In Belgrade, Serbian students and their supporters gathered again for another large rally.
In several columns, they marched towards Belgrade's "Slavia" Square, where thousands have already gathered. Their slogan is "Students win."
The Serbian Interior Ministry registered the presence of approximately 34,300 people in the area of the mass anti-government protest, according to Police Chief Dragan Vasilević.
“Around 34,300 citizens gathered,” Vasilević told reporters. He stressed that determining the exact number of protesters was complicated by the active movement of citizens in the city center.
Many demonstrators carried national flags and symbols in support of the student protest movement. The crowd filled the square and several neighboring streets, chanting slogans critical of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Rail transport throughout the country was temporarily suspended, and the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of possible serious difficulties and blockades of traffic in the Serbian capital, including on the international road E-75.
The protest was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Bulgarian time at "Slavia" Square in the Serbian capital, with participants gathering at four locations in the city, the organizers announced on their official Instagram account.
The students hold the government responsible for the tragedy on November 1, 2024, at the Novi Sad railway station, where 16 people died after a canopy collapsed. The protesters are calling on President Aleksandar Vucic to resign and accusing the government of negligence and corruption.
The Serbian national passenger railway company announced that rail transport throughout Serbia was temporarily suspended this morning, without giving a reason. However, this has happened twice in previous student protests, with authorities citing anonymous bomb threats as the reason, while observers said the move was aimed at preventing protesters outside Belgrade from joining rallies in the capital.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our embassy in Belgrade advise Bulgarian citizens to avoid central parts of the Serbian capital due to possible traffic congestion and blockades without prior warning.