24-hour student road-block protest begins in Serbia

Students from across the city converged on the Autokomanda junction which connects several parts of the city but did not block the highway through Belgrade, staying on a bridge and intersecting roads leading from the centre of the city to suburban areas. The Autokomanda junction includes a roundabout near the Red Star and Partizan stadiums.

Belgrade’s 2 universities – Belgrade University and Belgrade Arts University – do not have a campus and their schools and other institutions are located in sites across the city. Columns of students at university schools in the centre of the city converged on Slavija Circle. Then they marched together towards Autokomanda while others marched to the protest venue from the Vozdovac neighbourhood and as far away as the Zemun and New Belgrade areas across the river.

Unlike earlier protests, there was a visible presence of traffic police patrols redirecting traffic. Several private cars were parked across the street leading from Slavija to Autokomanda, reportedly to prevent a repeat of earlier incidents when drivers tried to ram through the crowd, injuring protesters.

Farmers in tractors accompanied University School of Agriculture students.

Earlier, President Aleksandar Vucic called the police to prevent any incidents during what he said was an illegal gathering.