Thousands of people took to the streets of Belgrade to protest the planned demolition of the former Yugoslav Army headquarters, the General Staff complex (Generalštab), a modernist landmark damaged during NATO’s 1999 bombing. The structure is lined up for redevelopment into a luxury hotel and residential complex under a deal brokered between the Serbian government and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, November 11, protesters converged from across the city and drew a red line around the site’s perimeter to symbolize a promise to defend it. “Today we have performatively shown what we will do in the coming days,” student Valentina Moravčević told Mašina. “We will be a living wall between all those who are trying to demolish these buildings. Cultural heritage is now defended exclusively on the streets, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

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The redevelopment plan advanced into a new phase at the beginning of the month after the Serbian parliament passed special legislation allowing demolition to proceed. The decision came despite ongoing investigations by public prosecutors into officials who had previously stripped the site of its heritage protection and widespread public opposition.

“The bill misrepresents the General Staff complex as a ‘dangerous ruin for citizens,’ ignoring decades of expert recognition of its exceptional architectural and historical value,” a coalition of architecture and heritage organizations wrote in an open letter ahead of the parliamentary debate. “The complex, damaged during the NATO bombing in 1999, has been repeatedly analyzed by domestic and international experts, who unanimously agree it can and should be revitalized in accordance with the highest standards of conservation practice.”

Protest in Belgrade, November 11, 2025. Source: screenshot

Because the site remains a concrete reminder of the NATO bombing, the redevelopment plan has also provoked accusations against authorities of national humiliation. Critics of President Aleksandar Vučić and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) warned the plan is one of many signs that those in power are ready to sell off public goods for political and private gain. Similarly, cultural and preservation workers have described the passing of the special law as an act of treason. They wrote in a public appeal that support for the bill should be read as a sign of a lack of self-respect. “It is a crime against previous generations who created this heritage, and a sin against future generations who will be deprived of it,” the workers added.

Read more: The Yugoslav wars and the role of NATO

Progressive groups in Serbia have warned that the planned demolition of the General Staff complex is part of a wider pattern of sacrificing Belgrade’s historical landmarks for the sake of profit-driven projects. “Symbols of Belgrade such as the Fair, the old Sava Bridge, the Generalštab, the old railway and bus stations, Hotel Jugoslavija and others, landmarks that connect us to our history, have been demolished or are facing demolition,” a group of student and right to the city collectives wrote. “The city is changing, but not for its citizens. It is changing according to the interests of investors, corporations, and political elites who see cultural heritage not as a value but as an obstacle,” the initiative Ansambl Generalštab noted.

“In a state governed by the rule of law, and especially in a self-respecting society, cultural heritage is not sold to private investors who have clear intentions to destroy it and build commercial content in its place,” cultural workers emphasized, echoing calls for continued mobilization to defend the Generalštab and other historical landmarks at risk.

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