Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday accused his opponents of derailing a Trump Tower-branded hotel development plan linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Proposals to transform the former Yugoslav army headquarters, a treasured memorial to the 1999 NATO bombing that damaged it, have faced strong opposition.
What did Vucic say about the hotel project?
The Serbian president, a nationalist and populist, sharply criticized the project’s opponents, accusing them of destroying an investment of “at least 750 million euros” ($880 million).
“As a state and as a nation, we are the big losers,” Vucic told the media in Belgrade.
“Now we are faced with a destroyed building and it is only a matter of time before bricks and other pieces start falling because no one will touch it again.”
The Serbian prosecutor against organized crime published an indictment this week against Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic and three other officials for alleged illegal actions by withdrawing the General Staff Building’s status as a “cultural asset,” an essential prerequisite for construction.
The complex was declared a protected cultural heritage site in 2005.
A controversial project
This was confirmed by the investment firm Affinity Partners, which is linked to Kushner Wall Street Journal which said goodbye to the controversial hotel and real estate project after weeks of protests in the Serbian capital.
“Significant projects must unite and not divide, and out of respect for the Serbian people and the city of Belgrade, we are withdrawing our application and withdrawing it for now,” a company spokesman told the newspaper.
The project included three high-rise buildings, including a luxury “Trump Tower Belgrade” hotel, apartments and a museum.
Opposition parties, civic groups and the Serbian Association of Architects opposed the project, saying it was illegal and that the site should be preserved both for its architectural value and as a memorial to NATO bombing.
Independent media also reported that the proposed deals would have effectively transferred valuable downtown real estate to the Trump family at little or no cost.
(afp, efe/el)
About The Author
