Serbian students and residents in Cambridge held a protest on King’s Parade today (09/02),.

Shortly before midday, around 40 people gathered to commemorate the victims of a tragedy in the Serbian city of Novi Sad which sparked protests in the country. Last November, a recently repaired train station canopy collapsed, killing 15 people and leaving two more with serious injuries.

This was the third consecutive week of protests in Cambridge, expressing support for the ongoing demonstrations in Serbia which were described by a spokesperson at the vigil as the largest in the country’s history.

Protesters have blamed the collapse on flawed construction work carried out as a result of endemic governmental corruption and have called for accountability for those they see as responsible. Despite the resignations of several government officials, including the prime minister, the protests have now spread to over 200 Serbian towns and cities.

An organiser of the Cambridge protests said that protesters in Serbia had four specific demands. These are the publication of documents relating to recent building work at Novi Sad station, prosecution of those responsible for harassing protesters, an end to prosecutions of student protesters, and an increase in the higher education budget.

They added that protests in Cambridge were apolitical, and aimed to commemorate the victims of the collapse, adding: “We support the students in Serbia that are protesting for institutions to do their jobs, but are in no way targeting a party, or supporting a party. ”

The organiser continued: “The tragedy is a result of corruption and negligence, but we are protesting in support of students that are asking government sectors which have nothing to do with the governing party to do their job.”

A different organiser disagreed, telling Varsity that the governing party “controls virtually all sectors of government, including the sectors complicit in the Novi Sad tragedy.”

Protesters carried Serbian flags and placards in a mix of Serbian and English, before unveiling a banner reading “Cambridge with the Youth” in Serbian. Some protesters also wore red gloves on their hands, a common symbol of the protests which represents the blood on the hands of the government.

A student read out the names of the 15 killed in the collapse, before their deaths were marked with a 15-minute silent vigil.

Speaking to Varsity after the vigil, another organiser said they were “protesting against years of corruption and autocratic misrule under the dictator Alexander Vucic.”

They added that protesters were there to “express a deep desire to finally live in a normal country, a democratic country, a country free from corruption.”

However, one protester made clear that these protests are “apolitical,” and are unaligned with any opposition party, instead demanding an end to corruption in the country. Similarly an organiser told Varsity that the protests “are not anti-government”.

As in Serbia, today’s protest was not organised by any one person, but rather students and residents in Cambridge.