Serbians chant ‘we deserve better’ as latest anti-corruption protest adds to pressure on Vucic

[Pelican Press 0]

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Serbians chant ‘we deserve better’ as latest anti-corruption protest adds to 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

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that killed 15 people and which critics blame on

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.

The almost daily protests regularly draw tens of thousands of people and have

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Vucic has described the protests as a Western-orchestrated attempt to oust him from power.

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“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

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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.

Students said the event, 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!”

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

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have been accused of

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and fueling rampant corruption since coming to power.

Residents in Nis

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as they marched into the city after walking for several days in groups from various directions.

‘This is the place to be today’

These s

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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.”

Previously similar rallies were held in

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and in the central city of

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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 ******** state companies. Many in Serbia believe the work on the building was sloppy and disregarded construction safety rules because of widespread corruption.

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