Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Friday that the anniversary commemoration of the Novi Sad station roof collapse had passed peacefully, thanking citizens for responding to President Aleksandar Vucic’s appeal for a dignified day of remembrance.
“It’s good that people listened to President Vucic and that the anniversary passed calmly and with dignity. I want to thank them for that,” Brnabic told TV Pink. “We have to move forward. President Vucic once again called for dialogue. They can say tonight or tomorrow, ‘We want dialogue, in this way and on these topics.’”
Brnabic said Serbia needed stability and continued work, adding that citizens were tired of “chaos and destabilization.”
“The president’s invitation to dialogue still stands,” she said. “If they refuse it, it’s clear they don’t want Serbia united but prefer to build their politics on division and destabilization.”
Opposition media accused of spreading hatred
Brnabic also accused opposition media of showing “pure hatred” and exploiting the Novi Sad tragedy as an excuse to try to overthrow Vucic through street violence.
“In the opposition media, there was no sorrow, no respect for the victims, no reflection on how this tragedy could have united the nation, as it would elsewhere in the world,” she said. “Instead, we saw headlines like ‘Spit in the villain’s face’ and calls for Vucic to flee the country. The tragedy was not their topic — it was their alibi.”
Large student rally in Novi Sad remained peaceful
Brnabic described the student-organized gathering in Novi Sad as a “sad but peaceful day for Serbia,” saying the event, held to mark a year since the collapse that killed 16 people, was attended by around 39,000 people, including visitors from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Hungary.
She added that President Vucic had deliberately refrained from public statements on Friday “to show respect for the victims and their families, and for the country and its citizens.”