NIS – Serbian Assembly President Ana Brnabić stated that recent protests in Serbia, initially organized under the guise of empathy and calls for justice, have devolved into pure violence.

During a press conference, she criticized the transformation of what was purportedly a movement for justice into actions characterized by aggression.

"Since the beginning of the protests, which were organized under the pretense of empathy, sorrow, and a desire for institutional justice, we have witnessed a descent into mere violence and nothing more than that.

Violence, completely senseless violence," Brnabić remarked.

Brnabić expressed condolences to the family of Vukašin Crnčević, who died from injuries sustained when a roof collapsed at the train station in Novi Sad last year.

She emphasized that such a tragedy should not be used to divide the people of Serbia.

"This tragedy has affected all of Serbia.

No one has the right to claim it for themselves, and no one has the right to use it to divide the people in Serbia," she stated.

According to her account, protestors in Nis engaged in violent acts against attendees of a Serbian Progressive Party event, throwing stones, eggs, and bottles.

She noted that such individuals view violence as entertainment.

"On such a day, one witnesses horrific scenes.

People who tell us they are present for justice.

Justice for these victims and their families.

Yet, on this day, they gather sadistically, tormenting and harassing others, throwing stones, eggs, bottles, pursuing them and insulting them.

And while they do this, they wear smiles on their faces.

That is what is completely incomprehensible to me, and I believe to most citizens in our land," Brnabić remarked.

Brnabić criticized Natalija Jovanović, the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, claiming that she has drawn out the worst traits from some young people.

"This dean has extracted all the worst that exists from some young people, every despicable human trait we witnessed today.

Violence, fascist ideology, and Serbia has never been such a country and will never be such a country," Brnabić said.

She commended those who attended the Serbian Progressive Party event for their courage in the face of violence, stating that they were not deterred by the incidents.

"We will never be afraid and we will never retreat — but we will always know how to appreciate what is good and what is bad.

Serbia will prevail in the end," she affirmed.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s interim Prime Minister Miloš Vučević announced earlier that he and Assembly President Ana Brnabić decided not to attend a scheduled Serbian Progressive Party rally in Niš for security reasons.

Vučević indicated that their earlier agreement to engage with the citizens of Niš was undermined by violent actions on the very day they were to meet, particularly referencing the tragedy of losing another life as being tragic and lamenting that some took it upon themselves to prevent others from gathering peacefully.

"It is unprecedented for anyone to exert violence against individuals with differing opinions, especially on a day when we should all be calm and rational," Vučević said.