Serbian Parliament Erupts: Smoke Bombs, Flares, Chaos

Political violence goes back as far as there have been, well, people. One can easily imagine an angry Stone Age man shouting at his clan chief, "Groog no like tax on flint," and then smacking the clan leader with a rock. More recently, right here in the civilized United States, there have been instances of violence right in our own Capitol, such as an infamous incident in 1856 when Congressman Preston Brooks (D-SC) walked into the Senate chamber and proceeded to beat the abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) with a cane, resulting in several stitches.

Now, today, in the civilized 21st century, this kind of thing still goes on; In Serbia, on Tuesday, that Eastern European nation's Parliament exploded in smoke bombs, flares and invective.

At least three lawmakers were injured on Tuesday, one of them seriously, after chaotic scenes in Serbia’s parliament, during which smoke bombs and flares were thrown, further fueling political tensions in the Balkan country.

Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a law that would increase funding for university education, but opposition parties said the ruling majority was also planning to approve dozens of other decisions. They said this was illegal and that lawmakers should first confirm the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and his government.

It won't serve to get into the vagaries of any Serbian constitution or their practices and requirements, other than to note that if the Prime Minister and his government have resigned, that the Serbian Parliament would have bigger, more immediate issues to deal with than a university education bill. Apparently, some of the opposition had similar notions.

Chaos erupted about an hour after the parliamentary session started, 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 the parliament building during the session.

Video footages from the assembly hall showed a clash first between lawmakers and later flares and smoke bombs being thrown. Serbian media said eggs and water bottles also were thrown. Officials later said three persons were injured in the disturbance.

Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic, who accused the opposition of being a “terrorist gang,” said one of those injured was in a serious condition.