Update 20:50 - Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said at a rally of the Serbian Progressive Party in Niš that the demands of protesting students "have come to an end."
"Today I extend my hand again and tell them that we are ready to talk, to return to dialogue about institutions. I know they will reject us, but we will not give up," he said.
At the same time, thousands of people protested demanding early elections. "Let's choose" was the rallying cry, during which medals were awarded to students who marched towards Brussels.
Preparations are underway in Niš for Vučić's rally, in Subotica for the student protest
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The government led by the Serbian Progressive Party has organized a rally in Niš, the third largest city in southeastern Serbia, on Saturday. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is expected to speak at the rally.
At the same time, in Subotica, in northern Serbia, students are organizing a several-hour protest.
Vučić had previously announced that several members of the Movement for the People and the State, whose formation the government had previously announced, would be presented at the rally in Niš.
It has also been announced that "some friends from abroad" will also participate in the rally.
His supporters were also invited to this rally by the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Minister of Interior, Ivica Dacic.
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Vučić invites protesting students to a public debate, they give this response
The rally at King Milan Square in Niš is being held even though the Municipality of Medijana in Niš, the only one in which the SNS is not in power, ordered the stage to be removed a day earlier, after the organizer failed to submit the relevant documentation for permission.
Meanwhile, a group of students in Niš has announced that they will organize protests in several locations throughout the day, while the central rally will be held in King Alexander Square, a few hundred meters away from the government rally.
On the same day, students in Subotica organize a protest for, as they have announced, "a better and more just society."
The protest titled "We are all in Subotica" is one of many organized by students who have been blocking faculties since late November 2024, demanding responsibility for the deaths of 16 people from the collapse of a shelter in Novi Sad.
Students are demanding criminal and political accountability for the deaths of people in the collapse of a building at the newly renovated Novi Sad Railway Station. The tragedy occurred on November 1.
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They also demand that those responsible for the attacks on them and other citizens during the protests be prosecuted.
The government, led by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, claims that the students' demands have been met. Students and academics reject this as untrue. /REL
