Protesters have been demonstrating across the country for seven weeks, accusing the administration of corruption and a lack of proper control.
Tens of thousands demonstrated in Belgrade to call on Serbian authorities to answer for the deaths caused by the roof collapse of a train station.
The student-organized demonstration on Sunday began with a 15-minute silence in remembrance of the incident’s victims.
After the station underwent extensive renovations, the roof collapsed on November 1, killing 14 persons, ages 6 to 74. Weeks later, the fifteenth victim passed away in the hospital.
Following the stillness, protesters made a deafening noise known as the “half-hour noise” by blowing vuvuzelas and whistles.
Student and farmer unions organized one of the biggest rallies in recent years in Slavija Square in Belgrade.
One of the banners at the main square in Belgrade said, “We are all under the canopy.”
Up to 29,000 people showed up for the demonstration, according to a statement from the interior ministry.
Banners that read “The state is children’s property” and “Protests are exams” were carried by protesters who have called for the resignation of the prime minister and the mayor of Novi Sad, as well as the prosecution of those found guilty.
Lazar, a 24-year-old software developer, told AFP that the government must “fulfill every demand that students have and that is putting all the accountable people for that tragedy on trial.”
The city of Nis in the south hosted another gathering.
Nenad Radovanovic, a pensioner, told AFP that “helping these young people is the most important thing right now.”
Students have demanded that those who have harmed protestors in the past be prosecuted and that legal action against demonstrators be withdrawn.
Despite claiming he “doesn’t really care” about Saturday’s protests, President Aleksandar Vucic described the demonstration as a “significantly large gathering.”
Financial aid for youth
Vucic said he was “ready” to hear the demonstrators’ demands in an Instagram video posted from the presidency building near the protest location, purportedly during the event.
“These people are opposition-oriented, and I have always been willing to hear what they think, how they think, and what they believe is important for our country,” Vucic stated.
Over the past few weeks, the authorities have pledged a variety of incentives for youth in an effort to quell the protests.
The administration declared on Friday that it will close schools early for the winter break.
Nonetheless, students persisted in their protests. Students blockade nearly every faculty at state institutions throughout the nation.
“Enough is enough, which is why I am here. Architect Daria Poljolka, 27, stated, “We all took to the streets because this does not make sense what is being done in this country.”
