Students on Blockade Plan Protest in Belgrade at 4 PM Saturday, Inviting Religious Leaders to Join
Photo from a student protest in Belgrade, Courtesy: Reuters
The students participating in the blockade announced via their Instagram that tomorrow’s (Saturday, March 15) protest in Belgrade will commence at 16:00 in front of the Serbian Parliament, according to N1 television.
They also indicated that details regarding the assembly points throughout the city for marches to the Serbian Parliament will be shared soon.
They have extended an invitation to leaders of religious communities in Serbia to join the protest on Saturday, urging them to “stand with the people and support the youth.”
“We appeal to you, as your predecessors have done at pivotal moments in our history, to unite with the people and amplify the call for truth and justice with dignity,” stated the Students in Blockade on their Instagram account.
They expressed their understanding that religion is not aligned with any political party and clarified that their movement is not partisan.
“Thus, we are not asking you to take sides; rather, we invite you to fulfill your mission by standing with the people, safeguarding the youth, and ensuring that everything unfolds peacefully,” the students asserted.
The students have reached out to bishops and priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church, leaders and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, the Islamic Community, the Jewish Community, Protestant churches, and other religious organizations in Serbia.
Students, who have been staging blockades at faculties for three and a half months, have previously announced the protest scheduled for March 15.
The students in the blockade are demanding accountability for the deaths of 15 individuals resulting from the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1, 2024. They have garnered support from various educators who suspended classes, as well as from some lawyers, farmers, and cultural workers.
Significant protests and blockades have been conducted in Novi Sad, Kragujevac, and Niš.
Meanwhile, another group identified as “Students 2.0” has emerged, setting up camp in Pioneer Park since March 6. They refer to themselves as “students eager to learn” and are advocating for an end to the blockades.
This group has received support from veterans of the controversial Special Operations Unit (JSO), along with convicted war criminal Vladimir Lazarević, and former Gendarmerie commander Goran Radosavljević Guri, who is linked to the murder of the Bytyqi brothers, resulting in a travel ban to the United States.
Opponents of the blockades have also been supported by Pavle Bihali, head of the extreme right-wing movement “Leviathan,” and Miša Vacić from the ultra-right Serbian Right.
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