Over the past three months, Serbia has experienced the most extensive protests in recent history, led by students denouncing government corruption. The student protests, especially in this past month, have reached across the population, spreading to more than 100 cities and towns. The triggering event was the roof collapse at the Novi Sad train station on November 1st, which resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians. The students protesting believe that the collapse of the station’s concrete canopy was due to corruption in infrastructure projects in a country where profits are made on poorly executed works that do not function and are harmful to citizens. The Novi Sad station had previously undergone renovations by a Chinese company, which began in 2021. However, much criticism has been leveled at it, pointing out the lack of proper controls and violation of existing safety regulations. The collapse of the station canopy has become a symbol of wider discontent with the authoritarian government and grounds for the advancement of demands for increased transparency and democratic changes.
The slogan of the protest is “your hands are bloody,” in defiance of the country’s president, Aleksandar Vučić. The first major protest took place on Saturday, February 1st, three months after the canopy collapse. Students completed a two-day march from Belgrade to Novi Sad, approximately 80 km long. In Novi Sad, students visited the site of the accident, carrying wreaths inscribed with the names of the 15 victims of the canopy collapse. After the commemoration, protesters began a march to block the city’s three main bridges over the Danube: the Most Sloboda, Most Duga, and Zezeljev Most.
On February 15th, another large demonstration sparked in Kragujevac, an industrial city in central Serbia. The anti-government protest, with the aim of contesting government corruption and control of major newspapers, took place, not coincidentally, on the day of the Serbian national holiday, during which President Alekansar Vučić had held a political rally.
The last major protest organized by students took place on Saturday, March 1, four months after the collapse of the Novi Sad station roof, in Anis, Serbia’s third-largest city in the south of the country.
The students’ protest was joined by protests by other categories of workers. Lawyers have gone on strike, blocking the nation’s judiciary; intellectuals have condemned Serbia’s pretend democracy; farmers and small businessmen complain of economic difficulties caused by corruption and government policies that favor big business at the expense of local businesses.
Students want a country free of corruption and capable of guaranteeing democratic freedoms. As reported by journalist Marco Fazzini of Euronews, student Luke Brozic said, “I hope that we will be able to overcome everything that has happened to us, that we will live in a better and more orderly country, as we deserve.” Another student, Anja Stanisavljević, stated, “We just really want to have a lawful country to live in, and a peaceful society.”
Students are protesting with one voice, unanimously demanding immediate change and denouncing government corruption. Julian Borger reported in The Guardian the declaration made by a student participating in the Belgrad manifestation: “We were brought up not to participate in politics. We were taught we cannot change anything. Now we’ve proved that change is possible.”
In response to the protests, President Vučić declared Serbia in danger and threatened by outside powers. The president referred responsibility for the protests to those in the international arena who have condemned the country’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Milos Vučević resigned on January 28th, 2025, seeking to appease the anger of the protests. The choice came in the aftermath of assaults last week in Novi Sad by some government party members who walked out of the section and attacked two medical students in the street. The prime minister said, “I think that this policy to which I belong, the party I lead…must show the highest degree of responsibility…must show that it is the most responsible. And that’s why after this event last night in Novi Sad, my irrevocable decision is to resign from the position of prime minister,” as reported by Milica Stojanovic in her article published on Balkan Insight. Vučević’s resignation has shaken the country as well as the government and is also the first result achieved by the demonstrations.
The student protest is an example of peaceful mobilization against corruption and lack of transparency. But despite the first violent attack on crowds of protesters that led to the resignation of the prime minister, violence against protesters continues during the course of the protests. During one of the latest demonstrations, a car rammed into young students, hitting and seriously injuring a woman. The following week a similar incident occurred when a 24-year-old ran over a young student during a demonstration. The students also reported being threatened with knives and beaten with baseball bats.
In addition, Serbian police also arrested 13 protesters, students, and school workers while attending an international seminar on fundraising for nongovernmental organizations, on charges of threatening national security. This continued evidence of repression and acts of violence against a peaceful demonstration of the new Serbian generation, fighting for a better future for their country, is a very serious turn of events and has been condemned internationally. First and foremost, the European Union has expressed great concern about the violent turn of events and urged the Serbian government to start a dialogue with the protesters.
Students continue their protests, demanding: i) the publication of the documents of the November 1st case, ii) the punishment of the attackers of students and professors during the protests, iii) the permanent suspension of the trials of students and professors arrested during the demonstrations and, finally, iv) a 20 percent increase in public expenditures concerning education.
These demands have already produced their first effects, although only partially met; the president committed to an increase in funds for education but published only part of the documents on the station renovation, not releasing those dealing with the work regarding the subsequent collapse of the canopy. 13 people were charged in the canopy collapse, including several public officials such as the former minister of construction.
On February 20th, eight people were arrested on charges of money laundering, fraud, bribery, and abuse of office. On February 23rd, the government adopted a measure to reduce education taxes by 50 percent and increase higher education employees’ salaries by 16 percent.
To conclude, the protest movement driven by university students is the largest in post-Yugoslav Serbia, assuming historical significance. The students, joined by other citizens, advocate for a more transparent government and progress toward a fully functioning democracy. The student protest was thus able to generate a “struggle for democracy,” striving to guarantee respect for the rule of law and its daily implementation, with an independent judiciary, freedom of expression, and protection of fundamental liberties.
Students struggle to create a better future, increasingly in their own hands, and push for a reaction from institutions capable of responding to the needs of people who believe in the progress and improvement of their country through a renouncement of authoritarian rule and a genuine commitment to democracy.
