Protesters and President Vucic Plan Separate Events for Serbia's National Day

To mark today's national holiday in Serbia - Serbian Statehood Day, student protesters in the country and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are planning separate events in two cities, more than 200 kilometers apart, BTA reported.

For the first time on this day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is organizing the celebrations in the small northern town of Sremska Mitrovica, 75 km from the capital Belgrade and 35 km from the border with Croatia.

The student protesters will mark the national holiday in Kragujevac, the fourth largest Serbian city, located in central Serbia, where in 1835 the first Serbian constitution was adopted.

Vučić plans to adopt a declaration at the rally in Sremska Mitrovica that would confirm the affiliation of the autonomous region of Vojvodina to the Republic of Serbia.

Last week, the Serbian head of state commented that the declaration would also be approved by the Serbian parliament, as he believes that there are sentiments among the protesters that are "incited by the opposition" for greater autonomy for the northern Serbian region.

For days, student protesters have been marching to Kragujevac, traveling on foot, by bicycle or by car along pre-determined routes from various cities in Serbia.

They plan to hold a rally in Kragujevac today, holding copies of the Serbian constitution.

The rally, which is titled "Let's Meet at the Meeting", starts at 9 a.m. local time (10 a.m. Bulgarian time), and is planned as a 15-hour blockade of the central boulevard in Kragujevac.

Serbia has been experiencing protests for over three months over the collapse of the Novi Sad train station canopy, which killed 15 people and seriously injured two others. Protesters accuse the government of corruption and nepotism, which led to poor-quality repairs at the station and the subsequent tragedy.

Students from all over Serbia have been blocking universities for over two months and organizing protests demanding that responsibility for the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad be established, and that institutions start doing their job.

The almost daily protests across the country have become a serious challenge for President Vučić. The student-led movement led to the resignation of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević. Two ministers resigned before him in connection with the tragedy in Novi Sad.

On February 15, the Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, dedicated to the day when Jesus Christ's parents presented him for the first time in one of the temples in Jerusalem.

On February 15, 1804 rebels led by Đorđe Petrović-Karadžorđe decide in the village of Orašac, Central Serbia, to raise the First Serbian Uprising, which marks the beginning of the restoration of Serbian statehood after centuries of Ottoman rule.

On the same date in 1835, the first constitution of the Principality of Serbia was proclaimed in Kragujevac, marking the beginning of modern Serbian statehood.

Since 2002, the national holiday of the Republic of Serbia has been celebrated on February 15.

Since 2012, the holiday has been celebrated on two days - February 15 and 16.