Thousands of Belgrade citizens are waiting on the streets for students who are arriving in the Serbian capital on foot from various parts of the country for a large protest that will take place on Saturday, March 15th.
While the first columns of pedestrians from southern and western Serbia are expected, a group of cyclists from Kragujevac was the first to arrive in the center of Belgrade.
Along with the banners "Students, Belgrade is yours", medals and flowers are intended for students coming to Belgrade.
With shouts of "pumpaj", groups of students with faculty flags pass through the city's central King Milan Street.
Citizens greet them on the sidewalk.
Students who have been blocking faculties across Serbia for more than three months have called for a protest in Belgrade on March 15th, demanding criminal and political accountability for the deaths of 15 people in the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1st, 2024.
Student guards are urging citizens not to approach tractors and the fence leading to Pioneer Park between the Presidency of Serbia and the Serbian Parliament.
As citizens pass by Terazije in the very center, where a student reception is being organized, they stop at the camp of "students who want to study."
Along with the protests, whistles and trumpets, the crowd gathered in the camp is being shouted at, among other things, "daddies", which is a derogatory term for them, as well as "pump up", which is one of the slogans of student protests.
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Some climbed onto tractors, which were parked around the park this morning.
There is a strong police presence in Pioneer Park, equipped to break up demonstrations.
Citizens on the other side of the fence shout "shame" and "who are you protecting" at the police officers.
Symbols of bloody fists, calls for a protest on March 15th, were plastered on tractors.
The camp of "students who want to learn" is mostly men, many of whom hide their faces with caps and hoods.
Tractors, a fence, and police separate the citizens who welcome the students at Kralja Milana near the Presidency and City Assembly, from the camp in Pionirski Park.
The police allowed some men, who were hiding their faces with hoods, to leave the park where the camp was located and walk to King Milan Street.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that the state will "take all measures" to ensure peace and announced the arrests of those who cause incidents.
The government had previously accused the opposition of preparing the violence, while the students rejected the accusations.
The protest in Belgrade is considered the culmination of months of demonstrations across Serbia led by students in blockade.
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