Serbia: growing protests after the devastating Novi Sad railway station collapse

The collapse of the concrete canopy at the train station in Novi Sad on 1 November, in which 15 people were killed, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many in Serbia. Among the victims, a large number of them young people and children, two are still in critical condition.

This tragedy caused a massive shock. It showed that on top of already difficult conditions, with the pressures of inflation and crumbling services, we and our loved ones may be at danger of losing our lives due to the abuse, negligence, arrogance and irresponsibility of the authorities.

The subsequent investigation in Novi Sad revealed that the station was opened to the public without an inspection permit! Needless to say, its contractors are connected to the regime.

It was impossible for those culpable to avoid responsibility, despite their attempts. It is well known who made the construction deals, who bragged about them, and who grandiosely opened the station. No lies from President Aleksandar Vučić and his sidekicks can hide these facts.

Protests

The events sparked the biggest protest in Novi Sad since the fall of Milošević in 2000. Twenty thousand people came out onto the streets. Proportionately, that’s on the scale of 100,000 people gathering in Belgrade – the famous figure attributed to the Fifth of October demonstration at the time Milošević was overthrown.

Many people protested for the first time in their lives. It became clear that they could no longer stand on the sidelines. No one can run from politics. It affects every aspect of our lives.

Demonstrators denounced the government as murderers, and demanded the imprisonment of those responsible. This is a big leap compared to the slogans of earlier mass movements.
Demonstrators denounced the government as murderers, and demanded the imprisonment of those responsible / Image: fair use

Subsequently, several roadblocks were held in Novi Sad, as well as several ‘Serbia Stop’ protests. In these, people came from homes and workplaces, stopping everything they were doing for 15 minutes in memory of the lives lost in Novi Sad.

In Belgrade too, over 7,000 people came onto the streets despite the rain. Activists and a loose coalition of opposition parties organised several blockades of courts, demanding justice for the victims, and freedom for detained demonstrators.

All this erupted while other struggles are ongoing, including a teachers’ strike that is becoming more radical, and the struggle by activists to save the historical Sava bridge from demolition.

The situation has reached such a level that, for the first time in more than a decade, the question of a general strike and even the question of the formation of a workers’ party are being mentioned in the media.

It was under these circumstances, after three weeks of uncertainty, that the so-called ‘independent’ judiciary decided to make the first arrests of those responsible for the catastrophe.

Thirteen people have been arrested so far, including the former Minister of Infrastructure, Goran Vesić (who had resigned after the disaster); as well as various people responsible for the supervision and execution of the rail station’s reconstruction.

But there has been no answer as to why these arrests didn’t come sooner. And to make matters worse, minister Vesić was soon released from custody.

Fury

President Vučić is under enormous pressure from the masses. The sentiment in society that prevailed even before the big protest was summed up well in the words of a journalist from Nedeljnik Vreme, Nemanja Rujević:

“Ever since the concrete canopy crushed innocent lives, there has been more anger than sadness. For five days, people were saying how disgusted they were. For five days, they have been saying that they have had enough of ‘peaceful [protest] walks and city sightseeing’.

“For five days and twelve years, the ‘opposition public’ – on television, social networks and bars – claimed that the mafia is in power, that you can not deal with them politely, that we will have to ‘chase them off in the streets’. That in order to defend against the regime's violence ‘all means should be used’.”

In addition to its size, the protest in Novi Sad could not be called an ordinary, ‘routine protest’, as was the case with previous demonstrations under the leadership of the opposition parties. This time, the mood was furious.

Activists used gloves with red paint to mark buildings, including the City Hall, describing the collapse of the canopy as a murder, stating “Blood is on yours hands.” Taxi drivers of one company came to the protest organised in a column. Protestors spilled manure mixed with water in front of the City Hall, reminiscent of the recent methods of struggle of the French farmers.

Some of the protesters attacked the City Hall and the police who were inside, breaking windows and cameras. In front of the City Hall, the atmosphere was one of anticipation as to whether there would be a call for something more than that.

When one of the speakers tried to calm down the demonstrators with the argument that ‘we should not be like them’, referring to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPP), a girl silenced him by correctly exclaiming that the violence of the regime cannot be equated with the violence of the demonstrators.

Not a single shop was attacked, only the offices of the SPP, the City Hall and the police that were in it – all symbols of the ruling class’ apparatus.

Some of the opposition parties immediately began to argue that the violent demonstrators were ‘provocateurs’ of the regime. Even if some of them were, this belittles the fact that there were no doubt many genuinely angry youth desperate to do something more. Far from reacting with disgust to every firecracker and broken window, quite a few shouted in support.

Disorganisation

The opposition parties again found themselves at the head of the protest, something which most people were not too happy about. Yet everyone was ready to put up with them, for the sake of protesting against the criminal negligence of the authorities, on the understanding that someone has to take the lead.

