Serbian students to gather in Kragujevac seeking justice over train station deaths

On Thursday, Serbian students from multiple cities icluding the capital Belgrade continued to march toward the central city of Kragujevac for a protest rally set for Saturday.

The demonstrations led by university students demand accountability and justice for the deaths of 15 people in a train station awning collapse last November, which critics have blamed on government corruption. 

University and high school students from cities such as Niš, Čačak, Užice, Kraljevo, Gornji Milanovac and Novi Pazar all plan to arrive in Kragujevac by Saturday. 

The anti-corruption protests have also taken aim at the government of President Aleksandar Vučić, who has vowed to defeat what he calls a “colour revolution” aimed at overthrowing him.

The student-led movement has already led to the resignation of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, a close ally of Vučić and the leader of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

The Kragujevac rally will coincide with Serbia’s Statehood Day — when Vučić plans to hold a counter-rally in Novi Sad.

The date also coincides with the Orthodox Christian holiday of Candlemas or the Feast of the Holy Encounter. The first Serbian constitution was declared in Kragujevac in 1835.