Thousands took to the streets of the central Serbian city of Kragujevac on Saturday, months after the deadly collapse of a train station canopy sparked a wave of student-led protests.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also held a rally in an effort to shore up his support, with both events coinciding with Serbia’s Statehood Day.
Protesters block major boulevard
The canopy of the train station in Novi Sad in the northern province of Vojvodina collapsed on November 1, killing 15 people.
On Saturday, protesters in Kragujevac observed 15 minutes of silence at 11:52 a.m. local time (1052 UTC), marking the moment of the deadly roof collapse.
Demonstrators plan to blockade one of Kragujevac’s main boulevards for 15 hours and 15 minutes.
It is the third day-long blockade in the country, after similar rallies in Novi Sad and in the capital, Belgrade.
The protest coincides with Serbian Statehood Day, which commemorates the 1804 first Serbian uprising, as well as the declaration of an 1835 Constitution that sought to limit the powers of rulers at a time when Serbia was an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire. The constitution was later repealed.
The movement has triggered protests in almost every municipality, and students have been joined by teachers, lawyers, medical professionals, workers in the IT sector and others.
Students are demanding that authorities publish documents relating to the train station roof collapse and allege that the incident was caused by corruption. The protest movement led to the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and Novi Sad mayor Milan Duric last month.
Ruling party calls for ‘united’ Serbia at rally
Also on Saturday, Vucic’s ruling Progressive Party (SNS) held a Statehood Day rally in the northern town of Sremska Mitrovica, which lies some 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Vojvodina’s provincial capital, Novi Sad.
During the event, the ruling party passed a resolution calling for the “territorial integrity” of Serbia and denouncing what it described as the “revival of separatist ideas” in Vojvodina, according to a draft text published in the pro-government daily Politika.
Vucic and other officials have accused the protesters of being supported from abroad as part of efforts to divide the country.
Vojvodina was granted the status of an “autonomous province” in 1945. The status was abolished by autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in 1989 and was later restored in 2002.
The student-led protests have largely eschewed clear political alignment and avoided using symbols associated with traditional movements and opposition parties.
Edited by: Rana Taha
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