A new controversy over the lake – to whom were Gazivode bequeathed?

Gazivode have been a point of contention between Pristina and Belgrade for years, and tensions are threatening to flare up again after members of Self-Determination claimed that the lake was "bequeathed to them by their ancestors." While Serbs in the north see such statements as provocations and are increasingly concerned for their safety, historians warn of yet another distortion of facts by the Pristina regime, which aims to "drown" all Serbian cultural and historical heritage in Kosovo.

Written by: Petar Rosic

Since the declaration of independence, Gazivode has become a key issue in political negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. Control over the lake now holds not only practical but also symbolic significance.

Hence, the authorities in Pristina are trying by all possible means to prove they control Gazivode, daily publishing selfies from the lake, attracting swimmers, and organizing events.

Last week, diving from the bridge over the lake marked the Day of Remembrance for police officers who died in the line of duty. Albin Kurti's Self-Determination used the occasion to assert that Gazivode is the most valuable asset Kosovo has and that it was "bequeathed to them by their ancestors."

Numerous Albanian opposition politicians criticized Albin Kurti's government, claiming that the "farce at Gazivode" was providing "bread and circuses" to the people while they were guarded by armed special forces.

On the other hand, Serbs in northern Kosovo told Kosovo Online that such actions by Kurti's government and statements about the "bequest" have greatly disturbed them.

"Pure provocation. Who left it to them? When did an Albanian live in Zubin Potok? Never. There is no historical record of it," said a resident of Ibarski Kolasin.

Bojan Kovacevic reminded us that Serbian villages were flooded to create this artificial lake.

"That's a total lie. Gazivode is ours because, back in the 13th century, the first Serbian girls' school was founded at the court of Helen of Anjou, Queen of Serbia. A school and a church were submerged there, and a few villages were flooded where Gazivode is now. One of the largest villages in Kolasin was Rezalo, which was flooded and now lies under the lake. No one could leave that to them as a legacy, nor can it be theirs. It has always been ours. They have some power they use for their propaganda to say it's theirs, they can do that, they are stronger at the moment, but that's not how it is," Kovacevic asserts.

He adds that there were very few Albanians in Kolasin and that they mostly came for swimming from Cabra.

"But very few. And now, we don't even feel safe to go swimming with our children. They sing Albanian songs, mention the KLA... For children and women to hear that... They don't behave decently, but what can we do," he adds.

Another resident of Ibarski Kolasin adds that visitors of Albanian nationality have only started to frequent the area this year.

"I believe the lake is ours, and this year Albanians and people from the southern side have been coming and provoking us. I think that's not right because those who have been coming here for years didn't deserve this. Everything would be fine if they didn't provoke us and behave in this manner," says this young man, who, like his fellow citizens, emphasizes that he no longer feels safe.

The residents' outrage over the rewriting of history is confirmed by Luka Jovanovic, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of North Mitrovica. He assesses that Albanians, as with everything else Serbian in Kosovo, want to erase the ethnic, cultural, and religious character of Gazivode.

Jovanovic told Kosovo Online that the entire geographical area of Ibarski Kolasin represents a unit that was historically inhabited exclusively by Serbs and that, both culturally, linguistically, and historically, it exudes a purely Serbian character.

"Through history, we could see that on the 12 square kilometers that the Gazivode lake now covers, there used to be 14 exclusively Serbian villages that were displaced in the 1970s due to the construction of the reservoir. In that area, or rather beneath the lake, lie Serbian houses, Serbian villages, countless churches, and two Serbian monasteries," says the professor from North Mitrovica.

He recalls that in the area of Ibarski Kolasin, Queen Helen of Anjou established her seat in the Middle Ages, from which she governed the state together with her sons Milutin and Dragutin.

Even in the later period, at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the entire Balkan region experienced tectonic ethnic shifts, the area of Ibarski Kolasin retained its purely Serbian character.

He emphasizes that today the water and electricity supply to Pristina and the surrounding area depends precisely on Lake Gazivode, which fills Lake Gracanica and cools the Obilic thermal power plant. However, Serbia has never exploited this.

"I will just say that in the years after 1999, 2004, and 2008, even though Gazivode was in Serbian hands, Pristina never lacked electricity or water, while the authorities in Pristina always looked for ways to cut off water and electricity to the residents of Mitrovica, Zvecan, and Kolasin. And then we once again showed our humane side and that we are bigger people than those who persecute us," our interlocutor underscores.

He notes that despite everything, as with everything else in Kosovo, Albanians today are inventing the history and etymology of Gazivode, erasing its Serbian ethnic, cultural, and religious character.

"These statements that Albanians' ancestors left them Lake Ujman, as they call it, can only allude to the fact that knowing that 14 Serbian villages were displaced to build Gazivode, they have once again taken an irredentist approach. Everything related to the large-scale displacement of Serbs and the great pogroms of Serbs can be linked to Albanians and their ancestors," says Jovanovic.

Politicians from Pristina often argue that Gazivode was built with funds from Kosovo. Dr. Petar Ristanovic, a research associate at the Institute for Serbian Culture in Leposavic, says such claims are fundamentally inaccurate, as Serbia is still paying off the 1972 loan from the World Bank.

Ristanovic explains to Kosovo Online that this hydro system on the Ibar River was built after extensive preparations as one of the crucial projects for the development of Kosovo.

"The idea was to create the large Ibar-Lepenac system, which was supposed to generate electricity, provide water supply for most of Kosovo, and, of course, bring economic profit to the province. Thus, in 1972, a loan was taken from the World Bank, and the project began construction. After 12 years, only part of it was completed. Lepenac, the other half, was never built," our interlocutor notes.

He adds that today the significance of Gazivode for Kosovo is fundamental because it is one of the most important strategic facilities.

"Without water from Gazivode, a good part of central Kosovo would not have a water supply. Even more importantly, the water from Gazivode is used to cool the Kosovo A and Kosovo B thermal power plants, without which Kosovo would practically not have enough electricity to meet household needs. Finally, Gazivode is important for some economic aspects, although this is the least significant in the whole situation," he notes.

In response to the claims by members of Self-Determination that Gazivode was "bequeathed to the Albanians by their ancestors," Ristanovic replies that "the lake was left to them by the then Yugoslavia," specifically the federal government which guaranteed the loan from the World Bank.

"Politicians from Kosovo often state that Gazivode, or the Ibar hydro system, was paid for with funds from Kosovo, which is formally true but essentially inaccurate. The funds were transferred to a company established in Pristina, Kosovo, but these were World Bank funds guaranteed by the federal government. As far as I know, Serbia is still repaying the last portions of that loan," he explains.

Ristanovic sees the constant rewriting of history, including the case of Gazivode, as a behavioral model of the regime in Pristina, led by Albin Kurti.

"I think this fits into the current government's pattern of behavior in Pristina, specifically Kurti and his associates, who make maximalist demands without any willingness for talks and negotiations. So far, they have been accustomed to getting what they ask for, and they continue in that direction. How long this will last, we shall see," says Ristanovic.