The blockade of the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad ended after 27:XNUMX. You could read the course of events on the portal "Vremena"
The blockade of the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad ended after 27:XNUMX, as it was decided at the civic plenum that the all-day blockade would be extended for another three hours.
Thousands of people came to Novi Sad on Saturday to support the students blocking all three bridges on the occasion of three months since the fall of the railway station canopy and the death of 15 people.
Students spent the night on the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad, and were guarded by tractors parked at the entrance to the bridge.
In the following text, read more about the course of the protest itself.
February 2
18.04
Blockade completed
The blockade of the Freedom Bridge, which has lasted for more than 24 hours, is coming to an end.
A column is being formed that will head towards the Campus. The guards, tractors and other participants of the blockade will go first, portal 021 writes. As they report, students and citizens ended the protest blockade of the bridge by cleaning it.
16.55
Noise when turning on RTV
The gathered people surrounded the team of Radio-television Vojvodina (RTV) and made noise during the broadcast, they are dissatisfied with the non-objective reporting of the provincial public service on the events in Novi Sad and Serbia since November 1, portal 021 writes.
16.37
Taxi drivers headed towards Belgrade
The first taxis with students have already left Novi Sad for Belgrade, the Beta agency reports.
Taxi drivers have "Taxi for students" signs on their windows, and some have Serbian flags.
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A column of several hundred taxis entered Novi Sad under police escort, which led them to the Freedom Bridge. Several dozen people from Novi Sad came on their own initiative in their vehicles and offered to drive them to Belgrade for the students who were waiting for taxis.
Since the campaign is still ongoing, student stewards are going around the camp in Limanski Park and inviting students from Belgrade to go to the place where they will be transported home.
Taxi drivers arrived in Novi Sad to pick up students 💚 pic.twitter.com/fnx9KDBFHJ
— Zeleno-levi front (@nedavimobgd) February 2, 2025
15.46
Injured motorcyclist
A motorcyclist and participant in the protest (57) carelessly drove over the stretched rope at the protest, lost control of the motorcycle, fell on the road and suffered serious injuries, the MUP announced.
The accident occurred on February 2 around 13:XNUMX p.m. in Narodni Front Street, according to the announcement.
15.10
Extended blockade
When the 24-hour blockade of the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad ended, a civic plenum began, which was of a performative nature. From the stage in Novi Sad, the warden addressed the crowd, who said that there is no possibility that everyone will be counted.
He was asked whether those present want the blockade to last for another three hours, during which the area will be cleaned, after which the end of the blockade will be announced. The decision was made unanimously, by a show of hands.
"Until the student demands are adopted, there is no stopping," said the warden who addressed the gathered students and citizens.
During 15 minutes of silence at the corner of Bata Brkića and Anđa Ranković streets, near the Satelitska market, an incident occurred when a car driver tried to drive through people who were standing on the road paying their respects to the victims of the fall of the canopy, reported 021. However, the crowd chased him away.
After that, parents from the nearby elementary school "Miloš Crnjanski" walked to the Freedom Bridge with brooms to help the students in the cleaning action.
14.25
New protest – February 15th?
Citizens gather around the Freedom Bridge, where a plenum with citizens should begin at 15 p.m. Although it was previously announced that the decision to continue or suspend the blockade of the Freedom Bridge should be made at the plenum, the N1 reporter states that the students plan to end the blockade today, as was planned.
Their intention is to appear with new protests and blockades in a few days, and one of the dates mentioned is February 15 for the Day of Resilience, or Meeting.
13.05
Basketball, school games, hide and seek
In the middle of the intersection of Boulevard Oslobodenja and Boulevard Cara Lazar, near Mercator, in Novi Sad, the citizens en masse brought out the little ones who were playing "school" with a ball, and a basket was placed for the slightly older ones.
12.40
Taxi drivers are moving to Novi Sad
Belgrade taxi drivers and their colleagues from other cities gather at the Zmajeva pumpa on the highway near Belgrade in order to organize an organized journey to Novi Sad to return the students home. About 380 taxi drivers signed up for the action, and one of them said that the line of cars stretches from Studentski Grad to TC Zmaj on the highway.
Taxi drivers will have the help of the traffic police, who will enable them to enter the highway without interruption, and it has been agreed that a ramp will be erected for them at the toll booth so that the line is not interrupted.
The agreement is that they will arrive in Novi Sad around 15:XNUMX p.m., and the students will be placed in the vehicles on Despot Stefana Boulevard near the Freedom Bridge, so that they can leave as soon as possible and avoid too many crowds in the city.
12.08
Silence on the bridge
Students blocking the Freedom Bridge and gathered citizens stopped at 11.52:15 a.m. in Novi Sad to observe 15 minutes of silence for the XNUMX people who died in the fall of the canopy at the Railway Station in Novi Sad.
