Thousands Protest Against Government Corruption in Serbia's Capital

In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, thousands of people took to the streets to express solidarity with student protests against government corruption and demand for change in the country, AP reports.  

Belgrade residents formed five columns in different parts of the city and marched to a key intersection where students have been holding daily protests for more than two months.  

Demonstrators shouted slogans, blew whistles and chanted ‘Pump it up!’, which has become a symbol of the student movement. 

Upon reaching the meeting point, the protesters observed a minute of silence in memory of the 15 people who died in the collapse of a shed at the railway station in Novyi Sad last November.  

The students demanded that the authorities make public documents related to the tragedy, bring those responsible to justice, drop charges against the protesters and increase funding for higher education.  

The protest movement has gained considerable publicity in a country where corruption remains a serious problem and many citizens doubt that state institutions are working in the public interest.  

Many Serbs are convinced that the collapse was the result of government corruption schemes related to large-scale infrastructure projects implemented jointly with Chinese state-owned companies.  

Mass demonstrations across Serbia pose a serious challenge to President Aleksandar Vucic. In January, the student movement already forced the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, who was considered his ally.