The Kosovo authorities’ decision in mid-January to expropriate a hill covering over 83 ha of land in the Leposavic municipality greatly disturbed the citizens of the north. The land in question falls under two cadastral zones – the villages of Dren and Lesak, both privately-owned and state-owned land. This was actually one of many decisions on expropriation made by the Kosovan government, and in actuality, over 138 ha of land in the north of Kosovo was expropriated by Pristina over the past few months. This is also the first decision over which a public discussion was held, although the Kosovo authorities have claimed otherwise.
After the EU reacted in early February, publicly pointing out the shortcomings of the process, the Kosovo government decided on the same day to hold public discussions on February 15th and February 21st in Leposavic and Zubin Potok, but only after the government confirmed that it had made the decisions on expropriation.
Plots of land are being expropriated in the municipalities of Leposavic and Zubin Potok, where special police bases are under construction.
Locals in both municipalities share a common experience – they were not informed about the expropriation in advance, no public discussion was held, and one day, they suddenly found machinery and heavily armed police on their properties.
This is exactly what they pointed out at the discussion in Leposavic today, noting that it should have been held before the decision was made.
Both lawyers and locals alike state they are not satisfied with today’s public discussion due to only partial answers they received from the representatives of the Expropriation Department.
„You are dancing around the issue. You haven’t given us anything specific,“ Predrag Miljkovic, a lawyer from North Mitrovica, told them today.
Miljkovic zeroed in on what the main representative from Pristina said today: That the expropriation is related to road construction and expansion, in the service of citizens and economic development.
It does not make any sense, he stressed.
„That would be like me saying give me 50 hectares of land in Pristina for world peace. That would have no effect, nor would it make any sense.“
Emphasizing that Pristina constantly uses examples of roads, highways, and schools, Miljkovic underscored that he is not interested in examples, but in what is being constructed in Dren and Lesak.
„I am not interested in examples. I am interested in what you’ll do in Dren and Lesak. And as for the story that you are widening the road, you don’t believe it, we don’t believe it, and nor does anyone here believe it,“ he pointed out.
„How come Dren suddenly became the center of the world to require such a road and expansion?“ Miljkovic posited, adding that in case a road needed to be built there, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the municipality.
On the other hand, he added that expropriation with the objective of road construction requires a completely different geographical structure of plots, citing that these plots are completely inadequate for that purpose.
„When we look at these parcels geographically, they form a whole. If you build a road there, it can only be a road that goes in a circle, like a race track or a roundabout,“ he pointed out.
„What are you building? Not a road,“ reads Miljkovic’s question, which remained unanswered.
Read more:
Vlajic: If only you came sooner, no one believes in the honest intentions of the government
CSOs demand that the Kosovo government stop all projects on expropriated land
EU is concerned over the works in LP, asks the government to respect the law and property rights
Locals protest a border police station is being constructed on expropriated land in Leposavic
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