Thousands protest in Serbia as anger grows over train station accident. protest news
Protesters demanded the resignation of Serbia’s leader and the mayor of the city of Novi Sad over the deadly crash that killed 15 people.
Thousands of Serbians have gathered in the capital Belgrade to protest against President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), whom they hold responsible for last month’s collapse of a railway station roof that killed 15 people. Death had occurred.
The rally, one of the largest in recent years, was called by university students and farmers’ unions on Sunday and took place in Belgrade’s Slavija Square.
It began on 1 November with a 15-minute silence in tribute to the many people who died when the concrete canopy of the recently renovated roof of Novi Sad station collapsed.
Fourteen people aged six to 74 died that day, and a 15th victim died in hospital a few weeks later.
Prosecutors have arrested 13 people over the incident, including a government minister, whose subsequent release raised public doubts about the integrity of the investigation.
Opposition leaders and the public have repeatedly taken to the streets blaming the accident on shoddy construction caused by government corruption and nepotism. The ruling coalition denies those allegations, and Vucic has said those responsible must be held accountable.
On Sunday evening, protesters flashed the lights of their mobile phones and shouted, “Vucic, thief!” Others held signs that read, “We’re all under cover” and “There’s blood on your hands.”
“We are here to say ‘stop’ everything that has been happening since 2012 (when Vucic’s party took power),” said Alexa, a 30-year-old IT specialist from Novi Sad. “We want to see an end to corruption and nepotism.”
Many are demanding that Serbia’s leaders and the mayor of Novi Sad resign and that those found responsible be prosecuted. They are also demanding an end to legal proceedings against the protesters and prosecution of those who attacked the protesters.
Serbia’s popular theater and film actors joined the protest, with actor Ban Trifunovic calling Sunday’s rally a “festival of freedom”.
Smaller rallies were also held in the cities of Niš and Kragujevac.
To calm the protests, authorities have promised various subsidies for young people in the past weeks. The students – and other citizens supporting them – have continued to protest, saying that their demands have only been partially met.
Despite the ongoing protests, Vucic inaugurated a section of a newly constructed highway in central Serbia on Sunday.
Vucic said he would not back down from opposition demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using the students to try to seize power.
“We will defeat them again,” he said. “They (the opposition) don’t know what to do but use someone’s children.”
The week-long protests come amid general dissatisfaction with Vucic’s rule. He has said he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has been accused of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.
