University Professor: Student Protests Herald Change

Bojan Pajtic (Beta/Dragan Gojic)

Bojan Pajtic, a professor at the Novi Sad Faculty of Law, said on Dec. 4 that student protests were always harbingers of change everywhere in the world, and added that students were "the most productive and progressive part of society."

He told the Danas daily that a government that did not understand students was "doomed to fail." "They are the future of this planet and have the right to rise up against lawlessness, corruption and crime. They understand they have only two choices if they want to live in a healthy society: change what is there or move to a happier country. I'm glad that they chose to fight," Pajtic said.

Blockades at several university schools in Belgrade and Novi Sad began on Dec. 2 at the symbolic time of 11:52 a.m., which is the time when a concrete canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad railway station on Nov. 1, claiming 15 lives. The students blocking the schools are demanding that all documents related to the reconstruction of the railway station in Novi Sad be made public and that charges against protesters who were arrested and detained be dismissed.