College students march in Serbia, searching for justice for practice station victims and accountability for corruption and nepotism.
Tens of 1000’s of scholars have descended in town of Kragujevac in central Serbia, the most recent in a sequence of protests to rock the Balkan nation after the lethal collapse of a practice station roof final 12 months.
Fifteen folks had been killed had been killed on November 1 when a roof collapsed at a practice station within the metropolis of Novi Unhappy, fuelling longstanding anger over corruption and nepotism.
Since then, mass demonstrations have grown into Serbia’s largest protest motion in years and characterize a menace to populist President Aleksandar Vucic’s decade-long grip on energy.
In near-freezing temperatures, college students arrived in Kragujevac from throughout Serbia by bus and even on foot, beating drums, blowing whistles, and holding up the nation’s flag.
The protesters deliberate to dam one of many metropolis’s essential boulevards for 15 hours and quarter-hour, in a tribute to the practice station victims. Additionally they held quarter-hour of silence.
“We’re right here to combat for a greater tomorrow, towards corruption,” stated 20-year-old Jovan, who drove from the capital Belgrade.
Pupil protestors have loved broad assist from Serbia’s public, lots of whom blame the Novi Unhappy tragedy on corruption and nepotism inside Vucic’s authorities, allegations authorities deny.
Verica, a 52-year-old professor from town, joined the protest together with her teenage daughter.
“I’ve not been so blissful and proud for a very long time,” she stated. “I’m pleased with their persistence.”
College students demand change
The college student-led motion has put growing stress on Serbia’s authorities, spurring the resignation of a number of high-ranking officers, together with Prime Minister Milos Vucevic on the finish of January.
Elsewhere, 13 folks have been charged over the practice station catastrophe. However this has accomplished little to quell the demonstrations.
For the reason that accident, college students have staged day by day protests, taking on college buildings and blocking highways and squares.
![Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest over the fatal November 2024 Novi Sad railway station roof collapse, in Kragujevac, Serbia February 15, 2025. [Marko Djurica/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-02-15T124142Z_231744033_RC2XUCA0NCYF_RTRMADP_3_SERBIA-PROTESTS-1739630482.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
“We are going to keep right here till the blockade ends,” stated Djordje Vujovic, 22, a mechanical engineering scholar.
The scholars are demanding that authorities publish paperwork referring to the station roof collapse. Additionally they need justice for these accountable, the dismissal of fees towards protesting college students, and a higher funds for increased training.
Ivan and Ivana, 23-year-old arithmetic college students, had been amongst a gaggle of about 400 individuals who had walked for 4 days to succeed in Kragujevac from Belgrade.
“We needed to indicate the folks dwelling within the nation that we assist them,” Ivan stated. “We don’t suppose solely concerning the folks in Belgrade.”
