Today marks exactly 26 years since the February violence in North Mitrovica. On the evening of February 3, 2000, several hand grenades were thrown into the then popular “Bel Ami” café. One of them exploded, seriously injuring more than ten young people.
The incident triggered immediate retaliatory violence by groups of Serbs. Ten Albanian civilians were killed, and Albanian residents — primarily from the central part of the town — were forced to leave.
In remembrance of the victims, a memorial plaque will be installed tomorrow at 11:00 on the new pedestrian bridge connecting the southern and northern parts of Mitrovica, South Mitrovica mayor Faton Peci announced this morning.
At noon, an exhibition of photographs from the February night of 2000 will be held at the nearby Cultural Center, followed by a candle-lighting ceremony on the bridge.
Announcing the agenda, Peci himself reflected on the events:
“The 26th anniversary of the Night of Terror for Albanian residents in North Mitrovica. The night between February 3 and 4, 2000, culminated in killings, injuries and the ethnic cleansing of Albanians from the north. In honor of the 10 Albanians killed, 25 injured and around 12,000 expelled from the north, the municipality will install a memorial plaque, organize a photo exhibition, and hold a candle-lighting ceremony — as a reminder of the pain and sacrifice in defense of freedom and property.”
KoSSev requested comment from the Mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojević. No response was received by the time of publication.
What else happened in February 2000
For residents in the north, early February 2000 is also remembered through what is known as the “Bel Ami and UNHCR bus case,” which directly preceded the violence against Albanians.
On February 1, a UNHCR bus transporting elderly Serbian residents and children from an enclave in the South Mitrovica region was shelled. Two passengers were killed.
Two days later, on the evening of February 3, one of several grenades thrown into the crowded Bel Ami café exploded, injuring more than ten young people, some severely, including cases of limb amputation.
Shortly after, groups of Serbs carried out violence against Albanian residents in the northern part of the town.
Competing narratives of victimhood
Both immediately after the events of February 2000 and decades later, public discourse on both sides has largely focused only on their own victims.
Serbian-language media for years recalled exclusively the wounding of young Serbs in the café and the killing of elderly passengers in the UNHCR bus.
Conversely, the Albanian side increasingly marks the anniversary by focusing on Albanian victims.
This year as well, recalling the events of February 3, Zeri portal — alongside photographs and the names of those killed — repeats Peci’s claim that 12,000 Albanians were expelled from the northern part of Mitrovica, in addition to the ten killed.
Prištinski zvaničnici o „noći užasa“ 2000. u Severnoj Mitrovici; Kurti pisao EU – traži istragu
UNHCR report: 4,500 Albanians lived in the north before the escalation
The figure of 12,000 expelled Albanians was first publicly cited last year by Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the same anniversary. Similar figures were later used by Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla and President Vjosa Osmani.
However, a UNHCR report dated February 11, 2000, still publicly available, estimates that around 4,500 Albanians were living in the north prior to the February escalation.
According to the same report, over 630 Albanians officially registered with UNHCR as displaced within a week after the violence.
“UNHCR believes the actual number of those who left the north is much higher, as most people left without registering and stayed with friends and relatives elsewhere in Kosovo,” the report states.
The report also noted cases of looting and, in some instances, Serbs occupying property left behind by Albanians.
Zeri names Delibašić and Ivanović
Zeri further states, citing testimonies and earlier reports, that the events were allegedly coordinated by structures of the Serbian Ministry of Interior, naming Dragan Delibašić and Oliver Ivanović as responsible for actions that led to killings and expulsions.
However, Dragan Delibašić, a retired Serbian MUP colonel who did face judicial proceedings for war crimes charges, was acquitted of all charges in 2016 before Kosovo courts.
Oslobađajuća presuda Delibašiću: Trijumf pravde. Nevin čovek proveo 712 dana u pritvoru
Oliver Ivanović, leader of the Civic Initiative SDP, was in the same 2016 trial sentenced in the first instance to nine years in prison for war crimes against Albanian civilians committed in April 1999 in South Mitrovica. At the same time, he was acquitted of charges related to killings and attempted killings from 2000.
The verdict was issued by the Basic Court in Mitrovica after more than a year of trial and three years in detention. Ivanović was released from prison in 2017 while awaiting the Appeals Court decision. His defense insisted there was no final verdict and expected the Appeals Court to overturn the ruling.
Ivanović, however, did not live to see the outcome. He was assassinated on January 16, 2018, in front of his party office in North Mitrovica. The investigation into those who ordered the killing still has no final judicial conclusion.
Despite Delibašić’s acquittal, Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla years later publicly referred to him as a participant in those structures — claims Delibašić has denied.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
