Thousands of people went on protest on Sunday in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, marking a month since a concrete canopy collapsed outside the city’s railway station, killing 15 people and injuring two, The Independent reports.
Protesters held a huge banner with a red handprint in front of the column – a message to the populist authorities that they have blood on their hands. Later, the protesters left the same symbolic message on the pavement in Novi Sad’s main square and also painted a large part of the square red.
Street protests and blockades have taken place almost daily since the roof collapsed on November 1, demanding accountability after tonnes of concrete fell on people sitting or walking below on a sunny day.
The station building has been renovated twice in recent years. Many in Serbia believe rampant corruption and opaque deals led to the sloppy work and the roof collapse.
Although prosecutors announced the arrest of 13 people, a Serbian court released former government construction minister Goran Vesic from custody. This has sparked widespread scepticism about the ongoing investigation, as populists control both the police and the judiciary.
The march on Sunday in Novi Sad was quiet and peaceful, unlike some traffic closures in recent weeks when government supporters tried to disrupt the gathering and scuffled with protesters. There have also been scuffles in Serbia’s parliament between the ruling party and opposition lawmakers.
On Sunday, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić spoke in defence of his supporters who blocked opposition-led traffic. Vučić said the traffic shutdown represented the “highest degree of violence” against citizens.
Opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Serbia’s prime minister and his government, as well as access to full documentation on the construction of the railway station and other infrastructure projects with Chinese state-owned companies.
The Novi Sad railway station was originally built in 1964. Its reconstruction was part of a larger project involving China and Hungary to build a high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest.
