Two Blockades in Downtown Belgrade on Jan. 10

Students (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

The plenum of the University of Arts in Belgrade has announced it will block the Mostar interchange in downtown Belgrade at 2 p.m. on Jan. 10, while The Bridge Stays Initiative will stage its own blockade in front of the RTS public service, less than 3 km up the street.

In an earlier statement, the University’s students recalled that the Prosecutor’s Office took over a month to respond to the attack on students of the Belgrade School of Dramatic Arts, thereby sending the message that “the law is not a priority.” Moreover, the Office did not launch an investigation of its own accord but rather only after the dean of the School of Dramatic Arts filed charges himself, and after 40 days of countrywide student blockades, it was explained.

The press release went on to say that “such irresponsibility by the authorities – starting with the Ministry of Interior Affairs and ending with the Prosecutor’s Office – sends the message to the students and general public alike that the law is not a priority in the current system.”

The students’ latest post stated that the Jan. 10 rally will begin in front of the Palace of Justice, which houses Belgrade’s Higher Court. The gathering will not include speeches and will continue the students’ policy of political neutrality, i.e. distance from any and all of the country’s political parties and organizations.

Meanwhile, The Bridge Stays Initiative announced that a commemoration of the victims of the Nov. 1, 2024 railway station accident in Novi Sad will take place in front of the RTS public service headquarters, also located in the capital’s center.

In a post on Facebook, the Initiative yet again called on RTS to halt its program for 15 minutes in memory of the dead as well as to begin objectively reporting on the blockades and protests occurring daily in Belgrade and the rest of Serbia. Specifically, the service was asked to work in the interest of the general public, rather than follow the editorial policies crafted by the current regime.