In silence and contemplation, at least tens of thousands of people launched a large day of demonstration on Saturday, November 1, in tribute to the victims of the fatal accident that occurred at the Novi Sad station a year ago, the spark of a protest movement that has shaken Serbia for twelve months.
Under the sun a large crowd gathered in the center of the city; Although there was no official or independent count at midday, AFP journalists at the scene estimated the number of participants to be at least several tens of thousands. Some of them arrived on Friday night, the protesters began to observe 16 minutes of silence starting at 11:52 a.m.
It was at that precise moment when, on November 1, 2024, the concrete canopy of the newly renovated station collapsed, instantly killing 14 people, including two children. Two injured people later died, raising the death toll to 16.
Corruption
From early in the morning, thousands of people came to leave flowers or candles in front of the station, whose broken cement still reminds us of the accident. Like Svetlana, 45, from Pancevo, interviewed by AFP, still overwhelmed by “great pain, great sadness.”
The collapse of the awning sparked one of the largest protest movements in the country, and students quickly took the lead. For opponents of the right-wing nationalist president, Aleksandar Vucic, it has become the emblem of corruption that, according to them, corrupts the immense public works projects launched throughout the country.
“Everyone in Serbia who is against corruption, crime and the party in power” has gathered, Ratko Popovic, 47, explained emotionally on Friday afternoon, amid thousands of people who came to welcome the students who had arrived on foot from all corners of the country.
For several months, students have adopted these long marches as a means of action, hoping to reach as many cities and towns as possible to explain their demands and fight against the portrait painted of them by the media close to power, periodically describing them as “terrorists” paid by foreign powers.
“State repression”
Demonstrations organized over the past year, mostly peaceful, were marked this summer by violence between supporters of the president and protesters, several hundred of whom were arrested. Repression against the movement has intensified, prompting the European Parliament to adopt a resolution last week that “supports the right of Serbian students and citizens to demonstrate peacefully” and “strongly condemns state repression.”
On Saturday morning, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated in X that the Novi Sad tragedy was “changing Serbia.”
“She pushed the masses to mobilize for accountability, freedom of expression and inclusive democracy. These are the same values that will guide Serbia towards the European Union” to which Belgrade is a candidate, he wrote.
While protesters prayed in Novi Sad, in Belgrade, about a hundred kilometers further south, the president and several ministers attended a ceremony in the Basilica of Saint Sava, in which several thousand of his followers also participated, who came to light candles and pay tribute to the victims.
The president backs down
In an address to the nation Friday afternoon, after months of accusing students of wanting to overthrow him and taking money to demonstrate, the president said he had “made comments [qu’il] regrets.”
“I apologize,” added Aleksandar Vucic, calling for dialogue, without mentioning the early elections that protesters have been demanding for months.
In total, three investigations have been opened: one into the accident, another carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office specialized in the fight against organized crime and corruption, into suspicions of corruption worth millions of euros in the renovation, and one carried out by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) relating to a possible embezzlement of European funds during the reconstruction.
In the first, the prosecution requested a trial in mid-September for 13 people, including two former ministers, but this is not enough for the protesters.
Source: BFM TV
