Today, the Ministry of Culture sent a statement to the media "due to the alleged concern for the Belgrade Fair and the multi-day campaign led by some opposition actors".
For the sake of truthfully informing the public, the Ministry cites arguments to prove that the current government is not to blame for the announced demolition of the Fair, but the previous one.
"The current status of the Belgrade Fair complex was determined at the beginning of 2009 by the Government of the Republic of Serbia under President Mirko Cvetković. We would like to remind you that on January 15, 2009, the Government of the RS passed a Decision on the designation of the entire complex of the Belgrade Fair in Belgrade as a cultural monument. However, just seven days later, on January 22, 2009, the same Government issued a Decision on the termination of the Decision on the designation of the Belgrade Fair complex in Belgrade as a cultural monument. "Less than a month after that, on February 19, 2009, the Government passed a Decision on the designation of only Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair as a cultural monument," it says at the beginning of this announcement.
Then the Information on the privatization of the SOE "Belgrade Fair" is cited, which was prepared in December 2008 by the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, headed by Minister Mlađan Dinkić:
"It should be taken into account that the designation of the Belgrade Fair facilities as a cultural asset could have a negative impact on the interest of potential investors, bearing in mind that the future buyer should realize the obligation to implement an investment program that will be reflected in the modernization of the existing fair area and the construction of a new fair area .
Also, potential investors have so far declared that they intend to completely renovate the fairgrounds and that it is not in their interest for the halls to be declared a cultural asset, due to the planned investments and the construction of a fairground that meets the standards of the leading fairs in Europe."
The public knows about all these facts, because the media mentioned them in texts about the fate of the Belgrade Fair, and now we know that the Ministry of Culture knows them too. We do not know exactly what the Ministry will do with that knowledge, because there is not even a word about it in the Communication. It has not been announced whether the Ministry thinks that the Fair should be demolished or not, and thus what it thinks about the quoted decisions of the Government of Mirko Cvetković and the explanation of Mlađan Dinkić.
Judging by the tone of the Statement, one might think that they disagree with them.
Why, in that case, do they not ask the Government to cancel the wrong decisions of the previous government, save the architectural value of Belgrade, and show in action how much better they are than them?
Now, in pre-election time, it would be an excellent move. The Ministry could initiate with the Government that the area of the Belgrade Fair be declared a cultural asset, to protect it from demolition, and to get a huge plus for the ruling coalition in the eyes of the voters. Imagine the headline: Vučić's government is guarding the Fair that the Democrats are destroying! Before the elections, what could be more important to the authorities than votes?
In fact, in this announcement, the Ministry does not even mention its intentions regarding the Fair. As if there is nothing to do. Because it turned out that the decision of the previous government, although wrong, was actually in the direction of the vision that the current government has for the Fair, so that the only thing left for the Ministry was to defend it from the attacks of the opposition. So the work is done.
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