Luxembourg newspaper reports on Serbs from Kosovo who were paid by Belgrade to support Vučić

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is coming under increasing pressure, has curled up like a hedgehog, and has been trying for months to protect himself from mass protests with the help of police and paid supporters camping in the city center, writes the Luxembourg newspaper “Tageblatt” today.

“Since the beginning of March, Pioneer Park between the presidential building and the parliament has been transformed into a strange habitat for camping enthusiasts loyal to the regime. Weeds and rotting garbage are growing rampant between the rusty iron fences and the park,” writes the “Tageblatt.”

The newspaper describes this “protective cordon” of tents, called Cacilend, as a settlement full of “orderly opponents” of the “broad-shouldered” student movement, which has become “Belgrade’s biggest traffic jam and a constant nuisance for local residents.” The newspaper recalls that a week before the big March demonstrations in Belgrade, several dozen young people set up camp in this “tent settlement, which seemed to have been built by magic,” allegedly to pursue their desire to study and oppose the student protests. According to the daily newspaper, this group of “camping pioneers” did not remain alone for long, because later, in broad daylight, paid campers were sent by bus, even from Kosovo, to join the pro-regime protests – legionnaires.

The Tageblatt also reports on the statement by Kosovar opposition politician Rada Trajković that the busloads of Serbs from Kosovo who are supposed to live in this settlement would continue to be used as an expression of support for Vučić – whether in counter-demonstrations organized by the regime or in “people’s assemblies.”

While the Serbian president regularly appears before the cameras with three student representatives, according to the newspaper, the camp is also home to high-ranking activists from his SNS party, plainclothes police officers, and security forces. Amid the summer heat, protests continue to smolder throughout Serbia, but classes at universities have resumed.

“It seems as if the uprising in the capital against the increasingly unpopular ruler Vučić, which has been going on continuously since November, has been postponed until autumn. But in Belgrade, bus routes and traffic continue to be diverted due to the presidential fortress of tents and vehicles, while everyday life in the city center continues to resemble a state of emergency,” the newspaper reports.

The daily newspaper also quotes the headline of the Belgrade newspaper Danas: “Cacilend – no protests, no purpose, no explanation,” but rather: “The Pioneer Park remains under siege.”/Gazeta Express/