„This is not how the rule of law is enforced. You are misapplying your own law. That is not the way this can be done. If you want to apply your own law, do it properly. Suspend this process. Tell people what it’s about, explain your own decision in a way it should be clarified, and then come here for a public discussion,“ legal expert Dragutin Nenezic told expropriation experts from Pristina today at a public discussion on the expropriated land in Leposavic.
The decision of the Kosovo authorities in mid-January to expropriate a hill covering over 83 ha of land in the Leposavic municipality greatly disturbed residents of the north. The land in question falls under two cadastral zones – the villages of Dren and Lesak, both private and state-owned. This was actually one of many decisions on expropriation made by the Kosovo government, and in actuality, over 138 ha of land in the north of Kosovo has been expropriated by Pristina over the last 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.
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.
They pointed out that today’s discussion was not scheduled on time and that it should have been held before the decision was made.
Both lawyers and locals alike say they are dissatisfied with today’s discussion in Leposavic, due to the partial answers they received from the representatives of the Expropriation Department.
„I would like to hear what those people who ranked Kosovo as the most advanced jurisdiction in terms of the rule of law in the Western Balkans think about this kind of complete disregard for the rule of law,“ Nenezic said today, pointing out that Kosovo violated the laws, the constitution, but also the framework convention of the Council of Europe on minority rights.
„Suspend this process and tell people what it’s about“
Nenezic served as a proxy of Miroljub Josovic from the cadastral municipality of Lesak.
At the beginning of his address, Nenezic drew attention to the fact that from the beginning of the discussion, the question of procedure was highlighted, saying that it would be more appropriate to deal with it within the appropriate procedures that would be initiated if the current process of land expropriation in Lesak and Dren is not suspended
„I would like to talk about the essence,“ he underlined.
Emphasizing that the decision of the Kosovo government states that the expropriation is related to infrastructure projects of public interest and that Murati himself said during his presentation that it is about economic development, road construction, and optical cables, Nenezic stated:
„I have to ask you, I assume that you are not from the municipality of Leposavic and Zubin Potok – can you explain to me, for example, the location of VeljiBreg, show me where it is on the map? Can you explain what kind of miracle of modern engineering can turn a road from two unconnected locations, or what kind of optical cable goes from one place to another, between which there are several tens of kilometers? Something here is not right.“
He then read out loud what he interpreted as a transparent explanation of the decision on expropriation for the sake of road widening works in Bajgora, which belongs to the municipality of South Mitrovica. The expropriation in the North was not explained in the same way, Nenezic noted.
„There is something you won’t tell us. These people have a right to know if this expropriation is carried out, and I sincerely hope that it won’t be. I think I speak on behalf of the people here when I say that they will do everything to prevent it from being implemented. These people have a right to know what you want to do. As my colleague Miljkovic said, you are dancing around the issue. You are dancing around with that essence. You persistently refuse to communicate it,“ he said.
„There are a number of formal omissions, but essentially what is happening now is illegal. You started with the preparatory work before you made the decision. You have adopted a decision which, if the law is read correctly, could not have been adopted. That goal is not defined because there is no appropriate documentation that should be attached by law. All this should not have happened. You have proceedings that have been initiated. You have a question – how is it possible to change the use of land from agricultural to construction without anyone being informed about it? These are not issues that can be addressed by only one law. Therefore, these are issues at the level of the Constitution. These are issues at the level of international conventions that are directly applied in the Constitution. You are violating the framework convention of the Council of Europe on national minorities. Among other things, you are trying to destroy a municipality with a Serb majority, formally hiding behind some kind of procedure, behind some kind of semblance of legality that you are now trying to create with this public discussion that should have happened a few months ago, before any of this happened.“
Nenezic noticed another detail, namely, the title of the presentation that the representatives of the Expropriation Department brought today from Pristina reads „Brezovica“ – instead of the Leposavic municipality.
„You didn’t make an effort. You didn’t even bother to change the name on the presentation. So much for how interested you are in what is happening here today,“ he stressed.
Nenezic, who participated in the discussion when the land was expropriated in Brezovica, testified today that the discussion on Brezovica land was organized in a manner that was markedly different in that it was more legal and transparent:
„It wasn’t like this. The decisions about Brezovica were not worded like this. You gave some examples for some municipalities, but they are all examples of municipalities that do not match Leposavic in terms of ethnic composition. When the expropriation was carried out in Brezovica, it went quite differently. I must ask you, why aren’t you following the law? You are hereby calling into question a whole series of constitutionally guaranteed rights that each of these people has, while not revealing your true intentions for a single moment. That’s just not the way it’s done. I’m telling you, these people here must persevere and use all available legal means to reveal the truth, otherwise – thousands and thousands of public discussions will all be in vain.“
He also highlighted another detail – how the government in Pristina every now and then brags about progress in the rule of law in „some index“, while the illegality of the procedure in the North is being implemented.
„This is not how the rule of law is enforced. I would like to hear what those people who ranked Kosovo as the most advanced jurisdiction in terms of the rule of law in the Western Balkans think about such a complete disregard for the rule of law. You are misapplying your own law. You’re trying to convince us that you are applying it in the right way. That’s not the way to do it. And if you want to apply your own law, do it properly. Suspend this process. Tell the people what it’s about, explain your decision the way it should be clarified, and then come here for a public discussion.“
Murati: Everything was done according to the law
Director of the Expropriation Department in Pristina, Afrim Murati, claims that after the Kosovo government made the decision on expropriation, the news was published in a newspaper.
„We informed every owner about this public discussion. We sent each owner – in envelopes – the decision in the Serbian language, the Law on Expropriation in the Serbian language and the administrative instructions based on which the property is assessed,“ alleged Murati.
He added that he also sent a notice to the president of the Leposavic municipality, confirming, however, that several envelopes were returned to Pristina, including the one addressed to Todic.
„We sent those envelopes to everyone and we announced the decision regarding the public goal to the Serbs. The Expropriation Department, when it adopts a decision on expropriation, takes into account the public good, which we highlighted in Article 4“.
He said that all comments made at the public hearing would be considered individually.
„The Law on Expropriation foresees a preliminary decision, and after that there is a period of 12 months within which the final decision should be made. Any party or land owner has the right to object to the expropriation process,“ Murati said.
He claimed that only preparatory works for expropriation were carried out on the field.
„All over the world, preparatory works, and terrain measurements are carried out before the expropriation process. We are here at the public discussion to get a notice since this is about the construction and paving of the road, the expansion, it is intended for the citizens and economic development,“ stated Murati.
Murati’s statement was met with derision and sarcastic applause from the gathered locals.
„Our decision is to widen the street and pave the road,“ Murati said.
He explained that this enables communication and he also mentioned the installation of an „optical cable“, which also caused laughter from those present.
Murati repeatedly emphasized that this is just a preliminary decision.
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.
