site.btaSerbian Hunger Striker Dijana Hrka: "I'm Starving for Serbia's Future"

Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the 16 victims of the Novi Sad tragedy, who went on a hunger strike in front of the Serbian parliament on November 2, said she had resorted to this radical action in the name of Serbia's future.

"I am starving, and it could be fatal for me, but I will try to obtain justice for my child and for all of us. I am doing this for the future of all of us," she said.

Hrka expressed her disappointment with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, whom she described as "a coward". "He has greatly disappointed me as a person, and as a father of three children, he should consider how many children have died because he is in power," Hrka added.

She said that, if necessary, she will take legal action against Vucic and anyone she considers responsible for the collapse of the canopy at Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people, including her son, Stefan Hrka.

Recently, Vucic spoke with Hrka by phone and urged her to end her hunger strike because she was putting her life at risk. He also invited her to visit him, but she declined.

Earlier on Wednesday, a rally was held in Novi Sad in support of Hrka and Milomir Jacimovic, who also began a hunger strike. Jacimovic is known for providing free bus transport for students and citizens to anti-government protests across Serbia, local media report. He went on a hunger strike together with his 16-year-old son in front of the government building in Novi Sad, in the autonomous Serbian province of Vojvodina.

He claims that he was left without a livelihood after transporting Dijana Hrka from Novi Sad to Belgrade on November 2, when he was arrested and fined for disturbing public order, and his buses were seized by the police for inspection, regional N1 television reported.

Students from two secondary schools in Nis boycotted classes in support of Hrka, according to the Danas newspaper. Secondary school students in Novi Sad also skipped classes for the same reason.