From Tragedy to Social Upheaval: The Situation in Serbia
By: Miruna-Antonia Aniculăesei
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On the 1st of November 2024, tragedy struck Serbia. An unfortunate accident occurred in Novi Sad, a city in the Northern part of the state, involving the collapse of the railway station’s roof and resulting in multiple injuries and casualties . What seemed to be at first a mishap of the company in charge of the building’s renovation, eventually became the spark that lit the fuse for a massive protest against the current government.
The incident that occurred at the beginning of November paved the way for a hunt of those responsible in the eyes of the people. At first, Serbia Railways, the company overseeing the reconditioning of the station, denied their involvement in the accident, by stating that the roof was not part of the restoration plans, and expressed their sympathies to the 14 dead and 3 injured . The Prime Minister, Miloš Vučević, also issued a statement, promising that the authorities will further investigate the matter and that they will “insist on finding those responsible”. In response to the incident, the Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, even resigned on the 4th of November.
However, these comments did little to calm the anger of the Serbian people, leading to a violent protest just 4 days after the railway station accident. As such, the protestors chanted anti-government messages and carried banners that conveyed their disdain for the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, who ranked the construction of the train station among one of the achievements of his tenure. Attacks on an office of the ruling party, the Serbian Progressive Party, and on the city hall building, as well as clashes with the police, further aggravated the febrile situation . Both Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party party were accused of corruption, nepotism and ties with organised crime; allegations that were, naturally, denied. The situation worsened on Sunday, 17th of November, when an injured victim of the Novi Sad disaster regretfully passed away. Consequently, on the same day, protestors blocked a crossroads near the station for 6 hours, criticising, once again, the lack of responsibility shown by the Serbian authorities and government.
Nevertheless, the fury manifested by over 20.000 Serbians did not completely fall on deaf ears. If on the 18th of November, over 70 people had been questioned, but none were arrested, on the 19th of November, public prosecutors already announced that 11 people were arrested by the police in the course of the investigation of the deadly Novi Sad accident. Amongst them, there was also the former Minister of Transport, who denied culpability, according to BBC.
However, the arrests did not meet the demands of the Serbian protestors. Serbian citizens have since participated in a continuous series of protests asking for more transparency from the Vučić government, even after two more people were arrested. On the 22nd of December 2024, university students, farmer unions and the political opposition gathered in one of the biggest rallies in recent Serbian history in Belgrade. In addition to the 15 minutes of silence to mourn the victims of the canopy fall, the protestors painted their palms red, symbolizing the blood on the hands of a government that still had not taken full accountability for the disaster. According to Euronews, throughout the protest period, classes have been suspended and, on one hand, pro-government media accused students of being “paid by the West” to cause internal disruption and to overthrow the government. On the other hand, university students claim that their demonstrations are also a show of support for democracy, which “died a long time ago or is not done properly” in their home country. Moreover, students themselves complained about being harassed by authorities and having their personal data published without their consent. Some activists have also been arrested following protests.
The demonstrations continued into the new year, as not only students, but also teaching staff partook in the blockade organised on the Belgrade-Zagreb highway on the 10th of January. Balkan Insight reported that the participants in the strikes, from all over Serbia, are pushing for official accountability for the Novi Sad tragedy, an end to the arrests of activists and for more public information regarding the reconstruction of the station, such as the fundamental but shadowy detail that China was involved in the project. More complaints were made about the corrupt government, especially in regard to Vučić’s attitude towards the European Union and his dismissal of the protests.
The Serbian situation, which has persisted for over 2 months since the Novi Sad accident, can be considered an example of mass dissatisfaction over government decisions. This behaviour can now be observed all over Europe, always directed towards the ruling political elites. It seems that not only the Serbian government, but also other European ones, will need to take immediate action and face the consequences of their irresponsibility if they want to maintain social stability.
