturday.
**The Purpose Behind the Gatherings**
These gatherings have raised some eyebrows among opposition politicians and analysts. They claim that the president’s move is an attempt to counter the months of protests and mass gatherings by students and their supporters following the tragic Novi Sad Railway Station incident, which claimed 16 lives. Some are also drawing parallels with a similar gathering held in Belgrade during the Milosevic era in the mid–1990s, where the regime responded to opposition protests.
**A Show of Force?**
The preparations for these gatherings seem to be an effort to demonstrate the president’s strength and support among his base. The police have escorted tractors into the city overnight to deploy them around a park outside the Serbian Presidency building, where pro-regime supporters have been camping in tents since mid-March. President Vucic even paid a visit to the camp on Thursday, accompanied by pro-regime media crews.
**A Tense Atmosphere**
The opposition is likely to view these gatherings with skepticism, and the atmosphere in Belgrade could become tense over the weekend. The closure of streets and re-routing of public transport will undoubtedly cause some inconvenience for residents and visitors alike. As we wait to see how these events unfold, it’s clear that Serbia’s politics are once again taking center stage.
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