site.btaSerbian Students Plan Further Protests in Nis on March 1

Protesting students in Serbia announced on social media on Sunday that an anti-government demonstration will be held in Nis on March 1. The news follows a 15-hour blockade of the city of Kragujevac on Saturday, which was Serbian Statehood Day.

Anti-corruption protests of students and members of the general public have been going on in the Balkan country since November 2024, when a concrete canopy at the recently renovated main train station in Novi Sad collapsed, claiming 15 lives.

After Saturday's demonstrations in Kragujevac, the students were transported back to their universities by volunteer taxi drivers free of charge.

The protests in the central Serbian city, where the first constitution of the Serbian principality was adopted on February 15, 1835, proceeded without incidents. Thousands of citizens swarmed the streets in response to the students' call to join them and blocked vehicular traffic in commemoration of the Novi Sad victims.

Since November, students have blocked more than 60 university faculties across the country, insisting that those responsible for the Novi Sad tragedy should be held politically and criminally liable. They accuse the incumbents of corruption and nepotism, which they believe led to the Novi Sad incident.

On Saturday, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party held a rally in Sremska Mitrovica. President Aleksandar Vucic said during the rally that a "colour revolution" is being attempted in Serbia. He called on the students to end the blockades and resume their studies.

The government and the President claim that the students' demands have been fulfilled and even explained this in letters to the diplomatic missions of the EU member states in Belgrade. Students and academics deny the allegation.

Earlier in 2025, students staged a 27-hour blockade at the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad and a 24-hour blockade at the Autokomanda road junction in Belgrade. Prime Minister Milos Vucevic announced his resignation on January 28 after students were assaulted in front of the Novi Sad office of the ruling party. Two ministers resigned earlier.