PRIŠTINA PLANS TO DEMOLISH 11 MORE SERB-OWNED PROPERTIES AT LAKE GAZIVODE

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, AUGUST 20 /SRNA/ - The Priština authorities intend to demolish another 11 properties owned by Serbs at Lake Gazivode, claiming that they were built illegally.

The demolitions began a month ago, and 17 properties on the shores of Lake Gazivode have been demolished so far, including the Jezero motel. Attorney Predrag Arsić, who represents several families who own properties on the shores of Lake Gazivode, said that his legal team would continue to use all available legal remedies, but believes that the Gazivode case is not merely a legal matter. The deadline set by the interim institutions in Priština for the eviction of Serbs from houses on the shores of Lake Gazivode expired yesterday. Arsić said that the situation on the ground was currently calm and that no official demolition orders had been issued, Kosovo Online reported. According to him, the homeowners have "a glimmer of hope," but not enough reason to sleep peacefully, given the authorities' actions so far. He pointed out that two families had asked the court in Priština for an interim measure to halt the demolitions, but their request was rejected. However, the main civil proceedings are continuing, and the legal team has also initiated other proceedings before the Court of General Jurisdiction in Mitrovica. "In addition to the civil proceedings we are conducting before the Court of General Jurisdiction in Mitrovica, we have filed a criminal complaint against Faruk Mujka, director of Ibar-Lepenac, as well as against individuals involved in the demolitions," Arsić said. He added that they were also pursuing administrative proceedings against the decision of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, and that complaints had been filed with the Police Inspectorate, the General Inspectorate and the Independent Oversight Board for the Civil Service. He stressed that the demolitions began without an official decision, which the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning issued only two days later. "Ibar-Lepenac skipped several steps in its involvement in the entire procedure and proceeded with the demolitions, pursuing its objectives arbitrarily and without any decision," Arsić said.