They packed up food, water and extra clothes and set off.
Hundreds of Serbian university students on Thursday started an 80-kilometer (50-mile) march toward the northern city of Novi Sad, the latest endeavor in their over a deadly overhang collapse in November that killed 15 people.
The students started from the capital, Belgrade, and plan to arrive in two days in Novi Sad, where a massive blockade of the city bridges over the Danube is planned for Saturday to mark three months since on the people below on Nov. 1.
What started as a protest against suspected corruption in construction contracts has developed into the most serious challenge in years to the country香蕉视频直播檚 powerful populist leader, President Aleksandar Vucic.
Students were greeted along the way by cheering citizens, honking their car horns or coming out of their homes with offers of refreshments, fruit or pancakes.
The march illustrates the determination of Serbia香蕉视频直播檚 striking university students, who have been camping at their faculties for the past two months while organizing daily protests, some drawing tens of thousands of people for the largest street gatherings in years in the Balkan country.
香蕉视频直播淭his march is our way of showing support for our colleagues from Novi Sad.香蕉视频直播� said Tatjana Gogic, a biology student. 香蕉视频直播淲e want also to show how persistent we are and that we do not plan to stop any time soon unless our demands are fulfilled.香蕉视频直播�
Vasilije Milanovic, a student at Belgrade香蕉视频直播檚 technical engineering faculty, added that 香蕉视频直播渨e are asking for justice and freedom of thought.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淲e are not stopping this and we are going to pursue this to the end,香蕉视频直播� Milanovic said.
Weeks-long demonstrations have already forced this week, along with various concessions from the authorities unused to making them.
The protests also reflect wider popular discontent in Serbia with The president and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have imposed a firm grip on all state institutions and mainstream media while facing accusations of stifling democratic freedoms, despite promises to .
Many in Serbia believe that the collapse of the overhang at the train station was essentially caused by in a large infrastructure project with Chinese state companies. Graft, critics believe, has led to a sloppy job during poor oversight and disrespect of existing safety regulations.
香蕉视频直播淲e must no longer allow such a chaos in our society, such despotism that one man is making all the decisions,香蕉视频直播� said Dusan Pavlovic, who graduated in acting from Belgrade香蕉视频直播檚 drama academy. 香蕉视频直播淭hat was not what we agreed. That is not the way the state should function.香蕉视频直播�
While protests over the Novi Sad train station crash started directly after Nov. 1, they only gained momentum two months ago when students joined in, , including doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors and teachers, farmers and judges.
The immediate cause for the student strike was an attack on the drama students on Jan. 24 by during a daily 15-minute commemoration for the victims of the overhang collapse. A call for the perpetrators to be punished soon spread to all universities in Serbia and further throughout society.
The students succeeded where previous waves of protesters had failed, said Aleksandar Baucal, psychology professor at Belgrade香蕉视频直播檚 Faculty of Philosophy. 香蕉视频直播淣o one else would have been able to gain trust of such a wide circle of people,香蕉视频直播� he said.
their empathy for the victims, along with resilience and readiness for sacrifice to achieve justice, struck a chord in a nation used to perpetual crisis where previous protests have fizzled out largely without results, Baucal said.
Other student demands also included the publication of full documentation related to the train station reconstruction project, punishment for the attackers on protesters and withdrawal of existing legal procedures against people and student protesters. The students have rejected Vucic香蕉视频直播檚 offer of talks, telling him that there is nothing to negotiate but that state institutions should simply do their job.
香蕉视频直播淲e could all easily identify because we have all experienced many times in our lives that the laws have not been respected and that it was our loss,香蕉视频直播� said Baucal. 香蕉视频直播淧eople trust the students when they have lost trust in everyone else.香蕉视频直播�
When faced with protests in previous years of his decade-long rule in Serbia, and stay firmly in power without backing down. The government fall earlier this week is seen as an attempt by Vucic to push the crisis into the political arena and move the focus off the students.
From to oust him, Vucic has shifted to offering concessions or issuing veiled threats. Pro-government thugs have repeatedly attacked the students, twice ramming cars into protests. A female student was beaten with baseball bats this week, but the protesters are undeterred.
Well-organized and creative, students also have sparked widespread solidarity, with people bringing in cooked food and donations. The movement has no leaders, and the media are not allowed inside the blockaded faculty buildings. All the decisions are taken in so-called 香蕉视频直播減lenary sessions香蕉视频直播� where students vote on any proposals or decisions.
The students香蕉视频直播� strength and determination have caught many by surprise in a country where hundreds of thousands of young people have emigrated, looking for opportunities elsewhere.
香蕉视频直播淭hey showed us all that they are very much interested in the world around them,香蕉视频直播� said Baucal. 香蕉视频直播淭hey rightfully had waited first for the older generations, who created social problems, to solve them so they (students) wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 have to. All they wanted from us was to respect the laws we set up ourselves.香蕉视频直播�
