Thousands protest in Serbia to honour railway station disaster victims

In a student-led protest that has become the biggest threat to the country’s president’s hold on power, thousands of people in the southern city of Nis, Serbia, held a 15-minute silence to remember the victims of a train station disaster in November.

Since 15 people died when a roof collapsed at a newly renovated train station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, mass demonstrations have erupted in the nation.

On Saturday, hundreds of students marched, ran, or cycled through Nis, stopping in various towns along the way to win the support of people who live outside the country’s urban centers.

Residents of the city’s streets had started setting up improvised stalls right away, offering food and beverages to the crowds passing through them, waving flags, carrying banners against corruption, and blowing whistles and vuvuzelas.

Everyone gathered in the city’s central square to pay tribute to the victims by standing in silence for 15 minutes at 11:52 local time (10:52 GMT), the time the tragedy occurred.

After that, loudspeakers blared “Serbia has risen” and “Pump it,” a slogan that echoed through the city to show the students’ resolve to continue protesting.

The 22-year-old Novi Pazar graphics designer Tarek told the Reuters news agency, “This is the way to make a revolution.”

“It is the best way to effect change, to bring about a better future, a free state,” he says.

Many Serbians attribute the tragedy to corruption, including allegations that teachers, farmers, and other workers were involved in the demonstrations that started with a student blockade of classes at state universities in December.

Over the protests that have occurred in Belgrade, as well as in towns across the nation, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and two other ministers have also resigned.

In connection with the roof collapse, 13 people have been charged so far.

Emilija Jovanovic, a 21-year-old student, told the AFP news agency, “I hope for justice.”

A 34-year-old Nis lawyer named Aleksandar Arandjelovic as saying, “We expect change.”

President Vucic and other government officials have alternated launching protests and making accusations that the demonstrators are being supported by foreign powers.

Vucic told his supporters in Knjazevac, which is located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from Nis, on Friday, that “a lot of money has been invested in the color revolution.”

The government has attempted to halt the protests by complying with the demands of several student organizers.

Those actions included releasing a number of documents related to the station’s renovations, granting protesters at rallies more funding for higher education, and initiating criminal prosecution against those accused of attacking demonstrators.