Tens of thousands of people take to the streets of Belgrade demanding elections and a change of government

2025-09-02 08:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Tens of thousands of people take to the streets of Belgrade demanding elections

Tens of thousands of citizens in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, participated in a commemorative march on September 1 during an anti-government protest called by high school students as part of a blockade on the first day of the school year.

The rally ended at Republic Square, in central Belgrade, with the laying of wreaths and white roses for the 16 victims of the collapse of the railway station shelter in Novi Sad. A 16-minute silence was also held in honor of the victims.

The reason for this protest, which was held in several cities in Serbia, was the fact that it has been ten months since the collapse of the shelter, an incident that led to mass protests in Serbia and blockades of higher education institutions. There were calls for early elections, transparent investigations into those responsible for the incident, as well as free institutions and media.

Messages from the Belgrade protests for media, justice and culture

Protesters gathered in Belgrade stopped briefly at several locations during this march.

In front of the building of the daily newspaper Politika and Radio Belgrade, a recorded speech was given stating that "free media is dying."

"We remember, we are not silent," it said.

In front of the Constitutional Court building, a recorded speech was heard from an improvised loudspeaker, stating that "the judiciary is an independent power in Serbia only in our textbooks."

Guards prevented incidents at one part of the march, when the column passed near a street and park, where pro-government tents were set up, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (REL) Balkan Service reported.

A temporary camp of government supporters was set up on March 12 in Pionir Park, near the Serbian Presidency.

The police were also present in that area.

The REL team on the ground reported that some demonstrators threw stones at the police and those gathered in front of the tents, but everything passed without incident.

Protesters previously stopped near the Student Cultural Center (SCC) building, from which students were expelled during the blockade in July, as well as in front of the Ministry of Education.

In front of the KCS building, it was said that, under the current government, "culture has become a tool for political promotion."

The rally began on Sava Square in Belgrade, where the names of the 16 people who lost their lives in the collapse of the shelter at the Novi Sad railway station were read over a loudspeaker.

During the reading of the names, 16 high school students symbolically handed white roses to the students leading the column.

High school students in the blockade had called for the protest through social media with the message: "High school students remember."

Radio Free Europe spoke with some of the protest participants.

Milica from the Philological High School said she participated in the protest because her parents have been fighting for the same goal for 30 years, and that she is taking this battle on.

"I want to continue my education here and help fix Serbia," she said.

Sanja Tasi? told REL that she was protesting "for the same reason as everyone else."

"Let us demand changes that have not yet happened. We demand the rule of law, equality for all, a just society," she said.

Dejani stated that "from time to time we need to come out, gather, show that nothing has been resolved." "What has been started must be finished," he said.

Several thousand people in Novi Sad

The protest in Novi Sad ended near the railway station building, where the accident occurred on November 1, 2024.

Demonstrators honored the victims with a 16-minute silence, the REL team reported.

Earlier, several thousand people had marched silently from the University of Novi Sad to the railway station, in a protest also organized by the call of high school students.

The column was led by high school students who had called the rally, while its security was maintained by farmers with tractors and motorcyclists.

The rally began on the campus of the University of Novi Sad, where the names of the victims were read out at the railway station with the message: "We will not forget and we will not give up."

That same day, students and citizens in several cities in Serbia honored the 16 people who lost their lives in the collapse of a shelter at the reconstructed Novi Sad railway station.

Ten months since the shelter collapsed

The accident at the railway station led to massive protests across Serbia, demanding that authorities be held accountable for the event.

The government denied responsibility for the accident, while President Aleksandar Vucic refused to call early parliamentary elections, which student protesters had demanded in May.

The High Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad filed the indictment in the shelter case on December 30, but the High Court in Novi Sad returned it "for further processing" in mid-April, explaining that "a better clarification of the case was needed to examine its merits."

This returned the procedure to the investigation phase again.

In another case, the Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office announced on August 1 that it had arrested 11 people suspected of corruption in connection with the project to modernize the railway from Novi Sad to the Hungarian border. Part of this project was the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station.

In addition to former Minister of Construction, Tomislav Momirovi?, who was arrested on August 1, the process also includes former Minister Goran Vesi?, who is undergoing hospital treatment.

Media reported on August 15 that all suspects had been sent to house arrest./ Rel