Ristanovic: Street name changes in North Mitrovica part of “Albanization” of Serb communities in Kosovo

Petar Ristanovic, research associate at the Institute for Serbian Culture in Leposavic, stated that the renaming of streets in North Mitrovica is a continuation of efforts to “Albanize” Serb communities in Kosovo, and that this trend will spread to the remaining three municipalities in the north.

“This is yet another step toward the forced integration of northern Kosovo, as well as a kind of political message. When you look at the street names that were erased, they were names with a national theme. Above all, these were streets whose names testified to the Serbian character and Serbian identity of Kosovo and Metohija,” Ristanovic told Kosovo Online.

He believes this represents an attempt at “Albanization” of Serb communities in Kosovo.

“Among Albanians and their leadership, there has been a decades-long tendency in this process of Albanization to erase all symbols of Serbian identity,” Ristanovic stressed.

He noted that the new street names in North Mitrovica were primarily given to figures from Albanian history who were leaders of the “separatist movement.”

“For example, Ali Ahmeti, or Albanians who fought for the unification of a ‘Greater Albania,’ such as Isa Boletini. There are also figures who died in the 1999 war, who today among Albanians are regarded as martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the national cause. One street will bear the name of Sinan Bajrami, a high school student who died under unclear circumstances during the 1981 demonstrations. There is a certain degree of manipulation here, since Albanian sources claim he died after a clash with Serbian police, while in fact the boy died in an accident,” Ristanovic explained.

He added that the most striking examples are streets named after former KLA members or “separatist movement” figures, but that the far more dangerous trend is the erasure of the “Serbian identity” in Kosovo.

Therefore, Ristanovic has no doubt that the trend of renaming streets will continue in the remaining three northern municipalities.

“I am certain it will continue. This is just one in a series of steps that have been visible for a long time and result in what all of us see when we visit Kosovo and Metohija: fear, a deteriorating security situation. Street crime has returned to Mitrovica after many decades. People simply do not feel safe. And as a consequence of all this, and I believe this atmosphere is being deliberately created, we are witnessing a mass exodus of Serbs. Serbs are now leaving en masse even from northern Kosovo,” the historian warned.

Asked whether the street renaming was “timed” with the upcoming local elections, Ristanovic said it was possible, but that essentially it was “part of a broader process of Albanization and pressure on Serbs.”