One year ago, a wave of protests spread across Serbia after the roof of Novi Sad railway station collapsed, killing 16 people. Over the past year, citizens have peacefully called for justice, transparency, and genuine democracy. Instead of taking responsibility for the government’s negligence, President Aleksandar Vučić’s autocrat administration has responded with violence and repression, seeking to silence those demanding accountability.
On this day, the European Free Alliance remembers the victims of this tragic event and stands in solidarity with the people of Serbia in their pursuit of a free, democratic, and European future. We share the vision of our member party in Vojvodina, Liga Socijaldemokrata Vojvodine (LSV), and we fully endorse their statement:
DECLARATION ON A FREE, DEMOCRATIC AND EUROPEAN SERBIA
Adopted by the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina – Vojvođani – Novi Sad, October 5, 2025
Introductory Statement:
Twenty-five years ago, on October 5, 2000., democratic and European Serbia achieved a historic victory over the criminal and authoritarian regime of Slobodan Milošević.
On this occasion, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina adopts the following:
- History has taught us that only a united front of the opposition – gathered within the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), supported by the student movement „Otpor” (“Resistance”), civil society organizations, and determined citizens – was capable of defeating the full force of Milošević’s state terror. United and in solidarity, we overthrew a dictator who stole the elections. The unity and solidarity demonstrated on October 5, 2000, enabled one of the most significant victories in Serbia’s recent history.
- Although the regime was toppled and its key figures prosecuted for war crimes, political assassinations, corruption, and abuse of power, a decisive break with the past was never fully achieved. The system was not thoroughly dismantled, and the nationalist ideology at its core remained intact.
- Following October 5, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina advocated for a resolute rupture with the defeated regime through:
- A ban on all political parties of Milošević’s regime, deeply entrenched in crime and corruption;
- Criminal accountability for all those who committed crimes and looted our society;
- Disbanding of criminalized security services;
- Investigation into the origins of property held by regime officials and those who enriched themselves through illegal means and privileges;
- Lustration and prohibition from holding public office for those who violated human rights.
- Had these measures been implemented, the criminal regime and its actors from the 1990s would not have been rehabilitated, nor would they have returned to power in a rebranded form in 2012.
Today, our society once again faces the challenge of dismantling an autocratic, criminalized, and repressive regime. We are once again defending democratic values from those who were the architects of terror in the 1990s. The fall of Vučić’s regime is near, and the mistakes of the past compel us not to repeat them.
Therefore, we propose:
- Only a united front of all regime opponents – free citizens and democratic forces– can be stronger than state-sponsored terror.
- Following democratic change, we commit to:
- Prosecuting all individuals who have violated the law;
- Disbanding all criminalized security services that served to preserve the regime;
- Lustrating all officials of Vučić’s regime who participated in repression;
- Building a democratic, just, and decentralized system;
- Fostering peaceful regional relations;
- Investing all efforts to ensure Serbia’s swift accession to the European Union.
The day of change is near! United and persistent, we shall prevail.
No retreat – only fighting!