A special session of the Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica convened today at 4 PM ended without decisions due to a lack of quorum, marking yet another failed attempt to establish a Security Commission.
Out of the required ten members for a quorum, only eight municipal representatives were present, rendering the session invalid. The agenda included two items:
Formation of the Municipal Security Commission;
Proposal to transfer 20 job positions from budget code 75170 to 85118 for fiscal year 2025.
This was the first assembly meeting held since local elections were officially announced for October 12.
Despite the failed session, Assembly Chair Nexhmedin Ugljanin emphasized that the municipality must continue fulfilling its duties and pledged to “always respond to citizens’ needs” until the end of his mandate. He also announced that additional sessions will be held in the near future.
Security Commission – Still Just a Proposal
This is not the first time the Security Commission has failed to be formed. A regular session on May 31 also ended without progress on this front.
The proposed commission is intended to include representatives from religious communities, municipal officials, local community members, security institutions, parent councils, and local NGOs. It would function within the framework of the municipal security zone, dealing with matters of safety and public order deemed important for the residents.
The idea gained urgency following a multi-ethnic incident in late May involving several Serbian high school graduates and guests of Albanian-run cafés in North Mitrovica. The altercation, allegedly sparked by provocative language and behavior, escalated when a member of the Kosovo Police reportedly grabbed one of the students by the neck. The event heightened tensions and drew the attention of international observers and Western diplomats based in Pristina.
This occurred in parallel with growing concern among residents about reports of alleged sexual harassment of local women by visitors from the southern part of Mitrovica – a topic that also captured the interest of international agencies and diplomatic missions.
Increased Police Presence and Community Engagement
In response, the Kosovo Police launched a new operational plan, deploying additional patrols equipped with body cameras.
Both the police and North Mitrovica Mayor Erden Atiq appeared at a public forum organized by a local NGO, specifically addressing security concerns in the northern part of the city.
The very next day, the municipality attempted to establish the Security Commission, which does not currently exist in the municipal structure. According to officials, the purpose of the commission would be to “identify citizen needs and assess the current security situation in the municipality.”
So far, however, efforts to bring this initiative to life continue to fall short – blocked not by public resistance, but by an ongoing lack of political consensus and attendance in the local assembly.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
