site.btaBelgrade and Nis Students Protest after Incidents Disrupt Memorial Service for Novi Sad Tragedy Victims

Students from Belgrade and Nis protested on Thursday evening following a series of incidents in Belgrade during a memorial service for the 16 people who lost their lives in the Novi Sad tragedy.

Earlier in the day, several cars attempted to drive through groups of students and citizens who had blocked traffic near the Faculty of Law in the Serbian capital while paying tribute to the victims. The 16 people were killed on November 1, 2024, when the concrete canopy of the recently renovated train station in Novi Sad collapsed.

The student protest march began outside the Faculty of Law and proceeded to the headquarters of Serbia’s public broadcaster, RTS. Protesters expressed outrage that the incidents — in which a 90-year-old man and a student were injured — were not mentioned until the 18th minute of the RTS news broadcast.

Among those joining the march was Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the 16 victims. Last November, she staged a multi-day hunger strike in an unsuccessful attempt to pressure Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic into calling snap parliamentary elections.

Protesters blamed the incidents outside the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Law on Serbia’s Interior Ministry and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.

The demonstration outside RTS ended later in the evening, with students urging supporters to attend another protest under the slogan “Students Win!” scheduled for May 23 at Slavia Square in Belgrade.

In Nis, protesters hung a banner reading “Students Win!” on the facade of the local SPP office building.

Serbia has seen mass student-led protests for the past year and a half, with demonstrators demanding new parliamentary elections and accusing the government of corruption and nepotism.
 
So far, President Vucic has not announced an election date, despite recently holding consultations with both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political entities.