On Saturday, Serbian state television aired the main story in its news broadcast for the first time, the mass protests that have been taking place almost daily across the country for the past three months over the Novi Sad disaster. Tens of thousands of protesters blocked three major bridges, completely paralyzing Novi Sad, the country’s second-largest city.
In early November, a recently renovated roof at the city’s railway station collapsed, killing 15 people. This triggered protests that initially began within the student community and gradually gained support from other societal groups (e.g., farmers), who view the government as corrupt, according to the ΝΥΤ.
ERT employees held a 3-hour strike on Sunday to protest the downplaying of the mass protests over the Tempi disaster on January 26.
In a statement on the same day, the ruling party called the state channel’s coverage “scandalous. ” Until then, the channel had followed the narrative of the 12-year president, Aleksandar Vucic, who referred to the protesters, among other things, as “traitors” allied with foreign forces or “pawns” of the opposition.
According to an American newspaper, Vucic has used state media as a “propaganda tool” throughout his time in power. He has also controlled private channels, such as the popular Pink TV, which remains “loyal” to his policies.
For some, the shift in the state television’s stance is seen as a “tactic” to present “objective coverage” of the issue, while for many others, it is a sign of growing discontent with the government, as even former supporters are now backing the protests, such as tennis player Novak Djokovic, who publicly wore a shirt that read “Students are champions.”
What is fyi.news?
