Protesters gathered in the center of Belgrade, Serbia, January 24, 2025. Photo: Birn
Tens of thousands of people joined Belgrade students and students for a protest march across the city and joined the call for a “general strike” on Friday.
At 11:52 am, as is the case every day for several weeks, schoolchildren, students, teachers and ordinary citizens gathered in front of the Building of the Serbian government in Belgrade and in front of the building of the new municipality of Belgrade, of the other side of the capital.
After 15 minutes of silence in memory of the 15 victims of the NOVI SAD station disaster on November 1, the crowd gathered near the USCE shopping center, in the district of new Belgrade, supported by teachers and citizens and brandishing various types of banners. And signs with slogans.
A protester injured by a driver
A student in charge of demonstrations was injured on Friday in Belgrade when she was hit by a car while she was traveling in a street where demonstrators demonstrated.
The driver first tried to cross the demonstrators, but the students prevented her. She stopped the car but then accelerated again, hit the pupil and projected it to the ground.
The demonstrators again arrested the driver and held her until the police arrived. It was identified as MS, aged 26. Some media reported that she was detained because she was suspected of attempted murder.
The demonstrations, which began in November, demanding that the authorities are making accounts and that justice be rendered for the disaster, have become the greatest challenge that the authorities have faced since the power of the Serbian Progressive Party in 2012.
Hristina Stanisavljevic and Andrea Tijanic, both art students, brandished signs on which we could read: “The system needs a overhaul”.
Tijanic said that the demonstrators had “managed to unite without any blackmail or money, and that the voice of the people took precedence over everything else”.
“There are still people who are the subject of blackmail, but more and more of them stand on the right side … We see how deserted the city is and how many people have joined the strike, C ‘ is incredible as everyone agreed to say that nothing should be done. Done or bought today, that we should be at home with our families or here. It’s phenomenal, “she told Birn.
The Hristina Stanisavljevic and Andrea Tijanic demonstrators with placards on which we could read: “The system needs a overhaul”. Photo of: Birn
Matija, a 45 -year -old sailor, brought a cardboard filth with a bloody hand on it, one of the symbols of recent demonstrations. He said it symbolized “all the corruption crimes of the current government and the lies that led to the death of 15 people” during the Novi SAD disaster.
“The bloody hand on the binder only describes their bloody hands, with which they have defiled the last 12 years of our life,” he told Birn.
He added that whole Serbia must stop so that citizens discover everything the government wants to hide. “If everything stops, it’s the only way for us to clearly show them that it is no longer possible to play with us and that we no longer have time,” he said.
In addition to Belgrade, demonstrations took place in Novi Sad, Nis, Zajecar, Valjevo, Sombor, Kraljevo, Pozega and in many other cities and villages. A demonstration even took place in the city of Jagodina, in the center of Serbia, where the progressive party in power planned to organize a counter-grease later in the afternoon of Friday.
The Matija demonstrator holds a cardboard filler for documents with a bloody hand on it, symbol of the demonstrations. Photo of: Birn
Workers show their support
The Serbian media reported that the demonstrators passed in front of certain courts, the judges left the premises and stood outside as a support. The media also reported that in certain cities, medical and staff of social protection institutions left their workplace during the passage of the demonstrators or made statements of support.
Many other people responded to students on Friday to a “general strike”.
Among those who announced a work stoppage was one of the largest cinema networks in the country, which covers Belgrade, Nis and Kragujevac as well as smaller cities. Many associations of film workers have declared the strike.
Many theaters across the country did not work and the association of the bar extended its work stoppage to include three additional days. Schools do not work or only partially work since Monday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyel892rbru
Many restaurants and cafes have supported the strike, but others, opposed to the strike, have offered coffee and free tea to all their customers. Many popular Belgrade discos have canceled their Friday evening programs.
The Historical Archives of Belgrade did not work on Friday. The Independent Union of the Culture of Serbia has announced that its members would work in any cultural institution of the country that day. The Yugoslav cinematographic archives, Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, have also stopped working.
Many bookstores and publishers, including some department stores, also said that they would not work on Friday. Some large companies have also said that they would not work.
A group of computer scientists blocked a crossroads in the district of new Belgrade and then joined the students who demonstrated.
The coalition for media freedom called on the media to support the strike and not reporting on the strike on Friday. Demonstrations also took place in front of the premises of the national RTS channel.
Blockages of university faculties
In the middle of the current demonstrations, the students were blocking of university buildings For almost two months that a demonstrator has been attacked before the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, November 22.
Since the NOVI SAD station disaster, a 15 -minute silent commemorative demonstrations have held regularly in Belgrade, in Novi Sad and in other cities.
The collapse of the station canopy follows major renovation work which started in 2021 as part of a modernization carried out by China of the Serbia rail infrastructure.
The work was unveiled in 2022 during the electoral campaign of that year, but the reconstruction then continued until July 2024, when the authorities declared that the station had been rebuilt “according to European standards ».
Thirteen people, including the Serbian Minister for Construction at the time, were accused of endangering public security following the collapse of the canopy.
