BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Instead of the standard raucous road occasion on New Year’s Eve, tens of 1000’s of protesters led by University students gathered overnight in Belgrade and in different Serbian cities to demand political reforms and justice within the Balkan nation.
THE the protesters demonstrated actively following the tragic collapse of a concrete shed on the central prepare station within the northern metropolis of Novi Sad on November 1, which claimed 15 lives.
The tragedy was blamed on corruption and sub-standard constructing practices by Serbia’s populist management, which sparked widespread public outcry and demands for responsibility.
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Students from numerous universities in Belgrade organized the protest beneath the slogan “There is not any new yr – you continue to owe us for the outdated one”.
The noisy crowd, chanting “We want justice,” he remained silent at 11.52pm with quarter-hour to honor the victims of the Novi Sad tragedy. Many brandished banners bearing the crimson handprint that has develop into a logo of anti-government protests, telling authorities they’d blood on their arms.
Earlier, they marched previous a state-sponsored live performance the place crowds danced to fashionable music. Police guarded the world the place the live performance was going down and arrange steel fences whereas directing the protesting crowd to different close by streets to keep away from contact between the 2 teams.
Anti-government protesters careworn that regardless of the vacation season, their dedication to searching for justice stays unwavering. The student-led motion has garnered assist from numerous social teams, together with professors, farmers and actors, reflecting broader discontent with the autocratic regime. The leadership of President Aleksandar Vucic.
Thousands of individuals additionally gathered in Novi Sad and the southern metropolis of Nis for parallel rallies additionally led by college college students from these cities.
In Belgrade, state-sponsored concert events and different New Year’s Eve celebrations have been organized within the metropolis heart and within the new Belgrade Waterfront district, a lately constructed skyscraper, which Vucic mentioned was his undertaking along with traders from the United Arab Emirates.
Belgrade has develop into a favourite vacation spot for vacationers for New Year’s Eve celebrations with road events and large fireworks.
Crowds in Belgrade braved the chilly and fog to affix the scholars. The New Year’s protest comes simply over per week after tens of 1000’s of individuals gathered alongside college students in what was one of many largest rallies lately within the Serbian capital.
The Serbian public prosecutor on Monday 13 people were indicted, including a former ministerpast collapse of the concrete roof. Protesters say this isn’t sufficient because the indictment doesn’t embody allegations of potential bribery offers in the course of the renovation of the Novi Sad prepare station that was half of a bigger take care of Chinese firms.
Vucic earlier informed pro-government Prva tv that each one the scholars’ calls for had been met.
“I’ve at all times been prepared to speak, I ask them now however they do not speak to me, they don’t have any arguments, the prosecutors fulfilled the final of their requests, all of the paperwork they needed have been printed and nothing occurred,” Vucic mentioned , including that he won’t be toppled by road protests.
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Associated Press author Jovana Gec contributed to this report.
