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A group of eighty Serbian students arrived in Strasbourg on the evening of 15 April, after 13 days of cycling through Europe. On Wednesday, they met with Members of the European Parliament and Council of Europe representatives.
The students were greeted on Wednesday evening in Strasbourg by hundreds of citizens, including many members of the Serbian diaspora, as well as the city’s deputy mayor. The emotional greeting resembled the scenes from student marches across Serbia, which started in late January.
At the same time, hundreds of citizens blocking the buildings of public broadcasters in Serbia, RTS and RTV, watched the live stream of students’ arrival, but not on these television channels, which did not have live coverage of the event.
A group of eighty students embarked on their journey on 3 April from Novi Sad. According to the statement on the website set up to follow their journey, their goal is “for the world to hear the voice of Serbia”.
“(Our goal is) for European institutions to put pressure on the authorities and defend the rights of those who are forced to stay silent”, the statement reads.
The tour took place in the context of the student protests in Serbia, which have been going on since late November, following the Novi Sad railway station collapse, which claimed 16 lives.
“Instead of responsibility, the authorities are offering violence. Instead of justice, batons, hitting with cars and tear gas. Instead of dialogue, jail and censorship”, the statement reads.
Letters for the Council of Europe and the French President
On Wednesday, 16 April, students met with Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Matjaž Gruden, Director of Democratic Participation at the Council of Europe.
“We came all the way from Serbia here to Strasbourg, we rode bicycles, it was both hot and cold, we laughed and we grieved, but we came to deliver a letter to you that contains everything that has happened in the last five months since 1 November 2024,” said the student who delivered the letter to the Deputy Secretary General Berge, N1 reports.
Previously, the students met with MEPs Irena Joveva (Renew), Goran Bosanac (Greens/EFA) and Fabienne Keller (Renew) in the European Parliament.
As reported by N1, at a meeting in the European Parliament, students handed a letter to MEPs in which they described the torture they had endured, with a focus on the fact that the 15 March gathering was the largest protest where banned weapons were used.
The letter explained in detail how people felt after the incident, and the students also drew attention to corruption and the lack of democracy.
The MEPs responded that they do not wish to interfere in internal affairs, but that they will support the students in their fight because they are standing up for true values.
Students also wrote a letter to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, which they publicly read.
“We are not here to complain, but to remind you that hope still moves—and sometimes, it moves on two wheels. We refused to give up; every turn of the pedals was a protest against fear,” the students stated, adding that they were addressing Macron as young people who, due to the lack of justice and dialogue in their country, decided to ride bicycles to Strasbourg.
Emphasizing that their mission is simple but important, the students mentioned that they live in a country where “institutions serve the interests of a narrow circle of power, and where the media are under pressure.”
“The root of the problem lies deeper than the events in Novi Sad, which is why we keep pedaling forward, carrying a message—Serbia needs EU support. We are not asking for sanctions, but for a glimmer of truth and accountability,” the students wrote in their letter to Macron, pointing out that he often highlights the importance of European values and now has the opportunity to show that those values are truly universal.
Thirteen days of cycling
On their way to Strasbourg, the students were welcomed in numerous cities, including Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Munich, Ulm, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe.
In Budapest, they were greeted with a large celebration at Heroes’ Square. Among those who welcomed the students was the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, who told N1 that a lot of people in Hungary supported Serbian students.
In Bratislava a red carpet was rolled out for the students cyclists and they were presented with medals inscribed with the phrase “Bratislava Stands with Students”.
In addition, a grand welcome was prepared for the Serbian students at Vienna’s central Maria Theresien Square, where a large crowd gathered. Kronen Zeitung reported that the Serbian diaspora from Vienna welcomed the cyclists “as if they were Olympic winners”.
In Munich, the students’ accommodation for the night was organised by the Serbian Orthodox Church Bishop of Germany, Grigorije, known in the Serbian public as the critic of the current government./EWB
/Argumentum.al
