Andric-Rakic: Kosovo Government representatives are attending the debate only because of the international community pressure

Milica Andric Rakic, on behalf of the NGO "New Social Initiative", pointed out during the debate on land expropriation in Zubin Potok that representatives of the Government of Kosovo were attending today's debate only because of the pressure from the international community to justify the legal basis.

Andric-Rakic told the representatives of the Government of Kosovo that until they clearly stated what would be built on each plot separately, it meant they had not presented the expropriation plan to them.

"We have to repeat it, again and again, until you pay attention, and that is to tell each owner what you are going to build and to show the finished project that will be justified from all legal aspects. You have serious complaints today, as you have in Leposavic, and you will always be in such a situation because you are not doing your job well. The assessment cannot be that this meeting fulfilled its requirements because you did not explain to the people what the expropriation was for. I suggest that at the next discussion, which will be absolutely necessary, you come with answers for these people. You cannot claim you obey the law. How can you say that it is obligatory for you to address in the Albanian language? You are obliged to address the citizens in their mother tongue, not they in yours. You explain that the expansion of the road is being built and that it is about the expansion of the border crossing. Maybe they are lying to you in the government, but you must not lie to these people because there is no crossing in the world that includes 15 hectares of property," Andrić-Rakic pointed out.

Mirjana Vucetic from Zubin Potok said during today's debate that she felt humiliated because she forbade her children to go outside after 5 p.m. because vehicles with armed special forces drive by their house every day.

"You have not only usurped our land, but also freedom of movement and the right to life. We do not give our land, we do not give our hearths. What you are doing is a scandal because our children are greeted by police officers with guns and long guns. You are humiliating us with what you are saying. This nation lives on its ancestral lands – it has not taken anything from anyone, it has not stolen anything from anyone, and we do not want any bases to be built, nor long guns to be pointed at our children," Vucetic said.