Students march trough the fields near the village of Cumic near the Serbian industrial town of Kragujevac, to protest the deaths of 15 people killed in the November collapse of a train station canopy, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Republished February 14, 2025 - 1:38 PM
Original Publication Date February 14, 2025 - 9:21 AM
KRAGUJEVAC, Serbia (AP) — Protesting university students were greeted with euphoria Friday as they arrived in a central Serbian town ahead of a big rally this weekend, part of a months-long demonstration against corruption in the Balkan country.
Thousands of people filled the streets in Kragujevac on Friday evening to await the students, many with children and pets. The crowds waved flags and balloons, lit flares and blew whistles in a festive atmosphere.
“It's a unique feeling. This is once in a lifetime,” said Lena Stanisic, a student from Serbia's capital Belgrade. “It can't compare to anything else.”
A small red carpet was placed on the pavement for the students who received flowers and medals for their effort.
Hundreds of students set off on marches to Kragujevac from various points this week with some running or cycling. The town of some 170,000 people is located about 100 kilometers (60 miles,) south of Belgrade,
The cyclists were the first to arrive with the crowd bursting in jubilation.
University students have been at the forefront of massive anti-graft protests in Serbia in the wake of a fatal collapse of a concrete canopy at a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad in November that killed 15 people.
Many in Serbia blame the crash on government corruption during renovation work on the station building. Almost daily street protests since Nov. 1 have rattled the populist President Aleksandar Vucic’s firm grip on power.
Eearlier on Friday, locals at the central Serbian village of Luznice set up stalls filled with homemade delicacies, roast pork and other refreshments as they waited for the students to pass through on their way to Kragujevac.
“We are here to support all young people, our friends,” said Ivan Karic. "We want changes. That’s it. We don’t want lies any more.”
The students’ determination, youth and creativity have struck a cord among ordinary people who are widely disillusioned with politicians and have lost faith that substantial changes are possible in the country.
“The majority of people in Serbia support the students’ requests,” said Stevan Lazic, another resident of Luzice who came out to greet the marching crowd.
Among the students' demands are full disclosure regarding the canopy collapse and punishment for attackers on protesters in the past weeks.
The rally in Kragujevac is expected to draw tens of thousands of people on Saturday for a gathering that also marks the national Statehood Day.
The students chose the date and the town, which in 1835 was where Serbia, still part of the Ottoman empire at the time, declared a constitution that aimed to limit the powers of its rulers.
Vucic plans a parallel rally with his supporters in Sremska Mitrovica, a small town northwest of Belgrade. He has announced a declaration against an alleged separatist movement threatening Serbia's unity.
In the past three months, the president has shifted from accusing the students of working for foreign powers to offering concessions and claiming he has fulfilled each of their demands.
Vucic has said he wants Serbia to join the European Union but he has faced accusations of rampant government corruption and stifling of democratic freedoms while in power.
News from © The Associated Press, 2025