SRCE’s Kulja expects Vučić to cancel Novi Sad rally

Dejan Kulja, a Serbia Centre official in Novi Sad, says the city needs answers about a deadly canopy collapse, not another political rally. He told Nova television that he expects the Serbian Progressive Party and President Aleksandar Vučić to cancel the gathering at the last moment.

Kulja said party rallies are normal in a democracy, especially during legally defined election periods. Novi Sad, he argued, is different. The city is still seeking the truth about the collapse of a canopy that killed 16 people less than two years ago.

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Novi Sad is a wounded city.

He also recalled that Vučić had previously promised, outside the Serbian Progressive Party offices in Novi Sad, to act against criminal gangs the following day. Kulja said nothing came of that pledge and warned that the city, once associated with safety, no longer enjoys that reputation.

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The rally is not needed in Novi Sad at this moment.

Vučić was expected to visit Novi Sad on Friday, Sept. 4, after 22 months and at least seven previous announcements. Details of the rally had not been disclosed. Local assemblies and people from across Serbia were preparing to come to the city to signal that the president was not welcome.

Kulja also said the ruling party might plan to reopen the railway station during the campaign. He said he had information that part of the area outside the station had been renovated and could be put into operation, although the timing was unknown. In the meantime, Novi Sad residents travel to Petrovaradin to use the station there.

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I expect many people from Novi Sad to take to the streets and show how much they care about the truth and answers concerning the canopy, rather than a party rally.