Thousands in Serbia protest law to speed Kushner development of old army compound

By Ivana Sekularac

BELGRADE (Reuters) -Thousands of protesters circled a former army headquarters in Serbia on Tuesday over a new law to speed its conversion into a luxury compound leased to an investment company founded by U.S. 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 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 U.S. sanctions, raising worries about fuel supplies during the Balkan country's typically frigid winter.

Serbian lawmakers passed legislation on Friday that would allow faster administrative procedures for 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 U.S.

"He (Vucic) is trying to corrupt Trump," Zdravko Ponos, former army chief of staff and now a leader of the opposition Srbija Centar party, told N1 TV on Tuesday.

Kushner's wider investment holding, Affinity Partners, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Despite protests, Vucic's government last November stripped the old army compound of its protected cultural heritage status.

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.

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; editing by Mark Heinrich)