At least three lawmakers were injured Tuesday, one seriously, after chaotic scenes in Serbia's parliament, during which smoke bombs and flares were thrown, further fueling political tensions in the Balkan country. As the AP reports, opposition parties wanted to confirm the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and his government. Chaos erupted, with opposition lawmakers blowing whistles and holding up a banner reading, "Serbia has risen so the regime would fall!" Hundreds of opposition supporters rallied outside parliament. Video footage from the assembly hall showed clashes between lawmakers and flares and smoke bombs being thrown. Serbian media said eggs and water bottles also were thrown.
Officials later said three people were injured, including lawmaker Jasmina Obradovic, who was taken to the hospital. Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic accused the opposition of being a "terrorist gang." Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic described those behind the incident as "a disgrace to Serbia." "The vandalism of opposition MPs has exposed the nature of their personalities and the essence of their political agenda," Gasic said. Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic visited Obradovic in the hospital. "Jasmina will win, Serbia will win," Vucic said on Instagram. What's going on:
- Vucevic: He resigned in January amid protests over the November collapse of a concrete train station canopy in Serbia's north that killed 15 people. Parliament must confirm Vucevic's resignation for it to take effect.
- Students: A rise in education funding has been one of the demands by Serbia's protesting students who have been a key driving force behind almost daily street protests that started after the Nov. 1 canopy collapse in Novi Sad.
- Transitional government: Leftist lawmaker Radomir Lazovic said the opposition was ready to support the passing of the student-requested education bill, but not the other decisions listed on the agenda. Lazovic said "we can only discuss the fall of the government." He said the only way out of the current crisis would be a transitional government that would create conditions for a free a fair election, a demand that the ruling populists have repeatedly rejected.
- Protests: Many in Serbia believe the fatal canopy collapse was the result of sloppy work and a disregard of safety regulations because of government corruption.
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