For days now, the atmosphere in the area between the Serbian parliament and the presidential palace in Belgrade has been extremely tense.

This symbolic place, so often the scene of major political events in Serbia, is where students plan to hold what many believe will be the largest gathering since protests began following the collapse of the canopy at the entrance to Novi Sad railway station on November 1, which claimed 15 lives.

However, before the protesting students could convene in Belgrade ahead of Saturday's rally, a group calling itself "Students 2.0" or "Students Who Want to Study" set up their protest camp in the space. They are demanding that university classes resume no later than March 17, insisting they want to take exams and attend lectures.

Unlike the students blockading the universities and organizing protests around the country, who operate on the basis of direct democracy and without leaders, "Students 2.0" is led by Milos Pavlovic, who first came to public attention after speaking at a counter-rally organized by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

Since then, Pavlovic has frequently appeared in pro-government media alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and other high-ranking party officials.

Jelena Kleut, a philosophy professor at the University of Novi Sad, told DW that this seems to be "an orchestrated setup meant to mirror the student blockade" and that it is in all likelihood organized "from within the ruling regime."

"When a politicized system fails to capture institutions, parallel structures emerge. We already have parallel media, parallel NGOs, and now, within this context,........

© Deutsche Welle