Messages about Kosovo dominate anti-government protest held in Kraljevo, Serbia

Under the slogan “Everything is seen on Vidovdan,” students leading faculty blockades organized an anti-government protest on Sunday in Kraljevo, in central Serbia.

Thousands of citizens gathered in the Square of Serbian Warriors, in the heart of the city.

Despite the high temperatures, some protesters walked nearly 50 kilometers to take part in the gathering.

The rally was held one day after the ruling Serbian Progressive Party organized a meeting in central Belgrade.

The protest was part of a series of rallies that the student movement has held since November 2024, when 16 people lost their lives after a canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad Railway Station.

At first, the students demanded criminal and political accountability for the tragedy, claiming that the collapse was the result of corruption in the station reconstruction project.

After several months of protests, the list of demands was expanded to include a call for early elections.

However, at Sunday’s protest in Kraljevo, the focus was on messages related to Kosovo, whose independence Belgrade does not recognize.

The protest took place on Vidovdan, a religious and state holiday in Serbia commemorating the 1389 Battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire.

Milena Petrović, a professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Pristina, which operates within Serbia’s system in North Mitrovica, addressed the protesters. She said that the centers of power in Belgrade and Pristina are acting in a coordinated way to protect their own interests, to the detriment of ordinary citizens living in Kosovo.

“Such an approach does not contribute to respect, understanding, and mutual acceptance between the Serbian and Albanian populations, which is a precondition for lasting peace in Kosovo,” Petrović said.

Vladan Vesellinović, a war veteran from the 63rd Parachute Brigade, also addressed those present at the protest, saying that the “repression of the authorities” has also extended to veterans who supported the student protests.

“They have arrested us, searched us, detained us for questioning, lynched us in the media, sent inspectorates after us, and some of us have even lost our jobs,” he said.

The 63rd Parachute Brigade of the Serbian Army has been involved in controversy over its role during the war in Kosovo.

These controversies are particularly linked to its presence at the site where one of the biggest crimes committed by Serbian forces against Albanian civilians took place, in the municipality of Gjakova.

Lazar Stevanović, a student at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Belgrade, also spoke before the participants, stressing that students are not enemies of the state.

“In a country where corruption and violence have become part of everyday life, those who seek answers become the greatest threat,” he said.

Kraljevo, June 28, 2026.

While anti-government protesters continue to demand early parliamentary elections, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on June 27 during a gathering of the Serbian Progressive Party that he would resign within a few weeks.

In response to the students’ demands, Vučić has so far repeatedly announced the holding of parliamentary elections.

According to his latest statements, they are expected to take place in the fall of this year.