Novi Sad – Tens of thousands in Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia, commemorated the one-year anniversary of the death of 16 people in the collapse of the roof of a train station, which led to the outbreak of demonstrations that were the largest since the fall of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
The protesters observed 16 minutes of silence – one minute for each victim – starting at 11:52 a.m. when the roof collapsed on November 1, 2024.
One of the participating students said that the disaster was a “murder” and not an accident, while the mother of one of the victims announced the start of a strike until the “killers” of her child were revealed.
As for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been in power for 14 years, he toned down his previous speeches, as he apologized to the student demonstrators after previously threatening mass arrests, and described them as “terrorists hired by the West to overthrow him and destroy Serbia.”
He said in a television speech in which he called for dialogue, “I said some things that I now apologize for saying, and all this hatred raging in our society cannot bring any good. It will only lead to more destruction.”
Yesterday, Saturday, Vucic attended a mass in Belgrade for the souls of the victims, while the government declared November 1 a national day of mourning, but the students refused to apologise, stressing that they would not give up the main protest demand of holding early parliamentary elections.
What is the Novi Sad incident?
On November 1, 2024, a newly renovated concrete canopy collapsed in front of the entrance to the train station in the city of Novi Sad. 12 people died instantly, and 4 others later died from their injuries.
Massive protests erupted in the days that followed the incident, and a national student-led movement emerged, demanding that those responsible be held accountable for the negligence. The demonstrators accused the authorities of allowing the incident to be caused by negligence in relaxing building regulations, corrupt management, nepotism, and a lack of transparency.
The protests caused the largest crisis the country has witnessed since the fall of President Milosevic a quarter of a century ago, and posed the most serious challenge to President Vucic, who has ruled since 2012.
This challenge became clear last January, when Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic resigned after one of the student demonstrators was assaulted, followed by the resignation of two other ministers.
8 people were killed when the roof of a train station collapsed in the Serbian city of Novi Sad#Al Jazeera_Live | #Serbia pic.twitter.com/oipvyaL321
– Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) November 1, 2024
What did the investigations reveal? Where have you reached?
On December 30, the Public Prosecutor filed charges against 13 people, including former Construction Minister Goran Vičić, but the Supreme Court in Novi Sad returned the indictment on April 11 to the Public Prosecution under the pretext of the need for further investigations.
In mid-September, the Public Prosecution submitted an amended indictment, in which 13 people were again charged, including Minister Vičić. The amended list is currently before the Supreme Court of Novi Sad, which must confirm or reject it, and trial proceedings can only begin after that. Accordingly, no one is detained in connection with the incident.
In context, a separate anti-corruption investigation in Serbia continues, along with an EU-backed investigation into possible misuse of EU funds in the project.
In testimony before the European Parliament last week, an independent committee composed of professors, judges, and technical experts revealed high-level government corruption that led to low construction standards and the hiring of unqualified contractors, but government officials denied these accusations, and Vucic even stated that the roof collapse “may be an act of terrorism.”
How did students become prominent political actors?
In the first months of the protests, students identified 4 demands to end their movements:
- Publish all documents related to the reconstruction of the railway station.
- Identify all individuals who physically assaulted students.
- Reject all punitive measures against students.
- Increase government funding for public universities by 20%.
With the government’s continued rejection of these demands, and the increase in violence against demonstrators, the student movement transformed from a non-political demand movement into one of the most prominent active political forces in the country, and the students united around a single demand: early parliamentary elections.
Professor of International Relations, Mirko Dautovic, who regularly participates in the protests, points out that one of the most important sources of the student movement’s strength lies in the lack of a leader. Therefore, they are difficult to control, threaten, or even bribe.
He told Al Jazeera Net that the government’s accusation of “foreign countries” of financing the protests does not fall on any listening ears, especially since no evidence has been provided for these allegations.
According to Dautovich, the government is trying to promote its narrative through its tight control over the media, and specifically preventing independent media from broadcasting outside major cities.
He explains, “Our average age in Serbia is 44 years, so the (traditional) media plays a prominent role in directing public opinion. If we had more students and young people, I think these protests would have ended very quickly.”
What does the situation look like after a year of protests?
The situation in Serbia has reached a dead end, as protesters insist on a basic demand of holding early elections, while the government strongly rejects this.
The academic says that there is a slow struggle between the ruling regime and the students, and he believes that the description “slow” is optimal, given that President Vucic has been in power for 14 years, and therefore, it is difficult to destabilize his rule easily, and the protest movement, whose backbone is students, does not seem to be about to surrender or give up its demands.
Accordingly, Dotovic, who was attacked while participating in the protests, rules out any settlement. On the one hand, the students do not want any settlements outside of early elections, and on the other hand, the Serbian president is not a person who makes settlements, as he put it.
But, why does Vucic reject early elections?
The academic says that President Vucic is not a risky person, and he receives daily reports and opinion polls confirming the decline in his popularity, adding, “Vucic will not take this step unless he obtains 55% in the opinion polls.”
According to an opinion poll conducted by the independent Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), last month, nearly two-thirds of Serbs see early elections as a way out of the current crisis, while a third of ruling party voters support early elections.
The poll showed that 58% of Serbs support the anti-regime protests, while 39% do not support them. Nearly half of the participants believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction and support the protests, while a third of them believe that they are heading in the right direction.