U Belgrade will be held on Saturday, March 15, a large civic and student event protest, and students, pupils and citizens have already started on foot and on bicycles.
According to the students' announcement, the main site of Saturday's protest will be in front of the building of the National Assembly of Serbia in the center of the capital, and it is expected that this will be the largest gathering in the history of Serbia and Belgrade.
Last weekend, students from Subotica and Niš started the protest on foot, followed by their colleagues from Loznica, Kraljevo, Čačak, Užice, Kragujevac...
The peltzer for protest march was first planted by students from Belgrade who marched towards Novi Sad at the end of January to block three bridges, and the seedling was received and the shoots spread by plenums of students from other universities in Serbia, who since then march through many places, as they say, wake up Serbia.
In the meantime, cyclists, runners and bikers have also become active, and residents of different cities in Serbia are coming to Belgrade in an organized manner by car, and farmers are also coming with tractors. The diaspora is also coming.
Photo: Vreme/Katarina StevanovićA group from Nis on their way to Belgrade
Who walks to protest?
So far, students have walked hundreds of kilometers in marches to protests held in Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Niš, and they are adding up even these days walking towards Belgrade.
Students from Subotica were the first to go on the trip this time. On Thursday (March 13), with colleagues from Novi Sad, as well as high school students, university professors and teachers, they set off on the last two sections to Belgrade.
They will follow the route that the students walked to Novi Sad - through Petrovaradin, Sremske Karlovci, Inđija, all the way to Stara Pazova, where they will spend the night, then on Friday (March 14) they will continue through Nova Pazova, Batajnica, Zemun, to Belgrade.
In four days, the Nis students walked a good part of the route from the Manasi monastery, in the vicinity of Despotovac, which was their starting point. Their journey is 193 kilometers long, and on Thursday (March 13) they walk from Smederevo to Pancevo, where they will spend the night and continue to Belgrade on Friday. About 500 of them started, and people joined them along the way, so the group now numbers about 700 walkers.
Students from Čačak, Kraljevo, Užice and the surrounding area, who are walking to Belgrade, continued their journey from Lazarevac and should reach Obrenovac on Thursday (March 13) evening, from where they will continue to Belgrade on Friday.
Students and high school students from Kragujevac, who are walking towards Belgrade to participate in Saturday's student protest, are spending the third day of their walk on the route between Mladenovac and Grocka, from where they will continue towards Belgrade on Friday.
Students, graduates from Šabac, Loznica and Mali Zvornik continued the three-day "Sava March to Belgrade". On Thursday, they travel to Obranovac. Educators, parents and citizens are also in the column.
The plan is to meet the convoy of students coming from the direction of Valjevo and spend the night together in Obrenovac, and then head to Belgrade on Friday.
Students from Petrovac na Mlava, Jagodina and Vršac are also on the way.
To protest on two wheels
People come to the protest on bicycles and motorbikes from different parts of Serbia.
Cyclists from Niš, Kruševac, Kraljevo and Užice also arrive in Belgrade. On Thursday, March 13, they left Čačak for Belgrade.
Bikers will also come to the protest in an organized manner, and according to the plans, they will gather at the Ikea warehouse.
Organized caravan arrival
Civic activists from the territory of Western Serbia and several other cities are planning a joint march to Belgrade on Saturday, March 15.
"Kraljevo, Čačak, Užice, Požega, Kosjerić, Arilje, Ivanjica, Guča, Gornji Milanovac, Raška, Vrnjačka Banja, all together for Belgrade," writes Ozonpress.
The residents of Novi Pazar, Prijepolje, Priboj, Nova Varoš should also join them.
The residents of Niš are invited via social networks to an organized caravan of cars, in which they will come together to Belgrade on Saturday, March 15, and participate in a large protest, Juzne Vesti writes.
By driving together to the capital, they should facilitate going to the protest and ensure a safe and coordinated ride.
Diaspora at protest
Protests in support of students in Serbia have been organized so far by the diaspora around the world, and some have decided to come to Belgrade for the protest.
Numerous members of the Serbian diaspora announced their arrival at a large gathering in Belgrade on March 15.
"I wonder if people are coming from abroad to support the protests?" Seven of us are coming to Serbia from Canada to protest on Saturday. Although we are a little afraid for safety, we have decided that we want to support young people. There is no going back. Nadja's group is a mix of men and women aged 25-38," stated one post on Reddit.
Dragica Obradović Sević from Bochum in Germany is coming to Belgrade for a protest.
She has prepared banners, and as she tells Deutsche Welle, she is coming with her son and a few other people.
"And we from the diaspora are with the students. They managed to wake us up and connect us in an incredible way. The students managed to connect us with the great energy they brought to the streets of Serbia", says Obradović Sević.
