Protests in more than 30 cities in Serbia: 'We want early parliamentary elections'

(Patria) - Simultaneously in more than 30 cities in Serbia, protests are being held today, called by students on blockade, demanding that the authorities call early parliamentary elections.

Under the slogan "Vostani Serbije" (Arise, Serbia), the collective action across the country was called exactly seven months after the canopy collapse at the Novi Sad Railway Station killed 16 people and left one person seriously injured.

Those gathered at the protest in Belgrade blocked around 6:00 PM the two busiest bridges in Belgrade - Gazela and Brankov Most.

Vreme je za novi most na koji mozemo svi stati bez straha da cemo propasti.
Ali takav most ne mogu da prave caciji, zato prvo IZBORI pa mostovi 💪
Beograd, Brankov most pic.twitter.com/eDH6DnfuqT

— Maja Vukas (@M2aja) June 1, 2025

As reported by a reporter from Radio Free Europe, those gathered on the bridges are chanting "We want justice, we want truth, we want elections."

Earlier, the gathering began at several locations in the city, after which they walked through the central city streets towards the bridges.

A group of protest participants briefly stopped at the Serbian Parliament, where for nearly three months there has been an improvised camp of a group calling itself "students who want to study" and which opposes the blockades of state faculties launched at the end of 2024.

Students on blockade chanted "Pumpaj," one of the slogans that emerged during the months-long protests. The "campers," who have open support from the state president Aleksandar Vučić, responded with shouts of "Aco, Serb."

The protest march soon continued without incidents.

Students and citizens in Novi Sad blocked one of the larger intersections in the city center.

Those gathered were addressed by a student from the Novi Sad Faculty of Law, with a message that a democratic society means citizens follow what those in power are doing and hold them accountable.

"Vostani Serbije"
01.06.2025.
🌉Brankov most#Beograd #protest pic.twitter.com/1FQYM60Wyc

— Jeremija (@4nbgd) June 1, 2025

- It is time to remind them that we are watching them and that we want early elections. It is time for all of us to organize, to show that we will not tolerate any electoral irregularities, and to show them that the Constitution will be respected - he said.

The organization of the protest in Novi Sad was supported by citizens united in assemblies. One of the representatives also called for the calling of elections.

- This is what we are saying in Novi Sad, but also in other cities where a protest is being held at this moment. You do not have a single day to wait, and the only thing you can do is call elections - she stated.

Those gathered were also addressed by Slavica Filipović, one of three professors from the Vojvodina municipality of Srbobran who, after supporting students on blockade, were fired from the high school where they had been long-time employees.

- The three of us were fired from the school where we have worked for more than 20 years because of our support for the students and the work stoppage. Three families have been left without means of subsistence, and I fear this will not be the end - Filipović said.

At the end of the protest, demonstrators in Novi Sad will go to the Railway Station to pay tribute to the victims.

In Požarevac, a large student protest began earlier in the day. It was announced that it would last 13 hours.

Students and pupils from other cities came to the gathering in Požarevac. Relay runners arrived from Čačak, and those who walked came from Belgrade and Jagodina. The day before, residents of that city organized a ceremonial welcome for them.

The organizers' plan is for the same speeches to be read in all cities. It was announced that the protest in all other cities will last three hours, after which a 16-minute commemoration will be held for those killed in Novi Sad.

"Vostani Serbije"
01.06.2025.
🌉Brankov most#Beograd #protest pic.twitter.com/xijX5uVqUC

— Jeremija (@4nbgd) June 1, 2025

Ahead of the protest, the President of the Serbian Parliament from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, Ana Brnabić, spoke out.

She stated that the blockade of bridges in Belgrade is "harassment of citizens without sense or purpose." As she wrote on social media, "violence for the sake of violence, accompanied by a life philosophy - we can do it, we are arrogant and reckless."

The students, who have been blocking the work of state faculties and organizing protests across the country for more than six months, have received support from hundreds of thousands of citizens, including those united in assemblies, farmers, lawyers, actors...

At the beginning of May, the students came out with a demand to call early parliamentary elections, saying that due to "deeply rooted corruption," institutions are unable to work freely on their demands.

On May 16, Vučić said that elections would be held within the next year and a half, and that they would be called when the competent institutions make a decision on that.

Determining criminal and political responsibility for the deaths at the Railway Station is the focus of the students' demands.

Representatives of the authorities have repeatedly stated that all student demands have been met, while academics say this is not true and continue with protests and blockades.