(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, JAN 24 - Thousands of young people
thronged the streets of Belgrade on Friday, after student
protest organisers called for a general strike over the fatal
collapse of a train station roof in November. Friday's strike
call was the latest in a series of moves aiming to increase
pressure on the government, following demands for high-ranking
officials to resign and calls for transparency into the
investigation into the accident. Public outrage has fuelled
almost daily protests across Serbia over the incident at the
station in the northern city of Novi Sad. Fifteen people died,
including several minors. Many attribute the deaths in Novi Sad
-- which came shortly after the completion of a three-year
renovation project -- to corruption and poor oversight of
construction projects. In Belgrade, the capital, thousands of
young people, including many high school students, filled the
city's streets urging the public to join Friday's one-day
general strike. Teachers also joined the strike, shutting
schools throughout the Balkan country, as did lawyers and
several theatres and cinemas. Exact data on the numbers
participating was not immediately available. Businesses backing
the government stayed open in a move that local tabloids called
an "anti-strike" movement. Several pro-government restaurants
and cafés offered free coffee. (ANSA-AFP).
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