PRISTINA – The demolition of the „Jezero“ Hotel on the shores of Lake Gazivode/Ujman this week marked a continuation of legal and political disputes.
Kosovo authorities launched the operation around the lake in late June, initially targeting illegally built holiday homes before expanding the campaign to larger structures.
Officials have consistently described the initiative as an environmental and legal enforcement action aimed at protecting public property and one of Kosovo’s most important water resources.
Critics, on the other hand, argue that the campaign has focused almost exclusively on the Serb-majority north, while alleged illegal construction elsewhere in Kosovo has not faced comparable enforcement, KoSSev reports.
On 22 July, the EU Delegation in Kosovo released a statement expressing regret for the demolition of houses at Gazivode/Ujman Lake the previous day, “which took place while affected residents had initiated court proceedings within the 15-day deadline stipulated on the notices of public enterprise Ibër-Lepenc/Ibar-Lepenac to vacate and clear the land”.
“The EU is concerned about the lack of due process in this and several other recent cases in northern Kosovo since February this year”, the statement reads.
The EU called for an immediate halt to any further demolitions, forced removals or takeovers until concerns relating to due process, proportionality, property rights, human rights and effective remedies are adequately addressed.
“In line with Kosovo’s European path, the EU expects the authorities to address these concerns urgently and transparently and to ensure that similar actions are not repeated”, the statement concluded.
The demolition activities nevertheless continued, and on 29 July the demolition of the “Jezero” Hotel started.
“While Kosovo institutions insist the building had been constructed illegally on land owned by the public company Ibar-Lepenac, the owners argue that the case is already before the courts and that the demolition was conducted before judges had an opportunity to rule on their claims”, KoSSev reports.
The Jakšić family disputes the legality of the 2018 transfer through which ownership of the land was registered to Ibar-Lepenac. They maintain that this issue is currently before the courts and should have been resolved before any demolition could proceed.
“They view it as part of a broader dispute over property rights around Lake Gazivode, where Kosovo authorities have intensified efforts in recent weeks to remove structures they classify as illegally built on public land”, KoSSev writes.
Five civil society organisations from the north of Kosovo – NGO Aktiv, the Center for Affirmative Social Action (CASA), the New Social Initiative (NSI), the Institute for Territorial Economic Development (InTER) and the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) – released a statement on Thursday condemning the demolition of the “Jezero” Hotel.
“We hereby inform the public in Kosovo that, through the unlawful demolition of the ‘Jezero’ Hotel, carried out on the orders of Faruk Mujka, Director of the Public Water Management company ‘Ibar-Lepenac’, the constitutional and legal order of Kosovo has been undermined, as it clearly prescribes the conditions under which public and private property may be demolished”, the statement reads.
The CSOs called on the prosecution to investigate Mujka’s activities and take the appropriate legal measures. They also called on the Police Inspectorate to investigate the conduct of the police during the demolition.
