site.btaSerbian President Visits Novi Sad for First Time Since Station Canopy Collapse, Criticized for "Sandwich Stop"

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made an unofficial visit to the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad on Sunday, according to his Instagram profile.

Photos and videos published online show Vucic eating a sandwich with Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) President Milos Vucevic and his sons at a fast-food stand near the Novi Sad fairgrounds.

The stand, which is called Index (student record book), is also very popular among students in the city, where 15 months ago the concrete canopy at the local railway station collapsed, killing 16 people and leaving one person seriously injured.

The tragedy triggered mass anti-government protests led by students, which have continued for one year and three months across Serbia.

"Vucic came to Novi Sad for the first time since the canopy collapsed. Not for the truth, but for sandwiches," the students said.

Miran Pogacar, an opposition municipal councillor in Novi Sad, also commented on Vucic's unannounced visit to the city, calling it "proof of the failure of his policy."

"This morning, Sunday, after the whole street was cleared, at about 10am Vucic secretly met his supporters. Instead of visiting the railway station and paying tribute to the victims, he held a rally in front of a fast-food restaurant," Pogacar wrote on his Facebook profile.

Vucic was last in Novi Sad on November 5, 2024, on the evening of the first mass anti-government protest in the city, when demonstrators demanded the resignation of the authorities over the lives lost in the railway station incident, the Serbian service of Radio Free Europe reported.

The same evening there were incidents and clashes between the police and some of the demonstrators, and the Town Hall building was damaged.

Over the following 15 months a wave of protests swept across Serbia, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets.

The demonstrators, led by students, are demanding early parliamentary elections and accountability for the incident, with the focus of the protest on allegations that the tragedy occurred because of corrupt actions by those in power.