Serbian opposition lawmakers threw smoke grenades and used pepper spray inside parliament on Tuesday to protest against the government and to support protesting students. One lawmaker suffered a stroke during the chaos.
Serbia has seen four months of student-led demonstrations triggered by the deaths of 15 people when a railway station roof collapsed. Teachers, farmers and others have joined the demonstrations which become the biggest threat to President Aleksandar Vucic. Protesters have denounced endemic corruption and government incompetence.
During a parliamentary sitting, some opposition politicians ran from their seats towards the parliamentary speaker and scuffled with security guards. Others tossed smoke grenades and used pepper spray. A live TV broadcast showed billowing inside the parliament.
Vucic later said authorities would hold all those deputies involved in the fracas to account, calling it “hooliganism”. Under Serbian law, lawmakers enjoy immunity from prosecution but can lose it if they commit serious crimes.
Speaker Ana Brnabic said three lawmakers were injured and one, Jasmina Obradovic of the SNS party, had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized and is in a serious condition.
Opposition deputies also held signs reading “general strike” and “justice for those killed”, referring to those who died when the station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad last November.
Outside parliament hundreds of protesters stood in silence to honor the dead. Protest leaders called for a major rally in the capital Belgrade on March 15.
The ruling coalition says Western intelligence agencies are trying to destablize the country and topple the government by backing the protests.
