BELGRADE, Serbia — Dijana Hrka, whose 27-year-old son Stefan died in last year’s Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, has ended her hunger strike protesting in front of Serbia’s parliament. “I am ending the strike to stay alive and march with the youth-led movement demanding justice, accountability, and early elections in Serbia on Nov. 17, 2025.”
Her hunger strike in Serbia began at 11:52 a.m. on Nov. 2, exactly one day and one minute after the concrete canopy collapsed onto commuters and students on Nov. 1, 2024. What began as a solitary vigil soon attracted other protesters, who also accused President Aleksandar Vucic’s government of corruption, negligence, and a cover-up of the Novi Sad disaster. Hrka’s demands for early parliamentary elections align with those of Baba and Matovič. In addition, he calls for all those responsible for orchestrating the reconstruction project to be brought to trial and for detained student activist group members to be released.
Hrka was rushed to the hospital twice during the strike due to exhaustion and low blood pressure, but she kept returning to a small tent near parliament. She told regional broadcaster N1 that she opposed violence and worried that her supporters were being unfairly vilified. She also noted that supporters were pelted with projectiles by opposing campers on the other side of the police-maintained fence, which stood in front of pro-government tents. In an interview with Reuters, she explained that she ended the strike because staying alive would allow her to do much more for the street movement than becoming a martyr by dying outside parliament.
The Serbian hunger strike quickly inspired other acts of solidarity across the country. High-school students in about 24 schools boycotted classes and joined rallies carrying placards reading “We are all Stefan” and “You have blood on your hands,” according to Balkan Insight. In Belgrade, riot police formed cordons between supporters of Hrkas’s group and a months-old tent camp of government loyalists near the parliament. Police escorted opposition supporters out after tense confrontations, as reported by ABC News and local outlets.
The Novi Sad roof collapse, well before the Serbian hunger strike, became a symbol of public anger over Serbia’s direction. In December 2024, people in dozens of towns held synchronised 15-minute traffic blockades at 11:52 a.m. each Friday, the exact time of the collapse, in largely silent protests against the deadly station failure and perceived growing autocracy. By late January 2025, students—helped by farmers with tractors—blocked a junction in Belgrade’s Autokomanda, echoing rallies that contributed to Slobodan Milosevic’s ouster, according to the Guardian.
Institutional responses have lagged behind public pressure. Prosecutors have charged 13 people, including former construction minister Goran Vesic, for alleged safety and construction violations at the station. However, critics argue they have not addressed deeper corruption tied to multimillion-dollar infrastructure deals with Chinese contractors, which another Associated Press article has documented. President Vucic and his allies have rejected this criticism, at times calling the canopy collapse “terrorism” and accusing opponents of exploiting the tragedy for political gain.
For many demonstrators, the Serbian hunger strike has given focus to a year of widespread anger, sparked by one mother’s demand to know who killed her child and 15 others in the Novi Sad district. As Hrka moves from fasting to marching, student leaders say her actions have sharpened public demands for accountability — and insist that this time Serbia’s institutions, not just crowds in the streets, must finally deliver justice.
