Owners of “Jezero” motel: We have invested here for more than 30 years, special police units entered with rifles and told us the building would be demolished

The owners of the “Jezero” motel at Gazivode, which is currently being demolished, Jordan and Aleksandar Jaksic, say they did not expect this to happen. They state that they filed a lawsuit against the “Ibar-Lepenac” company and that court proceedings are ongoing, but that members of the Kosovo Police Special Units entered their property this morning with rifles and announced that it would be demolished.

Jordan Jaksic, the owner of the motel, said that they learned yesterday that the hearing regarding their lawsuit had been scheduled for August 12 and that they did not expect the demolition of the building to take place.

“My son and son-in-law slept here last night. They broke in, forced open the dining room door and the entrance door. With long guns, they found them in bed. We expected this would not happen. We have invested here for more than 30 years,” he said.

Jaksic stated that the motel was built on their property, which “Ibar-Lepenac expropriated,” noting that a total of eight hectares of land were taken from them.

“We appealed several times for the expropriation to be reversed, but they did not want that. Nevertheless, we built this on our old family property because we believed they had no right to take land beyond the lake. Only one hectare and something belongs here, along with what remained outside the lake. The other plots are all downstream from the dam, and they were taken from us without any reason. Even then, they were pursuing a policy of ensuring that there would be no Serbs here. You can see what is happening today as well, without any court decisions. They are using force. It is only to drive us away, so that we are no longer here,” Jaksic said.

He said he had hoped everything would stop until the court reached a decision.

“However, they came and are doing what they are doing. We are powerless. Lawyers have been engaged. The current situation in Kosovo is such that we are enduring terror. What bothers them exclusively is that Serbian children gather here in winter, summer, spring and throughout the entire year. That is the only thing that bothers them, and not anything else. The reason being environmental protection, that is not true. This is pure pressure and persecution. Ever since the construction of the dam itself, everything has been done to ensure that there are no Serbs here. We will fight, we will not leave,” Jaksic said.

His son Aleksandar said that members of the Kosovo Police Special Units entered the property this morning with rifles and ordered them to leave the building.

“I woke up around five in the morning, there was nobody around. The next time, around 6:30, there was also nobody nearby. I went back to bed to sleep, when suddenly I heard a loud bang and footsteps running up the stairs. Special police units entered the building with rifles. They pointed their weapons at us and told us to leave the building immediately. We asked them whether we had the right to take some belongings, and they replied: ‘No, get out immediately, this building is being demolished today,’” Jaksic said.

He emphasized that he showed the police officers documentation proving that court proceedings had been initiated before the Basic Court in Mitrovica.

“They did not pay any attention. They just laughed and said: ‘This is being demolished, our time has come,’ and that was it. They did not allow us to take anything out. We barely managed to take out personal belongings, a phone, and clothing. They were very rough. They did not want any conversation or any explanation,” he said.