11.45
The cleaning has already begun.
Although the cleaning of Novi Sad is scheduled for later, citizens and students have already started to remove the waste, which may have been left behind by the gathered.
In the meantime, the plenary session of students of the Faculty of Philosophy distanced themselves from, as they stated, attempts to abuse student blockades by any political actors and distanced themselves from the blockade of the Bridge of Freedom.
10.30
For breakfast, goulash, but also pancakes
There is also good food for frozen students - pancakes, strudels, porcini goulash and many other dishes, and water and hot drinks are provided, reports 021.
The gathered students and citizens are already cleaning the area from garbage. And some came directly to the blockade after being on duty all night.
9.03
Madonna with students
As cold as they are, they don't seem to be alone.
Support even came from Madonna. She posted a photo on her Instagram account that was taken by a drone at the protest of students and citizens in Novi Sad.
Conceptual artist Marina Abramović also wrote that "students are the heroes of the day", and the singer Severina stood by them.
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Support rallies for students in Serbia were also held this weekend in several cities in the USA and Canada.
"Your hands are bloody", "Your diaspora is with you", "I want to be your aunt to everyone", "Physically in Washington, with my heart in Novi Sad", these are the messages of dozens of citizens from the protest in support of Belgrade and Novi Sad students and citizens before the building of the US Congress in the US capital, Voice of America reports. The Serbian diaspora gathered in Boston for the second time to send support to students in Serbia, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Diego, Chicago, Phoenix, Houston and Toronto.
8.30
Peaceful night
Citizens spent the night on the street blocking the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad, and met the morning with extreme cold.
They are having breakfast right now, and the hourly schedule of today's events is out.
From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., morning mental exercise is scheduled at the Freedom Bridge, followed by a musical program. After that, the students will speak, and from 14 p.m. there will be a group cleaning.
The blockade ends at 15 p.m.
20.00
Protest program
From 22.00:22.20 p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., speeches by Srđan Kovačević, Zoran Kesić and, eventually, Dragan Bjelogrlić are planned.
Next, according to the agenda, are speeches by Igor Stanković, Jelena Obućina, Mina Đukanović and Jelena Stupljanin.
The program closes around midnight with the announcement of the tribute to Ana Ferik Ivanović, as well as a 15-minute silence with flash lights, from 23.52:00.07 p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX a.m.
This concludes today's live blog.
19.27
Aerial photograph of Tanjug
19.10
A river of people in Novi Sad
19.05
The speeches have begun.
"Today we stand here united in the belief that we can change the situation in our country." Thank you for coming, for showing that you are not afraid to raise your voice and stand with us students, with our city and with our future. We are not here on a whim, we are here because we don't want to give up, because we believe in justice, in dignity, because we believe that this city and this country can and must be better," said the student who addressed the citizens, reports portal 021.rs .
She added that today people are writing history together and that they did not agree to bow their heads and not notice how much the country has sunk into corruption.
"All of us together will stay here on the bridges, the streets, as long as necessary, because this city and this country belong to all of us, because we want to stay in our country," said the student.
18.51
See the gallery of "Vremena" reporter Katarina Stevanović:
18.16
"Everything from the Žeželev Bridge is full of people"
Two pensioners sat down to rest. They say, until half an hour ago, they were smearing grease and allspice on the bread. They say that they have never seen so many people in Novi Sad.
"As far as I know, the most this city has seen at protests is 40.000 people." This is much more. I don't have photos, I can't see from the air, but my daughter tells me that everything from the Žeželev bridge, along the quay, is full of people".
18.02
River of people
The column of citizens near the Freedom Bridge has no end in sight, reports the portal 021.rs.
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The same is confirmed by the photos of the "Vremena" reporter.
Photo: Time
17.25
"This should be channeled politically"
"This is to support students. It's good to be a student today, I studied in the nineties. Then we protested and he fell more easily," protest participant Zoran Andrić told "Vreme".
He adds that, in these three months, good energy crystallized.
"People hope that something will be resolved." I am afraid that this energy will not dissipate, this should be channeled politically, so that it does not fail like many other protests", he points out.
17.18
Students prepare styrofoam for seating
17.07
Protesters miss the ambulance
Due to the emergency vehicles, the security guards are turning people away from the Freedom Bridge. In the ambulance, as they say, is a woman who is giving birth.
16.45
"This will surpass Slavia"
People in columns go to the Bridge of Freedom, and there are also those who go to the other two crossings.
"This will surpass Slavia", I hear from a passing woman who is going to meet me.
I eavesdrop on what people are talking about as I walk towards the bridge which will be blocked further.
