BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Scuffles and fistfights broke out between ruling party and opposition lawmakers in Serbia’s parliament on Monday, weeks after a deadly rail station roof collapse that ignited tensions in the Balkan state.
The opposition wanted to discuss who is responsible for the crash that killed 15 people in the northern city of Novi Sad on Nov. 1, while governing officials, who have a majority in Serbia’s legislature, sought to adopt a bill on next year’s state budget.
The opposition displayed a banner showing a red hand print reading “blood is on your hands.” The ruling party responded with a banner accusing the opposition of wanting “war while Serbia wants to work.”
Scuffles erupted when the two sides tried to grab each other’s banner.
The rail station, a major hub, was recently renovated as part of a Serbian-Chinese partnership. Critics allege that corruption, poor oversight and inadequate construction work contributed to the tragedy.
The collapse has fueled widespread anger toward the government and protests, becoming a flashpoint for broader dissatisfaction with Serbia’s authoritarian rule. There are growing public demands for transparency while the country undertakes large infrastructure projects, mostly with Chinese state companies.
Serbia’s parliament speaker Ana Brnabic on Monday accused the opposition of wanting to come to power by force with help from outside.
“There is not a hint, not a grain of doubt, that these are people who are well organized, who were trained quite well, I believe paid well, to create chaos in Serbia and destabilize our country,” she said.
Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic said on Instagram that the “daily bullying” and “the savage behavior” of the opposition would not be tolerated.
“I want to reassure the citizens and tell them that we will respond to their rudeness, rudeness and arrogance with even more work in the future.” he said. “Today they tried to prevent pensioners from receiving their increased pensions, public sector employees from their increased salaries. They won’t succeed.”
Opposition leader Dragan Djilas said the speaker had “shut down” the parliament by refusing to allow a debate on who’s responsible for the tragedy.
“She started with that when she refused to put on the agenda the request of more than 80 members of the opposition for a debate on confidence in the government because of the murder and crime in Novi Sad,” Djilas said.