General strike in Serbia, action even in northern Mitrovica

In this action, citizens have been invited by students, who for more than two months block faculties, demanding criminal and political responsibility for the deaths of 15 people from the collapse of the shelter at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1st.

The general strike, or “, general civil disobedience”, as students call it, implies complete work cuts and other daily activities, such as going to stores or restaurants, cinemas, theatres and other activities.

Students have suggested that employees fearing their employers ' response, “take days off, open medical rest or donate”.

More than 200 companies have confirmed earlier that they will suspend operations in solidarity with students.

Support for students has provided numerous public figures, actors, singers, athletes, media employees, as well as individuals from other professions, both lawyers, judges, prosecutors, doctors, educators and opposition politicians in Serbia.

On the same day as the general strike is being held, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, organises a rally at Jagodina city in central Serbia, which is expected to form “Movement for people and state”

This move, as he has said, will all be united despite party affiliation.

In focus, according to him, it will be Serbia's future.

This gathering is not against anyone, but the gathering to unite all the smart and normal people in Serbia” has written Vuciq in his Instagram account.

Authorities in Serbia claim that foreign intelligence services are involved in organising student protests, and that among students there are “mercenaries of foreign students”.

According to them, this is evidence that the student blockades do not stop, even though their demands have been met, which is rejected by the students.

Students' requests for stopping blockades include publishing full documentation for the reconstruction of Novi Sad's Novi Sad Iron Station to determine responsibility for the November 1st, 2024 accident.

They also demand that demonstrators throughout Serbia, during the protests that followed the accident, identify and face criminal responsibility.

The requirements include the release of activists arrested during the protests, the ban on criminal procedures against them, as well as the increase in the budget for universities.

Fifteen minutes of silence even in northern Mitrovica

Meanwhile, in many cities around Serbia, 15 minutes of silence have been kept today to honour Novi Sad's 15 victims.

The same action, with several dozen citizens, has been held in northern Mitrovica ʹ the Serb-run municipality in the northern part of Kosovo.

Srdjan Djordjevic, who called for this action to be held in sign of solidarity with students in Serbia, said that under these circumstances in Kosovo “it is not easy to express opinion, attitude or solidarity”.

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The 15-minute silent action is held before the philosophical faculty in North Mitrovica, which operates within the Serbian University, reports the REL.

Before the start of the action, this faculty has distanced itself from its organisation, while the student Parliament has called on students in Serbia to distance themselves from the support of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

The one who supported you is killing us and driving us out of”, it says, among other things, in the statement.

It points out that students in Kosovo need “Serbia to be politically and economically stable a country with strong institutions with rule of law, with understanding and friends in both the East and West”.

However, some students of the Faculty of Philosophy in northern Mitrovica have distanced from this statement, saying the student Parliament has not gathered at any session and that the published statement is the shameful and malicious “ ”.

Otherwise, the Office of the High Public Prosecutor in Novi Sad has filed charges against 13 people in connection with the deadly collapse of the shelter at the city's Hekurudhor station.