Tens of thousands of people have descended into the capital of Serbia to protest the deaths of 15 people in a collapse at the train station.
The government has visited 107,000 in Belgrade. Organizers and independent monitors have not yet given their grades.
Either way, it probably ranks as the biggest demonstration that Serbia has ever seen.
Thehe New sad breaks down Last November, the anger of the government and President Alexandar Vucic. Demonstrators blame corruption and cutting the angle for loss of life.
They believe that the disaster reflects more than a decade of government by Vucic's progressive party – which is closely associated with the recent renovation of the station.
Despite many resignations – and Vucic's insistence that he has nowhere – the protests are only still growing.
“We just want a country that works,” Law student Yana Vacic told the BBC in the growing crowd in Belgrade.
“We want institutions that do their job right. We don't care what a party is in power. But we need a country that works, not one where you do not receive justice for more than four months.”
Republic Square – only one of the four meetings around the capital of Serbia for the “15th for the 15” protest – was full until overflowing on Saturday.
Some have found refuge in the plinth of the statue of Prince Michael, the traditional place for Belgrade to meet, the equivalent of Eros in London Piccadilly.
Others queued up on the road in front of the National Museum, extending all the way to the Student Square.
The other meetings were all overwhelmed in front of the planned rendezvous the National Assembly.
As the protests, because of the sad collapse of new ones, they started with students, taxi drivers, farmers and lawyers joined them.
Prior to the big protest, motorcyclists pulled outside the National Assembly, facing tractors around a camp by pro -government counter -protesters.
Then a parade of military veterans received a welcoming welcome. They said they would make a civilian arrest for anyone who attacked the students.
Students call for complete transparency and accountability regarding the collapse of concrete and glass canopy at the station in the second city of Serbia, which was renovated and resumed only by Vucic – in 2022.
They want the government to publish all the documentation related to the renewal project, and say they are not satisfied with the documents that the authorities have released so far.
They also want the responsible for the disaster to be charged and convicted. Prosecutors have charged at least 16 people, including former construction minister Goran Vesik.
But the accusations have not yet been tested. And students insist that they will continue with their protests until the authorities respond to all their requests.
“We are making progress,” a student, representing the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, said, told the BBC. “But at that moment, none of our requests has been fully fulfilled.”
“Several politicians resigned from their offices,” another noted. “But they were not fired. We will still see nothing but empty promises.”
Prime Minister Milos Vuchevich announced his resignation in late January. But this has not yet been ratified by the National Assembly and he remains in office.
But the real power in Serbia lies in Vucic, who insists that he has nowhere.
“I'm not giving myself a blackmail,” he told a media conference on the eve of the big protest. “I will not allow the street to make a terrible future for this country.”
Vucic described students' protests as “well -meaning”. But he had less flattering words about opposition parties, labeling them with members of Criminal Cartel. He accused them of trying to force the formation of a “deceptive temporary government”.
Borko Stefanovic does not deny that opposition parties are looking for the creation of a “government of experts”.
The Deputy Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party describes him as the “only rational outcome” of the political crisis that will establish the conditions for new elections.
Like other opposition leaders, Stefanovic says that the free elections are currently not possible because of the dominance of the progressive media and state institutions.
But this is not one of the students' requests. They simply call for the truth behind the sad disaster in new ones.
As Prof. Miodrag Jovanovic says, “They want the things I lect for – the rule of law, respect for the constitution and the responsibility and accountability of civil servants.”
Whatever happens during the 15th protest for 15, it seems unlikely that students will retreat until they receive some satisfactory answers.