Slovenija
Bosna i Hercegovina
Hrvatska
Institutions in northern Kosovo remain blocked. Buildings that once housed Serbian municipal administrations have been taken over by police, and it seems increasingly unlikely that employees will be allowed to return. As a result, citizens may soon need to travel to central Serbia, not only for currency exchange but also for basic administrative services. The only remaining Serbian institutions in the area are healthcare and educational facilities, which continue to operate despite numerous challenges.
Instead of being at their workplaces, employees are now protesting outside the buildings where they used to work. They have asked the police when they can return and on what legal grounds the premises were taken over.
"We received no formal notice, no explanation, no warning," said Sasa Petrovic, an employee of the Municipal Administration.
"We are not a parallel institution; we provide services to all citizens regardless of race, religion, or nationality," Vucina Jankovic, head of the Mitrovica district, added.
Kosovo authorities consider these institutions illegal, but residents of majority-Serb areas still rely on their services.
"If a child is born today, there’s nowhere to register the birth. If someone dies, there’s nowhere to report it. Social benefits, student loans, any document—everything is affected," Dusan Radakovic from the NGO "Center for Advocacy of Democratic Culture," explained.
No alternative exists at the moment, as Kosovo institutions do not provide the same services that are offered within the Serbian system. Meanwhile, more Albanian businesses have started opening in northern Kosovo. Several new shops have been established in the past ten days, often in properties managed by the Kosovo Privatization Agency. The first to open was "Meridian," a store in North Mitrovica, marking the 45th branch of the chain in Kosovo.
"We speak both Serbian and Albanian, so Serbian customers will have the best shopping experience in our store," said Anton Gashi, Executive Director of Meridian Express.
Some local businesses owned by Serbs have closed due to the ban on Serbian goods and other operational difficulties. Serbian customers rarely, if ever, visit the newly opened Albanian shops.
"Serbs don’t have an issue buying from Albanians. Just 300 meters from here is ETC, where Serbs might buy more than Albanians do. But these new shops were opened for political reasons, under pressure from the ruling structure in Pristina," said Dusan Radakovic.
He expressed concerns that the opening of these shops is intended to change the ethnic composition of northern Kosovo. As tensions rise, relations between Serbs and Albanians in the area are deteriorating further.
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