NIS, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people in Serbia gathered on Saturday for a huge student-led rally that vowed to turn the troubled, populist-run Balkan country into a free nation of justice and rule of law, while sending a message that “We deserve better.”

University students in the Balkan country that has been ruled firmly by a right-wing, pro-Russia government for over a decade have been holding nationwide protests since the fatal train station canopy collapse in November that killed 15 people and which critics blame on government corruption.

The almost daily protests regularly draw tens of thousands of people and have rattled President Aleksandar Vucic’s firm grip on power.

“We want the (state) institutions that work in the interest of all of us and not to our damage,” the students said in a statement. “We want a system that values knowledge and work, and not obedience and silence.”

Protesters from across the country gathered in Nis, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Belgrade, for Saturday’s festival-style rally lasting for 18 hours. “We rally because we know we deserve better,” the statement said.

Serbian students declare 'we deserve better' as latest anti-graft rally adds pressure on government | iNFOnews.ca — A flare is lit as people gather at a square during a student-led protest and a 18-hour blockade of the streets to protest the deaths of 15 people killed in the November 2024 collapse of a train station canopy, in the town of Nis, Serbia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Public disillusioned with mainstream politicians

The event in Nis passed a symbolic decree that proclaimed the “values for which we fight as a pledge for the future,” and in order to build a state “in which justice and freedom will be stronger than any individual.”

The next major protest will be held in the capital, Belgrade, on March 15, organizers said.

Vucic, who has described the protests as a Western-orchestrated attempt to oust him from power, on Saturday dismissed the Nis rally, declaring that “support is falling” and that he thinks “nothing special” of it.

With their determination, energy and creativity, the students have garnered widespread support among the citizens who have largely been disillusioned with mainstream politicians and have lost hope of changes.

Serbia is formally on the path toward European Union membership, but Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have been accused of stifling democratic freedoms and fueling rampant corruption since coming to power.

‘This is the place to be today’

Residents in Nis staged a noisy welcome for the students on Friday evening as they marched into the city after walking for several days in groups from various directions.

These s tudent marches have become a rallying force in Serbia’s rural areas, which are traditionally pro-government. Everywhere students showed up people greeted them with food and refreshments, while many cried and kissed them.

“This is the place to be today. There is no place on earth where I belong more than here,” said pensioner Marjan Zivanovic, who came from Belgrade. “Here is love, here is joy, here is everything. Here is the future.”

Milan Bogicevic, a high school teacher from Novi Sad, said he is aware that “this is no 100 meters race, this is a marathon.” There was no giving up, he added.

Previously similar rallies were held in Novi Sad and in the central city of Kragujevac.

The Nis rally marks four months since the concrete canopy at the central train station in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed on Nov. 1.

The crowd went silent for 15 minutes at 11:52 a.m. to honor the 15 victims of the Novi Sad disaster at the exact same time the canopy crashed on people below.

The station building had been renovated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure work with Chinese state companies. Many in Serbia believe the work on the building was sloppy and disregarded construction safety rules because of widespread corruption.