Students and trade unionists protest in Serbia

2025-05-01 19:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Thousands of Serbs on May 1st marked the six-month anniversary of the collapse of the concrete shelter at the Novi Sad Railway Station, which killed 16 people and sparked one of the largest protest movements in Serbia in a long time.

At exactly 11:52 a.m. – when the shelter collapsed on November 1, 2024 – demonstrators stood silently in front of the Novi Sad Railway Station.

Students and others lit candles and laid flowers in memory of the victims.

Those who participated in the solemn rally then joined a protest march through the center of Novi Sad, to the city's Freedom Bridge.

A serious incident occurred during the march, when a vehicle tried to drive into the crowd of people.

According to reports, the driver of the vehicle overtook police forces and sped towards a group of protesters.

The vehicle stopped shortly before hitting the crowd, and no injuries were reported.

Police arrested two individuals in connection with the incident.

Thousands of protesters also filled the streets of Serbia's capital, Belgrade, as students and five major labor unions joined together in one of the largest coordinated demonstrations in recent years, demanding changes to labor laws and greater protections for workers.

The protests are part of a broader movement that has gripped Serbia since the fatal collapse of the Railway Station shelter in November, and could be the biggest challenge yet to President Aleksandar Vucic's increasingly authoritarian rule.

Student protesters have been demonstrating and blocking their university departments for months, opposing what they see as a failure of the rule of law and widespread corruption under the leadership of Vu?i?, president since 2017 and prime minister for three years before that.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate in over 200 cities and towns.

The public backlash has shaken Serbia's leadership. In January, Prime Minister Miloš Vu?evi? resigned amid mounting pressure, although no high-level official has been held responsible for the collapse.

An indictment against 13 suspects for the failures that led to the accident, including former state officials, has not yet been confirmed./ REL