Jevtic: Privatization Agency's decision is twisted and represents a continuation of Pristina Government's terror

Dalibor Jevtić
Source: Kosovo Online

Dalibor Jevtic, Vice President of the Serb List and Mayor of Strpce, says that the Privatization Agency's decision to lease out properties within the municipality without their consent is a continuation of institutional terror and violence by the Pristina government, aimed at making life difficult for the citizens of Strpce.

Jevtic says that the decision by the Kosovo Privatization Agency is twisted, to say the least.

"The Kosovo Privatization Agency has made a twisted decision that goes against the interests of the citizens and workers of 'Intex.' They have issued a public call for leasing several properties in the municipality of Strpce, including the building where Hotel Breza is located, the city cafe in the center of Strpce, and several buildings at the Ski Center. As a local government, we have already formally informed the Kosovo Privatization Agency on several occasions that we oppose both the privatization process and, specifically, the leasing of properties in the town center. This is because, according to the Law on Local Self-Government, we initiated the process of expropriating the city cafe as it is a public interest building," Jevtic explained.

He adds that the international community has the mechanisms to put a stop to such actions by Pristina.

"For some time now, the regime in Pristina has been trying to block the work of local self-government through actions like these, to make life harder for the citizens of this municipality. I firmly believe that there are mechanisms the international community can use to stop such actions, and I call on them to intervene. How is it possible that in North Mitrovica, the Municipal Assembly must approve the use of properties recently taken over by the Pristina regime, while in this case, the local government is being completely ignored? This is critical, and we will address this and other issues at the emergency session of the Municipal Assembly, both in writing and orally, all with the aim of preventing this decision," he added.

Jevtic further notes that the Hotel Breza and the city cafe are in a ruined state and unsafe for use, raising a fundamental question about the economic logic behind leasing such properties.

"Given these simple facts, it is clear that this is about continuing institutional terror and violence by the Pristina authorities in all areas where Serbs live in Kosovo. These decisions further increase pressure on the local population, who oppose this process, and negatively affect the economic interests of the citizens of this municipality. The municipality and I, as its mayor, will oppose this. An emergency session of the Assembly is scheduled for Thursday, where we will adopt a resolution and request to halt the Kosovo Privatization Agency's public call. I also take this opportunity to call on the board members of the Brezovica Ski Center to clearly state whether they agreed with this decision because, without their consent, such a decision is impossible to implement. If they provide written proof that they did not consent, we will use it as an additional argument in our final conclusion, which I strongly believe will be adopted by a two-thirds majority at the Assembly session," Jevtic concluded.