Serbian university students stage 24-hour blockade in Belgrade over deadly canopy collapse

euronews (in English)

Thousands of citizens joined the blockade that followed weeks of protests demanding accountability of the deadly accident in the northern city of Novi Sad that critics have blamed on rampant government corruption.

Transcript

00:00University students are staging a 24-hour blockade in the Serbian capital of Belgrade

00:07in protest against a deadly canopy collapse that killed 15 people in November.

00:14Protesters have demanded political accountability over the accident,

00:19blaming corruption and mismanagement for the poor reconstruction of the canopy.

00:24The students converged on the auto-commander junction,

00:27which connects intersecting roads leading from the centre of the city to suburban areas.

00:33In a press conference on Monday afternoon,

00:35Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged dialogue with the students,

00:40who have so far refused to speak to him,

00:42claiming the unrest is negatively impacting the country.

00:46Everything that is happening is reflected in our view and position in the world.

00:51Any kind of crisis, political crisis,

00:58makes a serious problem in the country's economic development.

01:03The government has taken steps to address some of the students' demands,

01:08including declassifying certain documents related to the Novi Sad collapse,

01:13which occurred shortly after the station was renovated by Chinese state companies.

01:18Vucic has also said he is willing to pardon protesters who want to avoid criminal prosecution,

01:24adding that the public prosecutor's office has initiated criminal proceedings against 37 people

01:30after cars rammed into protesting students on two separate occasions.

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