Serbian political activist Miodrag Kapor stirred up tensions during a protest held in Novi Sad on Saturday after unfurling the Albanian national flag among the crowd of protesters.
Once the flag was seen by protest participants, the situation became tense, resulting in pushing and verbal abuse towards Kapor, who was then forcibly removed from the crowd.
"He brought the Albanian flag here to make fun of us," one of the protesters is quoted as saying.
After the incident, Kapor stated that he had given evidence to the police, explaining that he had also had a Croatian flag with him.
"I brought a flag of Albania and a flag of Croatia. I want to be clear: these flags are official symbols recognized by the Community Councils in Serbia. I brought them because the students said that these are the flags that can be brought to protests," Kapor declared.
He added that his goal was to increase tolerance and unity among the protesters.
"As we have seen before, the Bosnian flag regularly appears at protests. We brought these two flags to promote tolerance, so that we can all be together in this fight," he stressed.
The protest in Novi Sad was held by students and citizens who continue to demand justice for the deaths of 16 people who lost their lives last year as a result of the collapse of a train station shelter.
The demonstrations have become a symbol of civic dissatisfaction with institutions, demanding accountability and transparency for the tragic event.
