Huge crowds demonstrate with determination in Serbia

Alsharq Tribune- Tagtic

In Serbia, the resignation of the Prime Minister on January 28, 2025 didn't calm demonstrators. A large student march reached the city of Novi Sad. It was the collapse of the town's railway station that started it all.

On Friday November 1, 2024, the canopy of the newly renovated Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 15 people. As well as mourning, the Serbian population took offence at the cause of the accident: corruption. Since then, Serbs have been expressing their anger at their political class with discontinuous demonstrations over the past 3 months. The resignations of the Minister of Construction in November 2024, the Mayor of Novi Sad (the country's 2nd largest city) and the Prime Minister on January 28, 2025, as well as the President's appeal for calm, have done nothing to change the situation. The people, especially students, are not giving up and are gathering almost daily. The protesters denounce nepotism with a very explicit slogan: “corruption kills”. A march to Novi Sad brought together thousands of people to join a huge demonstration on Saturday evening.

On foot, by bike, by car: tens of thousands of people blocked the Novi Sad bridges over the Danube. Some had set off from Belgrade for a long 80km march. The procession was supported by the local population. In Novi Sad, the demonstrators spent the night of Saturday February 1 to Sunday February 2 in the cold “for Justice”. Their camp was protected by farmers with their tractors and by motorcyclists. Many pensioners and university professors were also among the demonstrators. The authorities tried to break up the protest movement at first, but the students' determination prevailed over the police attacks.