Thousands of people formed a “human shield” around the planned investment of Trump's son-in-law in Serbia
Demonstrators taking part in the protest, organized by student groups, drew a red line surrounding buildings in central Belgrade destroyed during NATO bombing. “It's a warning that we will all defend them together,” said one student. “We will be a human shield,” said a protest participant, quoted by the Associated Press.
“Our demands are to abolish the law regarding the General Staff complex and plot, annul the illegal government decision and restore the status of a cultural asset to the General Staff headquarters,” one of the students said in a speech to the audience.
On Friday, the Serbian parliament adopted a law that is intended to accelerate the construction of a luxury hotel and office complex. According to the document, all procedures related to the implementation of the project are considered urgent. The justification, proposed by 110 MPs, stated that the Staff buildings were seriously damaged during the bombings and that their use was impossible. It was concluded that the project to revitalize the complex is in the interest of society and is important for the economic development of Serbia.
In May 2024, the Serbian government signed an agreement with Kushner's company for the revitalization of the General Staff complex, which includes a lease of the area for 99 years. The New York Times announced in March that the investment – which includes the construction of a hotel and office space – is worth $500 million, and according to the proposed agreement, the Serbian state should receive 22 percent. profits.
Kushner's company also pledged to build a monument at the complex to commemorate all victims of NATO bombings. In 1999, Alliance planes bombed the General Staff building twice.
The project has been causing a lot of controversy in Serbia for months, and its opponents believe that the destroyed headquarters of the National Staff is a tribute to the victims of the bombings and a monument to modernist architecture from the Yugoslav era.
