The enigma of 80ha of expropriated land in Leposavic

After passing a series of decisions on the expropriation of land in the north of Kosovo in 2022, the Kosovo government adopted another decision on expropriation in mid-January. This time, the government decided to expropriate over 80ha of land in two cadastral zones – the villages of Dren and Lesak, both privately-owned and state-owned land. Although the land covers two cadastral zones, the satellite view reveals that it is actually one huge piece of land. The village cemetery in Dren is also located on this land. According to the government of Kosovo, the land in the north is being expropriated for another „infrastructure project of public interest“. Local Serbs, however, are concerned over the lack of information as to for what purpose the land will be used. Today, the local authorities met and discussed the issue of land expropriation with the owners of these land plots.

The Kosovo government passed a decision at a session held on January 16th to declare the immovable property in the cadastral zones Dren and Lesak a special public interest for “the implementation of infrastructure projects of public interest.”

„The declaration of the immovable property of owners and interest holders required for the implementation of ‘infrastructure projects of public interest’ in the cadastral zone: Dren and Lesak, Municipality of Leposavic, a special public interest, according to the tables transcribed from the relevant cadastral records for the owners of immovable property, their position within the project of public interest as well as their plots, expressed in the tables which are part of this decision,“ this document states.

As per the same decision, the Expropriation Department of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and Infrastructure was ordered to initiate land expropriation procedures in accordance with the Law on Expropriation, in coordination with the relevant ministries.

The third point of the decision stated that the Expropriation Department and the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfer are obliged to implement this decision.

The decision of the Kosovo government, shared on the website of the office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, reveals no details about the plot size, the reason why it was declared of special public interest, or what kind of infrastructure projects would be implemented there.

KoSSev tried to obtain answers to these questions from the Kosovo government, but our inquiries remained unanswered by the time this news was published.

Journalists of the KoSSev portal also reached out to the spokesperson of the Kosovo government, and to the Kosovo government, the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, as well as the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfer. No answer had arrived from either side. The spokesperson of the Kosovo government informed us that he forwarded our inquiry to his colleague Nora Fatoshi. We have not received any response from Fatoshi as well.

On the other hand, we had insight into the decision of the Expropriation Department of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and Infrastructure.

This document contains a list consisting of information on the plot number, owner, cadastral area, as well as the municipality where the land whose expropriation is requested is located.

Expropriation is planned for seven plots in the cadastral zone Dren. The Municipality of Leposavic is listed as the owner of one plot of land, four are company-owned, and two are the private property of D. J.

For six out of seven plots, information on the plot area is provided. It amounts to a total of 395,977 square meters, i.e. more than 39 hectares.

For the Lesak cadastral zone, it is stated that 13 plots of land are being expropriated. Two are also company-owned, and the other 11 are listed as privately-owned, while some plots have several co-owners. The total area of all plots is measured at 427,533, i.e. more than 42 hectares.

The total size of all plots exceeds 80 hectares. According to the satellite view of the area, it is actually one large piece of land.

„The two cadastral zones of Dren and Lesak border each other, it is one hill. It is one piece of land, amounting to 83 ha,“ the municipality of Leposavic confirmed for KoSSev yesterday.

The private properties to be expropriated cover a total area of about 25 ha, while 57 ha are owned by the company „Ibar“. The municipality of Leposavic confirmed for KoSSev that one plot is municipal land housing the local village cemetery.

The municipality claims that they still do not know for what purposes the decision was passed to expropriate this piece of land. Furthermore, they emphasize that they were unaware of such plans and that, according to their knowledge, allegedly, no public debate was held.

They reveal they were informed about the decision on expropriation through a short announcement after the session on the website of the Kosovo government, underlining that they were “only recently” given the details of the planned expropriation.

„It is located in the village of Dren. They expropriated that one municipal plot, not knowing that there is a village cemetery on it,“ the municipality told us yesterday..

The municipality claims that they also reached out to the relevant bodies regarding the previous decisions on expropriation in the villages of Kosutovo and Bistrica. Their inquiries, however, remain unanswered – they claimed.

The Kosovo Office was also informed about the announced expropriation, which shared the news with international representatives, i.e. mediators, the municipality confirmed.

They also announced yesterday that a meeting would be held with the owners of the expropriated land today.

SL met with the locals in Leposavic today

The president of the PA of the municipality, as well as the vice-president of Srpska Lista, held a meeting today with the owners of these land parcels. Representatives of Lesak, the hamlet of Zaselje, the village of Mekinice, and the village of Dren were also present at the meeting.

