Thousands of people on Wednesday evening welcomed students who marched from various parts of Serbia to Belgrade ahead of a major final campaign rally of the “Student List – Students Win” electoral list set for Thursday, October 22, in the capital.
Oglas
One group of students and their supporters set off on Friday from Zajecar in eastern Serbia, while three columns marched from the western part of the country, and one column arrived from the direction of Novi Sad in the north.
Belgrade residents welcomed the arriving columns in front of the University of Belgrade Rector’s Office with fireworks, brass bands, applause, chants of “He’s finished,” “Victory,” and “Vucic is gone,” and the student movement slogan “Pump it!”
“This is one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. This is Serbia, ladies and gentlemen, this is Serbia,” one of the marchers told N1.
Aleksandar Baucal, a candidate on the Student List, told N1 that the Wednesday evening welcome in Belgrade is “just one step toward Sunday,” October 25, when Serbian snap parliamentary elections will be held.
Professor Jovo Bakic remarked that “the students are leading a popular rebellion against injustice.”
“I expect changes, the establishment of a state governed by law, and the rule of law,” a citizen told N1 outside the Rector’s Office building.
“I expect peace and for everything to go smoothly, exactly how the majority decides it should be. But peace is the most important thing,” another citizen emphasized, adding that his goal is to see a better future for the youth.
“The Belgrade I missed”
Several Student List candidates, including playwright Zeljko Hubac, Professor Jovo Bakic, and actor Tihomir Stanic, walked at the front of the column marching from the north of the country.
“These are truly wonderful sights; this is the Belgrade that I have missed,” Hubac told N1. “I hope that after the 25th, we will have that Belgrade back - a city where we can all contribute,” he added.
An N1 reporter on the scene noted that the northern column swelled to include several thousand people.
“I hope this will be the final march in this long struggle of ours,” said Emina, a student from Novi Pazar.
Banja Luka residents travel to support the youth
The gathering outside the Rector’s Office also drew citizens from Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One woman who traveled from Banja Luka explained that she felt a moral obligation to support the marchers after the youth movement’s gatherings were banned in her hometown last week.
“When the students tried to come to Republika Srpska, our police refused to guarantee their safety. I felt a civic and moral responsibility to stand with them. I am not a student myself, but I traveled here with a group of students,” she told N1.
“We wanted our presence here to redeem our honor and show that not everyone in Republika Srpska stands on the ruling party’s side,” she added.
Multiple welcome rallies held across the capital
Before converging for the massive reception in the city center, the incoming columns were met by local residents holding smaller welcome rallies across various neighborhoods in the capital.
One resident who greeted the northern column in New Belgrade admitted she feels deep anxiety ahead of Sunday's vote, but added that “hope is still there.”
Marchers were also greeted by large crowds in Belgrade’s Zemun neighborhood.
Speaking to N1, they insisted they felt no exhaustion, declaring they had “forgotten all the physical pain because the students are winning.”
“While we were walking between towns, there were moments I didn’t want to take another step. But the moment we entered Zemun and I saw people jumping up and running to hug us, I forgot about everything I had felt until then,” one of the marchers confessed to N1.
When asked by an N1 reporter what they expect to happen on October 25, a bystander in the crowd replied simply: “Just freedom - freedom for all of us.”
Teme