“It is necessary to recognize our own victories and our own strength,” architect Miljan Salata told Mašina, adding that the withdrawal of Kushner’s company represents a battle won in a years-long struggle. Salata believes this is a clear result of the unification of the architectural profession that began on April 24, 2024, with the adoption of the Declaration on the Fate of the Belgrade Fair and the General Staff Buildings.
“This process was neither quick nor spontaneous; rather, the front of resistance gradually expanded from the architectural and conservation professions, through institutions such as the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, then the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, the international professional community and the broader public, the student movement, and finally the political opposition,” Salata stressed, adding that in this sense it would be wrong to view this decision as an isolated business move or a temporary “pause.”
“The respect that Mr. Kushner is now showing – respect that did not previously exist – is clearly directed at the strength of that broad social front, a strength that succeeded in elevating the issue of the General Staff building from a local topic to an international focus of interest, as a problem of international significance. Let us recall that this project was supposed to be the first ‘Trump Tower’ project in Europe,” Salata notes.
Salata explains that over the past month, since the adoption of the lex specialis (a law passed to supersede existing laws), hundreds of major media outlets across the world have reported on the protests and resistance by citizens and students in front of the General Staff building. “That is a precedent showing that public pressure was not symbolic, but politically and reputationally very concrete and effective,” Salata tells us.
It Is Necessary to Recognize Our Own Victories and Strength
“This is a big deal. Everything we have done together so far resulted in Kushner’s withdrawal, and we should be proud and happy about that. This is a great victory. It should give us wind in our sails to continue with all the struggles ahead of us,” Valentina Moravčević from the student- and architect-led General Staff Initiative told Mašina.
Salata believes that “in such long, exhausting struggles” it is essential to recognize one’s own victories and strength, not for self-aggrandizement, but to understand how to effectively move forward.
“For that reason, I am convinced that Mr. Kushner will not return to this project, and as a member of the Association of Architects of Serbia, I welcome the fact that he showed receptiveness to the open letter addressed to him by our association, as the umbrella organization of architects in Serbia. Unlike earlier situations, there is now an explicit and public statement of withdrawal, given in the context of very strong international pressure,” Salata told Mašina.
Next Steps: Reconstruction of the General Staff Building
However, this is only the beginning of the General Staff building issue, Moravčević believes.
“Now the building’s reconstruction must follow. The fight for the General Staff building, as we have emphasized many times, is a fight for the entirety of Serbia’s cultural heritage. That heritage remains seriously endangered. Preserving the General Staff building draws a clear red line. After this victory, we must remain vigilant and must not allow something similar to ever happen again. It is necessary to dedicate ourselves to protecting cultural heritage in every possible way, because today it is in a precarious situation,” Moravčević emphasizes.
Salata adds that the question of the second investor, an Arab partner, remains open-ended.
“The key issue is whether, without the protection of American big capital and the political PR shield it provided, there will be the capacity and courage to try to present the project as something publicly acceptable. My view is that if the same path and the same decision-making model outside the public interest and the profession continue, the outcome will end the same way as in Mr. Kushner’s case,” Salata tells us.
In this context, Salata tells us that the next step for the professional community will be to launch a public campaign titled: “Reconstruction of the General Staff Building.” Within this campaign, the public will be presented with the reasons, principles, and possible models of reconstruction based on the professional, cultural, and social values of this site. He assures the people of Serbia that there will be a clear insistence on transparent procedures, an international architectural competition, and the active participation of citizens in decision-making about the building’s future.
A.G.A.
