Serbian students declare ‘we deserve better’ as latest anti-corruption rally adds pressure on Vucic

NIS, Serbia (AP) - Tens of thousands of people joined protesting students in Serbia for a rally on Saturday against alleged injustice and corruption, many proclaiming "We deserve better."

University students in the Balkan country that has been ruled firmly by a populist government for over a decade have been holding nationwide protests since the fatal train station canopy collapse in November that killed 15 people and which critics blame on government corruption.

The almost daily protests regularly draw tens of thousands of people and have rattled President Aleksandar Vucic's firm grip on power.

"We want the (state) institutions that work in the interest of all of us and not to our damage," the students said in a statement. "We want a system that values knowledge and work, and not obedience and silence."

Protesters from across the country gathered in Nis, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Belgrade, for Saturday’s festival-style rally that was expected to last for 18 hours. "We rally because we know we deserve better," the statement said.

The event in Nis, during which a decree would be symbolically passed, was "a wakeup call to move from apathy to action, from silence to a noisy struggle for a better future … our pledge never to give up!"

Vucic, who has described the protests as a Western-orchestrated attempt to oust him from power, on Saturday dismissed the protest, declaring that "support is falling" and that he thinks "nothing special" of it.

With their determination, energy and creativity, the students have garnered widespread support among the citizens who largely have been disillusioned with mainstream politicians and have lost hope of changes.

Serbia is formally on the path toward European Union membership, but Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have been accused of stifling democratic freedoms and fueling rampant corruption since coming to power.

Residents in Nis staged a noisy welcome for the students on Friday evening as they marched into the city after walking for several days in groups from various directions.

These s tudent marches have become a rallying force in Serbia's rural areas, which are traditionally pro-government. Everywhere students showed up people greeted them with food and refreshments, while many cried and kissed them.

"This is the place to be today. There is no place on earth where I belong more than here,” said pensioner Marjan Zivanovic, who came from Belgrade. "Here is love, here is joy, here is everything. Here is the future."

Milan Bogicevic, a high school teacher from Novi Sad, said he is aware that "this is no 100 meters race, this is a marathon." There was no giving up, he added.

Previously similar rallies were held in Novi Sad and in the central city of Kragujevac.

The Nis rally marks four months since the concrete canopy at the central train station in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed on Nov. 1.

The station building had been renovated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure work with Chinese state companies. Many in Serbia believe the work on the building was sloppy and disregarded construction safety rules because of widespread corruption.