Students protest memorial contract, citing regime corruption

Students protesting at higher education institutions in Belgrade have voiced strong condemnation of the regime's decision to award a lucrative contract for a memorial to the victims of the Novi Sad railway station roof collapse. They argue that this move is a cynical manipulation of tragedy, awarding millions of dinars to individuals closely aligned with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

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The regime, by awarding multi-million dinar contracts to its loyal cadres for the creation of a 'memorial' to the victims of the roof collapse at the Novi Sad railway station, continues with the most primitive mockery of the victims, while those responsible for that crime continue to walk free.

The students specifically targeted Goran Čpajak, a former dean of the Faculty of Applied Arts, and architect Zoran Tucić, who they say have lent their legitimacy to a corrupt system. "A monument to those killed by systemic corruption cannot be created by a person who legitimized that system, nor by engineers who serve as a professional screen for projects built on secret contracts," the students stated, highlighting their belief that those complicit in the system should not be tasked with honoring its victims.

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A monument to those killed by systemic corruption cannot be created by a person who legitimized that system, nor by engineers who serve as a professional screen for projects built on secret contracts.

Furthermore, the protest highlights a lack of transparency and public discourse surrounding the memorial project. The students assert that the design was conceived without any public debate, competition, or consultation with the victims' families. They view the chosen design, a massive stone slab, as a particularly egregious example of "aesthetic cynicism," as its form brutally resembles the concrete block that caused the deaths, serving as an architectural screen to obscure the crime scene rather than a place of genuine remembrance.

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The chosen solution, a massive stone slab, with its form brutally resembles the concrete block that killed the citizens, which represents an unprecedented act of aesthetic cynicism towards the victims.

This situation is seen by the students as a broader indictment of how art and expertise are co-opted by the regime to serve its interests, becoming accomplices rather than societal assets. They argue that public funds, which should be used for essential services and safety, are instead being channeled to reward loyalists for managing the fallout of negligence. The students vow to continue their protest, refusing to allow the regime to "concrete over the truth" with expensive, hollow monuments.

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Art and expertise that serve the regime cease to be in the service of society and become accomplices.