Dijana Hrka Continues Hunger Strike Near Parliament Building

Dijana Hrka (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Dijana Hrka, mother of Stefan Hrka who was killed in the collapse of the concrete canopy of the reconstructed railway station in Novi Sad on Nov. 1, 2024, is on the third day of her hunger strike not far from the National Assembly building in downtown Belgrade, seeking the truth about and accountability for the death of her son and 15 other people. 

In the place where she is on hunger strike, on the corner of Takovska and Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra streets, several dozen people were gathered in the morning on Nov. 4, and traffic in the surrounding streets was unobstructed. During the morning hours, the situation was calm, after several incidents the night before.

The group of people supporting Hrka is right behind the metal fence that separates them from the encampment with government supporters located in front of the parliament building, who are also present in similar numbers.

Traffic between the parliament building and Nikola Pasic Square has been blocked since April this year, when government supporters set up their tents there.

Ugljesa Mrdic, an MP of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, has also been on a hunger strike along with five veterans since Oct. 31. He has cited dissatisfaction with the prosecution's work in the investigation of the collapse of the Novi Sad train station canopy as the reason for his hunger strike.

Police, currently without riot gear, are also behind the fence, between the two gatherings.

The previous night, a much bigger number of demonstrators and government supporters were present and there were incidents. A reporter of the FoNet news agency was physically assaulted on Kosovska Street by four individuals from the encampment, one person from that encampment hit a female students who was standing near the metal fence, while another person jumped over the fence and tried to cause an incident, attacking and insulting a female journalist of the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) in the process.