The second general strike in Serbia began on Friday. It was organized by students who are blocking faculties, demanding accountability for the deaths of 15 people in the collapse of the concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station.
The first general strike was called on January 24, also at the call of students and as a continuation of the wave of social discontent in Serbia over the past 4 months.
On Friday, marches and traditional 15-minute silence were held in many places in the country in memory of the 15 people who died in the northern Serbian city.
Protesting students in Belgrade have been calling on citizens with megaphones and drums since early morning not to go to work, not to shop and to take to the streets.
In the early hours of the day, the central part of the Serbian capital remained deserted, and some shops did not open, but public transport and institutions were working.
Professors, high school students and lawyers in Belgrade also declared a protest.
In Novi Sad, thousands of citizens joined the protesting students' march. Protest rallies were also held in Nis, Kragujevac, Uzice, Subotica and Sombor.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, however, "everything is functioning and working." Vucic said that he had no problems getting to his workplace in central Belgrade.
In the park in front of the Presidency building, there are tents of students who want the blockade of over 60 faculties in the country to be lifted and classes to be resumed.
The authorities claim that all the protesters' demands have been met and are calling for an end to the protests.
On Thursday, the Serbian Parliament adopted legislative changes that halved student fees, increased the budget for higher education by 20%, and introduced preferential housing loans for young people.
For their part, a group of professors at the University of Belgrade published a report arguing that the students' demands have not been fully met, including providing access to full documentation on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad train station and identifying the attackers during the blockades.
/RY/
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