Police fire tear gas at protest over deadly canopy collapse in Serbia
Protesters broke windows and sprayed red paint on the City Hall building in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on Tuesday in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people
A protester attempts to throw a flare into the City Hall building during a protest in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
A flare burns in front of the City Hall building during a protest in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
A protester paints grafitti on the City Hall building during a protest in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
November 5, 2024S
NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Protesters on Tuesday threw flares and red paint on the City Hall building in the Serbian city of Novi Sad in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people. Police responded by firing tear gas canisters.
The protesters surrounded the building in the city center, broke windows and threw stones and other objects despite calls by organizers to remain calm. Special police troops were deployed inside the building.
Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic said police were “showing restraint,” while warning that “horrific, violent protests are underway.”
“People of Serbia, please do not think violence is allowed,” he said on X. “All those taking part in the incidents will be punished.”
Miran Pogacar, an opposition activist, said “one glass window can be mended but we cannot bring back 14 lives. People are angry. Serbia won’t stand for this.”
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Protest organizers said they wanted to enter the City Hall building and submit their demands, including that those responsible for the canopy collapse face justice.
Some of the protesters trying to get inside the building wore masks and were believed to be soccer hooligans who are close to the populist government.
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Bojan Pajtic, an opposition politician, said he believed violence was being stoked by provocateurs, a tactic used before in Serbia to derail peaceful anti-government protests and paint the opposition protesters as enemies of the nation.
Earlier, thousands of demonstrators had marched through the city streets demanding that top officials step down because of the fatal outer roof collapse last Friday, including President Vucic and Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.
The protesters first gathered outside the railway station where they held a moment of silence for the victims as organizers read their names. The crowd responded by chanting: “arrest the gang” and “thieves.”
The protest started peacefully but some demonstrators later hurled plastic bottles and bricks at the headquarters of Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party and smeared red paint on posters of the Serbian president and the prime minister — a message that they have blood on their hands.
The protesters removed most of the Serbian national red, blue and white national flags that were apparently hung on the headquarters to prevent it from an attack. That triggered an angry reaction from the president.
“Our Serbian tri-color has been destroyed, hidden and removed by all those who do not love Serbia,” Vucic wrote on X. “Tonight, in Novi Sad, this is being done by those who tell us that they love Serbia more than us, the decent citizens of this country.”
As protests wound down later in the evening, Vucic made a surprise trip to Novi Sad and made a brief appearance before his several hundred supporters gathered outside the party headquarters.
Critics of Serbia’s populist government have attributed the disaster to rampant corruption in the Balkan country, a lack of transparency and sloppy work during renovation work on the station building which was part of a wider railway deal with Chinese state companies.
The accident happened without warning. Surveillance camera footage showed the massive canopy on the outer wall of the station building crashing down on the people sitting below on benches or going in and out.
Officials have promised full accountability and, faced with pressure, Serbia’s construction minister submitted his resignation on Tuesday.
Prosecutors have said that more than 40 people already have been questioned as part of a probe into what happened. Many in Serbia, however, doubt that justice will be served with the populists in firm control of the judicial system and the police.
Opposition parties behind Tuesday’s protest said they are also demanding the resignation of Vucevic and that documentation be made public listing all the companies and individuals involved.
The victims included a 6-year-old girl. Those injured in the roof collapse remained inserious condition on Tuesday.
The train station has been renovated twice in recent years. Officials have insisted that the canopy had not been part of the renovation work, suggesting this was the reason why it collapsed but giving no explanation for why it was not included.
The Novi Sad railway station was originally built in 1964, while the renovated station was inaugurated by Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, over two years ago as a major stopover for a planned fast train line between Belgrade and Budapest.
Protesters broke windows and sprayed red paint on the City Hall building in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on Tuesday in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people
A protester attempts to throw a flare into the City Hall building during a protest in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
A flare burns in front of the City Hall building during a protest in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
A protester paints grafitti on the City Hall building during a protest in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
November 5, 2024S
NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Protesters on Tuesday threw flares and red paint on the City Hall building in the Serbian city of Novi Sad in rage over last week’s collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station that killed 14 people. Police responded by firing tear gas canisters.
The protesters surrounded the building in the city center, broke windows and threw stones and other objects despite calls by organizers to remain calm. Special police troops were deployed inside the building.
Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic said police were “showing restraint,” while warning that “horrific, violent protests are underway.”
“People of Serbia, please do not think violence is allowed,” he said on X. “All those taking part in the incidents will be punished.”
Miran Pogacar, an opposition activist, said “one glass window can be mended but we cannot bring back 14 lives. People are angry. Serbia won’t stand for this.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Protest organizers said they wanted to enter the City Hall building and submit their demands, including that those responsible for the canopy collapse face justice.
Some of the protesters trying to get inside the building wore masks and were believed to be soccer hooligans who are close to the populist government.
RELATED STORIES
Protesters demand arrests over train station roof collapse that killed 14 people in Serbia
Serbian minister to resign over concrete canopy crash that killed 14 people
Roof collapse at Serbian railway station kills at least 14
Bojan Pajtic, an opposition politician, said he believed violence was being stoked by provocateurs, a tactic used before in Serbia to derail peaceful anti-government protests and paint the opposition protesters as enemies of the nation.
