After Student List victory, Ćaciland camp dismantled in Belgrade — The Guardian

In Belgrade, Serbia, hundreds of volunteers together with municipal workers cleaned Pioneers Park opposite the National Assembly building after the Student List movement’s victory in the parliamentary elections. They dismantled tents and cleaned the playground, which had been part of the pro-government Ćaciland camp.

According to The Guardian, the park area had been occupied by a camp of white tents for the previous 18 months. The publication writes that convicted criminals lived there, while journalists and other people who approached the camp were attacked. According to the newspaper, police did not intervene to stop the violence.

Admission of defeat

On the evening of the election, numerous men dressed in black and wearing masks gathered near the park. Shortly after polling stations closed, Aleksandar Vučić told supporters at the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party that his political force had suffered a convincing defeat by Student List. He also said that he did not want unrest or similar events in the streets.

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After that, special police forces withdrew and barriers around Pioneers Park were removed. Student List supporters entered Ćaciland and set fire to some of the tents, and the following day they began cleaning the area.

Cleanup and the movement’s program

Volunteers dismantled damaged tents, cleared rubbish from the lawns, and washed and disinfected swings, slides and other structures at the playground. Cleanup participant Radomir Dalić said he was glad that the park had been freed from people whom he called “criminals with violent intentions toward us.”

Student List has no formal hierarchy or leader, and its candidates were selected at student assemblies. The movement published an 11-point plan providing for the fight against corruption, judicial reform, media freedom, affordable housing and improved access to healthcare. At the same time, Student List did not name a candidate for prime minister. Former EU and UK ambassador to Serbia Michael Davenport noted that the movement’s positions on Serbia’s accession to the EU, Kosovo and other regional issues remain unclear.