Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced an "urgent and large-scale reconstruction of the Serbian government" and the replacement of over half of the ministers, BNR reported, citing BGNES BGNES.
The president made an extraordinary address to the nation from the Palace of Serbia, together with Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and the Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić.
Vucic said that due to the situation that arose after the tragedy in Novi Sad, when 15 people died, it is important to have a dialogue. In the coming days, 13 people - students and professors, against whom charges have been brought by the prosecutor's office - will be pardoned.
"The current state of Serbian society does not suit anyone, it does not bring us anything good. The call for dialogue is not weakness. I am not afraid of what I am going to tell you, of the political consequences, on the contrary. It seems to me that the will of the people is clear. Some people talk about certain demands, others say that the demands have been met, others claim that they have not been met", he added.
"Tragedies are something that every country tries to avoid, but when they happen, it tries to learn from these tragedies, seeks responsibility from the perpetrators of crimes and punishes them adequately. For these three months, we as a country have done everything possible to show not only empathy, but also to help with whatever we can to the families who asked for it and needed it. "We tried in every way to establish the causes of the tragedy through the work of various state bodies," the Serbian president also said.
Vucic claims that all the demands of the protesting students have been met: publication of the documentation for the repair of the Novi Sad railway station; criminal proceedings against those who attacked students and teachers during the protests; dismissal of criminal charges against arrested students; 20% additional funding for higher education.
"During these three months, we have listened to calls for the overthrow of the state. We have heard many, many irresponsible statements, not only from the opposition, but also from us. An atmosphere has been created that does not suit anyone,“ Vucic stressed.
He believes that this is the plan of “specific pressure groups, certain media and politicians”.
"In these difficult political times, it has become clear who is ready to fight, who is not, who is ready to work, who is not, who is hiding in a mouse hole, who is not hiding. Accordingly, I expect more than 50% of the current ministers to be replaced in a very, very urgent reconstruction“, continued Aleksandar Vucic.
"The country must function and there is no more important task for the government than improving the standard of living. And that is what it has to deal with," he added.
Prime Minister Miloš Vučević invited all deans, rectors, university professors and student representatives to a meeting "so that they can, whenever they wish, discuss all key topics, as well as those they consider important for the entire community."
Parliamentary Speaker Ana Brnabić confirmed that she will include a debate on a vote of confidence in the cabinet on the agenda for January 29.
BGNES recalls that today Serbian students began a 24-hour blockade of the Belgrade neighborhood "Avtokomanda", through which key transport links in the capital pass. At 11.52 a.m., a tribute was paid to the victims of the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1, when 15 people died. Throughout the day, students organized various protest actions.
The 24-hour blockade comes just days after a general strike in Serbia, in which tens of thousands of citizens protested against Vučić's authoritarian, corrupt and police regime. On January 24, a number of civic organizations, associations and businesses stopped work, and many schools remained closed.
On Saturday, January 25, rallies were held in nearly 20 cities, followed by the "Noise Against Dictatorship" action a day later, when Serbian citizens were called on to bang pots and pans and make noise from their open windows in support of the students.