Serbia’s Youth Calls for Change in Nation-wide Protests

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A seemingly ordinary day in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city turned tragic on November 1, 2024, when the overarching canopy of the city’s railway station collapsed, taking the lives of fifteen passengers who happened to be underneath. The public immediately called for those in charge to take responsibility for the incident and paid tribute to the victims in peaceful demonstrations meant to draw attention to inefficiencies in government projects. These demonstrations quickly turned violent with the emergence of anti-protest interference, lifting the entire country on its feet and taking it to the streets.

The government has been blamed for large-scale corruption, negligence, and nepotism, leading to the inept completion of important projects. The railway station in question was refurbished twice in recent years and a Chinese construction company handled the project. This has led to the demonstrators questioning the legitimacy of the construction process and subsequently requesting the release of the full project documentation as one of their demands. At the heart of these protests were – and remain – students, with both universities and high schools stepping out in blockades in a display of solidarity after some of them were targeted by attacks at the onset of the demonstrations. 

Across the nation, schools and universities imposed full blockades with both students and professors refusing to go back to class until the following demands were fulfilled:

1. The release of full documentation related to the construction and refurbishment of the Novi Sad railway station

The government claimed to have released everything related to the project, but has since twice more released “the rest”

2. The arrests of those responsible for launching attacks on protestors

This demand was expanded as the protests continued to encompass new incidents

3. Dropping charges against and releasing demonstrators detained

At the time of writing, Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic has confirmed he will pardon all those in question

4. A 20% increase in funds allocated to education out of the national budget

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“Students take the fight into their own hands”, Source: Euronews.

The blockades have been active for over a month, recently escalating to the point of a general disobedience strike on January 24. Apart from the general public refraining from social activities, NGOs, companies, stores, restaurants, bars, and small businesses all showed support by limiting or halting operations for the day. As a countermeasure, the ruling party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) organized a meeting in Jagodina, a city in Central Serbia. Supporters were driven in on buses from all over the country and expressed support for President Vucic during the ongoing situation. Another notable incident during the disobedience strike occurred when a woman drove her car through a blockade, severely injuring a demonstrator who was rushed to the hospital.

President Vucic has claimed to be certain that “foreign agents from several Western countries” were interfering in the protests. This rhetoric has been used in an attempt to curb support for the protests, presenting them as external disturbances to Serbia’s political scene. It did not help that nations and organizations traditionally against Serbia supported the protests, helping the president’s argument. Nevertheless, there has been an immense amount of support shown by Serbs living abroad, with demonstrations organized in many major cities across the globe. The President has publicly called for negotiations with the students, who claim he does not have jurisdiction to take part in the talks.

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“President Vucic has promised a reshuffle of the government along with the completion of some demands”, source: SeeNews.

Today marked the end of the students’ latest move: a 24-hour blockade of Autokomanda, an invaluable intersection in Belgrade. Serbian farmers supported the blockade, showing up in tractors to help block traffic. Students who took part in the blockade spent the day playing volleyball, walking around, and socializing and even had a choir performance in the evening to commemorate a Serbian holiday, St. Sava’s Day. Unfortunately, the entire event turned sour in its final hours as a group of students were physically assaulted in an alleged act of retribution by SNS party members who were present in an office the students decided to vandalize with graffiti and stickers, according to state media.

Responding to the events, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned on Tuesday afternoon. He was followed by Novi Sad Mayor Milan Djuric. The outgoing PM took responsibility for the attack on the students and followed up by claiming his decision aimed to lower tensions in the country. He pledged to keep doing his job until a replacement is elected. President Vucic has estimated that around 50% of the current government will be replaced in a massive reshuffle of those in power.

Most recently, students conducted a three-day march from Belgrade to Novi Sad, where they held a symbolic protest along with the latter’s citizens on the three-month anniversary of the canopy collapse. Thousands of people filled the city streets, uniting behind a common goal: a better tomorrow. Hundreds of taxi drivers gathered to drive up to Novi Sad and bring the students back home in a show of solidarity. 

Nowadays, Serbia is a nation riddled with political uncertainty and corruption accusations. Dissatisfaction with the ruling government is no new phenomenon, but it has reached heights previously perceived as unattainable during the past few months. However, despite the growth in anti-SNS sentiment, the government has made a few de-escalatory measures. Regardless, spirits are high and students remain relentless in their pursuit of a brighter future. 

Featured image: “Protests have spread even to smaller towns, led by their students”, source: GM Info.

Vukasin Tolic
Vukasin Tolic
Economics student who holds an interest in discovering the world by writing about it.

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