Simic: Demolition of garages is the most direct interference in the competences of the North Mitrovica Municipality

Serb List MP in the Assembly of Kosovo, Slavko Simic, today called on behalf of that parliamentary group on the international community to react to, as he stated, the unlawful demolition of garages and auxiliary facilities belonging to residents of North Mitrovica, assessing that this represents the most direct interference in the competences and authority of the Municipality of North Mitrovica. He also stressed that the Serb List parliamentary group supports the Municipality of North Mitrovica in initiating all legal actions to protect the rights, interests and property of citizens, as well as its own competences and authority.

“As the Serb List parliamentary group, we would like to draw the attention of the international community, the Quint countries and foreign missions and organizations here in Kosovo to the incident that occurred on Wednesday in the early morning hours in North Mitrovica, where Kosovo police officers, on the orders of the company Trepca South, using a bulldozer, without the consent of the Municipality of North Mitrovica and without any legal decision, demolished garages and auxiliary facilities owned by citizens of North Mitrovica,” Simic said at a session of the Assembly of Kosovo.

He emphasized that this act represents the most direct interference in the competences and authority of the Municipality of North Mitrovica, and that in this case it is clear that someone wants to discourage and deprive of rights the legitimately and recently elected leadership in the Municipality of North Mitrovica.

“As a parliamentary group, we call on the international community to react to this case, because what happened in Mitrovica on Wednesday can happen today in another municipality, and I think that is not good for our society. As the Serb List parliamentary group, we also support the Municipality of North Mitrovica in initiating all legal actions to protect the rights, interests and property of the citizens of North Mitrovica and to protect the integrity of the competences and authority of its municipality,” Simic said.

Simic also stated that the Serb List parliamentary group wants to draw the attention of the Government of Kosovo and the relevant ministers to the fact that Kosovo inspection services have in the recent period intensified pressure and excessive control over Serbian businesses in the north, as well as hospitality establishments and entrepreneurs, assessing that these inspection services, acting from the central and regional levels, directly undermine economic growth and development of municipalities and threaten businesses which, as he emphasized, are struggling to survive and endure in difficult political and security conditions in the north.

According to Simic, in the past few months, market, tax and sanitary inspection services, with police assistance, have, as they presented it publicly, temporarily closed and fined dozens of hospitality facilities and businesses.

“I want you to know that these businesses have truly been struggling with difficulties in recent years, that they need help and support, that they want to contribute, improve their standards and adapt to the requirements of inspection services, but for that they need assistance and support, so that through an educational process we enable them to meet all regulatory requirements, rather than immediately punishing and closing them,” Simic said.

The Serb List MP stressed that neither he nor any business from the north is against inspections and that no one wants to interfere in the work of inspection services, calling on the Government of Kosovo to become involved in the process and enable local inspection services to participate in inspections, and to allow municipalities to support businesses so they can meet all requirements and regulations of inspection services.

“As a parliamentary group, because of this entire situation, we call on the government and the relevant ministers, who unfortunately are not here today, to instruct their inspection services to reduce the continuous pressure on Serbian businesses in the north, which are already in the system and meet the basic operating conditions, just as businesses in the south do, which face far less pressure and are subject to much less control than businesses in the north. If this continues as in the past few months, citizens in the north will understand it as someone having a serious strategy to shut down every Serbian business, close every Serbian hospitality establishment and drive out every Serbian businessman and entrepreneur from the north of Kosovo, thereby endangering the livelihood of hundreds of families who want to live in their city and from their business,” Simic said.