The installation of a new “Mitrovica” sign has been completed today at the entrance to North Mitrovica, replacing the Cyrillic inscription “I love K. Mitrovica,” which had stood as a recognizable city landmark since 2020.
The new structure features a green heart instead of the previous red one, and the Latin alphabet has replaced Cyrillic. The word “Severna” (North) is missing from the inscription, leaving only “Mitrovica” – a name for the city not officially recognized in Kosovo law. The new municipal coat of arms is also part of the installation.
The original “I love K. Mitrovica” sign, in the colors of the Serbian tricolor, was installed in 2020 by the then Provisional Authority of the Municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica.
Although Pristina-based media reported that the replacement was carried out by decision of the local government in North Mitrovica, KoSSev could not independently confirm this.
Visar Syla, an official from Mayor Erden Atić’s cabinet, told the portal Kallxo that they had replaced the Cyrillic sign with a Latin one. He also said that in the sports hall taken over by the municipality, chairs in red, blue, and white were replaced with green and white because they were “in the colors of the Serbian flag.”
While Syla spoke to Pristina media, KoSSev reporters tried repeatedly to reach him but received no reply. On one occasion, after answering our call and hearing our introduction, he remained silent before the call was abruptly disconnected. Attempts to call back went unanswered.
Syla, along with other members of the municipal administration and the mayor himself, has maintained a practice of ignoring local Serbian-language media. In the rare instances when he did respond, it was reportedly only after the intervention of Veton Elshani, deputy commander for the North region.
Reactions and criticism
The replacement of the sign immediately drew condemnation.
Serb List, represented by its candidate for mayor, Milan Radojević, along with several candidates for municipal assembly, criticized the removal of the installation – doing so while recording an election campaign video directly across the street from where the works were underway at the time.
„This is what the wet dreams of the ultra-ethnonationalists from Kurti’s Self-Determination look like,” the Serbian Democracy party said in a statement.
“They want to abolish the municipality of North Mitrovica while dreaming of a ‘united Mitrovica’ with no place for Serbs, Bosniaks, or Gorani.”
The party further accused the Kosovo authorities of erasing Serbian identity by removing Cyrillic, while also misusing the Serbian language in the new inscription: “Volim Mitrovica” instead of the grammatically correct “Volim Mitrovicu.”
“They want to erase every trace of us and deny our identity,” the statement read. At the same time, Serbian Democracy criticized its rival, Srpska Lista, for filming a campaign video just meters away from where the Cyrillic “I Love K. Mitrovica” sign had been removed and replaced.
The Civic Initiative North for All also voiced criticism. Its candidate for the North Mitrovica assembly, Ivan Miletić, was detained by the Kosovo Police near the site where the illuminated sign had recently been removed.
The initiative said Miletić was punished for using a car siren, describing the move as “repression” and a violation of freedom of expression. Police confirmed the detention, stating that Miletić was fined €30 for using a siren without justification, which is prohibited under traffic law.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
