Serbian students lifted their blockade of Belgrade's main road junction today after 24 hours of protests against corruption and demands for justice for those killed in the Novi Sad railway station disaster.
At 10am local time (9am in Lisbon), the last groups of students left the Autokomanda, a traffic hub in the Serbian capital, as student organizers called for no trash to be left behind.
Tens of thousands of protesters have been demonstrating across Serbia since November 1 following the collapse of the concrete roof of the recently renovated train station in the country's second-largest city, Novi Sad, killing 15 people.
Protesters see the disaster as an illustration of corruption and neglect by authorities in a country that has seen a surge in construction sites and major projects under the presidency of nationalist Aleksandar Vucic, in power since 2012.
In response, the government tried to appeal for dialogue, but accused the students -- who were organizers of the protests -- of having been paid to protest, claiming that this was foreign interference.
Their demands include the publication of all documents relating to the renovation of the train station, the arrest of those suspected of having physically attacked students and teachers since the protests began, the dropping of charges against the detained students, and a 20% increase in the Higher Education budget.
Since Monday morning, the students, accompanied by tens of thousands of others, exchanged ideas, danced, demonstrated, organized a basketball tournament and reinforced their demands, and in the evening, the Serbian president gave in.
In a speech released to the country, Aleksandar Vucic announced that he had requested a "large-scale" reshuffle of the government, adding that he expected "more than 50% of the current ministers to be replaced".
