The 24th “Serbia against Violence” protest was held. On Saturday, 14 October, another citizens’ protest was organized in Belgrade. Citizens were addressed by politicians from parties that are technically organizers of the protest. The central theme of the protest was the poor work of the prosecution. Citizens marched to the Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office building and repeated earlier demands. (Danas (Serbian), 14 October 2023)
Serbian CSOs appeal to the EU to stop appeasing Serbia’s autocratic regime and support democratic actors. CSOs conclude that today, it has become obvious that a policy of appeasing and cooperating with the ruling regime in Serbia will not bear fruit. Civil society organizations call on international actors to refrain from imposing general economic or other sanctions that would affect the Serbian population and to support efforts to ensure fair and free conditions in the December general elections in Serbia. It is added that Serbian citizens have been deprived of access to free and independent media. (European Western Balkans, 14 October 2023)
Serbian government claims agreement reached on media laws. Serbian government officials met with representatives of the OSCE mission, the European Union Delegation, the Norwegian Embassy and representatives of journalists and media organizations. The press release said that significant progress was made in harmonizing views on the draft Law on Public Information and the Media and Law on Electronic Media, adding that every article of the two draft laws was reviewed.
“A high degree of agreement on the texts of the draft laws was reached through a constructive dialogue and the disputed issues were cleared up,” it added. (N1 Belgrade, 17 October 2023)
CRTA: Not one of the 26 ODIHR electoral recommendations was fulfilled. Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) Program Director Raša Nedeljkov said that, after the 2022 elections, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) sent Serbia 26 recommendations for the improvement of the election process, including nine priority ones, none of which have been fully fulfilled. Nedeljkov told a press conference in Belgrade that only one of the nine priority ODIHR recommendations has been “partly fulfilled.” (N1 Belgrade, 18 October 2023)
A new “Serbia against Violence” protest will be organized this week. On Saturday, 21 October, a protest will be held in Belgrade, the central theme of which is the media. Citizens will march to the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM). Also, the protest will be held in Čačak on Friday, 20 October, where politicians from all parties will speak. (Nova.rs (Serbian), 18 October 2023)
