Serbian university students who have been on a cycling tour across Europe for nearly two weeks to draw attention to protests against corruption in their home country arrived on April 15 in Strasbourg, France, seat of the European Parliament.
Around 80 student cyclists rode on to Strasbourg's main square and were greeted with shouts of "Pump, pump" before bottles of champagne were uncorked in celebration.
The group had left Novi Sad on April 3 and traveled more than 1,300 kilometers through heavy rain and chilly temperatures to show European institutions the "perseverance and dedication of students in the fight for justice" in Serbia, they said.
The students say their fight is being overlooked in much of Europe and by the news media in Serbia, which is seeking membership in the European Union but has been accused of backsliding in democratic freedoms and the rule of law.
The students declared their cycling tour a success after being well-received in Budapest, Vienna, and in towns along their route through Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany on their way to France.
“I think that this protest action is a full success,” one of the cyclists said after arriving in Strasbourg on a live N1 TV broadcast. “I think we have woken up Europe.”
The EU's enlargement chief backed the protesters' calls to tackle corruption and boost the rule of law.
"Serbia has to be brought back on the European track," Commissioner Marta Kos said in an interview with the European Newsroom consortium.
"What we are demanding from Serbia on the way of the EU accession is nearly exactly the same as what the protesters in Serbia are demanding," she said, pointing to issues such as "rule of law, anti-corruption, and public procurement."
The cyclists said they wanted to draw attention to the deadly collapse of a railway station cement canopy in Novi Sad in November that killed 16 people. The incident triggered nationwide demonstrations as protesters blamed the government for corruption and poor oversight.
SEE ALSO: Serbia's Vucic Says Government Gets 'The Message' After Biggest Protest In DecadesThe students are demanding justice for the victims of the collapse and an end to government pressure and violence against protesters.
They have called on the government to release all documents related to construction work at Novi Sad's railway station. The authorities claim they have made public all “available documents,” but protesters reject that claim.
Almost daily street demonstrations have rattled the Balkan nation. In late January, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned.
President Aleksandar Vucic on April 6 named Djuro Macut, a little-known medical professor, as prime minister-designate amid the political crisis.
Vucic, one of the founders of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, which has been in power since 2012, presented it as a "movement of great change." But he has been accused of stifling democratic freedoms while maintaining close links with Russia and China.
Vucic and his pro-government media have accused the students and their professors of working with unidentified Western security services against the state to remove him from power together. He has not provided any evidence for his claims.
Student-led protesters on April 14 temporarily blocked the entrances to national broadcasters Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in Belgrade and Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) in Novi Sad, accusing the broadcasters of ignoring their movement.