NOVI SAD – Exactly one year after 16 people were killed when the canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, thousands took the streets to protest.
It is undoubtedly the largest gathering in the history of Novi Sad – yet another massive rally that brought together citizens from across Serbia at the call of students.
The collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad has sparked the largest protests since the fall of Slobodan Milošević’s regime.
In several columns from all parts of Serbia, students and citizens walked to Novi Sad to pay tribute to those who lost their lives at the Railway Station. Thousands of them covered hundreds of kilometers, while the longest route, about 400 kilometers, was taken by students from Novi Pazar: 16 days for 16 victims. Some of them arrived by bicycles and on tractors.
Throughout the day, crowds of people gathered to pay their respects to the victims in Novi Sad. At exactly 11:52 a.m., the time when the canopy collapsed, 16 minutes of silence were observed, and the entire protest took on a commemorative tone.
During her address to the crowd, Dijana Hrka, the mother of Stefan Hrka, who was killed in the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad, called on Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to call elections and announced that she would begin a hunger strike.
“I need to know who killed my child, who killed 16 people,” Hrka said at the gathering in Novi Sad, near the site of the railway station canopy collapse that claimed her son’s life a year ago. She said she would stage her hunger strike in front of the Belgrade City Assembly, across from the tent settlement known as “Ćacilend.”
On the eve of the protest in Novi Sad, President Aleksandar Vučić addressed the citizens of Serbia. In his message, he apologized for statements he had made over the past year about students and citizens and called for dialogue.
“Many have broken the rules and committed violence against the state and other people’s property. Just as some showed anger, I too regret some of the things I said. I apologize for that,” Vučić stated.
Students responded by saying that if the president’s apology was sincere, he should call early parliamentary elections, as they have been demanding for months.
Despite Vučić’s apology, in the days leading up to the protest the authorities did everything possible to prevent students and citizens from coming to Novi Sad.
The state-owned company Serbian Railways announced yesterday that train traffic was being suspended due to an alleged bomb threat. Similar incidents occurred ahead of previous mass gatherings in Belgrade and Novi Sad, yet official institutions have not investigated these cases.
Last night, the Serbian government decided to declare 1 November a Day of Mourning to mark the anniversary of the tragedy in Novi Sad.
Across Serbia, commemorative gatherings were also held in major cities to honor the victims. In many cities abroad, from Utrecht to Zagreb, the Serbian diaspora organized commemorative gatherings.
The state leadership was not in Novi Sad today but in Belgrade, at the Temple of Saint Sava, where the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) held a liturgy for the victims.
Anniversary draws global attention
Events marking the anniversary of the canopy collapse have drawn significant attention from international media. According to students leading the ongoing blockade, as many as 47 global media outlets are following the developments in Novi Sad.
This morning, on the anniversary of the collapse, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated on X that this tragedy is changing Serbia.
“This tragedy is changing Serbia. It moved masses to stand for accountability, free expression and inclusive democracy. It moved masses to stand for accountability, free expression and inclusive democracy. They are the same values to lead Serbia into the EU”, Kos stated.
The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group announced its support for the demonstrators who have been protesting for a year.
“We stand with the demonstrators who have been protesting for a year. The Serbian people have the right to live in a democratic country where democracy and the rule of law are respected, and where officials are held accountable for their actions,” the group said on the social network X.
The European Democrats expressed solidarity with the millions of students who took to the streets of Novi Sad today to ask the questions “the system fears” – namely, who allowed the canopy at the railway station to collapse, and who will be held responsible.
They added that “this was not fate – it was negligence, corruption, impunity,” emphasizing that “there is still no justice, no truth, no accountability.”
Marking the anniversary, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, wrote on X that his thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. He stressed that such events must not remain only in our memories, but should serve as a call for responsibility and justice.
“Citizens have the right to the truth , and to a system capable of preventing such a tragedy from ever happening again,” Picula wrote.
The Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, in a statement signed by all member states except Hungary, expressed condolences and solidarity with the families of the 16 people who lost their lives in the canopy collapse.
“This tragedy has shaken us all and left a deep wound in the hearts of many in Serbia and beyond. On this sad anniversary, we call on everyone to mourn the victims with dignity and peace,” the statement said.