The demands of the opposition were somewhat more determined than in the past. In addition to the resignations of those responsible, they demanded: the immediate arrest of the suspects; the disclosure of all secret state contracts that are of public importance; an extraordinary inspection of the safety of buildings built in the last 10 years; as well as the release of all detained protesters.

But, as we can see from their cries about the alleged ‘provocateurs’, the opposition initially completely misunderstood the mood of the masses, which was at boiling point. They soon brought disorganisation into the protest movement.

For example, the opposition changed the date of the Belgrade protest, eventually choosing one during a holiday, and all without consulting the local opposition leaders in Novi Sad. The protest in Belgrade was therefore less than half the size of the one in Novi Sad, despite its huge population.

The opposition initially completely misunderstood the mood of the masses, which was at boiling point / Image: sajzerbiterlemon

This led to a public discussion for the first time about the unsatisfactory role which the opposition parties played in leading the protests, now, as well as those of previous years.

The opposition leaders, realising that they were in danger of deflating the energy of another mass movement due to their own incompetence, and feeling the pressure from below, looked for ways to continue the struggle.

They succeeded in this through a combination of synchronising the entire opposition to act unitedly on the ground across different fronts. They used their media connections, including with Radio-Television of Serbia, to broadcasted these struggles. The youth wing of the opposition continued with road blockades and applying red paint on buildings.

When Vučić realised that he was losing control over the situation, the first arrests of those implicated in the disaster were made soon after.

The matter does not seem to be over. It seems that the struggle and social friction will continue in different forms, and with a different pace and intensity.

Lawyers in Belgrade stopped working for three days. Demonstrators continue to organise roadblocks, and the regime sends provocateurs against them.

The students have started organising university blockades in the five biggest cities in Serbia, and in over thirty faculties, often with support of the professors, marking it the biggest student movement in decades. School students and teachers are struggling together against pressure from the government.

Everything smells like the coming period could finally bring an end to the regime of the SPP and Aleksandar Vučić.

The Serbian Progressive Party

As well as coming under enormous pressure from the masses, the regime is also being wracked by an internal crisis of the ruling SPP. The party is in the most fragile state in its history.

We have written previously about the nature of Vučić's regime and the SPP, explaining that, given the mafia structure of the party, it was only a matter of time before Vučić would be unable to hold together all the interest groups that are revolving around him.

We also noted that his act of being a ‘reasonable leader’ who listens to the masses, which he maintains by occasionally disciplining his ranks, would further antagonise a party that is already in the grip of internal struggles.

On several occasions, Vučić has deflected blame by flushing former ministers down the drain. The SPP is now gripped by unceasing rumours about internal conflicts.

Prominent member and SPP MP Vladimir Đukanović, announced in an interview that he was retiring from politics even before the tragedy in Novi Sad. He stated that the ruling party is permeated by an atmosphere of mistrust, back-stabbing and maneuvering, even among those from whom he least expected it.

In an article for Politika entitled ‘Et tu, Brute?’, Đukanović even drew parallels with the conspiracy against Caesar.

Vučić himself no longer knows how to manage this situation. He has become increasingly erratic in his statements / Image: World Economic Forum, Flickr

It is all too obvious that discord already reigned within the party, and that the tragedy at Novi Sad only added to the already existing instability.

Vučić himself no longer knows how to manage this situation. He has become increasingly erratic in his statements.

The regime used the BIA secret services to make ludicrous arrests of activists and oppositionists, all before anyone had yet been detained for their culpability for the canopy’s collapse. Plainclothes policemen, who were often masked, took people to unregistered cars, making the apprehensions more reminiscent of kidnappings.

The Novi Sad tragedy has undoubtedly shattered the trust of ordinary members and voters of the SPP towards its leadership. The fact that it took three weeks to make the first arrests has further exposed the rottenness of the party tops.

The only reason Vučić's regime has been able to cling to power, despite the mass movements which occur almost annually against him, has been the economic growth of the past period. But it is obvious that the growth of the appetite of the ruling party leading cadres is much greater than any economic growth, and is becoming impossible to satisfy.

This is not a normal crisis of the SPP. This is an existential crisis that could lead to the early collapse of the government.

Allusions to the fall of Milošević

Morale in the SPP is falling. Its officials can no longer unite around the figure of Vučić, and its members do not want to be trapped on a sinking ship. The regime is left to rely on the secret services and a few of the most rotten party members to maintain its rule.

However, even though the spectre of the Fifth of October – the event that caused Milošević’s downfall – is haunting the regime, many factors are still missing for a movement of this type.

No preparation for prolonged large-scale protests has been announced. And whilst the opposition parties may have gained visibility, they have only partly taken the leadership of the struggle upon themselves, leaving the youth to mobilise for activities such as road blockades.

