Kosovo authorities entered and closed the premises of the Serbian-run „Institution for Sports, Youth, and Specialized Services“ in North Mitrovica earlier today. The facility also housed the „Kosovo and Metohija Sports Association“ and the cultural association „KUD ‘Kosovski Božur'“.
Petar Trajković, the director of the Institution for Sports, spoke to KoSSev following the event, providing details of the closure.
According to Trajković, municipal officials from North Mitrovica, accompanied by Kosovo police, entered the building around noon.
„They told me that this building is no longer the property of the Municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica, but of the Municipality of North Mitrovica, and that we are required to vacate it,“ Trajković stated.
Officials further informed them that they could submit a request to the Municipality of North Mitrovica if they wished to continue operating.
„If we want to continue our work, they said we could apply to the Municipality of North Mitrovica,“ Trajković added.
A significant number of officials reportedly entered the building, removing sports emblems and logos.
„They entered the offices, taking down the symbols we had as a sports organization and everything that even slightly resembled anything Serbian, anything representing Serbs… Even the institution’s logo was removed,“ Trajković recounted.
He also mentioned that authorities told them they could retrieve the symbols at a later time.
Today, employees were instructed to collect only their personal belongings before officials changed the locks on the doors.
The closure of the sports institution coincided with the eviction of employees from the offices of the Serbian-run public utility company, ‘Vodovod Ibar,’ which was taken over by Kosovo authorities yesterday.
Vodovod Ibar Employees Ordered to Vacate Offices Following New Directive from Pristina
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