Three deputies were injured after clashes broke out, and the opposition launched smoke bombs during the first meeting of the spring session of the Serbian parliament, at which the resignation of the Serbian government was expected to be confirmed, the media in the country reported, BTA writes.
Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić announced that a deputy from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, Jasmina Obradović, was hit by a stun bomb, suffered a stroke and is fighting for her life. In addition, Brnabić said that among the injured is another ruling party MP, Sonja Ilic, who is pregnant and doctors are fighting for her and her baby, state television RTS reported. MP Jasmina Karanac from the Social Democratic Party of Serbia was also injured.
Earlier today, opposition MPs activated smoke bombs, flares and raised a banner in the parliamentary hall reading “Serbia is rising up to bring down the regime“.
The MPs threw water bottles at each other. The hall was filled with smoke.
After the ruling coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party, adopted the agenda, some opposition deputies turned on Brnabić and clashed with security.
Brnabić said that the Assembly would continue to work and called on the deputies to return to their seats.
"Labor and struggle will win. It is good that you showed your true colors. "You want to come to power through tear gas," Brnabic said, as quoted by En1 television.
Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned in January after a canopy at the Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 15 people and sparking mass protests demanding that those responsible for the tragedy be held accountable.
Parliament was due to pass a law on increasing funding for universities today - one of the main demands of students who have been blocking universities since December. Parliament was also due to confirm the government's resignation. However, other items were included in the agenda, which angered the opposition, Reuters notes.
Opposition parties insist that the government, having resigned, has no authority to introduce new laws. Opposition lawmakers held up banners reading "general strike" and "justice for the murdered".
At the same time, citizens paid tribute to the dead today, observing 15 minutes of silence at the intersection near the parliament, and then some of them went to the parliament building, chanting "thieves," reported En1 television.