The session of the Belgrade City Assembly, primarily convened to vote on a major city budget rebalancing (following a 9 billion dinar revenue surplus), was abruptly interrupted following a chaotic protest and storming of the main floor by civic activists.
Activists from the informal citizen group “Mirijevo Zeleno i Zdravo” (Mirijevo Green and Healthy), supported by multiple local associations, entered the assembly hall and occupied the main speaking podium. They are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Detailed Regulation Plan (PDR) for the Bajdina area in Mirijev from the agenda, citing catastrophic environmental and geological risks. Following the disruption, Assembly President Nikola Nikodijević (SPS) and the ruling coalition majority demonstratively left the hall, declaring an emergency recess.
Opposition Forms “Human Shield” as Tensions Escalate
After a 20-minute suspension, lawmakers returned to the floor, but the atmosphere remained highly combative. To prevent assembly security forces from physically removing the Mirijevo residents, opposition councilors rushed the podium and formed a protective “human shield” around the activists.
- Surrendering Floor Time: Opposition members demanded that the citizens be allowed to address the assembly, offering to forfeit their own legally allocated debate time to let the activists speak.
- The Manojlović–Nikodijević Standoff: Savo Manojlović, leader of the Kreni-Promeni (Start-Change) movement, told the speaker: “As long as these citizens stand here, we stand here too.” Nikodijević sharply fired back: “As long as they stand there, I will run the session.”
- Warnings to Developers: Stefan Simić of the Free Citizens Movement (PSG) issued a public warning to private developers, telling them not to sink funds into the Bajdina project because it will ultimately be blocked and the green space returned to the public, earning him an official warning from the chair for deviating from the agenda.
What is the Battle for Bajdina Forest About?
The contentious urban plan encompasses a 66-hectare area (roughly the size of the Kalemegdan fortress complex) situated between the neighborhoods of Mirijevo and Mali Mokri Lug. Currently, this heavily forested zone acts as a vital ecological barrier, sheltering the eastern districts of Belgrade from heavy air pollution drifting from the Vinča landfill.
| Project Metric | Proposed Urban Plan | Citizen & Expert Assessment |
| Housing Units | Construction of 5,000 new apartments | Total collapse of local, already strained utility infrastructure |
| Population Growth | Influx of 12,000 to 15,000 new residents | Mirijevo (pop. 90,000) severely lacks adequate schools and nurseries |
| Green Space Reduction | Shrinking forest coverage from 66 to just 12 hectares | Complete destruction of the Zvezdara municipality’s “natural lungs” |
| Geological Risk | High-density commercial and residential builds | Direct danger of triggering 2 active and 3 potential landslides |
Nikola Cvetanović (“Mirijevo Zeleno i Zdravo”): “The city is planning to build without any prior stabilization of the active landslides, operating through behind-the-scenes arrangements with a single investor. Public pressure forced them to withdraw this exact plan months ago, and now they are attempting to sneak the same destructive project right back onto the floor.”
Miketić: Belgrade’s Future is Being Carved Up in Secret Diners
Outside the City Assembly building, demonstrators set up a large interactive map detailing the rapid disappearance of green zones across the capital, alongside a symbolic metal oil drum labeled “The Planning Commission.”
Prominent civic activist Đorđe Miketić told reporters on the steps that Belgrade is being “pillaged and dismantled like never before in its history.” He pointed to a recent high-profile underworld shooting at the city’s “27” restaurant, alleging that the incident inadvertently exposed where the city’s Planning Commission meets informally to cut backroom deals. “They are deciding the fate of this city in secret cabinets and private restaurants, and this Assembly is being used merely as an execution chamber to rubber-stamp those private deals,” Miketić claimed.
Adding to the friction, employee representatives from the state-owned Belgrade Pharmacies (Apoteke Beograd) joined the protest outside. Spokesperson Una Perišić Radulović highlighted a desperate labor crisis within the public healthcare provider, revealing that staff have gone unpaid for 14 consecutive months, forcing a massive wave of public pharmacy closures across town.
The assembly session remains at a volatile standstill, with security details floating near the perimeter and ongoing verbal shouting matches over the presence of the public inside the parliamentary chamber.
