Student Columns Reach Belgrade, Welcome at 8 PM
Columns from Novi Sad, Valjevo, Sabac, Gornji Milanovac and Zajecar finish their march today, with a welcome at 8 PM by the Rectorate and the closing rally tomorrow at Slavija.
Walking columns of students from five Serbian cities finish their trek to Belgrade today, and students in blockade at the University of Belgrade have called a joint welcome for 8 PM in front of the Rectorate building on Studentski Trg. The march is the last stage before the Student List closing rally, set for tomorrow, October 22, at 6 PM at Slavija, with snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, October 25.
The columns set out from Zajecar, Gornji Milanovac, Valjevo, Sabac and Novi Sad, and organizers are routing them along three approaches: eastern, western and northern. We reported earlier on the departure of the Novi Sad column. Today we can see how it ends and where the other two routes stand.
Northern Column: 32 Kilometers and 16 Tractors
The Novi Sad column set off on the morning of October 20. About 1,000 people signed up for the march, among them students, high school students, farmers and Novi Sad residents. Six Student List candidates walk in the column, led by the list’s top name, Prof. Dr. Ilija Srdanovic. In Banstol locals greeted them with food and fruit, the breaks were in Sremski Karlovci and Indjija, and they spent the night in Stara Pazova. According to the plan N1 relayed, they were due to arrive there around 9 PM.
Today the column covers 32 kilometers. Breaks are planned in Nova Pazova and Batajnica, with a longer one in Zemun, and from there the column continues toward Studentski Trg. Sixteen tractors from the Initiative for the Survival of Serbian Farmers accompany the walkers, and traffic police lead and close the column. Moj Novi Sad reports that the march was announced to resume around 9 AM.
The Zemun Assembly announced two welcomes: in the center of Batajnica from 11:30 AM to 1 PM, and on Avijaticarski Trg from 5 PM to 6 PM. “Tomorrow we welcome the walkers who will take a break with us and then continue toward Republic Square,” the Zemun Assembly said. The sources disagree on the final destination: students in blockade speak of the Rectorate on Studentski Trg, while the Zemun Assembly speaks of Republic Square.
Student List candidate Stevan Cvetican told N1 yesterday afternoon, when the column reached Maradik, that citizens had been joining the walk spontaneously:
“I have been with the students from the start, and there is no reason for me not to stay with them to the end. This is a pleasure for me. This is practically a pre-election walk.”
Psychologist and Student List candidate Dragan Prpa told N1 that the march is not only a political act: “This is not exclusively a political process, and in the end it will have a political resolution at the elections.”
Dejan, a student at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, described the welcome in Stara Pazova and the column’s message to N1:
“All the support in the column, that energy, every step and every blister we have, none of it is a problem for us. Stara Pazova welcomed us fantastically. I shed a tear or two, we danced the kolo too, everything was great. The message of this column is that victory comes from the north as well. We set out from Novi Sad, and our colleagues are bringing victories from the west and the east too. Tonight victory arrives in Belgrade as well, ahead of our closing rally at Slavija tomorrow.”
Western Column: Late Start and an Estimate of 500 People
The columns from Gornji Milanovac (which set out on October 18), Valjevo and Sabac (both on October 19) merged in Obrenovac, and today they head through Baric, Umka and Ostruznica. An N1 reporter says this group started late this morning, so it may not reach Belgrade by 9 PM.
Lena, a student at the Faculty of Political Sciences, told N1 that 150 people left Valjevo and that there are now about 500, according to what they heard from the police. That estimate, in other words, comes secondhand, through a participant, and not from an official statement. Lena expects to arrive in Belgrade around 9:30 or 10 PM, which is after the scheduled welcome.
Nina, a student at the Faculty of Mathematics who is also walking in the western column, said they will pass through Baric, Umka and Ostruznica today, and added: “We are grateful to everyone who stayed up so late yesterday to welcome us.” Mladen Jovicic, a student from the Sabac group, said that “in 90 percent of cases, people welcome us with enthusiasm.” In the village of Vreoci, 16 minutes of silence were observed.
Eastern Column: Five Days and 100 Kilometers Across the Homolje Mountains
The Zajecar column set off on October 16. It covered about 100 kilometers across the Homolje Mountains, and on October 20 it walked 27 kilometers from Pozarevac to Smederevo. There it was welcomed around 9 PM with a kolo on Republic Square, alongside actor Dragan Gagi Jovanovic. Pozarevac also held 16 minutes of silence. The route onward leads through Grocka, Bolec and Kaludjerica.
Student Milica Sljuka told N1 that they had passed through small villages of 100 to 200 residents, where people greeted and welcomed them: “Everyone says they are ready for the elections, that they have signed up as poll monitors and mobile teams.”
Where Is the Welcome, and What Is Happening in Nis the Same Day?
Students in blockade have scheduled the welcome for all the columns at 8 PM today. Moj Novi Sad and Masina name the Rectorate building as the location, while N1 and Nas portal say Studentski Trg, where the Rectorate stands. The closing rally, called “Victory Calls,” takes place tomorrow at Slavija.
The same day at 6 PM, the “Aleksandar Vucic-United Serbia” list holds its final pre-election rally in Nis, on King Milan Square. List leader Aleksandar Vucic called that rally “the best day of the campaign” and “the biggest party,” Masina reports. The Nis rally starts two hours before the welcome in Belgrade.
