Citizens' protest in North Mitrovica: Disturbing a Serbian cemetery is a criminal act

Former President of the Court of Appeals in North Mitrovica, Nikola Kabasic, today filed a criminal complaint on behalf of several dozen residents of this city against unidentified individuals due to the fact that a road was dug up with heavy machinery across the old Serbian cemetery near the Church of Saint Demetrius yesterday.

The cemetery in Mikronaselje, dating back to the period from 1912 to 1945, was dug up, including areas where monuments were located, and in some parts, even the remains of the deceased who were buried there can be seen.

According to local residents living nearby, the road was constructed solely for the needs of an Albanian whose house is supposed to undergo renovations. They say that there was never a road there, and nobody informed them that it would pass through the Serbian cemetery.

Around twenty discontented citizens gathered near the police station in North Mitrovica today, wanting to file complaints about the disturbance of the cemetery. Upon the police's request not to open multiple cases under the same complaint, it was decided that Kabasic would submit a joint complaint on their behalf.

After submitting the complaint, he thanked the citizens present and emphasized that he had come to file a criminal complaint together with them because a criminal act of desecration and excavation of graves had been committed on the site, which was punishable by law.

"You have heard Veton Elshani, the Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the Northern Region, saying that he doesn't know whether it's a criminal act or unauthorized construction under the jurisdiction of the municipality. That's why we came to tell them that it is indeed a criminal act of desecrating and excavating graves or corpses, which is punishable by law. Since we couldn't all enter the area, I officially filed a criminal complaint, and a case has been opened. They have already dispatched several patrols to the scene, as well as a forensic team to document everything, gather evidence, and identify the individuals responsible for it. I expect that, once the facts are known, the prosecution will initiate an official investigation against the instigator, the financier of the job, and the contractors," Kabasic said.

He notes that this is not a political issue but a question of whether coexistence can be built with mutual respect.

"The cemetery is clearly marked, with over 30 gravestones. They range from several decades to several hundred years old. Citizens of the Suvi Do and Kosovska Mitrovica area were buried here until the 1960s. The cemetery is clearly marked. According to any laws, a road cannot be built here. I did not want to turn this into a political issue; it's a legal and civilizational matter, a boundary of humanity that distinguishes people from non-people. Do we want to live like a normal world, do we want to build relationships and coexistence with mutual respect? Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti constantly calls for the rule of law, and now we have officially filed a criminal complaint to see how this system functions," Kabasic stated.

Stefan Veljkovic, a resident of Mikronaselje, said that he and Aleksandar Arsenijevic had attempted to contact the Kosovo Police this morning but that they had acted extremely unprofessionally.

"They bypassed us and said they weren't for TikTok, even though we told them we were on public property and could record whatever we wanted. As a group of desperate and dissatisfied citizens, due to everything that has been happening for the past two years, we want to express our discontent and call on all relevant international and local entities to resolve this issue. If they have started digging up our cemeteries, what can we expect next?" Veljkovic asked.