The 18th session of the municipal assembly was held in North Mitrovica on Friday, the 30th of June. Although not on the agenda, the decision to join the municipality of North Mitrovica to the Association of Kosovo Municipalities was adopted and forwarded to the Kosovo government for consideration. The session was also marked by recently elected Mayor Erden Atic storming out of the assembly hall after the councilors refused to vote on one of his propositions.
The session was attended by Atic, his deputy Katarina Adzancic, as well as a representative of the Kosovo Ministry of Local Self-Government and members of KFOR.
At the very beginning of the session, the mayor presented a proposal to adopt a decision on joining the municipality of North Mitrovica to the Association of Kosovo Municipalities.
In fact, Atic confirmed on June 1st that he sent a request for membership to the President of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities on behalf of the municipality of North Mitrovica.
The only ethnic Serb councilor in the assembly, Dusan Milunovic, opposed the decision, saying that it was not brought up during discussions, and that most councilors were unprepared.
„At the committee for politics and finance, the topic of the Association of Municipalities, which the mayor is now mentioning, was not raised. It’s true that we don’t have a transcriber and that’s very interesting, but there is a sound recording and that wasn’t mentioned. We did not discuss that topic, which means that today most councilors were unprepared to talk about it,“ Milunovic said.
He also pointed out that this issue is of great interest for citizens in the north and such issues require public debate.
„I am not saying that you should not add this item to the agenda, but that the procedures with the statute of the municipality of North Mitrovica, adopted by the majority of votes and has not been changed so far, are respected. There is a way to consult the public and organize a public debate, and for citizens to voice their opinions. Furthermore, we are in the situation we are in, where every topic is of high risk and can lead to new escalations. We enter this completely unprepared,“ he said.
Other councilors of this municipal assembly, however, supported the mayor’s proposal and adopted the decision, which was forwarded to the Kosovo government for further consideration.
Srpska Lista: Null and void decision, citizens are interested in the ASM
The decision was criticized by SL, which said that it serves the interests of Albin Kurti – not the citizens.
„Like all decisions so far, the decision on membership in the Kosovo Association of Municipalities, which was made by the illegal and illegitimate parliamentary majority of the North Mitrovica municipality, is null and void, and not one citizen of the North Mitrovica municipality deems it as legitimate,“ they said.
They claim that Kurti thus wants to continue escalating the situation on the ground, triggering additional tensions, and placing even more pressure on the people.
They also add that citizens in the north are only interested in the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.„Our citizens are only interested in the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, as the umbrella institution of the Serbian people, which, by uniting Serbian municipalities into this institution, will protect itself from the regime of Albin Kurti, or someone else who would like to build their political career on the repression of the Serbian people,“ SL said.
Atic then presented another proposal, which was also not on the agenda, concerning the land located near the Fire Station in North Mitrovica.
He proposed to annex this land to the Directorate of Emergencies.
The chairman of the MA, Nedzad Ugljanin, however, refused to consider this proposal, after which Atic stormed out of the assembly hall. His deputy, Katarina Adzancic, remained present.
Ugljanin said that this request was not presented to councilors and the municipal assembly for review.
„He wanted us to vote for the land where the fire station is to be annexed to the emergency department. We refused it because that request was not given to us for review and thus it was not voted on, and he then left in revolt,“ Ugljanin told KoSSev.
At the session, Ugljanin also addressed the recent installation of panels with Kosovo symbols and the Kosovo flag in front of the municipal building, as well as the new municipal seal.
He emphasized that the newly elected mayor did not discuss this issue with councilors in the assembly.
The councilor requested that displaced Albanians return to the north
Another proposal was also presented during Friday’s session.
Councilor Betim Osmani asked to consider the return of displaced Albanians to their homes in the north, where they lived until 1999.
However, the MA chairman did not accept this proposal for consideration.
„He made a verbal request, which we did not accept because it is not within our competence, but within the competence of the Ministry for Communities and Return,“ emphasized Ugljanin.
Flood victims have yet to receive aid
It was also confirmed that aid for the citizens affected by the January floods totaling 300,000 euros, which was set aside at the end of February, has not yet been paid out.
„Five or six days ago, I handed over a number of amendments that had to be made to the Director of Emergencies, and we can no longer wait for that payment to be made, we know that the cadaster is facing a problem here,“ said Ugljanin.
He emphasized that people who returned to their homes after the floods are still living in undesirable conditions.
„We should inform you that, unfortunately, we are now also dealing with lice. Children who returned to live in poor conditions have lice. We have to work on these cases as soon as possible.“
The deputy chairman of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly, Skender Sadiku, commented on the poisoning of animals and the problem of many abandoned dogs on the streets of North Mitrovica.
He said that it is necessary to help and provide financial assistance to the Animal Protection Association „Sapa“.
At Friday’s session, all the announced decisions were voted on – the decision to adopt the plan for citizens’ participation in the decision-making process in the municipality, as well as the decision to use subsidies for NGOs, individual social cases, scholarships, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Amid the latest crisis in the north of Kosovo, and at the end of yesterday’s session, it was confirmed that the security situation will be discussed at the next session, and that representatives of the Kosovo Police will also address the councilors.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
