General Staff

16.May 2024. MP / Phone / N1

Vesić: Signed "Framework contract" on the revitalization of the building at the corner of Knez Miloš and Nemanjina

The Government of Serbia has chosen a partner to whom it will transfer the land for 99 years, but not at what price. The Ecological Uprising warns that they will prevent this physically and legally

The culture of (non)memory

22.April 2024. S. Ć.

Hotels are springing up in places where people died from NATO bombing

The government has no respect for the victims of the NATO bombing: the RTS Memorial Center did not start construction even five years after it was announced, the General Staff is about to be sold, and Skyline was built instead of the Federal MUP

Famous face - Muhamed Alabar

08.April 2024. IM (Reuters)

"Belgrade on Water" investor, Kushner's advisor for the General Staff project

According to the British agency, Alabar is cooperating with Jared Kushner on a new possible investment in Serbia

Compulsory military service

04.April 2024. Milica Srejić

"Strengthening the army" or empty talk: What about returning to military service?

According to the statements of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, there is less than a month left for the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense to submit all proposals regarding the re-introduction of regular military service. For experts, the idea of bringing back conscription is an acknowledgment of the collapse of a professional military in the progressive era.

Investment of Trump's son-in-law

02.April 2024. IM (DW)

In addition to the General Staff, Kushner also invests in Albania - not everyone is enthusiastic

The announcement by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, that he wants to invest in real estate in Belgrade and Albania, caused many doubts in Serbia. What are the reactions from Tirana?

Rating from Washington

30.march 2024 IM (VOA)

VOA: The construction of a hotel on the site of the General Staff sets off corruption warning alarms

The intention of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, to build a luxury residential complex and hotel on the site of the demolished General Staff in Belgrade in agreement with the authorities in Serbia is a business that sets off warning alarms about corruption, influence peddling or conflict of interest, according to corruption experts from Washington and of Belgrade.

Economy

28.march 2024 Nemanja Rujevic

Milan Kovačević: Giving away the General Staff would further collapse the land market in Belgrade

Belgrade needs hotels, but they must be built in the intended locations and in a fair market, says economist Milan Kovačević for "Vreme". Giving away salaries on the grounds of the General Staff only opens the door to corruption

Projection of buildings at the location of the General Staff

Advanced plans for the General Staff

27.march 2024 Nemanja Rujević / DW

Đorđe Bobić: This arrogance should be prevented by kindness or force

The demolition of cultural monuments, and the construction of a hotel in an obscure part - this should be prevented by grace or force, say oppositionists and experts. "The people of this city and country would have to make some kind of uprising," says architect Đorđe Bobić

Go change

24.march 2024 IM (Phonet)

A petition has been launched for the reconstruction of the General Staff and its conversion into a museum space

Savo Manojlović, campaign director of the Kreni-Promeni movement, assessed that the authorities' announcement that hotels will be built on the site of the bombed General Staff represents "a trampling on national, civil and human dignity".

Comment

23.march 2024 Sonja Ciric

For Goran Vesić, giving away the General Staff is a patriotic act

Goran Vesić said on the X social network that Tito demolished two buildings where the General Staff now stands because they "reminded him of Serbian history and the old order", and that those who would now preserve that cultural asset are the same

"piece of cake"

22.march 2024 MJ / N1

Trump's son-in-law on the General Staff: It's exciting to be part of turning a mockery into a symbol

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump and a prominent figure in American politics, set his sights on the Balkans with plans for three projects in Albania and Serbia, writes the New York Post.

Inheritance

19.march 2024 S.Ć.

Giving away the General Staff is against the law

Six years after it was damaged in the NATO bombing, the complex of buildings of the General Staff was declared a cultural asset. Since then, attempts to overcome this obstacle and turn the General Staff into something profitable have not stopped

Investments

19.march 2024 NS

The case of the General Staff: "You come to me - I come to you" policy

There is little chance that Aleksandar Vučić will abandon the idea of gifting the General Staff complex to American companies managed by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Richard Grenell, the former US envoy to the Balkans. The media on both sides of the Atlantic are talking about possible political corruption and trading in influence, and here no one doubts that this is exactly what is at stake. Typically for the Vučić regime, this project will also be implemented non-transparently, without a tender and previous procedural actions, by political force.

Affairs of the Serbian regime

19.march 2024 Nemanja Rujevic

Payment of the Trump family by the General Staff: Vučić is "dying of laughter"

Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner should build luxury hotels and apartments on the site of the demolished General Staff. Vučić denies that he wants to curry favor with the former and perhaps future president of America

18.march 2024 IM (Phonet)

Vučić on the General Staff: I am very happy that we will solve the problem in the city center

Regarding the idea of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, Vucic said that he "died of laughter" because of the comments of some media that by accepting Kushner's idea, he "gains political influence" on Trump

Investments

18.march 2024 SZ/NYT/N1

New York Times about the General Staff: Investment worth 500 million, how much goes to Serbia?

More than a decade ago, Donald Trump expressed interest in developing a location in Belgrade. His son-in-law now plans to invest 500 million dollars in the reconstruction, and Serbia should receive 22 percent of the profit.

Jared Kushner's investment

18.march 2024 NR (DW/Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

German newspaper: Vučić bets on Trump and gives the General Staff to his son-in-law

You should already be good with Donald Trump, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung about the construction projects of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Belgrade and on the Albanian coast. A luxury complex has been announced to replace the General Staff that was demolished by NATO

Investments

16.march 2024 SZ/N1/NYT

Trump's son-in-law confirmed that he is negotiating a luxury complex on the site of the General Staff

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, confirmed that he is negotiating with Albania and Serbia on large business projects. He shared photos of the designs of luxury buildings that should be built on the Albanian coast and in the center of Belgrade on the site of the former General Staff building.

Investments

15.march 2024 IM (VOA)

Bloomberg: Trump's son-in-law's company is building a luxury complex on the site of the General Staff

Vesić denied that the memorandum of understanding for the General Staff buildings had been signed and said that "he will inform the public when it happens".

Serbia

14.march 2024 SZ/N1

What has happened to the General Staff since it was hit and what will happen to it?

Since they were hit in the NATO bombing, the fate of the General Staff buildings is unknown. For the last two decades, it has been speculated what will happen to them, and ironically, the United States of America was most often interested in the restoration.

Answer to the charges

13.march 2024 IN THE

Vesić: We will announce publicly if we find a partner for the revitalization of the General Staff

Minister Vesić responded to the accusations of Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta and pointed out that no act was signed based on the document that was presented to the public, and that, if that happens, everything will be announced to the public. Vesić assumes, as he stated, that everyone agrees that the ruins should not be there for another 25 years

New Accusations

13.march 2024 IM (N1)

Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta: The government is giving away the location of the bombed General Staff to American offshore companies

At the press conference, Jovanović assessed that the government is trying to "implement Belgrade on Water 2" in an attractive location.

The Army of Serbia

05.January 2024 BG

Reinstating military service: Who is for it, who is against it, and what the profession says

The day after the announcement that the initiative to restore military service was launched, opponents and supporters of the idea are speaking out in turn. For experts, this is an acknowledgment of the collapse of the professional military in the progressive era

Analyze

04.January 2024 Davor Lukacs

Compulsory military service: Another deception of the public

Where did this proposal come from, when until now it has been successfully announced that we have enough soldiers to fulfill all the tasks assigned to them? And where did the suddenly different "security situation" come from, when tensions with Kosovo have subsided and vehicles with Kosovo license plates enter and go through Serbia normally?