On Tuesday, in an extraordinary address to the nation, Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic announced his decision to resign and called on everyone to calm down their passions and return to dialogue.
“Taking into account recent events, I have decided to resign. I have already informed President Aleksandar Vucic about this, and he agreed with my decision and took into account my arguments,” he said on the Serbian RTS TV and radio channel.
Vucevic attributed the decision to the student protests, which were joined by citizens. On Tuesday morning, a protest in Belgrade ended, during which students blocked one of the most important traffic intersections in the southern part of Belgrade for a day.
The reason for the protests was the tragic event in Novi Sad, where 15 people died in early November as a result of the collapse of a part of the roof at the railway station. This generated a stream of criticism against both the local authorities and the central government in Belgrade. They are not only related to the incident, but also to social issues – in particular, there were calls for a general strike and a blockade of government institutions.
The mayor of Novi Sad, Milan Djurić, will also resign, Vučević announced. He said that politicians must take responsibility and show that they are ready to calm the tension in society.
Amid the protests, Serbian President Vucic asked the opposition to demand a so-called consultative referendum to determine what support he has among citizens.
