Exactly nine months have passed since the canopy of the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed. 16 people lost their lives, one was seriously injured, and the accident started a wave demonstration all over the country, to whom people, above all, demand responsibility for this accident and the rule of law.
Nine months since the tragedy, students in the blockade and citizens will mark on the streets, while there is no official information on whether and how government representatives will mark this day.
Students and citizens will take to the streets in the three largest cities in Serbia - Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš.
Gatherings in Belgrade
Students in the blockade of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade are organizing a 16-minute mail delivery at 11:52 in front of the faculty building.
At 19:XNUMX at the building of the old railway station in Belgrade, a gathering is planned, followed by a commemorative walk under the slogan "Nine months, we remember".
"The gathering is at the Old Railway Station, then a quiet walk towards the Belgrade Center - Prokop Railway Station," FDU students wrote on Instagram.
The gathering starts at 19:19.30 p.m., a five-minute speech is planned for 16:21 p.m., and five minutes later we will leave for Prokop. There will also be a speech and XNUMX minutes of silence, and the end of the rally is planned for XNUMX pm.
The students asked that no one wear whistles and that this walk in honor of the victims take place in peace and silence.
Novi Sad - 16 minutes of silence in several locations, gathering on campus
Novi Sad citizens' choirs will hold 11.52 minutes of silence at 16:XNUMX a.m. for the victims of the falling canopy, at five locations in the city.
The action "16 minutes of silence" will be held near the railway station, as well as at the intersections near Futoška pijaca, Banovina, Serbian National Theater and Mercator.
"We will not give up until Serbia is a country where laws are enforced," said the assembly of citizens of Novi Sad.
Novi Sad students and citizens' assemblies will mark this day with a program that will begin at 20:XNUMX PM on the campus of the University of Novi Sad.
As they announced, at 22.30:XNUMX p.m. a walk will start to the Railway Station, where citizens will leave flowers and light candles.
In a post on Instagram, the citizens' choirs of Novi Sad stated earlier that "the students have said enough, education has said enough, the streets have said enough, and the gathering in Belgrade will forever be written in golden letters."
They also add that the nine months of struggle for democracy, freedom and the rule of law have passed with joint popular action.
"And the government, not an iota of remorse, not an iota of desire to investigate and prosecute the corruption that led to this terrible tragedy. What did they do during that time," they ask.
On Thursday (July 31), the authorities in Novi Sad accepted the initiative of Mayor Žarko Mićin to erect a monument to the victims of the tragedy. Citizens and some representatives of the opposition opposed such an initiative, because it is not right that "those who are responsible for the fall of the canopy erect a monument to their victims". There is also a disagreement about what that monument should represent.
Meeting in Niš
In Niš, a gathering of citizens begins at 19.30:XNUMX p.m. to mark nine months since the fall of the canopy.
The protest is organized by students in the blockade of the University of Nis.
Residents are invited to come to the intersection near the Basic Court, after which a protest march will be organized to the main railway station, where 16 minutes of silence and a student performance will be held in memory of the 16 victims.
"Come to show that we have not forgotten and that we are not giving up the fight for justice," stated the announcement of the students in the blockade.
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