The multi-thousand-strong protest in Belgrade, dubbed "15 for 15", continues as planned, despite the falling temperatures and rain in the Serbian capital, BTA reports.
According to organizers, this is the largest anti-system protest in Serbia.
Columns of people filled the streets of Belgrade, making it difficult to move even short distances.
Despite the rain, protesters on "Slavia" Square there were so many of them and they stood so close to each other that the asphalt under their feet remained dry.
The protest in the Serbian capital was organized at the call of students who have been blocking over 60 faculties since the end of November after the tragedy in Novi Sad.
On November 1 last year, the concrete canopy of the railway station collapsed in the northern Serbian city, killing 15 people and sparking a wave of social discontent that led to the creation of a student movement in the country.
When a student began her speech on Slavija Square this evening, a woman went up on stage and tried to take away her microphone, but the security officers at the protest removed her.
"We will not allow you to deprive us of our freedom, because we are in solidarity, because we know how to protect each other. "We are here because we will not allow representatives of any party to attack students, as you attacked our colleagues from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts," the student said on the square.
The blockades of faculties across Serbia began after representatives of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party attacked students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts during the "Stop Serbia" action. with 15 minutes of silence in memory of the 15 victims in Novi Sad.
This action has become a tradition for every protest in many Serbian cities over the past 4 months.
Today, protesters stood in complete silence in Belgrade for 15 minutes, and before that, the names of the 15 dead in Novi Sad were read out.
The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that at all peak gatherings in Belgrade there were about 107 thousand people.
According to police information, "the number of protest participants is constantly decreasing".
"This protest today is not the end of our struggle, it is a call for a long-term battle that will lead to a change in the system," the protesting students wrote on their Instagram account.
In order to be able to take part in future protests, the stay of students who arrived in Belgrade from other settlements is provided until March 17.
Earlier in the day, Belgrade police arrested and took away a man with the initials V. B. (born 1972), who at around 12:45 p.m. local time stood on the corner of Knjaz Miloš Street and King Aleksandar Boulevard and told the security guard that he was carrying two bombs and wanted to blow up the Presidency building.
No explosive devices were found during the search, the Serbian Ministry of Interior announced.
And in the Belgrade neighborhood of Zharkovo, a car crashed into a group of protesting citizens, injuring three people. They were given medical assistance at the Emergency Center, and the driver was detained.
Last night, 13 people were arrested for violating public order in Belgrade, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic announced.
As of this time, the protest in the Serbian capital is passing without incident.