Milovic: Letter on the use of our national symbols is important, so that our children are not arrested on Vidovdan

The Mayor of Zvecan, Dragisa Milovic, stated today at the municipal assembly session that it is significant that representatives of the European Union, the Quint countries, and EULEX sent a letter to Pristina emphasizing that the use of flags and national symbols is a constitutional right of communities. He noted that Serbs have been pointing out for years that their fundamental human rights are being violated, including the right to use their national symbols and flags. Ahead of Vidovdan, he recalled that Serbian youths had previously been arrested for displaying national symbols or wearing T-shirts depicting Serbian monasteries, expressing hope that this year's holiday would pass peacefully, allowing Serbs to commemorate it in an appropriate manner and ensuring that children would not be arrested.

"It is extremely important that representatives of the European Union, the embassies of the Quint countries, and the EULEX mission have sent a letter to the authorities in Pristina requesting that members of minority communities be allowed to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to use national symbols and flags. They explicitly stressed that the use of the symbols and flags of national minorities is a constitutionally guaranteed and protected right. This is highly significant because, for several years now, we have consistently insisted and warned that our fundamental human and democratic rights are being violated, including rights guaranteed by the Constitution, among them the right to use our national symbols and flags," Milovic told municipal councilors, thanking the representatives of the EU, the Quint ambassadors in Pristina, and the Head of EULEX.

He added that the letter had been forwarded to all mayors, both north and south of the Ibar River.

"This is the first positive step—perhaps a small one—but I sincerely hope it will contribute to the stabilization of the situation. Over the years, we have witnessed Serbian youths being arrested, particularly at Gazimestan, when our people gather to commemorate a national holiday, simply because they carried flags bearing national symbols, the flag of the Republic of Serbia, or wore T-shirts depicting monasteries, whether Ostrog or another monastery. The police interpreted such cases as provocation. That is why this is an important step. I hope that Vidovdan, which is only a few days away, will pass peacefully, that we Serbs will be able to commemorate the holiday in the best possible manner, and that our young people—our children—will not be arrested for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights," Milovic emphasized.

At today's session of the Zvecan Municipal Assembly, councilors also adopted the Medium-Term Budget Framework for the 2027–2029 period, as well as the Regulation on Determining the Working Hours of Business Entities in the Municipality.

The President of the Zvecan Municipal Assembly, Srđan Milosavljevic, said that the municipality is facing difficulties in implementing the budget, noting that the funds allocated for this year have still not been fully utilized due to administrative obstacles and the inability to recruit a public procurement officer.

"The Medium-Term Budget Framework has been adopted, while the final budget will be passed in September. This document sets out the framework and projections for the next three years. As you, as well as we employees of the Municipality of Zvecan, have witnessed, the budget adopted by the previous municipal assembly for this year has practically not been spent at all. The reason for this is the inability to employ a public procurement officer who would enable the implementation of procurement procedures in accordance with the law. We are carrying out our duties and striving to make decisions in compliance with the law. However, it is precisely the ministries responsible for upholding the law that are failing to comply with it and are, in every possible way, attempting to obstruct the work of the Municipality of Zvecan, as well as the other municipalities in northern Kosovo," Milosavljevic said.

Regarding the regulation on the working hours of business entities, he recalled that since taking office in December, the municipality has received requests primarily from hospitality business owners, who believed that the working hours prescribed by the previous regulation were overly restrictive.

"They requested that we allow them to extend their working hours in accordance with the law and follow the solutions already in place in other municipalities in northern Kosovo. By adopting this regulation today, we have done exactly that. Hospitality businesses and other economic operators from our municipality actively participated in drafting this regulation," Milosavljevic said.

As explained during the session, the new regulation is expected to allow more flexible business operations for hospitality establishments and other commercial entities.
 

In addition to the items on the session's agenda, the Directorate for Cadastre and Geodesy announced that, beginning Monday, June 29, the Municipal Cadastral Service will start providing services within its jurisdiction.

Citizens will be able to submit applications for the transfer of ownership rights over real estate, correction of errors in the cadastral system, issuance of cadastral documentation, as well as the registration and amendment of cadastral records and other matters falling within the scope of cadastral administration.

Applications may be submitted at the offices of the Municipal Cadastral Service, located on the ground floor of the Municipality of Zvecan building, on every working day from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.