By Kiyoshi Hatanaka for the Saker Blog

Serbian government’s recent vote in favor of ousting the Russian Federation from the UN Human Rights Council reverberated badly with the Serbian public, as did the regime’s servile vote in the General Assembly a few weeks ago to condemn Russia for its operation in Ukraine.

An estimated 20,000 Serbs poured into the streets of Belgrade, assembling symbolically in front of the monument to Czar Nicholas II in the center of the capital, to articulate their dissatisfaction with their country’s official position on these matters. The rally was organized around the slogan “Not in my name,” sending a clear message to the regime, as well as to the people and government of Russia, that in Serbia there is no popular support for any retreat from the country’s traditional solidarity for Russia. Take a look:

https://www.ruptly.tv/en/videos/20220415-040-Serbia-Pro-Russians-continue-rally-after-Belgrade-votes-to-remove-Moscow-from-UNHRC#

And:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBS7IUyOHfk

The mass rally in Belgrade took place against the backdrop of an insolent anti-Russian tirade by Dragan Sormaz, a highly placed regime functionary and a vice-president of the ruling party. On his Twitter account, Sormaz posted the appalling call for five nuclear bombs to be dropped on Russia for each such bomb Russia hypothetically drops on Ukraine:

https://twitter.com/mladjandj/status/1515295150888689674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1515295150888689674%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsrbin.info%2Fpolitika%2Fvucicev-funkcioner-sns-na-rusiju-treba-baciti-5-atomskih-bombi-foto%2F

Since Sormaz is also considered to be a Western intelligence asset, his intemperate Tweet raises the question of whether he is in on plans to stage a nuclear false flag provocation in Ukraine, as has been the subject of intense rumors. In any event, it is inconceivable that Sormaz would have tweeted such an outrageously offensive statement without approval from the top echelons of the Serbian regime.

The concern of most ordinary Serbs is that Moscow might conflate the policies of their government with their own views on the conflict in the Ukraine. This is the second time in the last few weeks that they have taken to the streets to send a powerful message that when the Serbian government toes the Western line toward Russia, it is doing that in its own name and against the wishes of its people.

To drive the point home, at a press conference called by three leading Serbian academics on Monday April 17, a document rejecting anti-Russian policies signed by over 100 of the country’s top intellectuals and public figures will be made public.

Here is the Chinese view of the Belgrade rally in support of Russia: