We have published the text “The Student Uprising in Serbia: The Power of Nonviolence” in which you can read about how and why the student rebellion began and developed, the deep commitment to nonviolent action that students and citizens demonstrated with their struggle despite the regime’s brutal crackdown, and about the solidarity in the region and the sense that these young people have restored hope to us.
This story begins with the people who were killed at the railway station in Novi Sad when a concrete canopy collapsed on them on Friday, 1 November 2024. Fourteen people, including four minors, died at the scene. The youngest victim was six years old. Two more people succumbed to their injuries later, and one woman was seriously injured and left with lifelong consequences. The station building had been officially reopened in July of that year, following reconstruction. After the tragedy, in one of his usual and frequent televised addresses, the president said that the canopy had not been renovated as part of the reconstruction works. We quickly learned this was as untrue as most things he utters.
It might be more accurate to say that the collapse of the canopy was the last drop and that this story starts with the Serbian Progressive Party coming to power way back in 2012.
The text is available here.