After eight years, the public will finally be able to tell the institutions of authority what its goals are, Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said in parliament on Wednesday, presenting the government's final bill of amendments to the Public Assembly Act, which lifts a ban on peaceful protests in St. Mark's Square.
He recalled that the Constitutional Court last year rescinded legislative provisions whereby the previous government banned public assembly within 100 metres from the parliament, government and Constitutional Court buildings. The ban also referred to groups of under 20 people.
The government is now allowing rallies in St. Mark's Square again, with certain restrictions which Ostojic said were reasonable, necessary and in accordance with the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
If parliament passes the bill, public assembly and protests in the square will be allowed within ten days. Participants could rally ten metres from the parliament and government buildings and 20 m from the Constitutional Court.
The area for assembling and protesting will be marked, the number of participants limited to 1,500 because the square cannot accommodate more people, and rallies will be allowed from 8 AM to 10 PM so that protesters can send out their messages when the government and parliament are in session, said the minister.
