site.btaTractors Encircle Camp of Counter-Protesting Students in Belgrade's Pioneer Park

Tractors without number plates have encircled a camp of counter-protesting students in Belgrade’s Pioneer Park, situated across from the Parliament building. The vehicles were parked on the pavement, some in a decrepit state. The drivers were nowhere to be seen.

"I do not see the point. It is bizarre. It is probably intended to shield the students who are loyal to [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic from attacks," 45-year-old Gordana Jovanovic, who was biking past the park, told BTA.

"Quite a disgraceful sight, don't you think? Vucic should step down with dignity now that he can see that he is no longer popular. I think I have said enough!" said another passer-by who wanted to remain anonymous.

The counter-protesting students did not comment on the purpose of the tractor barrier.

On Thursday evening, the Serbian President urged them to return to their homes to avoid possible clashes with protesting students who are organizing a major protest in Belgrade on March 15. Last Saturday, Vucic said that he expects the opposition's protest to turn violent.

Earlier on Friday, protesting students announced on Instagram that the protest will start at 4 p.m. local time (5 p.m. EET) outside Serbia’s National Assembly.

Serbian students have been organizing protests in major cities in Serbia for the past four months, demanding accountability for the deaths of 15 people after the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024.

Through blockades and protests, the students are demanding the publication of documents related to the recent renovation of the railway station to help identify those responsible for the tragedy, the indictment of those who had attacked protesters, and the dismissal of charges against protesting students.

While the government claims to have met all the demands of the protesters, the students insist that their demands have not been fully satisfied.