Survival General Staff is imperative, and if there is an attempt to demolish it, there is a broad mood to physically defend it, the historian stated in Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments Nenad Leibensperger.
He stated for the FoNet agency that there are possibilities for the use of that space after the renovation, with a proposal to hand it over University.
Such an initiative came from the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Leibensperger pointed out. who was declared the personality of the year 2025 by the editorial board of the weekly "Vreme"..
"Let it be for the benefit of the students. A museum can also be located there," Leibensperger said, noting that the General Staff buildings are not ruins, but can be restored.
"The stepped structures with red and white stone are in a collapsed state. Some parts have been demolished, some are in good condition, and some have been reconstructed in previous years. The tower itself is not damaged and it is absolutely functional. Those objects can be restored and reconstructed. They are statically stable. The statics will be checked again when the time for work comes. you can see what was damaged, those scars from the war," said Leibensperger.
Arrangement of interior rooms for a new purpose
He stated that during the clearing of the terrain, the Army collected and stored a large number of marble slabs, so that they could be used again.
"Some of those quarries still exist, stone can be extracted from them, but something new can also be done. It would be ideal if it were as close as possible to the original form, but it would not be a problem if it looked a little different in terms of the purpose inside. Modern conservation allows the arrangement of interior rooms for a new purpose, for the purpose of education, culture, the military or state administration. Such a solution would be supported by both the profession and the general public," said Leibensperger.
He stated that The Army of Serbia, apparently, does not want to use those buildings, since recently the foundation stone for the new facilities of the General Staff and Ministry of Defense.
"After American investor Jared Kushner gave up on the General Staff project, we still need to be careful. The fight continues this year as well," said Leibensperger, noting that Serbia's political elite will not give up on the project easily, which is why the only solution to defend the General Staff buildings is change authorities in the elections.
"If that doesn't happen, then again everything depends on the government's move and whether they will bring out the machinery for demolition. We have an indication that some work will be carried out on one of the buildings. We will have to follow that very carefully, to make sure that it will not be the introduction of the demolition through the back door, but really some kind of reconstruction," said Leibensperger.
He did not rule out Kushner's return to the game, nor the possibility of finding a new investor.
"We know how our government works, that it is very vain and vindictive and that the fight will continue. They may also look for a new investor. Finance Minister Siniša Mali announced that talks with Kushner's company will continue and that they may agree to that project again," Leibensperger said.
We expect the Constitutional Court to make an announcement
According to him, for all employees of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, the General Staff is still a cultural asset and a cultural monument, since despite all requests and attempts, it is not allowed to be deleted from the Central Register of Immovable Cultural Assets.
"The special law that was passed is not in accordance with the Constitution and other legislation. That is why we still consider the General Staff an immovable cultural asset, i.e. a cultural monument. We expect it to be announced constitutional Court with his opinion and then we'll see what happens next," said Leibensperger.
He stated that because of the defense of the General Staff, the employees of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments face numerous pressures, as they refuse to do something with which they professionally and morally disagree.
"Some punishments without punishments happened all the time - they make your work more difficult, you don't get some jobs, they take you out of jobs, reduce your privileges. It happened that I was not allowed to go on a trip or that some salary supplements approved by the director were not approved. We have contract cancellations for two colleagues who were on temporary - casual jobs, and they participated in various activities and protests," said Leibensperger.
He stated that the Ministry of Finance did not transfer a large part of the funds to the Institute for the Protection of Culture last year, and the funds planned for this year were partially reduced.
As for the Old Sava Bridge, which was removed despite attempts Belgrader to defend him, Leibensperger stated that that bridge, unlike the General Staff, did not have the status of protection as an immovable cultural asset, which is why there was a legal possibility to be removed.
"Defending the General Staff also defends the rule of law, and there is no doubt whether those buildings should survive - that is imperative. This is what the laws of our country say. People who are trained to assess this have decided that the General Staff has the value of a cultural monument and that this value has not been lost because it was bombed and collapsed. Such collapsed buildings exist here and all over the world," Leibensperger said.
A big conversation with Nenad Leibensperger will be published in the first issue of "Vremena" this year on January 8.
Source: FoNet
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