Serbian MPs Throw Tear Gas, Smoke Grenades in Parliament

Serbian MPs from the ruling majority and opposition scuffled on Tuesday inside the National Assembly chamber, where smoke bombs were also burst on the first of this year’s parliament sessions. It was held amid heightened tensions as mass protests continue to shake the country.

MPs could not even agree on the session agenda, with the opposition arguing that after Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic’s resignation last month, which came as the student-led protests escalated, the government has no right to propose any new laws apart from an amendment on university tuition fees. Radomir Lazovic from the Green-Left Front told media in front of parliament after the incidents that We believe that only one item can be on the agenda, and that is the fulfillment of the student demands.

After the ruling majority voted for the planned agenda, a couple of MPs got into a fight, initially with the parliamentary security, then some of them lit flares and threw smoke bombs. A fight broke out among MPs. Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic said that three ruling party MPs had been injured, but insisted the working day would not be interrupted.

The opposition meanwhile continued to try to disrupt the session by blowing whistles and vuvuzelas while ruling MPs were talking.Earlier, mass protests sparked by the Novi Sad railway station disaster in November, which left 15 people dead, have continued for three months.

The ongoing protests represent the most powerful challenge to President Aleksandar Vucic’s rule since he came to power, and have already claimed the resignations of several senior officials. However, the political opposition has been largely sidelined by the ongoing protests, which have strongly avoided being coopted for party purposes.