Citizens are slowly dispersing from Belgrade's Slavija Square after the end of the student rally "You and Me, Slavija".
As reported by a Beta agency reporter, a column of people headed past Cvetni trg and Beograđanka and continued along Kralja Milana Street, while some of them left Slavija through Masarikova Street.
While passing by the Presidency building, the crowd again made a lot of noise, and chants against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić were heard.
A smaller number of people from the intersection near London sporadically turned onto Kneza Miloša Street towards Pionirski Park, where supporters of the government were gathered.
There have been no incidents so far while passing by that park, in front of which there is a police cordon, nor during citizens' passage past the Serbian Parliament.
The students on the blockade demanded at tonight's rally at Slavija that government representatives call elections after which the academics will be able to fulfill their promise of "honest government, freedom and a dignified life."
The gathering ended around 20 p.m., and speakers presented parts of the student political program in the areas of justice, health, education, agriculture, culture, and other spheres.
In his address from the stage at Slavija, student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Andrej Tanko, said that the vision of Serbia in which they want to live and remain has never been closer.
"The upcoming elections are our chance to finally fulfill our promise - honest government, freedom and a dignified life," said Tanko.
He added that as students, they may not have all the answers at all times, but they have "a team of people who know, can and are able to implement the plan for the healing and recovery of Serbia."
"We have teams of experts in economics, health, agriculture, energy, education, ecology and all other issues, but to win, we need each and every one of you," he added.
He said that the students in the blockade will send emails to citizens tomorrow regarding the start of training for election control, adding that they will be at every polling station across Serbia, and that they will "knock on every door" before that.
"Tonight it's 'Slavija, you and me', and tomorrow it's 'Serbia, you and me'. Students are winning," said Tanko and called on those gathered to chant that slogan.
Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić stated tonight that the student rally at Slavija was actually a pre-election rally, and that the greatest support for it came from abroad.
"I'm glad it went peacefully, but for now I'm not happy that they attacked some media teams. Those were really disgusting, brutal attacks," Brnabić told reporters in front of Pioneer Park in Belgrade, where government supporters have been staying for more than a year and are also organizing a counter-rally today.
"That's what I find incredible about today's gathering, what hypocrisy and what a paradox. You have people talking about media freedom, but attacking the media. They talk about justice, but they do everything they can to ensure that nothing is known about how a student from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade tragically lost her life. You have people talking about responsibility, but no one has taken responsibility," she said.
When asked what the reason was for today's rally of government supporters in Pioneer Park, Brnabić said that most people came to support Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
"To celebrate the victory over the colored revolution, to bring people together because they want to be together, to come together to show once again that we do not want the government to change here on the streets and that we will defend the institutions, and certainly the largest number of people here are here to support President Vučić," said Brnabić.
A few minutes before 20 p.m., an announcement was made from the stage that the rally at Slavija was over.
That was the signal for the crowd to start chanting "He who doesn't jump, remains silent."
A particularly interesting moment was when, after the speech, they saw public figures climb onto the stage on several occasions and, chanting "Students win," greet all the gathered citizens.
Actor Gagi Jovanović was the last one on stage and sang the song "Ružo rumena" (Rusty Rose) together with the citizens.
At the end, student Andrej Tanko shouted "Students" from the stage, and the citizens responded with "They are winning."
Actor Aleksandar Srećković Kubura thanked the students of Serbia and gave them a big "bravo".
"You have raised our past from the ashes, into which these vermin in human form threw it. You, esteemed students, are raising our future at this moment, and not only the future of every born and unborn child of this nation of ours, but also the future of every tree, stream, and stone of this beautiful land of ours. For you know very well that they have attacked all of it. That poisonous snake, that hydra of corruption, greed, selfishness, vulgarity, ignorance, and unculture, it has risen and gaped, and it wants to destroy and swallow it all forever," he said.
Srećković said that this is not a political fight for a change of government, but "a fight against the complete biological extermination and destruction of our people."
"Not just us people, but also the destruction of our language, our traditions, our collective memory, our forests and fields, our rivers," he said.
