BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s populist Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said Tuesday he is stepping down following weeks of massive anti-corruption protests over the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy in November.
The canopy collapse, which killed 15 people in the northern city of Novi Sad, has become a flashpoint reflecting wider discontent with the increasingly autocratic rule of Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic. He has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms in Serbia despite formally seeking European Union membership for the troubled Balkan nation.
Vucevic told a news conference that his resignation is aimed at lowering tensions in Serbia.
“It is my appeal for everyone to calm down the passions and return to dialogue," he said.
Novi Sad Mayor Milan Djuric also will step down on Tuesday, Vucevic said.
Vucevic’s resignation is likely to lead to an early parliamentary election. The resignation must be confirmed by Serbia’s parliament, which has 30 days to choose a new government or call a snap election.
On Monday, tens of thousands of people joined striking university students in a 24-hour blockade of a key traffic intersection in the Serbian capital. The students have been protesting for weeks, demanding accountability for the canopy collapse that critics have blamed on rampant government corruption.
In another attempt to defuse tensions, Vucic, Vucevic and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic on Monday evening urged dialogue with the students, who have garnered widespread support from all walks of life in Serbia with their call for justice and accountability.
Vucevic said the immediate cause for his quitting was an attack on a female student in Novi Sad early Tuesday by assailants allegedly from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. Vucevic said that “whenever it seems there is hope to return to social dialogue, to talk ... it’s like an invisible hand creates a new incident and tensions mount again.”
Serbia’s prosecutors have filed charges against 13 people, including a government minister and several state officials. But the former Construction Minister Goran Vesic has been released from detention, fueling doubts over the investigation’s independence.
The main railway station in Novi Sad was renovated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure deal with Chinese state companies.
Several incidents have marred the street demonstrations in the past weeks, including drivers ramming into the crowds on two occasions, when two young women were injured.
Students and others have been holding daily 15-minute traffic blockades throughout Serbia at 11:52 a.m., the exact same time the concrete canopy crashed down on Nov. 1. The blockades honor the 15 victims, including two children.
Jovana Gec, The Associated Press
