The Serbian president has blamed foreign influence for student-led unrest
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused the opposition of collaborating with foreign intelligence agencies to destabilize the country, amid ongoing student-led protests triggered by the deadly collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November.
The incident, which claimed 15 lives, led to public outrage and the resignation of Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic.
“This is all an attempt at a color revolution,” Vucic said during a live interview on Happy TV on Saturday. He claimed that foreign agents were encouraging students to block major transportation routes. The president alleged the activities are coordinated by “foreign instructors” operating in the region.
The term “color revolution” refers to movements aimed at achieving political change, often perceived as being supported by foreign interests.
“Our opposition is a tool in the hands of criminal and foreign intelligence services. These young people are more or less being used by them,” Vucic said.
Protests led by students and opposition groups began in November and have spread to cities including Novi Sad and Belgrade. Protesters gather every Friday at 11:52am – the time of the tragic railway station collapse on November 1 – and stand in silence for fifteen minutes, regardless of their location, with the protests often blocking traffic. Around 50 universities and schools have halted operations due to student boycotts.
The president also alleged that a coalition of Western, Croatian, and Albanian interests is working to weaken Serbia internally. “They aim to destroy Serbia from within, to prevent us from being a significant international factor, and to incite internal conflict,” he stated. Vucic highlighted Serbia’s growing strength compared to its neighbors.
“Serbia was militarily at 55-58% of Croatia’s strength, but today, for the first time in 25 years, Serbia is stronger,” he said. “Now they see the opposite, and their reaction is to target me and Serbia’s progress.”
The demonstrations were initially over lithium mining projects, then expanded to rallies against Serbia’s stance on the Ukraine conflict. Critics have accused Vucic of aligning too closely with Moscow.
Amid the unrest, Vucic expressed confidence in Serbia’s resilience. “Even if something happens to me, their schemes will fail. Serbs have learned to recognize these tactics,” he argued, dismissing the opposition’s chances of success. “I will never accept the destruction of Serbia – not even if they put a gun to my head.”
In December, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic also commented on potential external influences in Serbia. Responding to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who linked Western forces to attempts to destabilize the Balkans, Vucevic suggested that such methods align with known strategies for organizing color revolutions.
