Students in Serbia vowed to continue protesting even after the country’s prime minister, Milos Vucevic, announced his resignation on Tuesday, following weeks of mass demonstrations over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November last year.
The Balkan country has been rocked by regular protests in the wake of the deadly disaster at the train station in the northern city of Novi Sad that killed 15 people.
The collapse, which followed extensive renovation work at the station, has ignited long-standing anger across Serbia over corruption and the alleged lack of oversight on construction projects.
Photo: AFP
“My irrevocable decision is to resign from the position of prime minister,” Vucevic told a news conference in Belgrade, following a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. “In order to avoid further complicating things, so we do not further raise tensions in society, I made this decision.”
Before taking up an earlier government post in Belgrade, Vucevic had served as mayor of Novi Sad from 2012 to 2022, during which time renovations began at the train station. The prime minister has been in office for less than a year.
More than a dozen people have been charged in connection with the Novi Sad accident, including former transportation minister Goran Vesic, who resigned in the days after.
Tensions have simmered in Serbia in the past few weeks with violence breaking out at some protests, with students accusing pro-government hooligans of targeting demonstrations.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs said it had arrested four people accused of assaulting a female student overnight at a rally in Novi Sad.
The prime minister’s announcement came as thousands of protesters ended a 24-hour blockade at a major traffic intersection in Belgrade — the latest in a series of massive rallies held across the country. Hours later, protesters continued to march at scattered demonstrations in Belgrade, Novi Sad and the southern city of Nis.
Student organizers continue to demand more action, including greater transparency into the investigation and the release of all documents linked to the renovation of the station.
For months, Vucic and other government officials have oscillated between issuing calls for talks and firing off allegations that the demonstrators were being backed by foreign powers.
The government has released a raft of documents linked to the station’s renovations, but experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Belgrade said they are incomplete.
Other key demands include dropping charges against protesters arrested at rallies, an end to attacks on demonstrators and increased government spending on education.
Following premier Vucevic’s announcement, students insisted that their demands had still not been met.
“The prime minister’s resignation means nothing to the students. Our demands are clear and we will continue protesting no matter who resigns,” said Maksim Jankovic, a 19-year-old biology student at the University of Belgrade.
Shortly after Vucevic resigned, Novi Sad Mayor Milan Djuric said he also would be stepping down.
Dragan Popovic, a Belgrade-based analyst with the Centre for Practical Politics, said the resignations were unlikely to quell the protests.
“I believe this is clearly a desperate move. They had to do something, to try some desperate measures to divert attention primarily from the students’ demands,” Popovic said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
PINEAPPLE DEBATE: While the owners of the pizzeria dislike pineapple on pizza, a survey last year showed that over 50% of Britons either love or like the topping A trendy pizzeria in the English city of Norwich has declared war on pineapples, charging an eye-watering ￡100 (US$124) for a Hawaiian in a bid to put customers off the disputed topping. Lupa Pizza recently added pizza topped with ham and pineapple to its account on a food delivery app, writing in the description: “Yeah, for ￡100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you monster!” “[We] vehemently dislike pineapple on pizza,” Lupa co-owner Francis Wolf said. “We feel like it doesn’t suit pizza at all,” he said. The other co-owner, head chef Quin Jianoran, said they kept tinned pineapple
RSS