Serbian protesters block key bridge, roads to mark 100 days since deadly canopy collapse
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Striking university students in Serbia blocked a bridge in Belgrade as well as roads throughout the Balkan country on Sunday to mark 100 days since the collapse of a concrete canopy at a train station which killed 15 people.
Many residents joined the students for a 7-hour blockade of the the Gazela, or Gazelle, bridge over the Sava River in the Serbian capital. Simultaneously, a three-hour blockade of key roads started in Novi Sad, while students in Nis blocked a highway pay toll station at the entrance of the southern city.
The blockades are part of a campaign of protests led by striking university students who are demanding justice over the Nov. 1 disaster at a train station in Novi Sad, which critics have blamed on government corruption.
“In 100 days, no one is accountable,” was written in red paint at one of the protest locations in Novi Sad.
The anti-graft protests are turning into a nation-wide uprising against the populist government of authoritarian President Aleksandar Vucic. He has accused the protesters of working for foreign intelligence services and pledged to defeat what he called a “colored revolution” whose alleged goal is to topple him from power. The student-led movement has already forced the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, Vucic’s ally, and his government.
The canopy collapse has become a flashpoint symbolizing a pro-democracy struggle against Vucic and his government. Tens of thousands of people have joined almost daily rallies and blockades in the past weeks.
As they arrived at Gazela bridge, the protesters carried red banners with the names of those who died on Nov. 1. They later dropped 15 white roses into the Sava River that had been painted red to symbolize “blood on the hands” of the populist authorities.
“There is hope,” Ivan Plecic, a protester, said. “A new movement is awakening, a new strength and energy can be seen in people. I hope they will manage to push through to the end everything they planned and we are here to support them.”
Vucic has launched a propaganda tour rallying his supporters in various towns and villages to counter the growing protests. As he was traveling in a motorcade on Saturday, his car suffered a blown tire in an incident which has been described by pro-government tabloids and officials as an assassination attempt conduced by the demonstrators.
Since Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party came to power more than a decade ago they have gradually imposed tight controls over state-run institutions and the mainstream media, describing any dissent against the populists’ rule as a foreign-led conspiracy aimed at destroying Serbia.
On Sunday, a group of students started a run from the central town of Kragujevac toward the capital Belgrade where they will hand out invitations to fellow-students for a rally on Feb. 15, which is the national statehood holiday in Serbia. Vucic plan to hold a rally of his own in Novi Sad on the same date.
The protests have struck a chord in graft-plagued Serbia, where few citizens feel that state institutions are working in the public interest. Many believe that the canopy collapse was the result of government corruption linked to a large infrastructure project with Chinese state companies.
Associated Press
