Thousands of people gathered on Saturday in Serbia's second-largest city, Novi Sad, to commemorate the victims of the fatal railway station roof collapse, marking one year since the tragedy that sparked the biggest protests in decades.
People placed flowers and candles along the temporary fence near the damaged entrance to the station, where 16 people lost their lives when the roof collapsed on November 1, 2024.
Tens of thousands of people attended the commemorations that began at the station at 11:52 a.m. – the same hour the tragedy occurred.
They also held 16 minutes of silence in honor of the 16 victims.
Since that day, Serbia has faced regular student-led protests.
Initially, the protesters demanded a transparent investigation, but then their calls expanded to demands for early elections.
Students and other citizens have been arriving in Novi Sad since Friday, by car, bicycle or on foot.
Thousands more marched to Novi Sad from Belgrade – about 100 kilometers away – and from Novi Pazar, about 340 kilometers south of the capital. It took them a symbolic 16 days – in honor of the 16 victims – to complete the march.
On Friday night, residents of Novi Sad took to the streets to welcome the marchers, whistling and waving flags, many of them emotionally moved.
"I came to bow before the greatest force in the world today: our students, our youth," said Ratko Popovic from the Novi Sad region.
The ongoing protests led to the resignation of the prime minister, the overthrow of the government, and the formation of a new one. However, President Aleksandar Vučić has remained in office.
Vucic has often called the demonstrators "foreign-funded putschists," while members of his SNS party have spread conspiracy theories, claiming that the roof collapse may have been an orchestrated attack.
But in a televised speech on Friday, Vucic made a rare gesture and apologized for the statements, saying he regretted some of them, without specifying which ones.
"This applies to both the students and the protesters, as well as to others with whom I have clashed in positions. I apologize for this," Vučić said, calling for dialogue.
The government has declared a national day of mourning on Saturday, while the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, held a mass for the victims at the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade.
The mass was also attended by President Vučić, who later said on Instagram that in this sad time, "the most important thing is for Serbia to be dignified and united."
"Today is the day when, without harsh words or division, we should pray in silence for the victims," he added.
Vučić's supporters, who have set up camps near the Serbian Parliament building against the university blockade, said they will gather in front of the church to honor the victims.
"On this sad anniversary, we call on everyone... to act with restraint, reduce tensions and avoid violence," a statement from the European Union delegation to Serbia said.
The protests have been largely peaceful, but in mid-August they escalated into violence, for which protesters blamed the heavy-handed tactics of government loyalists and the police.
In September, 13 people, including former Minister of Construction, Goran Vesic, were criminally charged in connection with the incident in Novi Sad.
Meanwhile, a separate anti-corruption investigation is continuing in parallel with an EU-backed investigation into possible misuse of EU funds in the project./REL