Strong police forces have been additionally deployed tonight around Pioneer Park and the plateau in front of the Serbian Parliament, where supporters of the government and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have been gathering throughout the day.
Around 19 p.m., about a dozen police cars arrived, and police officers in riot gear emerged from some of them and joined their colleagues in front of Pioneer Park.
Police vehicles, led by a bus, continued towards King Aleksandra Boulevard, a Beta agency reporter reported.
From the plateau in front of the main entrance to the Parliament of Serbia, those gathered crossed over Nikola Pašić Square towards Pioneer Park, while part of the police cordon, which was in front of the plateau of the Belgrade City Assembly, moved to the Parliament building.
Groups of people, including many young people, occasionally arrive at Pioneer Park, from where music echoes.
At the same time, students and citizens are at Slavija Square and the surrounding streets, where the student rally is scheduled to end at 20 p.m.
Traffic across Nikola Pašić Square is almost non-existent, with only the occasional vehicle passing by, reports a Beta agency reporter.
The police cordon that was deployed near the Parliament returned to its starting position in front of Pioneer Park after about ten minutes.
Citizens can currently freely pass through Nikola Pašić Square, and although some of them wore badges in support of the students, there have been no verbal incidents so far.
Jugoslav Ristić, a retired union leader, said that "Serbia today is a poor country of disenfranchised people."
"Workers are forced to work longer than regular working hours, and on Saturdays and Sundays, because their state does not protect them. They are left to the whims of arrogant individuals. Why did we end up in this situation? Serbia advertises itself as a country of highly qualified, cheap labor. Serbia advertises itself as a country that is a paradise for investors. Countries that are a paradise for investors are hell for workers, but they don't have to be that way, and we will show them that they don't have to be that way," he said.
About 1,2 million workers cannot afford the consumer basket, he added.
"How can we get better? We all have to be together. Until the workers in production get better, it won't be possible in healthcare, education, or culture. That's why all workers have only one interest: to make changes, to abandon this policy of cheap labor. When students make decisions, our workers will come first, not foreign investors," he said.
Watch the videos from the protests posted by the Nova.rs portal on its Facebook page:
Marija Vulović from Čajetina, a teacher of Serbian language and literature and a poet, said that it has never been harder, but also more honorable, to be a human being in Serbia.
"Thank you, people, for being people - look how many of us there are. When a canopy in Novi Sad killed 16 people, including two girls, Valentina and Sara, I, as the mother of one Vanja, one Sanja and one Sara, cried out and realized that we have all been under the canopy for decades. That's why I have been with the students from day one. No one stands behind me, I stand with these children, because I know that this is the most honorable and sacred fight, and such a fight must lead to freedom," she said.
Professor Aleksandar Sedlar of the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad asked whether we would have clean water and healthy food if we "followed the vision and mission of Rio Tinto." The crowd responded, "They won't dig."
"Good people, we must follow the vision of our agrarian society. We must be much better ancestors than we are currently descendants. We must return to life, to return children to our rural schools. We must realize our agrarian vision. We must support and recognize the peasant as the bearer of economic development, a partner in Serbia's main business - in food production. And not to view him as a social case to whom we promise subsidies or, lo and behold, incentives. We must support him when he organizes, when he fights for his rights - so that he is not persecuted politically and economically later," he said.
He said, "in order to be free, in order to be independent, agriculture must be Serbia's national interest."
Speakers at a student rally at Slavija today once again asked government representatives to call elections, and called on the prosecutor's office to prosecute all those involved in crime and corruption.
Psychology student Lena, who was the first speaker, said that the students' demands have become the demands of all citizens, and reiterated that since May 5, academics have been demanding that elections be called, but that the government is avoiding doing so.
She told the crowd that institutions have not been doing their job for years, and that the prosecution is at fault for not punishing those involved in corruption and crime.
"This regime rules by having police officers, criminals and prime ministers sitting at the same table. They rule by killing each other and then trying to hide it (...) Are we for Serbia or are we for the mafia? Serbia wins when the students win," she said.
