Tens of thousands flocked to the central square in Serbia the capital on Sunday for a large rally against populist president Aleksandar Vučić and his government, whose firm grip on power has been challenged by weeks of street protests led by university students.

The rally on Belgrade’s Trg Slavija, one of the largest in recent years, was called by students and agricultural unions. It was part of a wider movement demanding accountability for November 1st the collapse of the canopy at the railway station in the north of the country where 15 people died.

Smaller gatherings were also held in Niš and Kragujevac. The rally in Belgrade began with a 15-minute silence for the victims, and later they shouted “Your hands are bloody!” they heard each other.

Many in Serbia are to blame for the collapse widespread corruption and sloppy work on the railway station building in the city of Novi Sad, which has been renovated twice in recent years as part of questionable mega projects by Chinese state companies. Protesters demand that Vučić and those responsible face justice.

Popular Serbian theater and film actors joined the protest, and actor Bane Trifunović described Sunday’s gathering as a “festival of freedom.”

Receive daily national news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day.

Showing confidence, the Serbian president on Sunday officially opened a section of the newly built highway in central Serbia. Vučić said he would not give in to the opposition’s demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using students to try to seize power.

“We will beat them again,” said Vučić. “They (the opposition) don’t know what to do but use someone’s children.”

Prosecutors arrested 13 people around the Novi Sad tragedy, including a government minister whose release later fueled public skepticism about the fairness of the investigation.

The weekly protests reflect broader dissatisfaction with Vučić’s rule. The populist leader officially says he wants to bring Serbia into the European Union, but has faced accusations that he is restricting democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.

Opposition parties say that a transitional government that would prepare free and fair elections could be a way out of political tensions The ruling populists have also been accused of rigging past votes.

The Serbian government has extended the school winter holidays by starting almost a week earlier to deal with growing student protests.

Classes at universities across the Balkan country have been suspended for weeks, and students are camping in their faculty buildings. In recent days, more high school students have joined the movement. Violence occasionally broke out when pro-government thugs tried to disrupt the protests.

A group of farmers said on Sunday that the police took away the tractor they used to drive to the center of Belgrade ahead of the protest. Apart from farmers, students in Serbia also received national support from all walks of life, including their professors, media personalities, lawyers and prominent individuals.

Vučić initially accused the students of starting the protests over money, but later said that he had fulfilled their demands, including the publication of documentation related to the works on the renovation of the station in Novi Sad.

© 2024 The Canadian Press