Protesters demand the resignation of Serbia’s chief and mayor of Novi Unhappy metropolis over the lethal accident that killed 15 folks.
Tens of hundreds of Serbians have gathered within the capital Belgrade to protest in opposition to President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Social gathering (SNS), which they blame for a railway station roof collapse final month that killed 15 folks.
The rally, one of many largest in recent times, was known as on Sunday by college college students and farmer unions and passed off in Belgrade’s Slavija Sq..
It started with quarter-hour of silence as a tribute to as many individuals killed after the concrete cover of the just lately renovated roof of Novi Unhappy station caved in on November 1.
Fourteen folks, aged between six and 74, had been killed that day and a fifteenth sufferer died in hospital weeks later.
Prosecutors have arrested 13 folks over the incident, together with a authorities minister whose launch later led to public scepticism concerning the honesty of the investigation.
Opposition leaders and the general public have taken to the streets repeatedly, blaming the accident on shoddy development ensuing from authorities corruption and nepotism. The ruling coalition denies these costs, and Vucic has mentioned these accountable have to be held to account.
The protesters on Sunday night switched on the lights of their cell phones and shouted “Vucic, thief!” Others held up banners studying “We’re all beneath the cover” and “You will have blood in your arms”.
“We got here right here to say ‘Cease’ to every part that has been taking place since 2012 [when Vucic’s party took power],” mentioned Aleksa, 30, an IT knowledgeable from Novi Unhappy. “We need to see an finish to corruption and nepotism.”
Many are demanding that Serbia’s chief in addition to the mayor of Novi Unhappy resign, and that these discovered accountable be prosecuted. They’re additionally calling for authorized proceedings to be dropped in opposition to demonstrators, and for the prosecution of those that attacked the protesters.
Serbia’s standard theatre and film actors joined the protest, with actor Bane Trifunovic describing Sunday’s rally as “a pageant of freedom”.
Smaller rallies had been additionally held within the cities of Nis and Kragujevac.
In a bid to calm the protests, authorities over the previous weeks have promised varied subsidies for younger folks. College students – and different residents supporting them – have continued to protest, saying their calls for have solely been partially met.
Regardless of the continued demonstrations, Vucic on Sunday inaugurated a piece of a newly constructed freeway in central Serbia.
Vucic mentioned he wouldn’t budge to opposition calls for for a transitional authorities and accused his opponents of utilizing college students to attempt to seize energy.
“We are going to beat them once more,” he mentioned. “They [the opposition] don’t know what to do however to make use of somebody’s kids.”
The weeks-long protests have occurred amidst basic discontent with Vucic’s rule. He had mentioned he desires to take Serbia into the European Union however has confronted accusations of curbing democratic freedoms slightly than advancing them.
