A contingent of students protesting in Pionirski Park in Belgrade, calling for an end to the faculty blockades, plans to remain there on March 15, coinciding with a scheduled protest by students and citizens, as announced today by Miloš Pavlović, representative of the “Students 2.0” group.

Pavlović stated that their group convened in Pionirski Park following a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on March 13 and reached this decision after evaluating “every aspect.”

“We students who wish to study are staying in Pionirski Park until further notice. We acknowledge the sentiments of those who think we should vacate the park on Saturday, including the President, but we ask for understanding in our situation as we are here legitimately and legally,” expressed Pavlović.

The Serbian President met with leaders of the “Students 2.0” group on Thursday and requested they vacate Pionirski Park for one day during the student and citizen protest on March 15, to which they replied that they would communicate their decision within 24 hours.

During a press conference in Pioneer Park, Miloš Pavlović extended an invitation to farmers, encouraging them to support students “who aspire to learn.”

Earlier in the day, reports surfaced about a significant number of tractors parked around Pioneer Park in the heart of the capital. In his address to the press, Pavlović omitted any mention of the agricultural machinery surrounding their campsite.

In the days leading up, social media was filled with videos and images depicting trucks transporting tractors from various regions of Serbia. One clip from Kragujevac showed a truck adorned with the Belgrade City emblem, lacking license plates, transporting several tractors.

The “Students 2.0” group has established a presence in Pionirski Park since March 6. Identifying themselves as “students who wish to learn,” they are demanding an end to the blockades. Their movement has garnered support from individuals such as convicted war criminal Vladimir Lazarević, veterans from the controversial Special Operations Unit, alongside leaders from far-right organizations Leviathan and Serbian Right – Pavle Bihali and Miša Vacić.

Some members of the public have accused the Serbian Progressive Party of orchestrating the protest, a claim that some participants in the park have denied.

Students who have been occupying faculties across Serbia for over three months have mobilized for a protest in Belgrade on March 15. They urged the Ministry of Internal Affairs to dismantle the “tent settlement” in Pionirski Park by March 14 and to prevent its re-establishment by March 16.

They have requested that the Ministry of Interior ensure maximum security, establishing a police cordon between the “tent settlement” and the rally participants on March 15 if the settlement is not removed. They have also indicated that they would hold Minister of Interior Ivica Dačić accountable for any resulting incidents.

The protesting students are seeking criminal and political accountability for the deaths of 15 individuals following the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1, 2024. Their cause has received backing from certain educators who suspended classes, legal professionals, as well as some farmers and cultural workers.

Previous mass protests and blockades have already taken place in Novi Sad, Kragujevac, and Niš.

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