Ristanovic: Pristina will rename all streets reflecting Serbian identity in Kosovo

​​​​​​​Petar Ristanovic, Research Associate at the Institute for Serbian Culture in Leposavic, stated that the renaming of streets in the four municipalities with a Serbian majority is inevitable, and that the authorities in Pristina will seek to rename all streets associated with Serbian national themes or those that reflect Serbian identity in Kosovo.

“The renaming of streets is inevitable. Considering everything the regime in Kosovo has done so far, I believe this is an expected and unavoidable next step. I truly believe that all streets bearing any kind of Serbian national symbolism—those whose names point to the Serbian identity of Kosovo and Metohija—will be changed,” Ristanovic said in a statement to Kosovo Online.

The Director of the Kosovo Cadastral Agency (KCA), Avni Ahmeti, recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with representatives of the four northern municipalities to establish an Address System in these areas.

"The Kosovo Cadastral Agency has taken concrete steps by engaging its officials to provide technical support on the ground, to prepare the system, and to implement the preparatory phase of naming streets and assigning addresses," the KCA stated in a press release.

When asked which street names are likely to be changed first, Ristanovic, a historian, replied that it will be “virtually all streets named after individuals and dates linked to Serbian history in Kosovo.”

“If we take into account the removal of Serbian flags, the erasure of all graffiti containing any Serbian national symbolism—even when such content is only loosely interpreted as such—I believe that the renaming of streets is a very expected and, at this point, almost certainly inevitable step,” Ristanovic emphasized.

He added that the renaming will be carried out “formally” through decisions made by local municipalities in the north, but that the real decisions will be made in Pristina.

“Formally, the decision will likely be made at the municipal level, no matter how illegitimate the current authorities in those municipalities may be. But I am absolutely certain that this decision will come from the highest level, namely the circle surrounding Albin Kurti,” Ristanovic stated.

He believes the street renaming will proceed even if Kurti is no longer in a position of authority.

“Even if there were a change of leadership in Kosovo in the future, I am not convinced this trend would significantly shift. Everything that has been done so far and the direction things are headed suggests that the renaming of streets is a step that, sooner or later, must be expected,” the historian concluded.