Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said today in Niš that the (student) demands are over and that he is no longer interested in them, and that early elections will be held when the competent institutions decide.
Vučić told the students in the blockade, who are demanding early parliamentary elections, "not to demand too much," and assessed that, even if they were called, the ruling coalition would win even more convincingly than in the previous ones.
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According to him, they (the students) are demanding elections so they can say in advance that they were robbed and so they would have a new reason for protests, and that they "are not competent" to even demand it.
"The demands are over, Niš is a new free territory, and so will the whole of Serbia," he said at the central part of the "All-People's Assembly", which also promotes the Movement for the People and the State, initiated by the President of Serbia.
He stated that university professors who are negotiating with the Prime Minister of Serbia (about normalizing teaching) will not receive a single dinar until they start teaching, and announced that "the issue of liability will also follow."
He also said that billions of euros were invested in the destruction of Serbia, but that the "colored revolution failed," and stressed that the gathering in Niš shows that "the spirit of freedom cannot be defeated."
He said that Serbia belongs to every one of its citizens and expressed his willingness to talk to, as he said, opponents so that we could all build the country together.
"This is their country too, and we will extend a hand to everyone, because we want to talk. And they will reject us, and we will extend a hand to them again. Let's work together and move forward... like a fast train," Vučić suggested.
He also said that on March 21st in Niš, "some people tried to abolish the right to freedom of opinion and the right to freedom of speech" (when officials and supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party were attacked with eggs and water).
"They tried to deal with people who were wronged by them just because they thought differently, not only did they beat them, but they humiliated them and abused them... Their colored revolution then came to an end," Vučić said.
According to him, that evening the people of Serbia realized that if these people got hold of power, "there would be no more democracy."
Medical Faculty student Marija Stanković, who opposes the blockade of classes, said that tonight's rally is "resistance to violence," adding that "Serbia wants to show courage and dignity through it."
"This is not a return to the benches, this is resistance to violence, this is the victory of reason over chaos," she said, while Niš Mayor Dragoslav Pavlović said that a better and more dignified life for the people of Niš is what he is fighting for as mayor.
"The solution is not in blockades but in hard work and learning," said Pavlović.
The pro-government rally in Niš is attended by several thousand people, most of whom traveled by bus from all over Serbia, and the rally is broadcast live by the television stations Pink, Prva, Informer, Tanjug...
Students blocking the University of Niš today protested in Niš and demanded the calling of early parliamentary elections, so that, as they said, the captured state institutions could be freed.
They also demanded responsibility for the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1, 2024, a Beta agency reporter reported.
The "Let's Choose" protest on King Alexander Square began with the awarding of medals to student walkers, cyclists, and runners, and continued with speeches by speakers.
Afterwards, the gathered people observed a sixteen-minute silence to pay tribute to the victims of the canopy collapse in Novi Sad.
The protest ended shortly before 20 p.m., without incident.
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