Student and peasant unions organized a rally against populist President Aleksandar Vucic in the central square of the Serbian capital Belgrade on Sunday.
advertiseHis tight grip on power has been challenged by weeks of street protests led by university students, with the rally in Belgrade’s Slavija Square one of the largest in recent years. It is part of a wider campaign to demand responsibility for the Nov. 1 roof collapse of a railway station in the country’s north, which killed 15 people.
Smaller rallies were also held in the cities of Niš and Kragujevac. The rally in Belgrade began with a 15-minute silence for the victims, before chants of “You have blood on your hands!” were heard.
Many Serbs blame the collapse on widespread corruption and sloppy construction at the Novi Sad city train station building, which has been renovated twice in recent years as part of questionable mega-projects involving Chinese state-owned enterprises. Protesters demand that Vucic and those responsible face justice.
Popular Serbian theater and film actors have also joined the protests, with actor Ben Trifonovic describing Sunday’s rally as a “festival of freedom”.
In a show of confidence, Serbia’s president on Sunday inaugurated a section of a new highway in central Serbia. Vucic said he would not give in to opposition demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using students to try to seize power.
“We will beat them again,” Vucic said. “They (the opposition) don’t know what to do except use other people’s children.”
The release of 13 people arrested by prosecutors over the Novi Sad tragedy, including a government minister, has raised public doubts about the honesty of the investigation.
The weeks-long protests reflected broader dissatisfaction with Vucic’s rule. The populist leader has officially said he wants Serbia to join the European Union, but he faces accusations of restricting rather than advancing democratic freedoms.
Opposition parties say a transitional government preparing for free and fair elections could be a way out of political tensions as the ruling populists have also been accused of rigging past votes.
The Serbian government has extended the school winter break nearly a week early in response to growing student protests.
University classes across the Balkan country have been suspended for weeks, with students camping out in academic buildings. In recent days, more high school students have joined the sport. Violence occasionally breaks out when pro-government mobs try to disrupt protests.
A group of farmers said on Sunday that police had confiscated a tractor they had driven into central Belgrade ahead of a protest. In addition to farmers, Serbian students have received support from all walks of life across the country, including professors, media figures, lawyers and celebrities.
Vucic initially accused the students of staging the protest for money, but later said he had met their demands, including the release of documents related to the Novi Sad station renovation project.
