Student list urges Novi Sad to ignore SNS rally

The student list “Students Win” called on Novi Sad residents last night not to meet the rally of the Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia list on the street. The rally is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Freedom Square. In a statement dated October 15, the list says it received “serious warnings about pre-planned provocations, staged incidents and violence during and after tomorrow’s rally,” which could then be presented as violence by students and citizens.

The list does not say who the warnings came from, and the claim has not been independently confirmed. The SNS response to the allegations was not published in the reports we read.

What did the student list tell Novi Sad residents?

The statement draws on the grief over the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people. The list opens its message with this sentence:

“For almost two years this city has lived with the pain of lives lost under the railway station canopy.”

The authors concede that a rally by a party whose officials citizens hold responsible could provoke anger, but ask that it not be exploited. “We do not want anyone to exploit your anger, your grief and your struggle,” the text says. Then comes a conclusion that doubles as a political message: “We do not have to stand against each other on Freedom Square tomorrow.”

The list also says how to respond: “We will show our will on October 25, at the polling stations.” Parliamentary elections are scheduled for that day.

Students blockading the Faculty of Technical Sciences sent a similar message on October 14 through the @ftn_se_budi account on X:

No reaction, no gathering, no giving it importance. Sometimes the strongest message is the one we choose not to send

They urged citizens to put the energy they would spend reacting into the elections instead.

What does Novi Sad look like before the rally?

The rally was announced on Wednesday afternoon, October 14, and the square, according to Masina, has been fenced off and fitted with stands. Tractors began arriving in the city around 5:30 a.m. under police escort and were parked along Mihajla Pupina Boulevard, from the Nork building to the Varadin Bridge, while traffic toward the bridge ran in a single lane.

Some Novi Sad schools shortened classes or cancelled the second shift, and one said its pupils were avoiding events in the city center. Novi Sad citizens’ assemblies announced that on Friday they will “send a message to the mafia,” promising to publish details later. By noon there had been no new announcements.

According to N1, this is the first major SNS rally in Novi Sad since the canopy collapse. The outlet notes that Aleksandar Vucic announced a visit at least eight times over the past two years, and that a major rally announced for September was postponed on the grounds that “people’s lives come first.” He was in the city on November 5, 2024, the evening of the riots, and in February this year.

What does the police union say?

The Police Professional Association issued an appeal today asking all participants to keep the rally peaceful and lawful. In a statement carried by Beta, the association said:

Freedom of assembly is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, and exercising it means respecting public order and peace and following the orders of the competent authorities

The association urged citizens to report incidents to the relevant services rather than deal with them on their own.

Our earlier report on this topic covered the SNS and Radical Party call for the rally and the fencing off of the square. The students’ reply came nine days before the election, and whether citizens heed the call to stay home will be clear tonight on Freedom Square.