Monday Briefing from the Balkans: June 16, 2025
Source: Balkan Insight
The March for Palestine in Zagreb on Sunday. Photo: Facebook/H-alter.
Croatian marchers voice solidarity with Palestinians
Several hundred people joined a March for Palestine in Zagreb on Sunday, calling on the Croatian government to speak out about human rights violations towards Palestinians during Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
“The march was organised to draw the attention of the Croatian public to the inaction and complicity of our state in relation to the brutal violations of human rights and genocide in Palestine,” Aneta Vladimirov, one of the organisers of the protest, told the Croatian news agency Hina. At Zagreb Pride on Saturday, some marchers also chanted pro-Palestinian slogans.
Opposition election complaints in Serbia rejected
The head of Zajecar Municipal Electoral Commission, Nenad Dinulovic, told Serbia’s Tanjug news agency on Saturday that all 78 opposition complaints about the local elections held on June 8 – which the ruling Serbian Progressive Party won narrowly – have been rejected.
The local elections were the first in Serbia since the political crisis erupted in the country in November. The opposition in the town said would appeal against the Municipal Electoral Commission decisions. On Friday, opposition complaints about the local election results in the town of Kosjeric were also rejected.
Read BIRN’s coverage of the local polls.
Thousands join rallies for Gaza in Greece
Forty rallies were held in Greek cities including Thessaloniki, Patras, Alexandroupoli on Sunday to demand that routes be opened to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Over 3,000 people joined one of the rallies in Syntagma Square, Athens.
Some of the participants in the Athens Pride parade on Saturday also carried Palestinian flags. The Pride event, which was marking its 20th anniversary, attracted thousands of people and was held under the slogan “We Count”.
North Macedonia nightclub victims’ relatives question charges
Parents and relatives of the Kocani nightclub fire victims expressed concern after the prosecution on Friday charged 34 people and three legal entities for “grave acts against public security” over the fire that killed 62 people on March 16.
At their weekly protest march on Saturday in Kocani, they called on the prosecution to personally explain the charges in the case to them, citing fears about selective justice. Read more about the charges filed by the prosecution.
Journalists welcome indictment for attack in north Kosovo
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, AJK on Saturday welcomed the indictment issued against two Kosovo Serbs, an MP from the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista party, Slavko Simic, and another person for an attack on journalists on June 16, 2023 in the Serb-majority northern municipality of Leposavic.
The suspects were charged with hooliganism, amongst other offences. The attacks happened during a series of protests by Kosovo Serbs. “At least nine journalists and cameramen received injuries, with the gravest being RTK [Radio Television of Kosovo] cameraman Bardh Bekteshi,” the AJK said on Facebook.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
