Blockade of the Fair: Stop the demolition of another symbol of Belgrade

While demolition of the Belgrade Fair started unofficially with the removal of the so-called Slikarnica, students and citizens called for a stop to this process - a blockade.

"Let's stop the demolition of another symbol of our city", it was stated in the post on the Instagram profile of the General Staff Ensemble Initiative, which is made up of students and experts in the fight to preserve the cultural and historical heritage of the Republic of Serbia.

Students of higher education institutions in the blockade announced their opposition devastation of the Belgrade Fair for the sake of commercial projects and call on the authorities to immediately stop all works and to protect the entire complex of the Fair as an immovable cultural asset.

Actions in the dark

While waiting for the formalities approx adoption of the development plan for that part of the city, the whole business is followed by numerous actions in the murky, all in order to expand Belgrade on the water.

According to the law, no preparatory works are possible before obtaining a building permit, which no one has yet been able to obtain because the plan is in the process of public discussion. The demolition of the Painting Gallery will probably be classified as preparatory work for which they do not need a permit. These are, for example, prefabricated buildings around the Fair, installation of fences and the like.

According to the media, the government has also made numerous personnel changes. The general director of the Belgrade Fair, Danka Selić, was replaced. The new director is Nikola Banković, who was head of the Pošta fleet and president of the SNS local board in Rakovica.

The Assembly of the Belgrade Fair was also formed. The previous president, Radet Šević, was replaced by Abdel Gavad Shadi, the owner of the independent shop "Shadi" from Zemun.