Professor Milinkov: Serbia’s president has not visited Novi Sad station in 22 months to honor victims

Smiljana Milinkov says Novi Sad’s young people are confronting a system they see as deeply unfair, yet continue pressing for a more just society. The professor at the University of Novi Sad’s Faculty of Philosophy said students and secondary-school pupils remain persistent despite facing police batons and tear gas.

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They start from something pure, something good, which is the struggle for a fairer society. And then, when they experience repression, when they are met with batons and tear gas, I cannot even imagine what it is like for them. But they are still persistent.

She described the mood among residents as divided but determined, pointing to the large number of people who gathered to mark 22 months since the collapse of the railway station canopy. The disaster killed 16 people.

Milinkov also criticized President Aleksandar Vučić over his announced rally in Novi Sad on Sept. 4. She said that, during the 22 months since the tragedy, he had not gone to the station to honor those who died. She argued that the victims were killed by corruption and said Vučić would not be welcome in the city on Sept. 4 or in the period that followed.

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Some of the people of Novi Sad will send that message.

“Some of the people of Novi Sad will send that message,” she said. She linked the planned visit to memories of Sept. 5, when a large police presence and various units chased and beat residents in the city. “When the police were sent against the people of Novi Sad, the president is coming on the eve of the anniversary. That is literally rubbing salt in the eyes of the citizens of Novi Sad,” Milinkov said.

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When the police were sent against the people of Novi Sad, the president is coming on the eve of the anniversary. That is literally rubbing salt in the eyes of the citizens of Novi Sad.