Can someone please explain to me what happens in this video of a peaceful protest in Serbia?
Serbians were out holding a silent vigil for victims of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, which killed 15 people and severely injured two more on November 1. The building was renovated in collaboration with China's Belt and Road system, so citizens have seized the opportunity to take a stand against years of government corruption and now backdoor deals with China.
Several protests have taken place since November, but this one was fairly large:
At least 100,000 people descended on Belgrade on Saturday for a mass rally seen as a culmination of monthslong protests against Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.
The rally was part of a nationwide anti-corruption movement that erupted after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia's north in November, killing 15 people.
But what was the reason for the crowd separating in the way that it did?
Could it have been a weapon such as this?
Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) are used the world over for security, crowd control, and even for keeping birds away from airport runways. Consider Columbus, Ohio, where police use LRAD systems to broadcast clear messages to crowds, instead of relying on garbled transmissions over a traditional loudspeaker or bullhorn.
Or consider these handheld devices in France:
These acoustic devices can also be amped up for militaristic use. After the suicide boat attack on the USS Cole off the cost of Yemen in 2000, the US Navy adopted LRAD technology to ensure warnings broadcasted from ships would be heard. That way, there would be no doubt that firing on a rapidly approaching ship was justified.
LRAD is not the only non-lethal crowd control device out there. The Active Denial System, which has been around for almost two decades, is essentially a heat ray that creates an uncomfortable warming sensation on the skin of everyone in its path.
The Serbian government is denying they used any such system.
Serbian officials denied Sunday that security forces used a military-grade sonic weapon to disperse and scare protesters at a huge anti-government rally in the capital.
Opposition officials and Serbian rights groups claimed the widely banned acoustic weapon that emits a targeted beam to temporarily incapacitate people was used during the protest Saturday. They say they will file charges with the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts against those who ordered the attack.
Serbia has not denied that it has the acoustic device in its arsenal.
We'll keep an eye on this and see if anything develops.
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