Serbian students protested today against the plan to demolish the Yugoslav Army headquarters, which is considered a cultural asset, while Afiniti Partners (Affinity), the company of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, wants to build a luxury hotel on the site, the Parisian newspaper Le Figaro reported on its website.
The issue is sensitive in Serbia because the buildings were bombed several times in 1999 during the US-led NATO air campaign to end the Kosovo war (1998-1999), the French newspaper recalled.
Representatives of Kouchner's company, who have been guests of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić several times, signed a 99-year lease agreement with the Serbian government in 2024 for the reconstruction of the site, whose status as a "cultural asset" had just been revoked.
The demonstration, which, according to an AFP photographer, attracted hundreds of people, took place four days after the Serbian parliament adopted a special law allowing the project to accelerate and begin demolition of the former General Staff headquarters in the heart of Belgrade.
"This government decided to pass a special law to use it to legalize its crime," said student Valentina Moravčević.
"They can now legally destroy this building, but we will not allow it. We are here today to send them a warning and to tell them that our history and cultural heritage are important to us," she added.
The protesters briefly formed a symbolic "human wall" around the complex and also drew a red "defense line" on the ground, Le Figaro added, citing Agence France-Presse reporters.
Punctured by bombing, the former headquarters of the General Staff, located across from the government and foreign ministry buildings, has never been restored. The building, built in 1965, was declared a protected cultural asset by the Government of the Republic of Serbia in 2005, a status that was revoked at the end of 2024.
The project, conceived by the son-in-law of the US president, was suspended in May due to suspicions that the documents used to lift the site's protection were forged. An investigation is underway.
The other partner in the project is the UAE-based real estate developer Eagle Hills, which has been involved in a major reconstruction project along a large part of the banks of the Sava River, a tributary of the Danube, since late 2015. The project is opposed by the public and opposition parties, the French newspaper added.
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