New protest in Novi Sad, protest in Belgrade as well: Everyone for himself

Co-president of the Green-Left Front and MP Radomir Lazović he announced a big protest in Belgrade next Wednesday and reminded that it was a decision made at a meeting of the parliamentary opposition, despite the criticism coming from Novi Sad.

A record number of people participated in the protest in Novi Sad, which was organized after the accident at the railway station, when 14 people died in the collapse of the building's canopy. The deadline was given until Friday, that is. tomorrow, for those responsible to resign.

"The protest will be on Wednesday." If you want people to be able to come, to make a big protest, you have to leave space. We thought that there should be a big protest in Belgrade and that similar tragedies threaten us here as well, as in other cities in Serbia, wherever the SNS was working on some big projects," said Lazović for N1.

The demands are the same as those they set in Novi Sad. "And these are: the replacement of responsible officials, the opening of contracts, the implementation of extraordinary control and the exit from this crisis that was created by the decade-long leadership of our country."

Thus, the "Serbia after violence" coalition, which was formed after one tragedy and fell apart due to disagreements over whether to go to the repeated early Belgrade elections in June or boycott them, reunited after another tragedy that happened in Novi Sad.

What will happen if the demands are not fulfilled, if Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic, for example, does not resign, the opposition leaders did not say.

Activists announced a six-hour blockade of the Varadin bridge

In the meantime, activist groups "SviĆe" and STAV (Students Against Authoritarian Government) have announced a blockade of the Varadin bridge in Novi Sad on Friday, November 8, from 18 p.m. to midnight.

They say that after the "biggest protest in Novi Sad" they will continue with "civil disobedience".

"Those responsible for this tragedy must know that the citizens will not give up on their demands and will tirelessly insist on their resignations, court processes and the publication of contracts." With actions like this, we show them that we are persistent and that there are enough of us," the invitation states.

Citizens are advised to bring red fabric, warm clothes, styrofoam or cardboard, books, personal documents, but they also say that it is always good to bring baking soda, a cloth or a scarf to the protest in case the police throw tear gas.

"In the event that you receive a misdemeanor report after this action, contact us, because we have provided legal assistance," the statement said.

Jelena Božić from the "SviĆe" group told N1 that the protest in Beordau has nothing to do with them.

"Of course, in order to fulfill the demands, we will support everything that is similar to our actions, our actions and our values," said the activist.

Pogačar: Novi Sad and its fate cannot be decided without the people of Novi Sad

Member of the Assembly of Novi Sad and activist of the "Bravo" movement Miran Pogačar previously strongly criticized the idea of ​​holding the protest in Belgrade and accused the opposition parties of making this decision without any consultation with organizations from Novi Sad.

"Who authorized the party headquarters to decide when, where and what the next protest will be without any consultation with the movements, activists and youth of Novi Sad?" When you were invited to the front row yesterday, none of you were allowed to come and stand," his post on social media reads.

He said that Novi Sad and its fate cannot be decided without Novi Sad.

"It is absolutely inadmissible to decide in this way." Will the parties from Belgrade decide everything that needs to happen in our country when they think it suits them", asked Pogačar and stated: "Unfortunately, we all saw what happened during the protests due to the tragedies in Ribnikar, Dubona and Mali Orašje. Hundreds of thousands on the streets and endless marches, to end up with stolen elections and a little more space for your parties in parliament."

What happened after last year's big protests?

After the mass murders in "Vladislav Ribnikar" elementary school on May 3 and in Dubona and Mali Orašje on May 4, 2023, the opposition united in the coalition Serbia against violence and launched mass protests in Belgrade that lasted for months.

Demonstrators held the authorities accountable for the lack of measures against violence, culminating in demands for early elections. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, agreed to the extraordinary elections, which were held on December 17, 2023.

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 46,7 percent of the votes, while the opposition coalition "Serbia Against Violence" (SPN) won about 23 percent. Although the results showed an increase in support for the opposition compared to the previous elections, SNS and Aleksandar Vučić retained the majority in the parliament and in almost all municipalities where they were held, with the exception of Mediana in Niš.

​During 2023, elections in this Niš municipality were held several times, including repeated elections.

The first regular local elections were held in June 2023, after which voting was repeated at certain polling stations due to procedural irregularities.

In those repeated elections, held in October, the opposition managed to win additional mandates, which reduced the earlier result of the ruling SNS party, so the opposition parties point out that this municipality is "the only one in Serbia where Vučić is not in power."

The opposition tried to animate the citizens for demonstrations again after the republican elections, but without success.

Namely, after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections, part of the opposition organized protests across the country due to obvious irregularities in the electoral process. The main demand of these protests was the annulment of the results and a repeat of the elections, especially in Belgrade, where many violations of election rules were reported.

Several mass gatherings followed, after which the number of demonstrators at the subsequent protests greatly decreased. Also, MP Marinika Tepić started a hunger strike, demanding responsibility and transparency regarding the election results.

However, these protests were not successful, because the official authorities did not recognize the request to cancel the election, and there was no stronger reaction from the international community.

A new parliament was formed with a convincing majority of the ruling parties, and the political situation in the country was more or less the same, compared to the period before the extraordinary elections were held.