As part of the program Regional Initiative for combating disinformation “Western Balkans Combatting disinformation Center: Exposing malicious influences through fact-checking and Analytical Journalism“, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
A tiny handful in front of the general staff: Blockaders announced a big rally, but look how many showed up (PHOTO)
https://informer.rs/politika/vesti/1065708/generalstab-blokaderi-aleksandar-vucic
The National Assembly of Serbia adopted a lex specialis for the General Staff complex, heavily damaged during NATO bombings in 1999, opening the way for commercial development in one of the most valuable locations in central Belgrade. Interest in building a hotel on the site was expressed in early 2024 by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. The project was temporarily halted when an investigation was launched over suspicions regarding the legitimacy of the document that revoked the General Staff’s status as a cultural heritage site.
On November 7, 130 MPs voted in favor of amendments to the Law on Special Procedures for the revitalization of the area between Kneza Miloša, Masarikova, Birčaninova, and Resavska streets, 40 voted against, and one abstained. A proposal for the law to come into effect immediately, before the legal deadline, was also accepted. This lex specialis declared the procedures related to the project urgent and instructed state authorities to issue all necessary acts without delay. By definition, a lex specialis is a special law that takes precedence over general legislation when both regulate the same matter — a mechanism frequently used by the current Serbian government for projects such as Belgrade Waterfront, the national stadium, and EXPO 2027.
Thousands of students and citizens took to the streets of Belgrade under the slogan “We Are the Living Wall,” protesting against plans to demolish the General Staff complex. The call for the November 11 protest came from Students in Blockade. During the gathering, students sprayed a red line around the General Staff parcels, and participants formed a symbolic “living wall,” surrounding the building with their bodies. This was meant to send a clear message of opposition to the demolition and further devastation of a space considered part of the country’s cultural heritage.
“We demand the repeal of the so-called lex specialis, the annulment of the illegal decision of the Serbian government, and the restoration of the General Staff’s cultural heritage status,” one student stated during the address. She added that students also call for the completion of the investigation by the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office regarding the falsification of the document that revoked the protection of the complex in November 2024. “This is our first warning. We will not give up the General Staff,” she concluded.
Pro-regime media outlet Informer seized the opportunity to spread false narratives about the protest in front of the General Staff. Instead of reporting on the actual reason and goals of the gathering, the focus was placed on peripheral details, such as the alleged number of participants. “The blockade protest in front of the General Staff, to put it mildly, was a fiasco. Although they announced a large rally to defend the General Staff, only slightly over 1,000 people showed up, which clearly shows what the public thinks of them,” Informer reported.
The numbers, of course, were fabricated. What is far more important is the deliberate misrepresentation of the nature of the students’ protest. The gathering was not aimed at an ordinary building, but at a site carrying strong emotional significance for all Serbian citizens who survived the NATO bombings in 1999. Although the government formally revoked the General Staff’s cultural heritage status last year, it continues to live in the collective memory as a symbol of cultural and historical heritage.
Students recognized this value and made it clear that they will not back down in their fight to protect the General Staff from demolition, which would serve only the private interests of political actors. Their “living wall” was not merely a physical presence, but a clear message from future generations that history and memory cannot be erased by a political agreement or a lex specialis.
Author: Nataša Stanojević
