Budimir Ignjatović, a resident of the village of Banov Do, through which a road of unknown purpose is currently under construction, is adamant that it is being built for the needs of the police and “the army.” Although the police say that these speculations are false and that the road will be used by the locals, Ignjatović says that he does not believe the police. He also has no trust in the international missions present in Kosovo because „they defend them“. He said that he is also troubled by the fact that they were not informed about these works, which pass through both his and his neighbors’ private land. „We don’t have life here anymore unless someone does something,“ he stressed.
Ignjatović said that once the works reached his property his son warned the police and workers that it was private property.
They first halted the construction, and then continued it, going down the hill all the way to the river.
He asked the police how they can do this:
„I told them, you are passing us by the house itself, by the wall. You didn’t even ask whose property it was. It is a rural road for only two houses“.
They didn’t care about that, so during the works, he testified, they chopped down 30 plum trees and passed over his field.
„They made a disaster. I still don’t know how deep into my field they went in,” this local told KoSSev.
To his numerous questions, he only received one answer that „it’s all state land“.
He says that they did not receive any document about the works, nor a warning.
„We didn’t get anything in writing or verbally. They didn’t even come to ask us. No, no, they just struck violently,“ he says.
„I told them: do as you must, it’s your country, your power. We, with empty hands, bare hands – we can’t do anything to you. But I know that for 1,000 years we were the natives, and you were the newcomers.“
According to Ignjatović, there is no life here anymore because of everything that is done against the will of the citizens. He also warned of another problem – deforestation.
„We cannot let the children pass freely there. We can’t even go out into the forest anymore. And they are cutting down our forest. In the morning, you can hear the saw from 7 o’clock,“ claims this elderly resident.
He mentioned the old saying “Better the grave than a slave”:
„We don’t have life here, unless someone does something.“
Although he has hopes something will be done, he accuses the international missions in Kosovo of constantly defending the other side.
„KFOR, EULEX, UNMIK – they defend them all. Let them pass. We are not attacking anyone. They protect them.“
Ignjatović is adamant that the road is being built for the army, claiming to have information about it.
„The road is being built for the army to occupy us. They have shooting exercises in Mitrovica. Foreigners are arming them.“
He also heard rumors that a police station will be built. Although the police denied these speculations, he says that he does not believe them.
„I don’t trust them at all. I have no trust in them. There is a God. Everyone who does this, and the police, and KFOR, EULEX, UNMIK – may God return the same to you and your family. There’s nothing else to say,“ said a visibly- concerned Ignjatović
A week ago, the leader of the newly formed Serbian Democracy Party, Aleksandar Arsenijević, informed the public that the construction of roads in these villages had begun.
„The works are being carried out on private property and an unknown construction company is illegally constructing the road,“ he warned at the time.
He also said that none of the landowners had been notified about the construction and that they were afraid „armed special forces will be strolling around their yard“.
On the other hand, the Kosovo Police claim that no base for special units is being built, but „just an ordinary road for use by residents“.
At the end of last week, KoSSev reached out to the Kosovo Ministry of Infrastructure, which is responsible for road construction, for more information. However, no answer had arrived by the time the news was published.
This decision was made after the representatives of the Serbian Democracy party, along with the residents of Banov Do, alerted the public and filed a criminal complaint against an unknown person.
At the time, the Kosovo Police said that it was only about part of the route, and that it was a temporary suspension, announcing that in the following days, they would“talk to the locals and explain to them that the road is in their interest“.
The work continued two days later, after the police „talked with the residents of these villages“.
KoSSev learned from a well-informed international source that this is a new attempt by the Kosovo government to expropriate private land, without properly applying the law of the same name.
„They must first launch expropriation procedures,“ our interlocutor told us.
The road that is being built leads all the way into Banov Do village. Arsenijević also told us that he has information that the road will reach all the way to the village of Cabra in Zubin Potok.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
