Croatia protests Serbia's expulsions of its citizens as part of crackdown on dissent

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Croatia on Thursday protested a spate of expulsions of its citizens from Serbia, where the government of populist President Aleksandar Vucic is faced with massive anti-corruption protests that have shaken his tight grip on power in the Balkan state.

Dozens of foreign citizens, including 15 Croats, have been expelled from Serbia in the past few months or slapped an entry ban, allegedly for posing a security risk for the country.

Croatia has sent a protest note to Belgrade and informed the European Union about the expulsions, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Croatia's capital, Zagreb, adding that Serbia's moves are “unacceptable.”

“We are demanding an explanation from the Serbian authorities,” Plenkovic said at a government session. “Croatia condemns such behavior.”

There was no immediate response from Belgrade while a protest rally against the expulsions of Croatian and other foreign citizens critical of Vucic and the Serbian government was held Thursday in Belgrade.

Speakers at the rally said they will not allow Serbia to become a country of "fear and repression."

Vucic's increasingly authoritarian government has stepped up pressure on critics and independent media while struggling to quell monthslong anti-corruption protests triggered by a canopy collapse in the country's north that killed 16 people on Nov. 1.

Vucic and his allies have said that unidentified Western intelligence services were behind the student-led protests with the aim to unseat him from power by staging a so-called “color revolution.”

Vucic’s right-wing allies, Hungarian and Slovak Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, sent messages of support on Thursday for the beleaguered Serbian leader ahead of a big counter-opposition protest rally he planned to stage in Belgrade over the weekend.

Orbán said in a video message from Budapest that “Serbian patriots can count on Hungarian patriots.”

"We have been watching developments in Serbia for months now. Foreign powers are trying to interfere in the lives of the Serbs. That is happening here, too. Foreign powers are trying to tell the Serbs how to live. They are doing that here, too,” he said.

Serbian police have detained and questioned several university students, government critics and even professors while media watchdog groups have warned of attacks and threats against journalists covering the protests.

Arien Ivkovic Stojanovic, a Croatian who has lived in Serbia for 12 years and is married to a Serbian citizen, thinks that her online posts critical of Vucic could be the reason why she has been ordered to leave the country.

Ivkovic Stojanovic told The Associated Press in a phone interview that police handed her a notice saying she posed a grave security risk but didn't explain why.

“At first I started laughing," she said. "I just live a normal life, I have never even had a parking ticket."

Previous cases of expulsions of foreigners from Serbia included Russians who had criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.

Entry bans also have been slapped on regional artists and pro-democracy activists. In January, Serbia expelled 13 citizens of Croatia, Romania and Austria who were taking part in a civil society workshop in Belgrade.

TV crews from neighboring Croatia and Slovenia have been stopped on the border from entering Serbia in March to cover a large anti-government protest.

Ivkovic Stojanovic appealed her order to leave Serbia within seven days, which would split her family and separate their 3-year-old daughter from her father. The 31-year-old doctor believes she was targeted because of a post supporting the student protests.

Vucic is a former extreme nationalist who now says he wants Serbia to join the EU but has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms while maintaining close relations with Russia and China.

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Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report.

People protest the government's expulsion and entry bans on foreign citizens, for alleged security risks to the Balkan country, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People attend a protest denouncing the expulsion and entry bans of dozens of foreign citizens recently due to alleged security risks for the Balkan country, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People attend a protest denouncing the expulsion and entry bans of dozens of foreign citizens recently due to alleged security risks for the Balkan country, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People attend a protest denouncing the expulsion and entry bans of dozens of foreign citizens recently due to alleged security risks for the Balkan country, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A woman holds a banner reads: "Stop, expulsion of foreign citizens!" during a protest denouncing the expulsion and entry bans of dozens of foreign citizens recently due to alleged security risks for the Balkan country, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People attend a protest denouncing the expulsion and entry bans of dozens of foreign citizens recently due to alleged security risks for the Balkan country, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a public address and announces the name of the representative for the composition of the new government in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As residents across much of the country take down their holiday decorations, sobered by New Year's resolutions and a return to business as usual, in Louisiana people are ramping up for the biggest celebration of the year.

