“The bridge remains,” was the message from the crowd gathered at the protest against the demolition of the Old Sava Bridge in Belgrade on October 20.
Several hundred citizens rallied against the plans of the Belgrade authorities to demolish the bridge that links Old and New Belgrade, with intentions to construct a new bridge in its place over the coming years.
This protest took place on the 80th anniversary of Belgrade’s liberation in 1944, marking when the city was liberated from German occupation during World War II by Yugoslav partisans and the Soviet Red Army.
Đorđe Miketić from the “The Bridge Remains” initiative highlighted at the protest that it was not just a “fight for the bridge.”
“This is a fight for a lawful state, a fight for dialogue, a fight to have the citizens’ voices heard,” he said.
Miketić mentioned that, as of now, there is no approved official project for the new bridge, having completed all necessary procedures.
“There is a preliminary design that was issued by a company in 2017, but we do not know what will happen if they demolish the bridge—whether they will double the lanes, whether they will bring back the tram, what the idea is. We do not know,” he said.
He also mentioned that the construction of the new bridge is a component of the larger “Belgrade Waterfront” project.
The residential and business complex “Belgrade Waterfront” is located on the right bank of the Sava River, in the center of the Serbian capital.
A special law was passed for the construction of this complex, defining it as a project of particular importance for Serbia and Belgrade.
Despite receiving criticism from certain expert circles and opposition parties, the Serbian Government on April 5, 2024, decided to extend the “Belgrade Waterfront” project by an additional 327 hectares.
During the protest, Vesna Petković from the Democratic Party insisted that it should be the citizens who determine the fate of the Old Sava Bridge.
“The citizens have the right to that. We demand that the Sava Bridge be part of our cultural heritage,” Petković said at the protest.
