site.btaUPDATED Serbia's Latest Anti-corruption Demonstration Blocks Nis for 18 Hours, President Vucic Expects Radicalization of Protests

Serbians staged a rally blocking Nis, the country's third-largest city, for 18 hours on Saturday. This is the fourth blockade and large-scale anti-corruption demonstration (after Kragujevac, Novi Sad and Belgrade) since November 1, 2024, when a concrete canopy at the recently renovated main railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, claiming 15 lives.

Students from across Serbia marched, ran or rode bikes to Nis, calling on people to support them.

The blockade in Nis began with the traditional 15 minutes of silence to commemorate the 15 victims in Novi Sad.

The streets and King Milan central square in the southeastern city of Nis are filled with university students, professors, teachers and school students, some of whom have travelled with their families from across Serbia to block the city.

"This is my first time participating. I arrived from Belgrade on foot because I believe this kind of civic activism is the only effective way to bring about change in Serbian society," Dimitrije, a student from Belgrade, told BTA.

"You are in power now," a professor from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, who has supported the students from the beginning, told the crowd in King Milan Square.

The students have organized blockades and suspended classes at more than 60 faculties across the country. This action was sparked after students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade were attacked in late November during a commemoration of the 15 victims of the Novi Sad tragedy.

A mother, father and daughter from the town of Subotica travelled from north to south, reaching Nis just in time to join the 18-hour blockade.

"I don't want my daughter to suffer the same fate as her colleagues and friends in Novi Sad," the father told BTA. He said he brought a poster featuring the coat of arms of Subotica, with the inscription: "Let the north and south unite in a kiss!"

"All of Serbia flocked to Nis," Djordje Jovanovic told BTA, adding that he was proud to have been part of the event, which he described as "a celebration of freedom and justice".

The blockade in Nis took place under the slogan "Student Edict," drawing a parallel with the edicts issued in ancient Rome when magistrates took office.

On the evening of March 1, it took BTA's correspondent and photographer in Serbia half an hour to walk the short distance from King Milan Square to Nis Fortress due to the massive crowd, which continued to grow as the 18-hour blockade approached its end at 3am.

Protesting students cleaned up the city following the blockade. After hours of demonstrations, performances and activities in Nis, students returned to their faculties taking volunteer taxis.

During a tour of Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic told his supporters that approximately 16,500 people had gathered in Nis. He commented that support for the students was declining, which, in his words, "will lead to haste, mistakes and radicalization of the protests."

The students want all documents on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station published, those responsible for the shoddy renovation work held accountable, all charges dropped against protesters arrested in previous rallies over the tragedy, all attackers of students, professors and citizens prosecuted, and a 20% increase in the higher education budget.

The government claims it has met the demands, while the students argue that not a single one has been fully addressed.

The next major protest is scheduled for March 15 in Belgrade.