The masses are waiting for someone to lead them to overthrow the government. But it is questionable whether the opposition coalition has approval from foreign embassies for such a move, because they fear that once the masses learn to fight, it will be difficult to return the genie to the bottle.

And now that part of the movement’s demands have been met – including the arrest of some of the suspects – the movement lacks further direction.

Similarly to the Fifth of October, the leaders of the opposition parties did not bring about the movement. The masses took the initiative. The opposition were thrust to the head of the movement simply because there was no one else to put there.

Timidity of the opposition

The reason for the opposition coalition’s indecision lies in the fact that its main wing represents the capitalist class – the same class represented by the ruling parties! Both sides advertise Serbia as a cheap source of labour for imperialist countries. The opposition parties are now caught between the masses, who expect them to act, and the interests of the ruling class.

That is why, after years of protests, the opposition parties still do not advocate for better healthcare, education, culture, higher wages, etc. They know that in the era of crisis of the world capitalist system, to promote such a programme would be a double-edged sword. Given the crisis of the system, which necessitates austerity, the masses would turn against the opposition coalition in power, when it inevitably fails to fulfill such a programme.

Milošević fell from power because the masses had had enough of him, and his apparatus was completely rotten / Image: Viktor Sekularac, Wikimedia Commons

Milošević fell from power because the masses had had enough of him, and his apparatus was completely rotten. We are getting close to that situation with Vučić today. It is up to the opposition coalition to show how much guts it has in leading a struggle to overthrow him.

We should add that there is also a petty-bourgeois wing of the opposition coalition that is a little more in touch with the mood of the masses. It takes a more radical tone and occasionally clashes with the capitalist wing. But it too suffers no less from confusion, and therefore remains in the shadow of the larger wing of the opposition.

Instead of basing itself on a socio-economic programme, this wing of the opposition primarily talks about planting trees, building parks, cycling routes, preventing the demolition of old bridges and heritage sites, etc. It repeats the same things as the capitalist wing of the opposition – that the only problems in Serbia are Vučić, crime, and corruption – as if workers have forgotten about the corruption of previous regimes.

They fail to mention that corruption is endemic to capitalism! We must point out that instead of campaigning on secondary issues, the only way to win over the working people of Serbia is through a programme that addresses the declining living standards, housing, the broken education system, healthcare, infrastructure, culture, and environmental destruction.

In order to achieve even the smallest of such demands, like rational urban development, the economy has to be redirected against the profit motive, and planned in the interests of the working masses. This cannot be achieved under capitalism.

The power of the working class

At the end of the day, the question arises whether there would have been a Fifth of October without the Kolubara miners' strike. That's why it is important that the issue of a general strike was at least mentioned in the media recently.

As communists, we have always repeated that the working class has enormous potential power in its hands, because of the fact that it produces all the wealth in the economy.

If there was democratic workers' control over construction – and production in general – the collapse of the Novi Sad station canopy would never have happened. This is because workers would not build to launder money and get bribes from investors, but to make life better for everyone.

If the Kolubara miners played one of the key roles in the Fifth of October, one can only imagine what the entire united working class of Serbia could do today!

As much as there is still uncertainty about what will happen with the announced formation of a workers’ party, it is high time for the Serbian working class to organise itself, both in the workplace and politically.

For a long time the working class has been neglected, hence why it fell into passivity and demoralisation. In whatever form such a political party could be formed, or how the existing parties will adapt their programmes, we communists will support any initiative that will strengthen the position of the working class.

Capitalism kills; kill capitalism

But we do not stop there. What we also keep saying is that the current crisis of world capitalism shows how brutal and inhumane this system can be.

If there was democratic workers' control over construction – and production in general – the collapse of the Novi Sad station canopy would never have happened / Image: fair use

The bloody proxy war in Ukraine, the genocide in Palestine, the floods in Valencia, the coronavirus pandemic, and even the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad, all show that human lives are not a priority for this system at all, and constantly fall victim to the capitalists’ drive for profit.

We also see that improving living conditions is not on the agenda, because all countries are cutting the conditions of life of the working class to the bone with austerity measures, in order to save their collapsing system. And the worst is yet to come in the coming global recession.

As communists we say: this regime can be overthrown by a mass movement. The opposition coalition could replace Vučić, but it will not be capable of resolving the rotten nature and the decay of the crisis-ridden capitalist system.

In order to overthrow the regime, the youth in the streets should turn towards the workplaces, and link up with the workers in a mass movement.

Only the working class can expropriate the capitalists, and reorganise the economy through a democratically-controlled plan to satisfy the needs of the majority, and end capitalist oppression and misery. And of course, to be successful, such a revolution could not stop at the borders of Serbia, but would have to spread worldwide.

We can not change the world individually, but we can if we are united under the banner of the working class! To stop capitalism killing people, we have to kill capitalism.