A significant number of tractors have gathered around Pioneer Park in downtown Belgrade, where members of the “Students 2.0” association have been protesting since March 6, advocating for the lifting of student blockades at their faculties.

On the night of March 13-14, several dozen tractors lined the streets, with some occupying the sidewalk and others the roadway. Notably, some of these tractors bore Kikinda license plates.

Prior to this, social media was abuzz with videos and images of trucks delivering tractors from various regions of Serbia. One notable video from Kragujevac showcased a truck adorned with the Belgrade City emblem yet lacking license plates as it transported multiple tractors.

As the protest date approached on March 15, the students, who have maintained their blockade for over three months, called upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) to dismantle the “tent settlement” in Pioneer Park by March 14, seeking to prevent its reformation by March 16.

They requested that, in the event the “tent settlement” remains, the Ministry of Interior provide heightened security via a police cordon to separate the settlement from the protest participants on March 15.

On March 13, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić urged the students in Pioneer Park to return home for the weekend and to come back the following day.

The students involved in the blockades are calling for accountability—both criminal and political—for the tragic death of 15 individuals resulting from the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1, 2024. Their movement has garnered support from various educators who have paused classes, legal professionals, and certain farmers and cultural figures.

Mass protests and blockades have also been witnessed in cities such as Novi Sad, Kragujevac, and Niš.

Meanwhile, the group known as “Students 2.0” has taken residence in Pioneer Park since March 6. They are positioning themselves as “students who wish to learn” and are advocating for an end to the blockades.

This group has received backing from veterans of the contentious Special Operations Unit (JSO), as well as from convicted war criminal Vladimir Lazarević and former Gendarmerie chief Goran Radosavljević Guri, who is linked to the murder of the Bytyqi brothers and has been barred from entering the United States by the State Department.

Opponents of the blockades also count on support from Pavle Bihali, the leader of the far-right movement “Leviathan,” alongside Miša Vacić from the ultra-right Serbian Right.

Some members of the public have accused the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of orchestrating the protest, an allegation that several attendees in the park have refuted.

News