Protesting Serbian Students Set 24-Hour Belgrade Blockade, Joined By Farmers, Others

Students and others block key roads in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on January 27.

Students and others block key roads in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on January 27.

BELGRADE -- Serbian farmers on tractors joined students on the main thoroughfares of Belgrade as demonstrators launched a 24-hour protest blockade against President Aleksandar Vucic’s handling of the aftermath of a deadly railway station disaster late last year.

Protests on January 27 also intensified in more than a dozen other Serbian cities, including in Novi Sad, site of the November 1 collapse of a concrete canopy that killed 15 people at the city’s rail station.

Although rallies initially focused on the Novi Sad tragedy, the mounting anger could also pose a longer-term threat to Vucic's government, which has attempted to maintain close ties to traditional ally Russia while also promoting the country's European Union membership hopes.

SEE ALSO: What's Behind The Student-Led Protests In Serbia?

Participants in recent demonstrations called for accountability for those deemed responsible for the Novi Sad tragedy. Many have carried banners calling for justice and emblazoned with slogans such as "Demands have not been met" and "We will pass this exam as well."

Late on January 27, crowds gathered in the Autokomanda area of Belgrade. Participants set up tents and played sports and board games as the planned blockade got under way.

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Thousands Rally In Serbia Protests

The action came three days after tens of thousands of people took part in a general strike across the country, many staying away from work and refraining from making purchases for the day.

The canopy collapse occurred after the Novi Sad railway station had been renovated twice in recent years by a Chinese-led consortium of four companies. Serbian Railways insisted the renovation didn’t include the concrete overhang, but some experts disputed that, while many people blame corruption and poor construction oversight for the tragedy.

Protests have been taking place regularly since the incident as demonstrators demand the government take more robust action beyond an indictment announced last month naming the former transport minister, the former director of Serbian Railway, and 11 others.

Vucic on January 27 attempted to tamp down the anger at a news conference with Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, and later urged student protesters to engage in dialogue, insisting that “we need to lower the tensions and start talking to each other.”

“Any kind of a crisis poses a serious problem for our economy. Such a situation in society is not good for anyone,” Vucic said.

Motorcyclists join protests in Novi Sad, Serbia, on January 27.

Vucic also said he was ready to provide an amnesty for all students and professors facing criminal charges following their arrests during the recent protests.

Students have also been holding more than 60 state universities in lockdown for the past two months. Their primary demand is that authorities release complete documentation on the railway station reconstruction projects.

The authorities claim that all their demands have been met and urge students to open the faculties.

"There is no more documentation related to the reconstruction of the railway station," Vucic said on January 27.

Academics, on the other hand, say the requirements have been only partially met and the suspension of work at the faculties will continue until further notice.

They insist the documentation on the reconstruction of the train station published on the website of the government of Serbia and on the website of the prosecutor-general's office in Novi Sad is incomplete.