27 January 2025 , 22:43
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Farmers bring tractors in support of protest, in echo of fall of former president Slobodan Milošević.
Serbian students have staged a daylong blockage of a major traffic intersection in Belgrade with the support of farmers, stepping up pressure on the president, Aleksandar Vučić.
The wave of student-led demonstrations began as a protest against government corruption after the collapse of a roof of a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad on 1 November, which killed 15 people.
Despite attacks on the protesters and limited government concessions, the near daily protests have grown and spread, affecting more than 100 cities and towns and drawing in increasing support from members of the judiciary, teachers, private businesses and the general public.
On Monday the demonstrators occupied the Autokomanda junction, where two major roads from the south-east converge on the way to Belgrade’s centre.
Thousands of Belgrade residents joined the protests along with some farmers who brought their tractors to the capital, some of which were used to protect the protesters, after two serious incidents of cars ramming the crowds of demonstrators.
The appearance of farmers and tractors was an echo of the mass protests and march on Belgrade that ultimately brought down the regime of Vučić’s predecessor Slobodan Milošević in 2000. Milošević’s fall, however, only came when key elements of the security forces turned against him.
After a record 100,000 people turned out to protest in Belgrade on 22 December, Vučić threatened them, saying Serbia’s special forces would “throw them around in 6-7 seconds”. But the threat drew widespread ridicule and he has so far not attempted to use the security forces to break up the protests.
The government has sought to meet some of the students’ demands, most importantly by declassifying some documents about the Novi Sad station canopy collapse, which happened soon after the station had been renovated by a Chinese-led consortium.
The protesters claim the collapse was caused by corruption and cutting corners in the construction work. Thirteen people have been charged over the disaster, including Serbia’s former transport minister Goran Vesić, who resigned days after the collapse.
The government released more relevant documents on Sunday but it is unclear whether it will be enough to defuse the demonstrations. The protest leaders are also demanding an end to prosecutions against demonstrators, the arrest and prosecution of those involved in attacks on the protesters, and increased funding for education.
Alida Vračić, a co-founder and the executive director of Populari, a thinktank focused on the western Balkans, said the tenacity of the demonstrations represented a serious challenge to Vučić, who has dominated Serbian politics since becoming prime minister in 2014.
“They could indeed be a threat because of their unique approach. These students surpass the usual opposition and bypass the standard playbook for dealing with ineffective governance. They don’t seek dialogue or compromise, they demand that institutions simply do their jobs,” Vračić said. “This straightforwardness is what stings the most and remains far beyond the grasp of the Serbian political toolbox.
“By rallying thousands around a unifying demand – justice – they’ve found a powerful and resonant message and mobilised thousands. In the Balkans, where injustice has been endured for far too long, their call for change feels urgent. It’s about time that changed and spilled over elsewhere.”
Edward Joseph, a former US diplomat at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said it was possible the political tide was turning in Serbia.
“Teachers – and many other professions – followed the lead of students who have protested en masse since the 1 November train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad,” he wrote in a social media post. “Reportedly, even judges – prominent state employees – left the courthouses to support passing protesters … The fear factor is gone. Even in a degraded Balkans democracy, the people still have agency and can still demand accountability.”