Prosecutor Bojana Savović assessed that a state in which laws are not applied, or are applied selectively, ceases to be a state and becomes a "mafia organization."
"What we experience every day - bombs, extortion, mafia clashes, that is not a state. That is anarchy. And the fact that prosecutors in leadership positions protect the government, not the law, only speaks to the depth of the crisis in which our society finds itself," Savović assessed.
According to her, students today are demanding what is the minimum of every democratic society - justice, equal application of rights, and responsibility, and it is up to institutions to show that laws are not dead letters on paper, but that they truly provide protection to citizens.
"No political crisis has ever been resolved by force, but every political crisis can begin to be resolved with truth, equal application of law and accountability," Savović said, calling on the judiciary to apply the laws and on the people who work in it to have institutional courage.
Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade, Radomir Saičić, said that the current government is appointing "loyalists who are destroying education" as school directors, and he also criticized the establishment of new faculties supported by the government.
"Instead of universities established by the government, we will develop our existing universities. Domestic intelligentsia will master 21st century technologies, our exceptional people working abroad will be ready to return and help," the professor said.
He said that the population must be ready to fight for their civil rights "because freedom has no price."
The speech ended with the cry "Students win."
In her speech, the Rector of the University of Arts, Mirjana Nikolić, said that she wants to uncompromisingly raise her voice against corruption, violence, arrogance and disrespect for the law, stating that this is what the current government fears the most.
"This government is afraid of the elevated index at the end of a theater performance and at the end of a concert. It is afraid of those who ask questions, those who ask what's wrong with corruption, those who seek justice and dignity," Nikolić assessed.
She stated that they are gathered today at Slavija "as patriots defending their rights and their country", who are sending a message that culture, art, education and media are not the outcome, but the starting point of everything.
"Without free media, there is no free society, without culture, there is no future. And that is why we, with our heads held high, demand changes, which must come, because students are winning," said Nikolić.
Doctor Ilija Srdanović said that after the change of government, it will be necessary to decentralize the healthcare system and pay more attention to outpatient clinics and health centers.
"Institutes and clinical centers should be engaged in scientific research and education, and in every larger city there should be general hospitals that will relieve them. We currently do not have a developed network of general hospitals," said Srdanović.
According to him, the state is painting buildings and buying expensive equipment, but it is not investing in the education of people who are the "pillar of the healthcare system."
A student rally began at Slavija today shortly after 18 pm, at which it was announced that part of the student political program would be presented.
Tens of thousands of people from different parts of the city came to the protest.
Traffic in all surrounding streets around Slavija is blocked.
A large number of police officers, fully equipped to break up demonstrations, arrive in front of Pioneer Park and the Old Palace.
Instead of a single-line cordon, there is now a three-line cordon. They were taken to the Old Palace by bus, reports N1 reporter from the scene.
He said that a group of people had gathered in front of the National Assembly, hiding their heads and not wanting to talk to the media. They are now entering Pioneer Park, while a portion of the people who were in the fenced area have left the park.
(N1)
Police Director Dragan Vasiljević said that 34.300 citizens are attending today's rally at Slavija, reports N1.
He stated that it was "one of the rare reported gatherings," that the report was timely, and that all measures and actions within the jurisdiction of the police were taken.
As he said, there was one attack on a journalist and that the perpetrators were being found, and that there were no major incidents.
"We call on all participants in the public gathering to comply with laws and regulations so that the police can take all measures and actions," he said, adding that he hopes the departure will be incident-free.
"We have given an estimate of 34.300 citizens. We have been monitoring the arrival since the morning hours," said Vasiljević, adding that the estimates are "very precise and objective."
He also stated that there is a large fluctuation of citizens in the area.
The Archive of Public Gatherings, which deals with counting the number of attendees at gatherings, announced that footage of today's student gathering at Slavija Square in Belgrade indicates that "it will be among the largest student gatherings to date."
"Estimating the mass of over 100k (100.000, ed.) people is demanding and we will not publish the data tonight," the Public Gatherings Archive stated.
