site.btaAleksandar Vucic: All Who Cause Disturbances during Saturday's Planned Protest in Belgrade Will Be Arrested

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that all those who cause disturbances during the large protest in Belgrade scheduled for Saturday will be arrested.

In an address to the public on Friday evening, Vucic stated that arrests will take place if protesters are attacked, if there is an assault on an institution, or if involvement in a fight is confirmed.

The Serbian head of State commented on the developments following the tragedy in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad last year, calling it a “serious incident that claimed 15 lives and affected all of Serbia.” 

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.

According to Vucic, the government has been offering dialogue with protesters over the past four months, proposing a referendum and early elections to the opposition.

He stated that as early as December, it became clear that the goal was to incite a “color revolution” in Serbia.

The Serbian president described his greatest mistake as granting amnesty to students and professors who had been charged by the prosecution for their involvement in anti-government protests and acts of civil disobedience over the past four months.

Lifting legal responsibility from protesters was one of the demands in the early days of the social unrest in Serbia, sparked by the Novi Sad tragedy.

“You can study or not—that’s your choice—but if you take part in a coup against the state, that is punished with the harshest penalty in our country,” Vucic said, referring to a recording circulated Thuesday evening and on Friday in some Serbian media. The recording allegedly captures activists from two NGOs planning to storm the Serbian national broadcaster RTS during the planned demonstrations in Belgrade on Saturday.

Protesting students distanced themselves from the views expressed in the video.

Serbian students have been organizing protests for four months in various cities across Serbia, demanding accountability for the deaths of 15 people in Novi Sad after the collapse of the train station canopy on November 1 last year.

Through blockades, marches, and demonstrations, students are calling for the full documentation of the station’s renovation to be made public to determine who is responsible for the tragedy. They are also demanding charges against those who attacked protesters during previous demonstrations and for all legal proceedings against arrested demonstrators to be dropped.

The government has declared that all the protesters’ demands have been met, but students maintain that their demands have not been fully addressed.

During his address to the public, President Vucic also stated that he currently has no intention of declaring a state of emergency due to the protests and outlined the procedure for doing so if necessary.

The "15 for 15" protest in Belgrade, organized by the protesting students, is set to begin tomorrow at 4:00 PM local time (5:00 PM Bulgarian time).

For several days, government officials have warned of potential unrest, which students have distanced themselves from, calling for a peaceful protest.

Friday evening, on their Instagram profile, named "Students from the Blockade," they posted guidelines and recommendations for behavior, clothing, and necessary items to bring to the protest.

The wave of social discontent following the collapse of the concrete canopy at the Novi Sad train station has become a major challenge for President Aleksandar Vucic, considered the most influential political figure in Serbia at the moment.