A protest dubbed “Corruption kills” was held in Belgrade on the 10th of November, against the widespread corruption and negligence that has led to the death of 14 people at the Railway Station in Novi Sad, whose awning collapsed on the 1st of November. The protest, organized by the parliamentary opposition, started in front of the Government of Serbia, with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the tragedy.
It is an understatement to say that the protest in continuation of reactions to the tragedy in Novi Sad did not reach the scale and mass of last week’s gathering in Novi Sad itself. And when they dissolved the Belgrade gathering after an hour and a half, the parliamentary opposition completely failed all of the citizens’ expectations, which were not high to start with.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what the outcome will be. Even if the opposition submits their demands, the government will ignore them anyway,” said a pensioner who came to last night’s protest in a statement for Mašina.
We are looking for responsibility at the wrong address
The speakers at the protest harshly criticized the authorities, demanding responsibility for the accident and pointing to systemic failures that, they claim, contributed to the tragedy.
One of the speakers was the president of the Assembly of Architects of Novi Sad, Ana Ferik-Ivanovič. She pointed out that the authorities keep ignoring experts when making decisions, stressing that they have been pointing out loopholes in laws and poorly executed construction projects for years.
“Everyone calls the professionals when tragedies like this happen. Our question is – why hasn’t anyone been listening to us so far,” she pointed out.
Ferik-Ivanovič reminded the gathered citizens of the long-standing neglect of the professional community’s warnings concerning the problems in the civic construction sector, including the shortening of legal procedures, and non-transparent projects.
“Each and every time we pointed out to the existence of legal loopholes, abuse of shortened legal procedures and of various non-transparent projects, the authorities had one answer, ‘remark is rejected, you are opponents of Serbia’s progress,” Ferik-Ivanovič concluded.
Pavle Cicvarić, in front of the organized group Borba, also addressed the crowd
“Those in power have blood on their hands; they are lying, shameless criminals. And we appeal to such people to be responsible, we ask thieves to arrest themselves and murderers to respect human life. It’s the wrong address, I don’t expect anything from them; the only expectations I have are from citizens, activists, trade unions, and the opposition,” said Cicvarić and added that all the protests people have been attending for years have one thing in common, and that is this government.
After the speeches in front of the Government finished, the protest continued in front of the building of the Presidency of Serbia. Opposition leaders tried to submit demands related to the accident in Novi Sad but faced closed doors.
“There is a chain and a padlock on the door of this building and the building is full of police. How does the ‘bravest among us’ welcome his citizens? Those chains will be on the hands of the killers. I will not give our country up to them. Until victory, until freedom,” said Srđan Milivojević, deputy of the Democratic Party. He announced that the requests would be submitted to the National Assembly.
Victory and freedom were then “postponed” for another day and another way, so it seems, and the meeting was dissolved. Speeches were held, demands were almost submitted, and it seems as if the pissed-off citizens had had enough.
The opposition should get their act together
“I would advise the opposition to get their act together, to think a bit about the citizens, and not just about the political points they wish to earn here. This is a serious issue and a matter of life or death,” a student from Novi Sad stated for Mašina.
All of the citizens we talked to had similar answers: they advised the opposition to pay attention to the the appeals and actions of citizens and activists, and not turn away from radicalization.
“I hope that one day the opposition will realize that they have to find those 300 Spartans who will stand in the front line and lead the angry people, all of us who will stand behind them because unfortunately there is no other solution. This turmoil will pass, we will walk the streets in protest for a month or two, perhaps three months, all in vain”, said one of the gathered citizens for Mašina.
Political scientist and writer Saša Savanović pointed to the same problem in an article for Mašina, framing it as one of the key shortcomings of the previous mobilizations.
“Different civic groups have so far responded to a number of pressing issues faster and better than political representatives. Understandably, within the limits of their capabilities. One of those limits is certainly the one that concerns endangering one’s own security,” Savanović pointed out.
According to Savanović, recognising this type of limitation is completely justified, and ultimately responsible. However, she points to one of the key shortcomings of the previous mobilizations, which is the collective’s inability to guarantee support and protection to its supporters, that is, to take responsibility for their care.
“If organizers stop running away from radicalization, if they stop running away from better organizing and start thinking less about how to use these protests in an electoral way, I think these protests can be more productive than any we’ve had in the last few years” , a student from Novi Sad said for Mašina during the protest.
A.G.A.
