The Bridge Stays initiative: Criminal complaints against officials for inciting violence

Unlike previous Wednesdays, when activists blocked intersections in the Belgrade Waterfront complex, this week they chose to hold a press conference at the base of the Belgrade Tower. They highlighted that the tower is among many buildings lacking a proper occupancy permit, which they believe endangers citizens' safety.

This is the fifth consecutive Wednesday in the epicenter of corruption, a neighborhood that jeopardizes our safety and the quality of life in Belgrade, said Jelena Radovic from The Bridge Stays initiative.

Radovic noted that for 47 days, activists and citizens have gathered at the Old Sava Bridge to raise awareness of legal violations, particularly concerning infrastructure projects driven by megalomaniacal visions.

The activists announced plans to file criminal complaints on Thursday against high-ranking officials whom they accuse of directly inciting hooligans during press conferences and live television broadcasts.

The activists have been working to halt the demolition of the Old Sava Bridge, which connects the new and old parts of the Serbian capital. The city government, with support from Serbian authorities, intends to remove the bridge, originally built in 1942 by occupying Nazi forces. Remarkably, it was the only major bridge in Europe that was not destroyed during the Nazi withdrawal, thanks to teacher Miladin Zaric, who bravely climbed onto the bridge and defused explosives placed there by the Germans.

Opposition officials and activists argue that the primary motive for the bridge’s removal is the Belgrade Waterfront complex, a pet project of the authorities.