Students Call on Institutions to Protect Belgrade’s Endangered Cultural Heritage

(BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Serbia’s protesting students, who have blocked their universities, urged institutions on April  14,  the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Belgrade above all, to defend the city's endangered cultural heritage, insisting that the preservation of cultural heritage is not a matter of the past, but a matter of the future.

The students listed the cases of destruction of Belgrade’s cultural heritage, including the General Staff Building, the Belgrade Fair, and the Old Sava Bridge.

In a joint statement by the students, read out at their gathering in front of the Institute, institutions are called upon to reinstate their role of defenders of cultural property, to act in accordance with the law and in the public interest.

"We respect the profession and believe that precisely with it, we can protect what is invaluable. We are not asking for much, only that the laws are respected and that cultural heritage is protected as it should be. That is why we will continue our presence here, and loud, because cultural heritage belongs to the people, not to investors," the students said at the rally, attended also by activists and citizens.

After the rally within the "Heritage at Risk" action, the students marched to the Old Sava Bridge, and then blocked the roundabout at the Belgrade Waterfront complex for a couple of hours.