Students of several Belgrade faculties and the General Staff Ensemble initiative held a protest in front of the General Staff building, with the message that they will "defend this symbol of Belgrade with their bodies" if the government does not abandon plans to demolish it. Those present made a "ring" around this building, and drew a red line around it, over which those who plan to demolish this cultural property - crossing is forbidden
Students of the Faculty of Applied Arts, Faculty of Architecture and Philosophy in Belgrade and the Ensemble Generalstab initiative held a meeting in front of the building General Staff, with the message "We are a living wall". They will warn the authorities Aleksandar Vučić that they will defend this building with their bodies.
They gathered at the intersection near the General Staff and made a "ring" around this building.
The students have drawn a red line around the entire General Staff complex, over which those who plan to demolish this cultural property are prohibited from crossing.
The students' plan is to make this protest a warning protest.
Several thousand students and citizens gathered at the intersection of Knez Miloš and Nemanjina.
"Culture against traitors" is one of the banners highlighted by citizens.
"The state must take care of culture. Revoking the status of a cultural asset from the General Staff complex is against the law, even the lex specialis, which negates the existing laws. We wonder what is next. Is Dečani or Studenica next," said the conservator and advisor at the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments.
Drawing a red line: We do not give the General Staff
Warning and requests of students
A warning called "Don't cross the red line!" the students in the blockade announced today, after the protest in front of the General Staff ended.
"This is a red line."
Demolishing the General Staff would mean demolishing the people's right to remember, erasing history and humiliating every citizen of Serbia.
We warn you - we will not calmly observe the demolition of the General Staff and the trampling of the law and the Constitution.
The defense of the General Staff is the defense of dignity, the rule of law and our future.
Our requirements are:
- Repeal of the so-called lex specialis for the complex and plot of the General Staff.
- Annulment of the illegal decision of the Government of the Republic of Serbia from November 14, 2024 and return of the status of cultural property to the General Staff.
- Completion of the investigation by the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime on the abuse of official position and the collapse of the system for the protection of cultural property," the students' statement reads.
Demolition voted even though there is a study on rehabilitation of the General Staff
Let us remind you that on November 7, with the votes of 130 deputies, the National Assembly passed the lex specialis, which enables the demolition of the General Staff for the construction of hotels and residential towers of Donald Trump's son-in-law. The Lex specialis was passed even though it repeals the Law on Cultural Heritage and makes provisions that are not in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Law on Planning and Construction, and even the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.
A day after that, Forbes published "Opinion on the removal of destroyed and damaged parts of the facilities of the General Staff of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro and the Ministry of Defense of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro from the aspect of technical possibilities, safety and the total cost of the works."
The authors of this document are professors of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, and it was prepared in May 2006.
The lex specialis states that the buildings of the General Staff are threatened with collapse.
Retired professor Dušan Najdanović, one of the authors of the Technical Control of the project, says that there is not a single document that proves this, and points out that the projects determined that there is a possibility of rehabilitation that would foresee the removal of part of building A, which would later be extended and connected to the two parts that are still standing today. It also confirms that building B is in a more favorable situation, that is, it is mostly stable.
"Both buildings can certainly be saved. Building B is missing one and a half floors in the affected part and one of the pillars is broken, but that can be solved. Also, a new structure would be built on the site of the collapsed part of building A and connected to the remaining parts. We should also check what is with the foundations of the buildings, but they are probably good because there was no damage from the explosions," said Najdanović.
He estimates that the rehabilitation would cost several tens of millions of euros and says that it is not terribly expensive as the authorities say. "The National Stadium is terribly expensive," he says.
Also that "it would be a disaster if it all came crashing down. I can't fathom that anyone would have thought of that."
It is not known why the Government of Serbia, which decided a year ago to deprive the General Staff of its status as a cultural property, as well as the Parliament of Serbia, which passed the law on its demolition yesterday, did not take into account this document of the Faculty of Civil Engineering.
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