In Belgrade, Serbia, thousands gathered on Monday to protest against plans to transform a former army headquarters, destroyed during a NATO bombing, into a luxury complex. This project is backed by the firm linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The demonstrators called for the site to be reinstated as a heritage site and urged the government to abandon the proposed development. Last year, Serbia’s government approved a contract with Kushner’s company to construct the complex, granting a 99-year lease on the prime land in Belgrade.
The protest is part of a broader anti-corruption movement that erupted in Serbia following a tragic incident last November, when a canopy collapse at a northern train station claimed 16 lives. Critics attribute the disaster to government corruption, negligence, and an oversight of construction regulations.
Coinciding with Remembrance Day for the victims of the 78-day NATO bombing campaign initiated on March 24, 1999, Serbians remain resentful over the U.S.-led air strikes intended to halt Belgrade’s oppression of separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
The dilapidated military compound has become a symbol of resistance for many. The proposed development includes a Trump hotel, luxury apartments, office space, and a shopping area, along with a memorial for the bombing’s victims.
The agreement with Kushner has faced opposition from Serbia’s architects, engineers, and political adversaries, yet President Aleksandar Vucic and his administration defend the initiative as a modernization effort for the capital.
Demonstrations have been frequent, highlighting growing dissatisfaction with Vucic’s decade-long administration and the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, criticized for curtailing democratic freedoms and fostering corruption.
President Vucic, an advocate of Donald Trump, has also maintained close ties with China and Russia. Despite pursuing Serbia’s integration into the European Union, he has refrained from aligning with Western sanctions against Moscow.