Tens of thousands rally in Serbia for antigovernment demonstrations

The student-led movement, which began after the Novi Sad rail station disaster in November 2024, is pushing for Early elections.Tens of thousands of people, led by university students, have rallied in the Serbian capital to protest against the government and call for Early elections.The Novi Sad rail station disaster in November 2024, which killed 16 people, sparked Anticorruption protests, calling for a transparent investigation, forcing then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Beaten, left to die, robbed: Refugees tell of violence on Croatian borderlist 2 of 4Can Hungary wean itself off Russian energy, as its new leader has promised?list 3 of 4Kosovo court jails three Serb separatists over 2023 Banjska attacklist 4 of 4Serbia hosts first joint military exercise with NATOend of listSerbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic later pushed back hard against the protesters.With students leading the anticorruption movement, the demonstrations have snowballed into a campaign to push Vucic to call Early elections.Vucic said this week that the ballot could be held between September and November this year.Antigovernment protesters take part in a rally led by Serbia’s protesting university students who are pushing for major political changes in the Balkan country run [Armin Durgut/AP]‘Students win’Protesters streamed into a central square in the capital, Belgrade, from several directions, many carrying banners and wearing T-shirts inscribed with the “Students win” motto of the youth movement.Columns of cars drove into Belgrade from other Serbian towns earlier in the day.Protester Maja Milas Markovic said students “managed to gather us here with their youth and wonderful energy; I really believe that we have [the] right to live normally.”Serbia’s state railway company cancelled all trains to and from Belgrade on Saturday, in a bid to prevent at least some people from coming from other parts of the Balkan country.In the evening, Sporadic clashes broke out between protesters and police near the presidency building and outside a park where Vucic’s supporters ‌have been camping since March last year.