Municipality of Shtrpce: The action of removing cameras in the city is another pressure and violence of Pristina

The Municipality of Shtrpce said today that behind last week's action to remove video surveillance cameras, which was carried out in this city by the Kosovo Information and Privacy Agency, is not their concern about the "legality of the cameras themselves, but an attempt to present this municipality as an environment in which illegal activities take place".

In the announcement of the Municipality of Shtrpce, they referred to the action of the Information and Privacy Agency of Kosovo, within which, with the assistance of the police, on Thursday, May 4, a control of the video surveillance cameras installed in the territory of the Municipality of Shtrpce was carried out.

"This action comes after the previous action that was carried out on July 7, 2022, at the village festival of Shtrpce, when, according to the Prosecutor's Office in Urosevac and the police, an action was launched to remove, as they said, 'illegal cameras under the suspicion that they were used for espionage in the municipality of Shtrpce. For the sake of the truth, we would first like to inform fellow citizens and the entire public that in that action from July 7 last year, not a single camera was removed because it was determined that the cameras were not in operation. In the action on May 4 this year, the Agency's inspectors for information and privacy removed several cameras that they determined were of older production and could not be put into operation," the statement of the Municipality of Shtrpce states.

It is also added that the incorrect information that the mentioned Agency issued in the press release was that it was about "illegal cameras".

"The cameras, like all other public cameras in the vicinity of religious and educational facilities, were installed legally, according to legal procedures. Once again, we repeat the information that, except near the school in Brezovica, all other cameras were not in operation years ago and before these actions", the announcement reads.

The management of the Municipality of Shtrpce believes that it is a process with a political background, which is only part of everything that is happening in the municipality of Shtrpce from December 2021.

"The management and citizens of the municipality of Shtrpce have been under various forms of institutional pressure and violence coming from Prishtina by the current regime. The need to constantly criminalize the municipality of Shtrpce is something we have been witnessing for a long time. Basic human rights, basic democratic values, freedom, they are violated at every step towards the citizens of the municipality of Shtrpce and the institution of local self-government. Once again, for the sake of truth, the removed cameras were not 'legal as they were not installed illegally", the statement says.

They emphasize that "the Municipality of Shtrpce will always stand on the side of truth and justice because we believe that this is the only way to establish normal values of life".