„Kurti’s regime is trying to seize land with a total area of more than 83 hectares by legal violence, in violation of its own legal regulations, without any prior notification and consultation with the owners of the plots, local self-government and legitimate representatives of the Serbian people,“ Srpska Lista said after the meeting.

They revealed that they have agreed with the owners to hire a legal team to file an appeal against this „illegal decision that seizes Serb land by legal violence.“

Moreover, they emphasized that the owners and even the residents of the municipality of Leposavic were not informed about the expropriation.

„No one consulted them or asked if they agree with this expropriation, or the owners of these plots, because they know they would get a negative answer. This decision was not made in the public interest, but in the interest of those who would like to expel the Serbs from Kosovo,“ SL officials underlined, expressing concern over the fact that the expropriated land also includes a village cemetery.

They also say that they will inform the EU Office in Pristina, UNMIK, OSCE, KFOR and Quint representatives about everything.

„We will demand that institutional violence by Pristina against our people be stopped, and the contested decision be repealed. The dictatorial regime of Albin Kurti must stop its unilateral moves, which it consciously uses against the interests of the Serb people who have been living on their land for centuries,“ they point out.

On expropriation of land in the north

The issue of expropriation of land in the north by the Kosovo government was brought to the fore months ago, and has until now been linked with the construction of special police bases in the north.

The Kosovo government, on the other hand, has not commented on this in detail, except to emphasize that the expropriations are connected to „infrastructural projects of public interest“.

During the past year, Kosovo Serb representatives have not been very vocal on the issue, as their reaction arrived much later after the first initial news about the expropriation was made public.

In the past year, decisions on land expropriation in the north were made on several occasions, primarily in the municipalities of Zubin Potok and Leposavic, considered by Pristina as border areas with the „northern neighbor“ – Serbia.

In mid-December, at the 112th session, the land in Saljska Bistrica and Jasenovik was expropriated. In late August, plots of land in both municipalities were expropriated, when several residents and local sources testified that at least part of the newly built special police base in Jasenovik was constructed on expropriated land.

In Zubin Potok, land was expropriated in at least four villages: Donji Jasenovik, Velji Breg, Padine, and Brnjak. According to the scarce information from this municipality, shared with the public by the only opposition councilor Milija Bisevac, it is alleged that the former deputy of the former mayor, Latinka Perovic, informed the councilors in September that the municipal administration „received a paper“ from Pristina stating that land expropriation and confiscation of buildings owned by citizens in parts of the villages of Velji Breg, Padine and Brnjak are planned. The councilors were then informed that certain residential buildings would be demolished, and that the municipal management allegedly employed „all legal means“, but also that it was „powerless to prevent it“.

 

„You said that you used every means. You didn’t use anything, until Prime Minister Kurti came to visit the base, and then you went out in front of the citizens. As a lawyer, is civil disobedience unconstitutional? It’s not. Are the protests unconstitutional, are they illegal? They are not. Have you organized a single protest? Have you stepped out before the citizens to tell them what the problem is? No. Then don’t say that you have used all legal means,“ Bisevac said at the time.

 

On several occasions last year, the KoSSev portal contacted the municipality of Zubin Potok and the mayor personally regarding the current situation, but our questions were left unanswered.

In the first half of 2022, several special unit bases of the Kosovo Police were built in Zubin Potok and Leposavic.

The locals expressed concern over the expropriation of privately-owned land, that is, the construction of bases in the villages in the north.

It was months later that the reaction of the representatives of Srpska Lista arrived. They demanded the withdrawal of special bases from the north, while rarely mentioning the expropriation itself.

 

Srpska Lista and the Kosovo Office, however, immediately reacted a day after the media shared the news about the latest land expropriation in the municipality of Leposavic. Apart from condemning and pointing the finger at Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, they failed to inform the public on whether they will be taking any action in relation to the issue.

According to KoSSev’s findings, several families in the Zubin Potok municipality have filed a lawsuit to determine the legality of the expropriation.

Kosovo law on expropriation

 

The Kosovo law on expropriation foresees a public debate, as well as a deadline for comment submission. Several local sources in Zubin Potok and Leposavic, however, testified for KoSSev during the previous months that no debate was organized. The same was confirmed by the municipality of Leposavic before the publication of this news.

 

The public debate is envisaged to be held in the municipality where the expropriation is being carried out, within 15 days, but after the previous 10-day period provided for comment submission to the expropriating authority by all interested parties.

 

After that, there is a period of 30 days in which the expropriating authority considers the written objections and positions, and then the preliminary decision is made on the legality of the proposed expropriation.

The final decision on expropriation is made after 12 months and sets into force 30, that is, 15 days after the preliminary decisions come into force. However, if an appeal is filed against a preliminary decision, this period is extended until the appeal is reviewed.