Boris Tadić, leader of the opposition SDS and former two-term president of Serbia, has directly called on citizens to take to the streets, standing in defense of Dijana Hrka, the mother of a victim of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse—a tragedy for which the regime of Aleksandar Vučić has yet to deliver justice.
Through posts on the social network X, Tadić condemned the year-long inaction of the government, highlighting the complete lack of accountability for the deaths of Hrka’s child and 15 other innocent victims. He described Hrka’s hunger strike as “the fight of a woman who endured a year of injustice, bravely demanding what the government refuses to provide—justice and accountability.”
Tadić accused the ruling Progressive Party of ignoring basic civilizational values and human decency, stressing that the participation of every citizen in supporting Hrka is “a matter of elementary humanity.” He urged the public to mobilize, warning that only massive citizen pressure could force the regime to meet Hrka’s demands before her life is endangered.
He also called on citizens unable to travel to Belgrade to organize local protests, weakening the government’s ability to suppress the growing nationwide movement. “This is how we confront the regime’s fear of massive public outrage,” Tadić wrote.
Addressing Speaker Ana Brnabić’s earlier claim that his call amounted to “a call for civil war,” Tadić highlighted the government’s own panic as proof of their fear. “The Progressive Party headquarters’ reaction speaks volumes—they fear citizens standing up to them. Every city, every village must support Dijana Hrka. The regime cannot hide its failures any longer,” he concluded.
The message from Tadić is clear: the Serbian government’s inaction and obstruction have pushed ordinary citizens to take justice into their own hands, and the regime will face the consequences of ignoring the people’s demand for accountability.
