President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is married to his daughter Ivanka, posted a tweet on March 15, 2024, professing that he was “excited to share early design images of a development project we have been working on for the Albanian coast and downtown Belgrade.” Another user replied to his message: “Not in Belgrade! Those buildings are protected by law as historical heritage and we will never allow the construction of those skyscrapers.” The General Staff, known as the General Stab, is located on land where Mr. Kushner plans to invest. The building is located next to the neighboring Ministry of Defense and was bombed by NATO in 1999.
Serbian government President Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS, Serbian acronym) stripped the General’s Palace of cultural property protections on November 14, 2024, just nine days after Trump’s reelection. The opposition claims that the documents submitted to adopt the measure were false, and the case is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime. But last Friday, the Serbian parliament approved the following bill: rex expert (Special Law) To expedite operational procedures. The government imposed a parliamentary majority on SNS and its allies to enforce the law.
Kushner already has the law on his side. However, important sectors of Serbian society have continued to oppose the project for more than a year. A final demonstration of rejection saw thousands of citizens gather in front of the General Staff Headquarters this Tuesday.
The General Stab complex, built between 1957 and 1965 by architect Nikola Dobrovic, is considered a masterpiece of Yugoslav modernism and has been officially protected as a heritage site since 2005. As President Trump’s son-in-law revealed last year, Mr. Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners, intends to build a luxury hotel, 1,500 housing units and a museum on the land. new york times. Last May, the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure issued a statement emphasizing that the land will be leased for 99 years (not for sale) and that investors must build a monument to the victims of NATO. The statement did not disclose the cost of the surgery, but new york times It is estimated to be $500 million.
Serbian architect Mirjan Salata has participated in several protests in front of the General’s Palace. And he explained in a video call from Belgrade that international media tends to focus only on the memory of the 1999 NATO bombing and anti-NATO sentiment. “But that’s only part of the puzzle,” he counters.
Mirjan Salata claims the property is located in an area where major state institutions were established “more than 200 years ago.” He added that the block was built during the Yugoslav Socialist Republic and symbolizes the partisan anti-fascist struggle during World War II. And it frames opposition to the real estate operation within the protests started by Serbian students after the Novi Sad railway station eaves collapsed a year ago. The tragedy, which left 16 people dead, was seen by protesters as a result of the corruption plaguing the country.
Salata explained that students have given more than 50 lectures on the value of Generalstab in Serbia this year. “They want to rebuild buildings as public goods that represent an attempt at reconciliation with the past, to accept their own and others’ mistakes and move forward as a society,” he emphasizes.
Salata also believes the incident is a warning to the European Union, where Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner “plan to build eight towers,” according to the architect. The activist insists that this fight is not “anti-Trump” or “anti-NATO,” but rather for people’s right to decide about their own urban spaces.
suppression of protests
The dispute over the building has worsened as President Vucic enters his worst period after 13 years in power. Meanwhile, students are demanding early elections. Last month, the European Parliament issued a tough resolution warning of a crackdown on protests and a lack of freedom. Meanwhile, President Trump imposed a 35% tariff on Serbian products. It also ordered sanctions on the Russian-dominated NIS oil company, Serbia’s main oil supplier.
The newspaper tried without success to contact Milenko Jovanov, the official lawmaker in charge of defending the project in the Serbian parliament last Friday. “We are opening up space and creating opportunities for the country to move forward. Will that lead to better relations with the Trump administration and the United States? Honestly, I hope so,” Jovanov said during the debate.
Zeljko Veljković, a journalist with United Media, a major independent media outlet critical of the government, suggested via WhatsApp that the real estate maneuver was a “desperate move” by Vučić to get closer to President Trump “after failing to meet him in Florida a few months ago.”
Peda Mitrović, deputy opposition secretary general of the Freedom and Justice Party, claimed in an email that the Serbian president was trying to use the project to “prove himself a reformist modernizer amid domestic criticism and criticism from the European Union.”
Biljana Djordjevic, deputy leader of the Green Front Left Co-Leaders, clarified in a video conference that the deal is “not with the United States, but with Trump and his family.” For him, the government’s explanation attempts to reduce the debate to the existence of “two abandoned buildings that have been abandoned for 25 years and pose a security risk,” but he warns that the root of the problem is different: “This is the administrative, political and cultural center of Belgrade and cannot be transferred to private capital.”
The lawmaker added that the operation would also affect other historic buildings within the General Hall that are “still protected.” The councilor advocated restoring the building, saying, “Even if it is not economically possible to rebuild, at least it should be used for public rather than private purposes.”
In an exchange of messages, Estela Landinjik Zivkov, chief conservator of the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, said that the building is a symbol of national memory and a “unique synthesis of architecture and urbanism.” And he claims the government’s decision to withdraw protection from the complex was illegal. “A criminal investigation is underway regarding the falsification of documents used to justify the decision. Until this process is completed, any new decisions based on that action will be illegal.”
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