Serbia's leader not worried about losing power amid protests

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's president said Friday he's not worried about losing political power amid large protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis and hard-line rule, but instead expressed his fear about the spread of the virus by the demonstrators.

“It is so irresponsible to call upon people to gather and demonstrate when we are faced with the most horrific numbers of infections from the coronavirus," President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters during his state visit to France.

“I beg people, please let’s keep our health safe. Nobody is going to take power by force. Power is taken at the elections. You can protest as much as you want when the epidemic is over," Vucic said.

“If you don’t understand this, and you want to bring some tycoons to power — let me tell you — this is not going to happen."

After two nights of violent protests and clashes with police, peaceful demonstrations were held in the capital of Belgrade and several other Serbian towns on Thursday. A few people wore face masks.

Defying a ban on mass gatherings passed by the government on Thursday, many protesters wore white T-shirts with the inscription, “Sit Down, Don’t Be Set Up” — referring to widespread reports that the violence the previous nights that played into the government’s hands was staged by far-right groups close to the authorities.

The opposition Alliance for Serbia coalition said in a statement that Vucic’s regime on Thursday apparently “gave hooligans a night off’’ while he attended a summit in Paris that is focusing on peace talks between Serbia and its breakaway province of Kosovo.

“With the peaceful protests last night, people showed in what kind of a country they want to live,” the statement said. “We had an almost normal...