Thousands in Serbia protest law to speed Kushner development of old army compound
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Protesters took to the streets on Nov 11 as they raised their ire at a new law that appeared to curry favour with US President Donald Trump.
PHOTO: AFP
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BELGRADE - Thousands of protesters circled a former army headquarters in Serbia on Nov 11 over a new law to speed its conversion into a luxury compound leased to an investment company founded by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The rally in the capital Belgrade added to a spate of anti-government protests harrying President Aleksandar Vucic, triggered by the collapse a year ago of a railway station roof that killed 16 people
"We came here to raise our voice against the law," said Ms Teodora Smiljanic, a 48-year old protester.
"By passing this law he (Vucic) is aiming to please Trump and curry favour," she said. "Perhaps he thinks that Trump in return could lift sanctions against NIS."
NIS, Serbia's sole, Russian-owned oil refinery, is under US sanctions, raising worries about fuel supplies during the Balkan country's typically frigid winter.
Serbian lawmakers passed legislation on Nov 7 that would allow faster administrative procedures for Mr Kushner's Affinity Global Development firm to build a hotel, apartments, shops and offices on the site of the former Yugoslav army headquarters.
Many Serbs see the old headquarters, which were damaged in a 1999 Nato bombing campaign during the Kosovo conflict, as a tribute to those who died and a monument to Yugoslav-era modernist architecture, and they opposed the signing of a 99-year lease deal with Affinity Global Development last year.
Some opposition politicians argued that the legislation was unconstitutional but the governing majority approved it without amendments, saying it was crucial for good ties with the US.
"He (Vucic) is trying to corrupt Trump," Mr Zdravko Ponos, former army chief of staff and now a leader of the opposition Srbija Centar party, told N1 TV on Nov 11.
Mr Kushner's wider investment holding, Affinity Partners, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nov 11.
Despite protests, Mr Vucic's government last November stripped the old army compound of its protected cultural heritage status.
Mr Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, set up Affinity Global Development after stepping down from his job as a White House aide in 2021. REUTERS