See photos from the protest taken from a drone:
Professor Dr. Ilija Srdanović, one of the doctors of the Medical Chamber of Vojvodina, said that today we are witnessing new pages of historical textbooks being written.
In that future, he said, he sees a healthcare system that will be oriented towards the people, and in which everyone will be the same.
"Patients will no longer be political props. The healthcare system will be reorganized. The priority will be primary healthcare, health centers and outpatient clinics. Second, there will be general hospitals. Then there is tertiary healthcare. You wonder where the money for that comes from? Well, you see, in the future, national stadiums will be our hospitals and the employees in them, they will be invested in," said Dr. Srdanović.
He then spoke about the country's leaders and healthcare.
"Can you imagine when you're drowning and suffocating, when you can't get air to breathe, and then he, an incompetent stranger, shows up to set up your artificial respiration machine? Do you want that? Do you want him to come visit you when you're mortally burned? Do you want him to come not alone, but to come accompanied by a man nicknamed Doctor Death?" he asked.
Prosecutor Bojana Savović, greeted with numerous ovations from the crowd, said that "no uniform should be above the law."
"Force applied to people who are deprived of their liberty or who offer no resistance is a crime. No uniform should be above the law. Therefore, every excessive use of force, every humiliation of citizens, every illegal behavior must be the subject of an effective, efficient and transparent investigation. A state in which laws are not applied or are applied selectively ceases to be a state and becomes a mafia organization. What we are experiencing today, every day, bombs, extortion, mafia showdowns, that is not a state, that is anarchy," she said.
Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), academician Radomir Saičić, said that "we are still slaves to an arrogant, arrogant and corrupt government."
"This government boasts about the weapons it has purchased, and at the negotiating table it surrenders territories that were paid for with lives, which is an act of treason according to the Constitution. Instead of the best people who have Serbia at heart, we are represented in the Parliament by parrots, obedient servants. This is the Parliament that has refused on three occasions to vote on a resolution stating that the crime of genocide was committed against the Serbian people in the NDH. The state is trying to destroy its greatest asset, the University, while government ministers are announcing that the police have the right to kill students and that they will return them home in coffins," he said.
He said that the government is not building a new university with the Church, but with the current church leadership, to which he has directed numerous criticisms.
Mirjana Nikolić, rector of the University of Arts, spoke about how art, culture, education, and media are under attack in Serbia.
"This government is afraid of the raised index at the end of a theater performance and at the end of a concert. It is afraid. It is afraid of those who ask questions, those who ask what is wrong with corruption, those who seek justice and dignity. We are here as patriots who defend their rights and our country. That is why tonight from Slavija we say: culture, art, education and the media are not the outcome, they are the starting point of everything. Without free media there is no free society, without culture there is no future, and that is why we demand changes with our heads held high, which must happen, because students are winning," she stated.
The organization Archive of Public Gatherings announced today that recordings indicate that today's gathering at Slavija will be "in the ranks of the largest student gatherings to date."
"Estimating the crowd of over 100.000 people is demanding and we will not be publishing the data tonight. We warn the public of expected disinformation and downplaying of numbers by the police and regime media," the organization stated on the social network X.
A student protest is taking place at Slavija in Belgrade today, which began with gatherings at 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM at four locations in Belgrade, after which students and citizens came to Slavija in columns.
Citizens and students filled the roundabout at Slavija during tonight's protest, as did Nemanjina, Kralja Milana, Beogradska, Bulevar and Oslobodjenja streets leading to that roundabout, and according to the testimony of a Beta agency reporter, citizens are still arriving from all directions.
Elena, a psychology student from Bajina Bašta, said that the students' demands had long since become citizens' demands.
"This regime built a system that decided about us, about the state, on Senjak. This regime rules by having police officers, criminals, prime ministers sitting at the same table. They rule by killing each other and then trying to hide it. They rule by beating and kidnapping children. That's why we ask you now: are we for Serbia or are we for the mafia?" she asked.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
