For the sixth day in a row, citizens took to the streets of Sarajevo, led by high school students and students, expressing their dissatisfaction with insufficient traffic safety, demanding the responsibility of the competent institutions and a concrete reaction to the tragic tram accident in which 23-year-old student Erdoan Morankić lost his life, and 17-year-old student Ella Jovanović was seriously injured.
The main road near the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was blocked, where several hundred mostly young people had gathered.
Support for this rally comes from other cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from Banja Luka, from Tuzla, but also from Brčko, where a support rally is also announced.
Informal groups of pupils and students “Want a change” and “For a better tomorrow” earlier invited the citizens of Sarajevo to a plenum in front of the BiH National Museum, where they should discuss, give suggestions and inform about the further course of the protest.
The Student Parliament of the University of Sarajevo also spoke about the protest, saying that there were speculations in the media that they were one of the organizers of these protests, but they denied it, but said that they certainly support the initiative of the youth who have been protesting for several days.
The student of the High School for Textiles, Leather and Design expressed his satisfaction with the large number of students who, as he stated, come despite the pressures, especially from the Minister of Education of the Sarajevo Canton, Naida Hota-Muminović.
“My message is to all teachers and school principals to allow students to go to the protests, moreover, to join them, and not to prevent students from coming to the protests. Because this is participation in the democratic process. This is not an anarchist gathering, this is not any political activism. This is simply a fight for the rights of all students and all people in this city, because it could have been us. It could have been anyone from any high school,” he said.
The gathering was also addressed by student Lamija Hadžimusić, who first of all expressed her condolences to the family of the deceased Erdoğan, and wished the girl Elia a speedy recovery.
“I am addressing you as someone who uses the city’s transport network every day, as someone who is deeply shaken after the tram accident in which Erdoğan lost his life. This is not news that we will read and forget tomorrow. This is a man, these are plans, these are dreams and an empty place in the hearts of those who knew him. How many more young people must disappear for the system to change? How many tragedies for laws, operational procedures and basic safety standards to be respected?” asked the young student.
As she said, every time she enters an old tram, she feels a fear that is not only hers, but “the fear of all of us”.
“I’m thinking about whether it’s worth getting on that same tram, whether it’s worth getting on time, when maybe I won’t get out of that tram alive. I’m looking for answers, I’m looking for responsibility. I want a public, independent, transparent investigation of all the circumstances. Urgent technical inspections and rehabilitation of the tram fleet and rehabilitation of the infrastructure managed by GRAS. It is necessary to publicly publish data on maintenance and controls that have or have not, in fact, been carried out,” she said.
Informal groups of students and pupils previously set four key demands to the authorities.
As the first demand, they state complete transparency in the conduct of the investigation. The second request refers to the immediate withdrawal of technically defective and unsafe vehicles from traffic, and the organizers also demand the determination of systemic responsibility and the establishment of a long-term solution through the construction of a safe and high-quality public transport system.
An indicator that the protests had an effect is the statement of the Minister of Transport of Sarajevo Canton, Adnana Šteta, who said that all the old Czech trams were excluded from traffic. He emphasized that these vehicles will not be returned to traffic until they pass basic technical inspections and service operations, and the results of these checks will be available to the public.
Also, KS Prime Minister Nihad Uk resigned on Sunday, February 15, and the day after, GRAS director Senad Mujagić also resigned.
The KS Prosecutor’s Office announced today that, after the court rejected the proposal to order the detention of the tram driver Adnan Kasapović, the investigation continued in several directions, with a special focus on the technical condition of the vehicle. As they stated, 30 witnesses have been heard so far, except for ten video surveillance recordings from all surrounding facilities, including video surveillance footage from BH Telecom, the National Museum, the Technical School and footage from the tram cabin, as well as extensive documentation on the reconstruction of the tram line, and all materials are undergoing forensic processing and expert examination.
The Prosecutor’s Office also states that the dynamics of further work will depend on the actions of police investigators, experts and other competent institutions, as well as on court decisions necessary for conducting investigative actions.
According to the latest information, as the director of the General Hospital “Abdullah Nakaš” said, prof. Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović, the general condition of the patient Ella Jovanović is improving, and transfer to semi-intensive care is planned with continuation of multidisciplinary treatment, BHRT writes.
