World agencies call Vucinicin” populist president”

Several tens of thousands of people gathered this afternoon in Belgrade for a major protest against Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government, whose strong rule has been challenged by student-led street protests several weeks, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The rally at Belgrade's Trg Slavija, one of the largest in recent years, was called by farmers' students and trade unions. It is part of a wider social movement that calls for responsibility for the collapse of the tent at the railway station in the country's north on November 1st, in which 15 people died, it reported. The AP, adding that smaller gatherings were also held in Nis and Kragujevc.

Many in Serbia blame the widespread <x0] corruption and irregular work at the Novi Sad railway station building, which has been renovated twice in recent years as part of the suspicious mega-projects in which Chinese state companies participate. Demonstrators demand that Vuciq and the responsible face justice for the tent's collapse, the AP added.

The protest was joined by prominent actors in Serbian theatre and film, while actor Bane Trifunovic named last night's rally as a “freedom party”.

The French AFP agency reports in its protest report that the Government of Serbia is under pressure from protests for more than seven weeks after the tragedy in Novi Sad, and many protesters accuse authorities of corruption and lack of control.

The meeting in Belgrade, organised by the students, began with 15 minutes of silence, posting for the 15 dead, were also farmmen, actors and other people from all over Serbia.

The demonstrators occupied Trg Slavija and blocked nearly the entire city center. They demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and the mayor of the Novi Sad municipality after the accident, as well as the presentation of the responsible in this case before the courts.

Students also seek to prosecute those who have attacked them during previous protests and require the removal of charges against their participating colleagues at gatherings.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq said on Saturday he would not surrender to protesters. At the same time, he encouraged granting subsidies to purchase apartments or houses for young people, which many saw as an attempt to calm tensions, France Press adds.

The AP reported that today Vuciq inaugurated part of the newly built highway in central Serbia, where he said he would not turn himself over to the opposition's demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using students in an effort to take power.