Citizens of North Mitrovica on Svecla’s visits: Provocation, people don’t feel free

Informal visits by Kosovo ministers to the north of Kosovo are becoming more frequent. Yesterday, Ministers Xhelal Svecla and Elbert Krasniqi visited a cafe near the main bridge in North Mitrovica, accompanied by heavily armed special units. Today, residents of this city told Kosovo Online that they perceived such visits as provocations.

A resident of Suvi Do compared their visits to the everyday situation in his area.

"You see, it’s pure provocation. There are many provocations in Suvi Do too, they pass by in cars and on motorcycles. They do it constantly, revving their engines," he says.

A fellow resident expressed her sadness and frustration about the visits of Kosovo ministers.

"I am so sad that this gentleman shows up here at all and drinks coffee among the remaining locals, and it's questionable whether there will be any left," she said.

One Mitrovica resident told us that these visits make Serbs feel unsafe in this city.

"Honestly, in my opinion, it’s a form of provocation. I don’t understand why they need so much security when they come to sit down, there are so many uniformed and plainclothed people. People in the north don’t feel free. I think it’s a kind of provocation, and there’s no need for it. People are a bit panicked, I can say, not just because of this, but because of everything that’s happening. Various shops are being opened, taken over, cameras are being installed... In every sense, provocations are being carried out against the people in the north," he emphasized.

An elderly lady mentioned that she had heard which cafe the ministers had visited.

"I just heard that they opened a cafe by the bridge. They’re taking over shops, believe me, I don’t know what will happen and how it will be," she said.