
Thousands have protested across Serbia as a student-led strike shut down businesses, bars, restaurants, libraries. During this protest, a woman was deliberately hit by a car. The injured victim, a 26-year-old woman, was taken to hospital and her condition is described as stable. In Serbia, demonstrators block traffic daily to protest the collapse of a train station marquee in November, which killed 15 people. Critics blame the collapse on corruption in the government.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić ignored all the demands of the students and protesters and held a rally in one of his strongholds, Jagodina. There, Vučić told his supporters that the country was being “attacked from both outside and inside” by anti-government protests.
“It is no coincidence that they attacked Serbia from the outside,” Vucic said, referring to Serbia’s friendly relations with Russia and China and the country’s refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. He said he would maintain fraternal and friendly relations with Russia and China and would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to clarify the situation regarding US sanctions against Serbia’s oil industry.
“I will not impose sanctions on Russia or other friends,” he said. “Serbia’s strength lies in our autonomy and independence. Let’s protect our roots, but also our future,” said Vučić. At this rally in Jagodina in March, Vučić announced the founding of a nationwide political movement modeled on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia movement, which would help to secure the supremacy of his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party.
Many people in Serbia are convinced that the large concrete roof of a train station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed due to shoddy reconstruction work and corruption. The week-long protests to hold those responsible for the disaster to account were the largest since Vucic came to power over a decade ago. Although he is officially seeking Serbia’s membership of the European Union, he has been accused of restricting democratic freedoms. /TheGeopost/