BELGRADE (Reuters) — Tens of thousands of anti-government protestors in Belgrade held a 15-minute silence in front of the state broadcaster RTS headquarters to remember the deaths of a train station roof collapse, which they blame on Serbian authorities.
Students from Belgrade State University coordinated and led the demonstration, asking that those responsible for the roof fall, which killed more than a dozen people, be brought to justice.
Lazar and Luka Stojakovic, twin brothers and activists at Belgrade University’s Faculty of Organizational Science, were named by the pro-government daily Vecernje Novosti as protest organizers financed by Croatia’s secret agency.
Their passports, photos, and personal information had been published in the daily. Lazar and Luka, however, did not back down and continued to argue. They were among the demonstrators gathered in front of the RTS on Friday.
“Corruption has infiltrated every level of our society, and it is the primary cause of the roof collapse and the deaths of 15 people,” Luka Stojakovic said why they are protesting.
“The main issue is that there is no system here; one man makes all decisions,” Lazar Stojakovic stated.
The students accuse President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of corruption and nepotism, which both he and the party reject.
Students at public universities in Belgrade, Kragujevac, and Nis have been blocking courses for weeks, demanding the release of all records related to the station’s reconstruction, as well as the criminal prosecution of those responsible for the catastrophe.
Every day, students block traffic in front of their faculties for 15 minutes to honor the 15 victims.
On November 1, the concrete awning of the freshly refurbished roof of Novi Sad station collapsed in, killing 14 people and wounding three. One of those injured died subsequently.