Today marks six months since the collapse of the entrance canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station, a tragedy that claimed the lives of 16 people, with one seriously injured individual still hospitalized.
Students blockading the University of Novi Sad have called on citizens to gather in front of the station at 11:52 AM to pay tribute to the victims.
“We do not forget the victims of the canopy collapse in Novi Sad. That event, a consequence of negligence, irresponsibility, and institutional neglect, took lives and left families and the community in pain and with questions to which answers have not yet been given,” stated the students of Novi Sad.
Following the tribute, the gathered crowd will proceed in a procession along the Liberation Boulevard to the Liberty Bridge, which will be blocked for several hours.
The “Slobodan univerzitet Novi Sad” (Free University of Novi Sad) Academic Network has also called for participation in the May Day protest.
“It’s time for justice, it’s time for accountability! We are counting on your support,” they stated in their invitation.
Citizens gathered in the “Zborovi Novog Sada” (Assemblies of Novi Sad), under the slogan “NS pumpa,” have also called for marking the tragic event from six months ago.
They will arrive at the Railway Station in processions from three directions, where they will join students and other citizens.
The plan is to start from three locations, with citizens joining the columns along the way in front of their local community centers.
All columns from various parts of the city will converge on Liberation Boulevard and then proceed to the Railway Station.
The first column will depart from Futoški put at 9:15 AM. The column from Liman is announced to depart at 9:45 AM, and the one from Novo naselje at 10:15 AM.
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Protests in Belgrade
Belgrade, Serbia – Today, on International Workers’ Day, Serbian trade unions will organize gatherings in Belgrade to announce their demands for changes to labor legislation. They will then participate in the May Day student protest in front of the Serbian Government building.
The student protest begins at 2:00 PM, and they will be joined by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS), the United Branch Union “Nezavisnost,” the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions (ASNS), the United Trade Unions of Serbia “Sloga,” and the Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
The ASNS gathering will begin at 11:00 AM on the plateau near “Ruski car” in Knez Mihailova Street, and the president of that union, Ranka Savić, is scheduled to address the attendees around 1:00 PM.
The plan is for a procession to head towards the Serbian Government building at 1:30 PM for a joint gathering of unions and students.
The SSSS gathering will begin at 12:00 PM at Nikola Pašić Square, where the May Day Proclamation will be read. Afterwards, a planned walk to the Serbian Government building will take place, where the conclusions and demands of that union will be submitted.
The union stated that on May 1st, they will mark Labor Day and the SSSS Day, April 27th, representing “two dates that symbolize the workers’ struggle for greater rights, higher wages, and a dignified life.”
The “Nezavisnost” union will mark May Day at 11:30 AM near the Dimitrije Tucović monument on Slavija Square, after which they will submit an initiative to the Serbian Government for changes to the Law on Labor and the Law on Strikes.
Students will also attend the trade union gatherings and, together with union members, will observe a 16-minute silence to mark six months since the tragedy caused by the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station.
It has been announced that trade unionists from Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Kragujevac, and other cities will also attend the protest in front of the Serbian Government building.
At that gathering, a “Free Daily News” program prepared by a group of journalists from Radio-Television Vojvodina will be broadcast, and an open-air concert by a children’s rock choir will also be held.
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Source: Nedeljnik, Foto: Serbian Times