Bozovic: Force is being demonstrated, "Trepca" is not the owner of the land

The Director of the Directorate for Infrastructure in the Municipality of North Mitrovica, Ruzica Bozovic, commenting on today’s demolition of garages in the municipality, assessed that what is taking place is a show of force by the police and the company Trepca South. She explained that the company Trepca appears in the cadastre as the owner of the parcel, but that this is not accurate, since the land is socially owned, and that 80 percent of the territory, both in the north and the south, is registered under Trepca, as once the strongest company in the area.

“Today we are witnessing that the police and the company ‘Trepca South’ are demonstrating force in North Mitrovica. Garages that have existed for 50 or 60 years have been demolished. This is part of a historical legacy where ‘Trepca’ appears in the cadastre as the owner, which is not correct. It appears as such, but Trepca is only the user. There is state, social, and private ownership of land. This is socially owned land, which we inherited from the former Yugoslavia, and it was not transferred but remained registered under ‘Trepca’. Eighty percent of the territory, both in the north and the south, is registered under ‘Trepca’, given that in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, it was the strongest company, and it built housing for its workers, since 90 percent of Mitrovica’s residents worked for Trepca, and it remained that way. These garages have existed for 50 or 60 years, and I do not know who they were bothering,” Bozovic said.

She also explained that the Municipality has contracts with companies responsible for demolitions on its territory, but that in this case, even that procedure was bypassed, and that the company “Trepca South” carried out the demolition with its own machinery.

“The police and ‘Trepca South’ have completely ignored the local self-government of North Mitrovica. They removed everything this morning, neither the Municipality nor the directorates, municipal bodies, the mayor, nor anyone else was involved. The Municipality has contracts with certain companies that carry out demolitions, maintain infrastructure, lighting, water supply, sewage… They simply did not contact us at all. They came to the site, demolished the structures, and left. This means that someone else can manage and do whatever they want within the administrative boundaries of North Mitrovica. So why do we exist at all?” she asked.

Bozovic believes that the involvement of international representatives is necessary so that this does not become a practice and that additional structures on the North Mitrovica territory are not placed on the demolition list.

“Neither the police nor anyone else consults us. That is why I ask for this to be raised to a higher level. Kosovo law clearly defines the competences of local self-government and what it is responsible for. Under the law, we are competent for such actions. I also call on the international community to become fully involved in all of this and to support the leadership of North Mitrovica,” Bozovic appealed.