On the first day of a scorching June weekend, tens of thousands of people attended the government rally “Serbia – One Family” in the centre of Belgrade. Just a day later and 170 kilometres away, students organised a protest in Kraljevo under the slogan “Everything is Seen on Vidovdan”.
Although there were mentions of corruption and injustice, which provoked the strongest reactions from the crowd gathered in Kraljevo’s Serbian Warriors Square, the choice of speakers and core messages pointed towards the issue of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 – a move Serbia does not recognise.
The students, who previously published a Memorandum on Kosovo insisting on compliance with the Constitution which states that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia, accuse the government of “abandoning” the Serbian minority and failing to protect its interests.
Among the speakers in Kraljevo was lawyer Jelena Pavlović, now an independent MP, who entered the Serbian Parliament on the list of Doctor Branimir Nestorović, despite the students previously stressing that they would not cooperate with politicians.
For months, students have been demanding that elections be called. The day before, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić reiterated that such an outcome was certain, though he offered no details.
“These are my final weeks as president,” he said, adding that he had “faithfully served” the country for the past 14 years.
However, he did not announce his retirement from politics, but rather stated that he would help the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to “win by the biggest landslide yet”, while also announcing that the parliamentary election list would be named “United Serbia”.
He spoke in front of the Serbian Parliament, where the plateau and surrounding streets were packed with supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party, many of whom had been bused in from other parts of Serbia.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated that 207,000 people attended the rally. However, the organisation Archive of Public Gatherings announced that the number of those present was 32,500.
This was the fifth-largest rally organised by the current government, they wrote on social media.
Both the student rally and the government gathering were accompanied by heavy national iconography and clear hallmarks of an election campaign, even though the elections have not yet been officially called, despite being repeatedly announced.
Such announcements come at a time when the president has promised new social measures aimed at poorer citizens and pensioners.
At the same time, the authorities are piling accusations against the students and their supporters, claiming they simulated the use of a sound cannon a year earlier, which was one of the pivotal events in the past year and a half of protests.
The students reject these allegations.
It remains unknown what caused the sound that triggered a stampede during a 16-minute silence on 15 March.
Despite saying he wanted a united Serbia, Vučić accused anti-regime demonstrators of wanting to “destroy the country” and “abolish democracy”.
“The students are not to blame; they were a plaything in the hands of politicians, and then in foreign hands,” he said.
As much as the election campaign appears to be gathering steam, key elements expected in such circumstances are missing on both sides.
Neither the date of the election is known, nor which individuals will enter the race and for which positions when the polls are finally set.
The Protest in Kraljevo
The protest in Kraljevo began with the singing of the national anthem and the recital of Milan Rakić’s poem “On Gazimestan”.
The patriotic direction was further underlined in the messages of the speakers, who included people living in Kosovo.
Issues in education, the functioning of the Church, and the treatment of military veterans were highlighted.
During the protest in Kraljevo, a minute’s silence was held in honour of Milovan Jovanović, a Serbian soldier from Kraljevo who died while on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
Since the protests began, students and their supporters have marched to various parts of Serbia for demonstrations, as well as part of the “A Student in Every Village” campaign, which aimed to reach as many people as possible.
“Last year, we connected cities, people, and ideas with our footsteps. “On that journey, friendships, memories, and moments were born that we still talk about today. For Vidovdan, we are returning to where it all began,” they wrote.
The students announced this gathering with the message “Everything is Seen on Vidovdan”, accompanied by a photograph of the Serbian army and church representatives in historical clothing.
More than six centuries ago, the Battle of Kosovo took place on Vidovdan between the Serbian army and the more powerful Ottoman forces, and to this day, that battle is highlighted as one of the cornerstones of national identity.
Kosovo, which some call “the holy Serbian land”, declared independence in 2008, but the students, in the programme they have presented so far, insist on preserving it as an “integral part of Serbia”.
Sunday’s rally was organised in a city that, due to its proximity to the Kosovo border, received the highest number of Serbian refugees following the 1999 NATO bombing.
A year ago, students organised a massive protest in Belgrade, which led to multiple clashes with the police, whom some accused at the time of using excessive force and brutality.
What did President Vučić say?
Supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party filled the centre of Belgrade on Saturday, where a stage, chairs, stalls, and white tents had been set up since Friday evening.
The Serbian President began his address with a look back at 2012, when the SNS came to power, saying it was a time of “hopelessness”.
“In these 14 years, we have changed a lot and achieved great things for this country. I could not have done any of this without you, who believed in change,” he told the crowd.
In a speech lasting more than half an hour, the president spoke about preserving Kosovo, maintaining “traditional friendships” with China and Russia, but also continuing the “European path, with more enthusiasm than there is at this moment”.
The friendship with China will bring a robot factory to Serbia, which he claimed would be better than the one in China, whilst also announcing the construction of gas-fired power plants, hydroelectric plants, and data centres.
He promised more pardons, healthcare reforms, and special measures for pensioners and those on the lowest incomes, though he did not go into details, stating instead that he would announce them on Monday.
He also announced educational reforms.
“We must change the education system; competition must prevail, rather than having political parasites at universities,” the president said.
A previous announcement of educational reforms, which would allow the accreditation of foreign universities, met with strong opposition from the academic community.
How did the Belgrade rally pan out?
The entertainment section of the programme featured performances by several folk musicians, including Mira Škorić and Aca Lukas.
The main part of the programme commenced with the singing of the national anthem and the performance of the traditional Moravac dance, which was executed by Chinese robots.
The area in front of the Parliament, as well as parts of the central surrounding streets and King Alexander Boulevard, were closed to traffic.
The rally took place across the road from Pioneers Park, which has been fenced off for over a year and remains inaccessible to Belgrade residents, and currently houses people who identify themselves as government supporters.
Attendees were given the opportunity to leave messages detailing their problems and proposals for the president.
In June temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius, water tankers containing drinking water were stationed alongside stalls selling food, drinks, and handmade jewellery, reported BBC journalist Stefan Veselinović.
T-shirts were handed out, though fans were by far the most sought-after item due to the heat.
A temporary basketball court and bouncy castles for children were also set up, but there were not many visitors an hour before the scheduled start of the central event.
“This rally is very lovely; we came to support our president,” Rodoljub Bosiljkanović from Bor told the BBC in Serbian.
He is pleased that President Vučić “brought investors to Bor who are doing good work,” and that people now “have good wages”.
The Chinese company Zijin, which took over the Bor Mining and Smelting Basin, operates in Bor.
Inviting people to gather in front of the Parliament, Vučić stated that the goal was to show citizens “what the future is”.
“I particularly invite you young people, because you are the ones who should lead the country. But we must not divide the nation; we must show respect towards the elderly,” Vučić said in a video message published on his Instagram page.
In recent months, and particularly following the president’s visit to China, a Chinese investment in the development of humanoid robots in Šabac, alongside other high-tech investments, has been heavily publicised.
Srpko Trifunović from Negotin believes that “everything is improving” in the country.
“The roads, the organisation, and the cities. The state shouldn’t be torn down,” he told the BBC.
Among the crowd was Jagoda Lukajić from Banja Luka, the administrative centre of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
To her, Serbia is “our wonderful motherland”.
“I came to support our president and yours; I admire him for everything he has done for our people in Republika Srpska and Serbia,” she said.
Alongside President Vučić were Milorad Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska, and Milan Knežević, a pro-Serbian politician from Montenegro.
(BBC Serbia, 30.06.2026)
https://www.bbc.com/serbian/articles/cm2degmrreqo/lat
Photos: BETA photos / Saša Đorđević and