Serbia's students, citizens rally to support general strike

Tens of thousands of people marched through Belgrade on Friday to mark the deaths of 15 victims in a railway station disaster and to support a student-led call for a general strike aimed at challenging Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's hold on power.

Daily protests led by students have spread over the past four months to most of the country, following a collapse of an awning in a newly renovated train station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, in which 15 people were killed.

Some businesses, artists, union activists and civic groups answered the students' call to strike Friday. But public services, state institutions, most companies and shops across Serbia remained operational.

In Belgrade, demonstrators marched through the city centre, blowing whistles and horns and carrying banners with slogans reading “Corruption kills” and “Blood is on your hands”.

"This corrupt monster of a regime, this corrupt blob, must be forced to operate as it should or be brought down," said Bane Nikolic, 29, a software developer.

Nikolic said his firm's director told employees they were free to join the strike if they wish.

On Friday, Vucic said he spoke by phone with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin about what he described as "a coloured revolution", a reference to popular uprisings in former Soviet states, and that he received Putin's backing.

Many Serbians attribute the Novi Sad disaster to rampant corruption, which they tie to the decade-long leadership of Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

They also accuse Vucic and SNS of ties with organised crime, stifling media freedoms and violence against political opponents. Vucic and his allies deny that.

The government has said it launched an anti-corruption drive following the train station disaster, arresting dozens on graft charges.

Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and two ministers also resigned amid the unrest, while prosecutors have charged 13 people over the train station collapse.

Following large protests in three major cities - Novi Sad, Kragujevac, and Nis - students announced a mass demonstration in Belgrade for March 15.

Student demands include releasing documents related to the train station disaster and accountability for those responsible.