Students Across Serbia Silently Pay Tribute to Victims of Novi Sad Tragedy

Students (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

Having gathered in front of university buildings, blocking certain streets in Serbia’s largest cities as well, university students of Belgrade, Nis, and Novi Sad paid tribute on Dec. 9 to the victims of the collapse of the outside concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station.

In Belgrade, the students gathered on the plaza outside the Faculty of Philosophy and in front of the Faculty of Forestry. During a 15-minute silent action, the students of the Faculty of Architecture blocked traffic on the Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard. They held the banners saying  “This blood would not have been shed had everything been done by the law,” “Stop,” and “We are closing the doors to open the future.”

Traffic was also blocked on Takovska Street, in front of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS) building.

In Novi Sad, students paid tribute to the victims in front of the Faculty of Technical Sciences, and their peers in Nis and Kragujevac joined the action as well.

More than 30 state faculties in Serbia are currently blocked. Students are demanding the release of complete documentation on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station, where the canopy collapse on Nov. 1 claimed 15 lives. The students who initiated blockades are also calling for those responsible for a previous attack on the students of Belgrade’s Faculty of Drama Arts during earlier road blockades to be identified and held accountable.