Vucic on student protests: What was the point of that nonsense on New Year’s Eve?

“What was the point of that nonsense on New Year’s Eve? The people who died in Novi Sad did so at noon, not at midnight,” Vucic told Pink TV.

Protesting students and citizens in several Serbian cities observed 15 minutes of silence from 11:52 pm on New Year's Eve to commemorate the 15 people killed in the Novi Sad train station awning collapse on November 1. The protest is typically held daily at 11:52 am, marking the time of the collapse.

Vucic asked whether the protesters aimed to “ruin the festivities for those who have a right to celebrate.”

“It has been 40 days, and families have the right to a normal life, yet you don’t allow other people to live,” he added.

The president said he has no animosity toward the protesting students, noting they were young children during what he termed an “evil” regime that he claims was destroying Serbia.

“For the hundredth time, I'm saying that there will be no transitional government. Power is won in elections and with support of the people. There is no philosophy behind this,” Vucic told the pro-regime Pink TV. He expressed gratitude to students focused on their studies for their “forbearance.”

Mentioning the ProGlas initiative specifically, Vucic repeated his claim that the protests receive foreign funding, adding that “those organizing the protests believe this level of pressure is impossible to withstand.”

“However, we have endured even tougher challenges to preserve Serbia,” he emphasized.

Vucic criticized several public figures supporting the protesting students and claimed that “anti-Serbian forces” seek a change in government.