Throughout the state residents are preparing for Carnival season, a pre-Lenten and weeks-long bash that includes feasting on savory dishes, opulent balls and a stream of massive parades rolling through city streets.

The bucket-list worthy period of festivities promises indulgence, costumed revelry and literal pounds of glimmery plastic beads to carry around one’s neck. Here’s what to know about Carnival.

Carnival in Louisiana and around the world is rooted in Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It's marked by feasting, drinking and revelry before Ash Wednesday and the fasting associated with Lent, the Christian season of preparation for Easter.

Each year, along with Louisiana residents, more than a million visitors travel to New Orleans to partake in the city’s world-famous celebration.

However, the festivities are not limited to the Big Easy. Similar celebrations stretch across Louisiana and into other Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, where Mobile lays claim to the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration. Additionally, there are world-renowned celebrations in Brazil and Europe.

Although some people use the terms “Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” interchangeably, they are actually different things.

Carnival is the entire pre-Lenten period. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is one day.

Mardi Gras marks the grand conclusion to Carnival Season. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, making it the final moments of indulgence before the solemnity of Lent.

Carnival always begins Jan. 6, which in the Catholic world is called Epiphany or Twelfth Night since it’s twelve days after Christmas. And the season always ends with Mardi Gras.

But, because it’s linked to Easter — which does not have a fixed date — Mardi Gras can fall anywhere between Feb. 3 and March 9. This year Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 17, making Carnival 43 days long.

The beginning of Carnival also marks the start of when it is socially acceptable — and encouraged — to eat king cake. Lines will snake around the block at popular bakeries known for the seasonal staple

The brioche-style pastry, which some bakers say traces back to an ancient Roman holiday, has become one of the iconic and most-delicious symbols of Carnival.

The traditional ring-shaped and sweet-dough cake is streaked with cinnamon and adorned with decadent icing colored purple, green and gold. The cake is often filled with fruits, pecans or different flavors of cream cheese frosting.

Also in the treat is a tiny plastic baby. Whoever has the slice with the little figurine hidden inside is supposed to buy the next cake or throw the next party, lending an unending excuse for another festive gathering.

The traditional cake has evolved over the years with restaurants launching their own unique versions, including one that is filled with boudin — a Cajun-style sausage — and another that is made out of sushi rolls.

Carnival is best know for elaborate and massive parades. This season there will be more than 80 parades in and surrounding New Orleans — many of which last hours.

Energetic marching bands, costumed dancers and multi-level floats laden with fantastical hand-built figures, will wind through communities.

The parades embody their own identity. They include an all-female parade, one that pokes fun at politics, a Sci-Fi themed parade with revelers dressed as Chewbacca. The largest parade hosts 3,200 riders and more than 80 floats, and one of the smallest, in the literal sense, features floats made out of shoe boxes.

Float riders and walking members of Carnival clubs — known as krewes — pour much time and money into preparations for the extravaganza. But all that work pays off as celebrants, many donning homemade costumes, line streets and sidewalks to watch.

Most spectators will have their hands raised in hopes of catching “throws” — trinkets tossed to the crowd by float riders. While throws include plastic beads, candy, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys, there are also the more coveted items such as painted coconuts, highly sought-after hand-decorated shoes and even bedazzled toilet plungers.

The krewe for the largest parade in New Orleans, Endymion, estimates that they toss more than 15 million throws along the parade route. The krewe's motto is, “Throw ’til it Hurts.”

Although Carnival is often known for fancy balls and boisterous parades, other areas and groups have their own traditions.

In central Louisiana people will take part in the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run. These rural processions feature masked and costumed participants who will perform and beg for ingredients, and even chase after live chickens, to use for a communal gumbo at the end of the day.

In New Orleans, some African Americans mask in elaborate beaded and feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits, roving the city to sing, dance, drum and perform. The tradition, a central part of the Black Carnival experience in New Orleans since at least the late 1800s, is believed to have started in part as a way to pay homage to area Native Americans for their assistance to Black people and runaway slaves. It also developed at a time when segregation barred Black residents from taking part in whites-only parades.

FILE - The streets are filled during the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE- People gather for the start of the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)