A public discussion was scheduled only after the expropriation process was initiated. The residents of Dren and Lesak, who were affected by the expropriation, as well as their legal team, underlined at a recently held public discussion in Leposavic that the law states that the discussion should take place before the start of this process. While noting that the expropriation of more than 80 hectares of land is planned, a legal expert from Belgrade, Dragutin Nenezic, who is also a member of this legal team, revealed that he wonders what kind of base will be built, considering that one of the largest bases in the region – Bondsteel was built on 36ha. According to Nenezic, it is possible that this base, as well as the announced road infrastructure, is being built to facilitate access to the north from South Mitrovica in case of new roadblocks.
After a series of decisions on the expropriation of land in the municipalities of Zubin Potok and Leposavic in 2022, the Kosovo government decided to expropriate large plots of land in the cadastral zones of Lesak and Dren in January of this year.
A project of public importance will be undertaken on the expropriated plots – reads the Kosovo government’s brief announcement. A border police station will be built – a policeman told the media and the residents of Lesak and Dren, who gathered to protest the expropriation.
The works were then suspended. Public discussions on the expropriation were scheduled after the international community reminded Pristina of the law and procedures. The first was held earlier this week in Leposavic, and the second was scheduled for the 21st of February in Zubin Potok.
A legal expert from Belgrade, Dragutin Nenezic, participated in the public discussion in Leposavic as a proxy of one of the residents of Lesak who was affected by the expropriation, thereby joining the local legal team representing the residents of this village and the village of Dren.
In a podcast for KoSSev, he stressed that officials from Pristina failed to answer the question as to what kind of project of public importance is being undertaken on expropriated land, although the police previously confirmed that a border police base is under construction.
„If it’s really a police station, it’s very problematic and against the Law on Police and Border Control and Surveillance,“ warned Nenezic.
He emphasized that the border police’s competencies are clearly defined:
„The border police can exercise their powers only at official crossings, in special stations – border bases located at the crossing and along the border line within a 500-meter zone. Anything beyond that falls outside of their jurisdiction. It is impossible to have a border police base in Lesak, situated 15 kilometers from the crossing.“
According to the data of the Kosovo government, the expropriation of plots with a total size of over 80 hectares is planned in the cadastral zones of Lesak and Dren.
„It would be ridiculous for the base to span 80 hectares. Bondsteel, which is one of the largest, if not the largest, base in the Balkans, covers 36 hectares. So, this one would be twice as big as the Bondsteel. All of this is very problematic,“ said Nenezic.
Speaking about the decision of the Kosovo government, Nenezic recalled that it only reads that an „infrastructure project“ will be implemented and that Pristina officials talked about economic development, road construction, and optical cables during the public discussion.
It is probably true that the road would be built and optical cables installed, he added.
„But that does not rule out the possibility that a base will be built there and that road and those cables will be used by that base,“ he stated.
According to Nenezic, it is possible that this base, as well as stated improvements to road infrastructure, is being built to facilitate access to the north from South Mitrovica in case of new roadblocks.
„What makes sense geographically is that this road could enable police forces to cross from the territory of the municipality of Podujevo or Mitrovica to the territory of the municipality of Leposavic by using some side road to some base located above the main road. That in the case of new barricades, they don’t have to think about whether someone will wait for them or not,“ said Nenezic.
Speaking of the optical cables, he stated that, if a base is built there, the police officers „would need really good internet“.
Nenezic revealed that there are rumors about a possible agreement with Great Britain, which will purportedly „donate some sort of base“.
„We saw members of the British contingent of KFOR at the public discussion. Therefore, it might be true,“ he said, admitting that he is not sure if the information is reliable, that is, if it would be a KFOR or Kosovo Police base.
„If it is a KFOR base, then KFOR should report on all this because KFOR has a procedure as per which they have so far established every base on Serbian and Albanian and no man’s land,“ said Nenezic, stating that it does not seem likely that the expropriation procedure is being carried out because of KFOR.
Read more:
Miljkovic at the debate in Leposavic: What are you building? Certainly not a road
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
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
