Tens of thousands of people have gathered this Saturday in Serbia’s second largest city, Novi Sad, to commemorate the victims caused by the collapse of the railway station shelter a year ago. The memorial gathering starts at the hour when the tragedy happened, with 16 minutes of silence for the 16 victims.
Student-led protests have swept the Balkan nation since the tragedy, which they say was a symbol of corruption.
Protesters initially demanded a transparent investigation into the tragic event, but their calls soon escalated to demands for early elections. Students, who called for the biggest memorial gathering on Saturday, as well as their supporters, have been flooding into Novi Sad since Friday.
Continued protests have led to the resignation of Prime Minister Vučević, the overthrow of his government and the formation of a new government, but nationalist President Aleksandar Vučić continues to remain in office. Vucic has labeled the protesters as organizers of a foreign-funded coup. In a televised speech on Friday, Vucic made a rare gesture, apologizing for making statements he said he now regrets.
“This goes for both the students and the protesters, as well as others with whom I disagreed. I apologize for that“- said the Serbian president while calling for dialogue.
So the Serbian government has declared Saturday a day of national mourning, while the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church has organized a mass for the victims in the Belgrade church.
Vucic’s supporters, who since March have erected tents outside the parliament, announced that they will honor the victims in front of the church.
“On this sad anniversary, we call on everyone to act with restraint, reduce tensions and avoid violence“- said the delegation of the European Union in Serbia.
The protests have remained largely peaceful, but in mid-August they degenerated into violence. In September, 13 people, including former construction minister Goran Vesic, were criminally charged over the incident in Novi Sad.
Meanwhile, a separate anti-corruption investigation continues alongside an EU-backed investigation into the possible misuse of Brussels funds in that project.
