One year after the Novi Sad tragedy, Serbian students continue to protest

On November 1, 2024, the roof of a recently rebuilt railway station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. Suspicions that this tragedy was caused by corruption triggered a student-led protest movement across Serbia that has shaken the grip of populist president Aleksandar Vucic, with protesters demanding early elections and the removal of Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party from power.

To mark the date, thousands of people began a march across the country that will culminate this Saturday, November 1, in a large demonstration in Novi Sad, in the north of the country. “The main reason we decided to do the walk is the 16 victims and the fact that, even after a year, no one has been held responsible for their deaths,” student Emina Spahic told Al Jazeera.

The Serbian authorities have been accusing the students of preparing a violent demonstration for this Saturday, guaranteeing that they will give a “state response”. The students, in turn, guarantee that violence is not their form of protest.

“This protest movement has stood the test of time. Hoping to survive public discontent, the government initially counted on fatigue, but resorted to force as time went on. Interventions by police and crowds of ruling party supporters in protests have doubled since June, accompanied by an increase in reports of police mistreatment by those detained during protests. By failing to meet protesters’ demands and resorting to violence, the actions of authorities and their supporters may actually have galvanized the movement”, says Magda Anastasijevic, researcher for Eastern Europe at the North American non-profit organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

According to this North American non-profit organization, more than 2,400 demonstrations were recorded from the tragedy until October 24th, with a high point on March 15th, when more than 350,000 people gathered in Belgrade for the largest demonstration in the history of post-Yugoslavia Serbia. “Although Serbia has seen multiple waves of protests against government actions and perceived corruption, this latest movement far surpasses all previous waves of discontent since 2019, when the ‘1 in 5 million’ anti-government movement, the largest yet, occurred across the country,” notes an ACLED analysis.

In recent months, protesters have faced an increasingly violent police response, with around 1,000 people arrested in the last month alone. In September, for example, at an LGBTQIA+ demonstration, the police used tear gas and stun grenades, leading students to accuse the authorities of launching “brutal attacks against their own citizens”.

“As the first anniversary of the collapse approaches, both sides face critical challenges. The government struggles to resolve the crisis and regain control, while protest groups, which now include no opposition parties but only self-organized groups of students and citizens, work to establish themselves as credible political actors. Despite continued momentum, early elections demanded by protesters remain elusive”, notes the same ACLED expert.

MEPs call for investigations and free elections

An independent commission of Serbian professors, judges and technical experts presented the results of its informal investigation to the European Parliament last week, stating that “there is a high degree of corruption that reaches the top of the State”, as explained by the retired Supreme Court judge, Radmila Dicic Dragicevic. “Corruption has led to the lowering of construction standards and the hiring of unqualified subcontractors.”

Aleksandar Vucic and parliament speaker and former prime minister Ana Brnabic present a different version, having recently said that the collapse of the roof of the Novi Sad railway station could have been a terrorist act, which infuriated government critics.

In September, a Novi Sad prosecutor indicted former Minister of Construction, Infrastructure and Transport Goran Vesic and 12 others on charges of endangering public safety, including “irregular and improper construction works.” However, these accusations have yet to be confirmed by the court, which prevents the trial from taking place. At the same time, a special prosecutor for organized crime is conducting an investigation, but no details have yet been released.

Impasses that led, last week, the European Parliament to adopt a resolution in which it condemns the political polarization and ongoing state repression in Serbia, a year after the Novi Sad tragedy, with MEPs demanding comprehensive and transparent judicial processes to bring to justice those responsible for the collapse of railway coverage, but also “urgent and impartial investigations into the alleged abuses against protesters”. The resolution was approved with 457 votes in favor, 103 against and 72 abstentions.

The document also supports the right of Serbian students and citizens to peaceful protest, noting that “civic courage, commitment to non-violence and youth involvement are important, MEPs say, for advancing Serbia’s prospects for EU membership”, demanding accountability and democratic reforms in the country. To remember that Serbian students were finalists in this year’s edition of the Sakharov Prize, which aims to distinguish individuals or organizations from around the world who rise up against repression to defend democracy and human rights.

The elected members of the European Parliament also condemn “illegal arrests and expulsions of EU citizens who made statements in support of protesting students”, as well as “verbal attacks by senior Serbian officials against MEPs following their involvement in the protests and reject the unfounded allegations of Serbian authorities accusing the EU of orchestrating the protests”.

Finally, Stressing that previous Serbian elections took place under unfair conditions, marked by pressure on voters and vote buying, the European Parliament calls for independent audits of electoral records and equal access to the media for all political actors, in order to guarantee free and fair elections in the country.