December 2nd a student-led blockade started at the Rectorate building of the University of Belgrade, the Faculty of Philosophy, The Faculty of Philology, and some of the faculties of natural sciences. By the 3rd of December, it was joined by the state Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Political Sciences, and Faculty of Mathematics in Belgrade. Similar blockades were initiated at the University of Philosophy and the Rectorate at the University of Novi Sad.
“Since the day of the tragedy in Novi Sad, November 1st 2024, in which 15 people lost their lives, as citizens of Serbia and as students, we have been looking for a way to fight for the truth and for those responsible to be identified and held accountable. We are a self-organised, non-affiliated, and independent group of students, which was formed on November 17, on Students’ Day,” reads the statement of the students who have started the blockade of the University in Belgrade and who blocked the Rectorate for 12 hours on Friday (29th of November), which Masina wrote about earlier.
Students demand publication of all documentation related to the reconstruction of the railway station in Novi Sad and of the investigation findings
All they ask for, as they put it, is the truth and the enforcement of law. Their specific demands include: the publication of the complete documentation related to the reconstruction of the railway station in Novi Sad, the publication of the findings of the investigation on those responsible for the attack against students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (on the 22nd of November), the immediate release of all citizens who had been detained during the non-violent protests, a withdrawal of all legally unfounded criminal and misdemeanor charges against citizens and a 20% increase in funds for state universities.
Students announce that they will hold the blockades until their demands are met. All demands are aligned with those of the students from the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Dramatic Arts, who had been disrupting classes for a week. In the previous days students took part in 15-minutes coordinated blockades which took place at more than 60 spots across Serbia; students blocked traffic in front of the buildings of their faculties.
“As part of the fight for the fulfillment of our demands, today we are blocking the Rectorate, as well as the Faculties of Philology, Philosophy, and (what was previously, and is still colloquially known as) the Faculty of Natural Sciences. We want to stress the caution with which we are holding the blockade of part of the building of (what is colloquially known as) the Faculty of Natural Sciences, that belongs to the Faculty of Chemistry, due to the building’s high-risk nature. Blockades are not intended to endanger anyone, or to cause any material damage to the facilities,” the students write.
During the day, a plenum was held in each of the blocked buildings as well as in the Rectorate. The points discussed at these meetings were: further steps, strategies, and plans.
“Classes will be suspended until our demands are met. This serves as a call to our fellow students to join us. We, the students, are here and we are not going anywhere!”, stateBelgrade students.
The Student Parliament of the University of Belgrade aka a “tennis court delegation”
The Student Parliament of the University of Belgrade (SPUB) also spoke out on Monday the 2nd, but, unlike many professors and the public not to express support for the blockades. In a statement published Monday on their social networks, the presidency of SPUB condemned the blocking of faculties and expressed “concern about the abuse of higher education institutions”.
“We emphasize that the demands placed in the media are not the initiative of all the students of the University, but of a smaller group that, while calling for a struggle for the alleged interests of the students, actually implements political action by usurping the University, higher education institutions and the teaching process,” reads the SPUB announcement. In the same statement, SPUB sympathizes with the families of the victims of the fallen canopy and calls for competent institutions to deal with these processes, without jeopardizing the teaching process. “We appeal to political actors to end the harassment, pressure and usurpation of educational institutions,” said the SPUB presidency.
Is it the same presidency that, according to the students, was voted on just a week earlier on a tennis court, after the constitutive session was closed to the public, one might wonder? Students in Belgrade and Novi Sad have in fact shown empathy, solidarity and courage in the past few days to raise their voices against political decisions that not only disrupt the work of those same higher education institutions, but also cause the death of their colleagues. Thus, this SPUB tennis delegation returned the student demands and the fight back to the hands of the students with one forehand and remained tucked away on their court. Whether such attitudes will backfire on them remains to be seen in the coming days.
A.G.A.
Translation to English: M.J.
