Sawt Falasteen - Serbia marks first anniversary of deadly train station collapse

On November 1, 2024, the collapse of the canopy at the newly-renovated railway station in Novi Sad killed 16 people.

Regular student-led protests have gripped the Balkan nation since the tragedy, which became a symbol of entrenched corruption.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

Students, who called for the "largest commemorative gathering" on Saturday, and others, have been pouring into Novi Sad since Friday, arriving by car, bicycle, or on foot.

Thousands marched from Belgrade for some 100 kilometres (62 miles), or even from Novi Pazar, around 340 kilometres south of the capital. It took them 16 days to finish the march.

Residents of Novi Sad took to the streets to greet the marchers, blowing whistles and waving flags, many visibly moved.

"I came to bow to the strongest force in the world right now -- our students, our youth," said Ratko Popovic from the Novi Sad region.

The 47-year-old, who arrived with his family, praised the "unity of all the people in Serbia who are against corruption, against crime, against the ruling party".

- 'Conscience guides us' -

"Our conscience is what guides us, it's what makes us act in this way, to finally bring justice and a better tomorrow to this country," Luka Kovacevic, medical student from Novi Sad, told AFP.

The protests have led to the resignation of the prime minister, the collapse of his government and formation of a new one. But nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic has remained defiantly in office.

Vucic regularly labelled demonstrators as foreign-funded coup plotters, while members of his SNS party push conspiracy theories claiming that the train station roof collapse may have been an orchestrated attack.

But in a televised public address on Friday, Vucic made a rare gesture and apologised for saying things that, he said, he now regretted.

"This applies both to students and to protesters, as well as to others with whom I disagreed. I apologise for that", Vucic said and called for a dialogue.

Saturday's commemorative rally at the Novi Sad railway station will start at 11:52 am (1052 GMT), the time when the tragedy occurred, with 16 minutes of silence observed for 16 victims.

The government has declared Saturday a day of national mourning while head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch Porfirije is to serve a mass for the victims at the Belgrade Saint Sava church.

Vucic supporters, camping outside the parliament for months against the university blockades in support of the government, said they would gather in front of the church to pay respect to the victims.

"On this sad anniversary, we appeal to everyone ... to act with restraint, to deescalate tensions and to avoid violence", the European Union delegation in Serbia said in a statement.

The protests have remained largely peaceful but in mid-August they degenerated into violence that protesters blamed on heavy-handed tactics by government loyalists and police.

In September, 13 people, including former construction minister Goran Vesic were charged in a criminal case over the collapse.

A separate anti-corruption probe continues alongside an EU-backed investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds in the project.

E.Qaddoumi--SF-PST