The second member of the Serbian Government to leave office since the collapse of an awning at the Novi Sad train station, Trade Minister Tomislav Momirovic, submitted his resignation on Wednesday, November 20. “I thank the President of the Serbian Republic, Aleksandar Vucic, for his trust”he added in a letter published by Radio Television Serbia (RTS).
In the hours following Momirovic’s resignation, Jelena Tanaskovic, acting general director of Serbia’s railway infrastructure, presented hers, according to national media. Tomislav Momirovic was Minister of Construction during the previous government, when renovation work on the Novi Sad station began. His successor, Goran Vesic, resigned on November 4.
The work had been completed for a few weeks when the building’s concrete canopy collapsed on 1Ahem November, instantly killing fourteen people between the ages of 6 and 74 and injuring three others. One of the injured died on Sunday from his injuries, raising the death toll to fifteen.
Seventy people interviewed, without accusation
Since the accident, the opposition and part of the population have demanded the resignation of political leaders and the publication of the contracts signed with the companies that participated in the works. A consortium made up of four companies (two Chinese, China Railway International and China Communications Construction, one French, Egis, and one Hungarian, Utiber), was in charge of the renovation. None of these companies responded to Agence France-Presse’s interview requests.
Although investigators have interviewed more than seventy people since the investigation was opened, no one has been arrested or charged, fueling the anger of protesters who have been gathering regularly since 1Ahem November. Several of them were arrested during a November 5 demonstration in Novi Sad, and some remain detained. The arrests reignited opposition anger: several deputies on Wednesday blocked the prosecutor’s office and the courts in Novi Sad for the second day in a row, demanding progress in the investigation.
In a statement to the press on Tuesday, the Serbian president estimated that “No one intentionally caused the tragedy, but ignorance, incompetence and irresponsibility cannot absolve anyone”adding that it was possible to carry “a political and moral responsibility even when totally innocent”. and announcing “New resignations – in government and elsewhere”.