Earlier, thousands of demonstrators had marched through the city streets demanding that top officials step down because of the fatal outer roof collapse last Friday, including President Vucic and Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.
The protesters first gathered outside the railway station where they held a moment of silence for the victims as organizers read their names. The crowd responded by chanting: “arrest the gang” and “thieves.”
The protest started peacefully but some demonstrators later hurled plastic bottles and bricks at the headquarters of Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party and smeared red paint on posters of the Serbian president and the prime minister — a message that they have blood on their hands.
The protesters removed most of the Serbian national red, blue and white national flags that were apparently hung on the headquarters to prevent it from an attack. That triggered an angry reaction from the president.
“Our Serbian tri-color has been destroyed, hidden and removed by all those who do not love Serbia,” Vucic wrote on X. “Tonight, in Novi Sad, this is being done by those who tell us that they love Serbia more than us, the decent citizens of this country.”
As protests wound down later in the evening, Vucic made a surprise trip to Novi Sad and made a brief appearance before his several hundred supporters gathered outside the party headquarters.
Critics of Serbia’s populist government have attributed the disaster to rampant corruption in the Balkan country, a lack of transparency and sloppy work during renovation work on the station building which was part of a wider railway deal with Chinese state companies.
The accident happened without warning. Surveillance camera footage showed the massive canopy on the outer wall of the station building crashing down on the people sitting below on benches or going in and out.
Officials have promised full accountability and, faced with pressure, Serbia’s construction minister submitted his resignation on Tuesday.
Prosecutors have said that more than 40 people already have been questioned as part of a probe into what happened. Many in Serbia, however, doubt that justice will be served with the populists in firm control of the judicial system and the police.
Opposition parties behind Tuesday’s protest said they are also demanding the resignation of Vucevic and that documentation be made public listing all the companies and individuals involved.
The victims included a 6-year-old girl. Those injured in the roof collapse remained inserious condition on Tuesday.
The train station has been renovated twice in recent years. Officials have insisted that the canopy had not been part of the renovation work, suggesting this was the reason why it collapsed but giving no explanation for why it was not included.
The Novi Sad railway station was originally built in 1964, while the renovated station was inaugurated by Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, over two years ago as a major stopover for a planned fast train line between Belgrade and Budapest.
a train station roof collapsed last week killing 14 people
By AFP
November 5, 2024
Protesters lift up red painted hands to symbolise what they say is government neglect and mismanagement
- Copyright AFP I-Hwa CHENG
Ognjen ZORIC
Thousands of protesters, red paint and smashed windows at the city hall: The Serbian city where a train station roof collapsed last week killing 14 people was at boiling point Tuesday evening.
The deadly accident in Novi Sad struck just months after the station completed a years-long renovation.
It sparked outrage in Serbia where people have taken to the streets and social media users are demanding the resignation of government officials for what they allege is weak oversight on construction and development projects.
“I’m here because one six-year-old girl will never blow out seven candles on her birthday cake,” protester Maja Gledic told AFP.
“This little girl had a nine-year-old sister who won’t be blowing (her) ten (birthday) candles either,” the 50-year-old saleswoman said, referring to two little sisters who were among the victims.
“How many (dead) children we still have to count for this to be over?”, Gledic said barely holding back tears.
Three people, aged between 18 and 24, were seriously injured in the accident, and they were still in critical condition on Tuesday.
So far 48 people have been questioned in an investigation into the accident, according to the authorities.
Construction Minister Goran Vesic resigned earlier Tuesday, saying he made the move “as a responsible man who wants to show by personal example that in today’s Serbia there is moral responsibility due to the terrible tragedy”.
The minister said on X he was quitting with a “clear conscience”.
But, for the protesters in Novi Sad, who first gathered in font of the train station and observed a minute of silence for the victims, it was not enough.
“You are guilty!” one of the organisers told the authorities, speaking from an improvised stage.
Many held banners that read: “Crime”, with their hands painted red.
The protesters chanted: “Prison, prison!” and “Arrest the criminals”.
– ‘Victims of regime’ –
“These fourteen dead and three wounded are, above all, victims of this regime and of everything that is happening in Serbia over the last twelve years”, protester Vladimir Gvozdenovic, a 60-year-old economist, told AFP.
“This accident did not come by itself. It is the product of arrogance, impudence and thievery of this country and these authorities. Eventually, their criminal manner of running the country results in the death of people.”
For Gvozdenovic and fellow protesters, the ruling nationalist SNS party is guilty of negligence in overseeing public infrastructure construction projects that are proliferating across the country.
From the train station the protesters marched to the city hall where dozens of them threw red paint, stones, bottles and flares at the building, smashing its windows.
Police inside the building responded with pepper spray, while other protesters tried to intervene, shouting “don’t destroy our city,” in a very tense atmosphere, according to an AFP reporter.
Meanwhile, President Aleksandar Vucic pledged to punish those responsible for the violence.
“My message to them (protesters) is that the police are very restrained tonight, not only because of them, but also because of the reverence we show for the victims of the terrible tragedy,” he said in a video posted on Instagram.
Vucic pledged that “everyone who participated in this will be punished”.
The central railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, underwent three years of renovation that was completed in July, though Serbia Railways said the collapsed outdoor roof had not been part of the renovations.
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