Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Serbian capital Belgrade on 15 March for a student-led protest demanding that the government of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic be held accountable for the deaths of 15 people when a canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024.
Demonstrators arrived in the capital from all over the country – on foot, on bicycles and motorbikes.
At a 14 March press conference, Vucic said he asked police to exercise restraint, but “those who threaten peace will be arrested.”
Large groups of Vucic supporters have also arrived in Belgrade in recent days, they are concentrating in a park near his office, also in the city centre, at night tractors were brought to this camp to mark the area. By morning, the tyres of many of these tractors were flat and some of them bore stickers depicting a bloody hand and calling for protests. Police said some of the tractors had other damage, such as broken windows or torn doors. The Interior Ministry said two people were detained on suspicion of disturbing public order.
The collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Garden train station on 1 November sparked protests that could be the biggest challenge to Vucic’s political power.
Student demonstrations have grown into a larger movement. Activists say they oppose the breakdown of the rule of law and systemic corruption under the rule of Aleksandar Vucic, who has been the country’s president since 2017 and previously served as prime minister for three years.