{"id":42024,"date":"2025-11-07T15:35:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/?p=42024"},"modified":"2026-04-20T13:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T11:52:21","slug":"corruption-kills-thousands-march-in-serbia-to-mark-tragedy-s-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/corruption-kills-thousands-march-in-serbia-to-mark-tragedy-s-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Corruption Kills\u2019: Thousands March in Serbia to Mark Tragedy\u2019s Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

After walking for days – some for more than two weeks and covering over 400 kilometers – tens of thousands of young Serbians converged on the northern city of Novi Sad on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people and sparked the largest anti-corruption protests in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>

The youth have linked the collapse to graft during the recent reconstruction of the station and have spent the past year demanding accountability for the deaths.<\/p>

\u201cWe hope justice will be served and those responsible will be held accountable because this is a great tragedy, the 16 lives are a huge loss and I say again: corruption is to be blamed,\u201d said Nina Jasmina Vu\u010dkovi\u0107, 64, a teacher from Belgrade.<\/p>

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Foto: Janne Frank \/ Divergence \/ Teacher Nina Jasmina Vu\u010dkovi\u0107<\/figcaption><\/figure>

After a night of euphoric celebration that swept through the city as the students finally arrived, Novi Sad fell silent on the morning of November 1 – the anniversary of the day the tragedy changed Serbia.<\/p>

The young marchers walked toward the train station, no longer blowing whistles or chanting slogans about never growing tired, as they had throughout the year. Instead, they carried flowers, candles, and a black banner bearing the names of the 16 victims. Tears of sadness replaced last night\u2019s tears of joy.\u00a0<\/p>

Drone footage<\/a>\u00a0showed a sea of people standing still for 16 minutes starting at 11:52 – the precise moment the canopy collapsed. Afterwards, people laid flowers and lit candles next to the victims\u2019 names written on red paper hearts.<\/p>

Novi Sad resident Du\u0161ica \u017divanovi\u0107, 65, knew one of the victims, Mileva Karanovi\u0107, and said she has felt endless sorrow ever since.<\/p>

\u201cI also feel – and I\u2019m almost afraid to admit this – that my anger is, unfortunately, even stronger than my grief, because no one is taking responsibility,\u201d she told OCCRP and CINS. It is the inability to achieve justice, to see those responsible held accountable, that fuels her anger, she explained.<\/p>

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Foto: Janne Frank \/ Divergence \/ Novi Sad resident Du\u0161ica \u017divanovi\u0107<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cYou know what? It\u2019s terrible to realize that I\u2019ve discovered these negative emotions in myself – emotions I didn\u2019t think I had,\u201d she said.<\/p>

Dijana Hrka, whose son Stefan was among the 16 victims, thanked the protesters for keeping her alive and called on President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 to organize snap elections. She announced she will start a hunger strike in front of the Belgrade City Council.<\/p>

\u201cI have to know who killed my child. Who killed 16 people? Someone has to be held accountable,\u201d she told protesters through tears from an improvised stage.<\/p>

What began a year ago as mourning for the dead has transformed into a sweeping, student-led movement demanding that all project files from the Novi Sad railway station reconstruction be made public and that those responsible be brought to trial.<\/p>

\u201cCorruption kills,\u201d read one of the first banners the students carried, alongside others showing red handprints and a message to authorities: \u201cYour hands are bloody.\u201d<\/p>

The protests spread like wildfire across Serbia as students occupied universities city by city, denouncing what they see as entrenched corruption and impunity that pervade Serbia\u2019s institutions, even though prosecutors have charged 13 people in connection with the collapse and several officials have resigned.<\/p>

The government has consequently made some reconstruction documentation public, but the student movement says not all files were released and continues to protest.<\/p>

Largely ignored by the national broadcaster and vilified by pro-government media as \u201cforeign agents,\u201d \u201cfake students,\u201d and \u201cenemies of the state,\u201d the protesters found another way to reach citizens cut off from independent news: they walked.<\/p>

Traveling from town to town, they gathered momentum and solidarity, embraced by ordinary people who saw in them a rare spark of hope for change. Along their routes, residents lined the roads to cheer them on, offering food, shelter, and bandages for blistered feet – small acts of kindness for a movement marching toward something far greater.<\/p>

Local officials loyal to the government reportedly again refused to let the marchers stay overnight in schools or sports halls. Just like once before, the railway company announced a day before that trains would not run on the day of the, citing \u201cbomb threats.\u201d<\/p>

But the\u00a0walkers pressed on<\/a>. Residents welcomed them with fireworks and applause as they entered each town, exhausted but triumphant. Supporters opened bars, gyms, and restaurants to house the travelers, while others cooked hot meals in the streets to greet their arrival.<\/p>

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