"These generations let us know who they are and what they are." In ten years, those characters will form the future of their children, but also of us. I am optimistic about the direction this can go in those ten years. We couldn't guess which movie they were in until now. We looked at our children as incompetents. This makes me very happy for them and their children during the time when they grow up to be who they are. For us it is already too late, but for them this is the way to a better system", says a middle-aged woman in a conversation with several friends.
"In those ten years, the question is which of them will remain in the country", comments a man walking next to her.
16.05
People of different generations
The Varadinski and Žeželjev bridges are slowly emptying. There are still people at the beginning and end of the bridges, but the larger parts are empty, for safety reasons.
Many people failed to climb the bridge, Belgrade Quay, a street along the Danube over which three bridges hang, is a large promenade.
People of different generations are walking, with whistles and banners.
Branko, Veselin and Robert arrived from Zmajevo, a town in Vojvodina about 30 kilometers from Novi Sad towards Vrbas.
They came by car and visit all three bridges.
Veselin is an old protester and expects success and the removal of "this scumbag" from power, he says for "Vreme".
"The students got people moving and did a phenomenal thing." I hope for the near end of the agony of 12-13 years", he says.
"We don't just need a change of government, we need someone normal," says Branko.
"Students should choose the future government," adds Robert.
15.42
Big crowd on the Žeželjevo bridge
There are a lot of people on the Žeželjevo bridge in Novi Sad, so the guards are calling to leave it.
15.41
"This is the fix for the sixth of October"
"I went through wars, the breakup of Yugoslavia, I lived in SFRY, FRY, SC, now in Serbia, the fifth of October, the removal of Milosevic, and I waited to experience this kind of revolution in my lifetime. This is the correctional day on the sixth of October," Jasmina Jakovljević, a 60-year-old from Belgrade, told "Vreme".
15.28
"Hope has returned to life in this country"
"For me, not only today's events, but everything that has been happening to us since November 1, has restored my hope in life in this country." I cringe when I watch the footage from the walk, I cringe even now when I talk. This is healthy and very important for mental health," says Jelena Jovanović, a resident of Novi Sad among those gathered on the bridge, a psychologist by profession.
"We are proud of Novi Sad and all the places that joined, we see that we can be a normal country, you can feel it in the air," says Zoran Tegeltija.
"We are proud of these young people for uniting us," adds the interlocutor of "Vremen" from Novi Sad.
15.20
Many citizens did not reach Novi Sad
Many citizens did not even make it because of the huge crowd on the highway.
Vreme portal reader Dejan Petrović says that he and his family are stuck on the highway and do not know when they will arrive in Novi Sad.
"We left Belgrade at 13.30:XNUMX p.m., and now we are at the ramp. "Everything is standing still, we don't know when we will arrive," he said.
15.00
The blockade has begun.
Students and citizens blocked three bridges in Novi Sad.
The blockade of the Varadin Bridge, the Freedom Bridge and the Žeželev Bridge began at 15 p.m.
I hear people from different parts of the country. They are all on the bridges. Bridges brought people together, and those of Novi Sad united Serbia today.
"I think that this is our only proof in the 21st century that it is possible to change something in Serbia, if everyone unites." This is a long road, but a road to the future", says Biljana.
"It's done!" is heard from the crowd.
I meet the students from the two-day convoy on the bridge. One of them slept not on the campus of the University of Novi Sad. He says that his colleagues welcomed them nicely. They will stay here tonight as long as they can stand it.
14.53
"They laid siege"
In a store on the way to the Žeželjevo bridge, there is almost no water left.
"They didn't prepare well for this," says one customer.
There are several people in the shop, and one cashier says to the other: "They are under siege."
The gentleman who managed to find a bottle of water answers her: "It won't be long, ma'am. Two, three more days. Then we will start from the beginning".
14.52
Information about taxi driving for students on the Viber channel "TAXI SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS"
Taxi entrepreneurs can see all information about driving for students and the organization of the drive itself on the viber channel TAXI SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS.
14.38
The students' walk towards the Žeželjevo bridge continues
14.28
See the gallery of photo editor in "Vremen" Marija Janković:
Photo: Marija Janković
14.04
Student gathering has begun.
Hundreds of students gather on the campus of the University of Novi Sad. The guards distribute them along the walkways on the three bridges.
Philosophical, Higher Business, Agricultural and Academy of Arts, with related Belgrade faculties, led by the "Three Bridges" promenade headed towards the Žeželjev Bridge.
They carry banners, flags, whistles.
The column is long, the beating of drums can be heard in the background.
14.00
Take a look at the photo gallery of "Vremena" reporter Katarina Stevanović from the streets of Novi Sad
Photo: Katarina Stevanović
Photo: Katarina Stevanović
Photo: Katarina Stevanović13.54
Kilometer columns on the highway
In front of the toll ramp near Novi Sad, cars occupied kilometers of the highway, waiting in two columns to approach the ramp and enter Novi Sad.
