In the aftermath of the Novi Sad incident last year, massive protests swept Serbia with calls for Vucic’s resignation and an end to corruption.
Novi Sad Incident and the Serbian Protests
Discontent with Vucic was already building up and widespread among Serbians, however, the Novi Sad collapse last year was the final straw for thousands of Serbians. The collapse of the newly-built railway station in the country’s second-largest city led to the deaths of 15 people. This sparked outrage amongst the public, who blamed corruption and cost-cutting by the government, whose infrastructure projects have favoured contractors close to their interests over the safety of the public.
Despite the resignation of numerous local and national officials, including the entire Serbian government, in response to public outrage, protesters remain unsatisfied with Vučić's actions. Their demand for the full release of documents related to Serbia's railway renovation program has been met only with heavily redacted versions.
Thus, protests grew exponentially, day by day, with protests predominantly being led by university students and various societal sectors. Demonstrations have taken place in over 400 cities and towns throughout Serbia, reflecting a nationwide demand for accountability and systemic change.
The protests reached their peak on March 15th, when 325,000 individuals attended the “15th for 15” protest [1]. The capital city Belgrade was filled as people demanded Vucic’s resignation and system reforms to tackle corruption in the country. Demonstrators convened in central Belgrade, observing 15 minutes of silenceto honour the victims of the Novi Sad tragedy, and afterwards demanded accountability for those responsible for the tragedy.
Reactions to the protests
The government reacted by halting public transport in Belgrade so that they could disrupt access to the city centre, making it harder for people to attend the protest.
Additionally, there were allegations that the Serbian government deployed sonic weapons and sound cannons to disperse the crowd gathered in the protest. These weapons, according to some reports, caused symptoms such as headaches and disorientation among protestors. [2]
In the face of this, the European Union has been rather silent, which I believe is completely unacceptable. Serbia is an EU candidate country, and if it wishes to be a part of the European Union, it must answer questions raised against corruption and launch a proper investigation into what happened in Novi Sad. Additionally, the EU cannot ignore the corruption under Vucic as President and his SNS with complete power in the country, as this will make them Hungary 2.0 if they were to join, providing the Union further headaches on several questions (specifically around, transparency, foreign policy and social issues).
PM Vucevic’s resignation
The current Serbian PM, Vucevic, resigned after the massive protests arguing this was to “avoid further complicating things” and to “not further raise tensions in society”. Thus, a new Prime Ministerial candidate must be proposed by the SNS and Vucic has said that if a government is not formed within 30 days, snap elections will be held in June 2025.
However, this resignation is nothing but political theatre, and an attempt from the Serbian government to portray itself as if it is taking accountability for its actions, but will just install another candidate who does the exact same practices.
But, hope must not be lost. This is one of the few times since 2014 that Vucic has had his grip on power shaken and this should energise people. While the opposition has dismissed the possibility of an early vote, they must unite together in order to defeat Vucic in the next elections, and finally bring a change that Serbia has desperately needed for years and years.
Sources:
[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2g8v32q30o
[2]https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-protests-demonstrators-sonic-weapon-sound-cannon-vortex-earshot-vucic-belgrage-novi-sad/33351909.html