“The complete capture of all independent institutions by Vučić’s party, no media freedom, and the absence of free elections leave Serbian citizens with no other option but to go out in the streets to fight for their rights,” writes Srdjan Cvijic of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy. “The tragic collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station, which claimed 15 lives, has vividly exposed the deep corruption within the system in Serbia,“ writes ICDR member Sonja Biserko in her comment on the current situation in Serbia, where this disaster was also a trigger for wider discontent with the increasingly autocratic rule of populist President Aleksandar Vučić.
Srdjan Cvijic
President of the International Advisory Committee of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy. In 2023, Cvijic was a speaker at the Forum 2000 Conference.
Sonja Biserko
Member of the ICDR as well as founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Srdjan Cvijic
President of the International Advisory Committee of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy. In 2023, Cvijic was a speaker at the Forum 2000 Conference.
On 1 November 2024, a canopy of the newly reconstructed railway station in the second-largest Serbian city of Novi Sad fell and killed 15 people. As soon as voices from the whistle-blowers revealed corruption and negligence in the reconstruction process, this seemingly tragic incident quickly sparked protests all around Serbia that are lasting until this day. The protesters are blaming government corruption for the multiple deaths. They are asking for the release of the complete documentation on the reconstruction of the railway station in Novi Sad, as well as criminal responsibility for those guilty of the fall of the canopy and later attacks against the students protesting.
The Novi Sad railway station reconstruction was part of a larger infrastructural project connecting Budapest and Belgrade with the high-speed rail. This project is part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. It has been simultaneously a political PR instrument and a cash cow for the Viktor Orbán regime in Hungary and the Vučić regime in Serbia. A consortium of Chinese companies completed the work on the railway station. Serbian and Hungarian companies close to both regimes in Belgrade and Budapest also took part. The station was prematurely ceremonially reopened in 2022, before that year's general election. However, renovation work had to be resumed after the vote, and the station was reopened once again just four months before the tragedy.
Apart from the blockades of the universities and high schools and the daily 15 minutes of silence for 15 dead at the main crossroads across the country observed by the students, the protests against murderous corruption have until now gathered hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Under the slogan “No New Year: You Still Owe Us for the Old One,” Serbia stood in silence to mournfully mark the New Year.
Trying to calm the protests, the prosecution initiated an investigation of more than 40 people, including the former construction minister. Just before New Year’s Eve, the minister and 12 others were formally indicted over the collapse. Yet, unlike the students and activists who were kept for days in jail for having simply protested in the street, none of the accused over the canopy collapse are kept behind bars. This fact, together with the complete capture of the judiciary by the ruling party doesn’t give the students hope that their demands will be truly met.
The current anti-corruption protests in Serbia follow almost continuous yearslong massive demonstrations against the authoritarian regime of President Vučić starting from December 2021. The complete capture of all independent institutions by Vučić’s party, no media freedom, and the absence of free elections leave Serbian citizens with no other option but to go out in the streets to fight for their rights.
In this, Serbia is very similar to Georgia. Like the Georgian Dream, Vučić’s regime uses all the ingredients from the Kremlin cookbook: it tries to enact Russian-style foreign agents laws; last summer it used the communiqué of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs against the National Endowment for Democracy explicitly targeting my organization to start a propaganda campaign against Serbian civil society accusing the West of standing behind Serbian protests. As proved by Amnesty International in a report published in December 2024, Vučić’s regime uses massive surveillance by Pegasus and other spyware to suppress all dissent.
The only difference between Serbia and Georgia is the absence of the EU flags at the Serbian protests. This is because of the perceived support of the EU for the authoritarian regime in Serbia. In exchange for several economic deals signed with the EU and its member states, as well as empty promises of Western alignment, Vučić has managed to secure European silence over his progressive destruction of democracy. His cynical balancing act between the West on the one hand and Russia and China on the other works to perfection. The geopolitics and democracy dance works in opposite ways in Serbia and Georgia. Whereas geopolitical considerations go in favor of European support for the Georgian democratic movement, in Serbia geopolitics helps the growingly oppressive regime. As long as such a policy continues, Euroskepticism in Serbia will grow. As a consequence, the door to Europe will be wide open for Russia and China via the Balkans.
Sonja Biserko
Member of the ICDR as well as founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
The tragic collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, which claimed 15 lives, has vividly exposed the deep corruption within the system, as well as the absence of the rule of law and professionalism. The regime attempted to cover up the evident failures during the station's reconstruction but failed to do so.
Students in Novi Sad immediately responded to the tragedy with protests that quickly spread to almost all faculties and universities in Novi Sad, Belgrade, Niš, and Kragujevac. The student blockades of faculties have been ongoing for over two months and, as students declare, will not stop until the complete documentation on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station is disclosed, those responsible are prosecuted, those accountable for the attacks on students are identified, charges against arrested students are dropped, and the mayor of Novi Sad and the Serbian prime minister are dismissed. The students demand accountability from institutions failing to fulfill their responsibilities and call for systemic change.
The student uprising is unique in its form, articulation of demands, creativity, and perseverance. Students have not allowed anyone from outside to address their gatherings. They have garnered massive societal support, culminating in a rally in Belgrade where more than 100,000 students and citizens took to the streets.
The government has been seriously shaken, as it has failed to find an adequate response other than resorting to violence and accusing the protests of being a "color revolution" organized by the Western community. Students ignored President Vučić’s invitation to dialogue, citing that he “is not in charge.” This has significantly undermined his authority. The president is making daily announcements with new ideas, such as holding a referendum on his political survival. His persistent manipulations and falsehoods only radicalize the students’ demands and fuel their determination.
The president has resorted to various forms of intimidation against students and their families. He anticipated that the protests would lose momentum due to the holidays, but this did not occur. The ongoing climate of hostility and violence targeting students in Serbia can be directly linked to the atmosphere cultivated by him and his administration. By failing to condemn or address such incidents and enabling groups connected to the government to operate with impunity, the current regime fosters an environment where attacks on students are not only possible but increasingly frequent. This atmosphere undermines democratic values, silences dissent, and endangers the safety of young people advocating for their rights. Moreover, the fact that official institutions, including the Security Information Agency (BIA) and the police, deny responsibility for violent actions highlights the lack of transparency and accountability in the operations of security services.
With their resilience and fresh energy, students have already shaken society. However, despite widespread support, neither the opposition nor society as a whole appears ready to take more significant steps. This is a society that has lived for over 30 years in extreme ideological confusion, anomie, and apathy, lacking a broader consensus on anything. It is precisely within such a familial and societal context that students have reacted.
In this context, the significance of the student protests is growing. These demonstrations are not merely a reaction to the current political situation but an effort to achieve concrete changes that will lead to a better societal system and the development of a responsible society. As future leaders, students are already shaping the political landscape. However, this will neither be easy nor quick.
It remains unclear how these protests will end, whether the authorities will resort to even more radical violence or move toward some form of an emergency state. The most recent incident (16 January), which was qualified as an attempted murder of a law student, could be a turning point in mobilizing society to substantively support students’ demands. The government operates under the assumption that the Western community, particularly the United States, will continue to tolerate its behavior, especially if it definitively removes Russia’s influence by taking control of the company Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), a key instrument of Russian influence in Serbia.
The views expressed in these works are the responsibility of its authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forum 2000 Foundation or its staff.