According to the Public Enterprise "Roads of Serbia", at the Novi Sad south toll booth, the vehicle was held for 13 minutes before 20:XNUMX p.m. at the toll booth.
Highway to Novi Sad #Don'tGiveItToStudents pic.twitter.com/0xJEpENopD
- CRTA (@CRTArs) February 1, 2025
13.44
Taxi drivers from Belgrade come to Novi Sad to pick up students
Taxi drivers from Belgrade leave for Novi Sad on Sunday at 13 p.m. from Nikola Tesla Airport, in order to bring students from Novi Sad.
Taxi drivers want to support students and take them back to Belgrade for free. All taxi associations participate in the campaign.
"At the moment, there are about fifty of us in vehicles, but the response of our colleagues will be even greater," says taxi driver Nikola Antic.
He adds that they want to support the students who went to Novi Sad on foot.
13.31
Bikers have arrived in Novi Sad
Bikers also arrived in Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia, on two-wheelers.
Around 13:XNUMX p.m., an endless column of motorcyclists started arriving in Novi Sad from the direction of Fruška Gora, across the Freedom Bridge, and their passage lasted almost half an hour.
When the front of the column arrived in the center of the city, the end was not yet in sight at the Bridge of Freedom, and police estimates say that there are at least 2.000 of them.
Among them are people from Novi Sad, but also many who arrived from Belgrade, Niš and other cities in Serbia, FoNet reporters report.
Motorists took a protest ride through the center of Novi Sad, as a sign of support for the students who announced the blockade of three Novi Sad bridges from 15 p.m.
Citizens enthusiastically greeted motorcyclists, who responded by honking their horns and "touring" their machines.
One of the gathered citizens told FoNet that this is "balm for the soul".
"Thank you to everyone who fights for all of us, especially for us old people." "Novi Sad does not remember this kind of beauty and youth," she said.
Members of the traffic police provide an unobservable column of motorists.
A large number of citizens from Belgrade and other cities arrive in Novi Sad by car, so slow traffic on certain parts of the highway and congestion at the toll booth are noticeable.
Every hour, more and more citizens, mostly young people, are arriving at the Bridge of Freedom, who will start a 15-hour protest at 24 p.m.
First, all three Novi Sad bridges will be blocked for three hours, and then the blockade will continue on the Slovoda Bridge, where a plenum with citizens is expected on Sunday at 15 p.m.
13.28
Column at the toll booth on the Belgrade-Novi Sad highway
A large number of Belgrade citizens headed today to Novi Sad, where a protest and blockade of three bridges will be held on the occasion of three months since the accident at the railway station in that city. A column of vehicles has formed at the toll booth, and the drivers are making protest noise and playing music in support of the students.
Svi putevi vode u Novi Sad! 🇷🇸
Kolona vozila na naplatnoj rampi na ulazu u Novi Sad! #SwiNaSlice pic.twitter.com/bQMEaAJIJ4
— Kreni-Promeni (@KPromeni) February 1, 2025
13.13.
A terrible echo that woke up the thunderous silence
Tears, petrified faces, hundreds of people, flowers, candles and - silence. She is like that picture on Saturday at noon in front of the railway station building in Novi Sad.
Exactly three months ago, on November 1, 2024, a terrible echo was heard in this place, in which 15 people were killed and it awakened a thunderous silence.
Exactly three months ago, the canopy of the Novi Sadaka railway station collapsed.
Today, February 1, in front of her at exactly 11:52, at the time of the fall of the canopy, thousands of people once again fell silent for 15 minutes for the 15 victims. The tragedies caused Serbia to rise to its feet demanding that those responsible be punished.
The hundreds of people gathered stand still in another thunderous silence, many with tears in their eyes.
Apart from sadness and the smell of burning candles, there is also a smell of change in the air. Their faces are turned towards the station, the backs of their heads are illuminated by the sun's rays, heating up the already heated atmosphere that has been ruling for months not only here, but in the entire country.
13.11
Everyone is here.
There are pensioners, young people and children, people of all ages, veterans of the famous 63rd Parachute Brigade.
Of course, there are also students here. Some of them walked the previous two days from Belgrade to Novi Sad, spreading their own enthusiasm and raising the country to its feet.
The last stop on the 80-kilometer-long journey was this very railway station from which it all began.
Marija Janković
13.10
Blockade and support
Today, students will block three bridges in Novi Sad, demanding once again, for who knows how many times, responsibility for the fall of the canopy of this station.
People come from all over to Novi Sad to join them.
The bikers are also arriving.
❤️ Let's go bikers!!! pic.twitter.com/BLMZCSDlkg
— Boogie (@Boogie77103049) February 1, 2025
Source: Katarina Stevanović / Fonet
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