Gazivode: Sveta Trojica Hall Torn Down in Rezala

Demolitions on the shore of Gazivode lake continued this morning, September 4, in the village of Rezala, in the municipality of Zubin Potok. The Sveta Trojica community hall, a building the villagers had put up themselves nearly two decades ago, was torn down, and that same morning the company Trepca took possession of the former Komercijalna banka premises in the center of Zvecan. The Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija responded with a statement, calling the moves unlawful action by Pristina.

Veton Elshani, deputy commander of the Kosovo Police for the North region, confirmed that the operation was under way.

“I can confirm that the demolition of six buildings began this morning in the village of Rezala, in the municipality of Zubin Potok. According to what we know, the owners of these buildings had already removed their belongings from them earlier. The Kosovo Police is only providing assistance,” Elshani said.

Sources do not fully agree on the number of buildings involved. KoSSev and Radio Kim report that, since August 19, when the deadline set by the public utility Ibar-Lepenac expired, a total of 11 buildings, ten houses and one hall, had been on the list for removal in Kovaci and Rezala. Elshani and Kosovo Online speak of six buildings whose demolition began today. A house was the first to be torn down, after which the machinery moved on to the Sveta Trojica hall.

According to KoSSev, the hall was built neither by the state nor by the municipality. Residents of Rezala put it up themselves, funded by contributions from families in the village and from people originally from Rezala who now live in Serbia, the region, and abroad. Once a year the village gathered there for its patron saint’s day, Sveta Trojica (Holy Trinity), when, after the liturgy and procession, the festive bread was broken and a shared meal was prepared for more than 150 people. Before the hall was built, the celebration had been held under tents for years.

Kosovo Police blocked access to Rezala with armored vehicles, and Elshani told reporters that closer access was not permitted for security reasons. The Office for Kosovo and Metohija says this prevented the media from filming the demolition.

The operation on Gazivode has been under way for months. By the end of July, according to figures given by Fitore Pacolli, acting Kosovo minister for environmental protection, 17 buildings had been torn down, including the Hotel Jezero, removed on July 30. On the day demolitions were supposed to begin in Kovaci, August 19, the machinery instead worked at Radonjic lake near Djakovica, where five buildings were removed. The Djukic and Djuric families had asked a court for an interim measure to stop the demolitions at Gazivode, but their request was denied. Pacolli has announced that the campaign to protect the lake shores will continue.

In Zvecan that same morning, September 4, the company Trepca, citing its property title, took possession of the former Komercijalna banka premises, arguing that the space was being used without a valid contract. Trepca had issued notices on August 12 ordering the vacating of that building and several others in the center of Zvecan, among them the former post office and a pharmacy, giving occupants a ten-day deadline to leave. KoSSev reported on those notices on August 13. The action continued on August 28, when Trepca also demanded that a garage in the center of Zvecan be vacated.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija addressed both moves in a single statement.

“Pristina today continued the unlawful and violent demolition of Serbian property on Gazivode lake, in the municipality of Zubin Potok, property that residents built and acquired over decades. At the same time, buildings in Zvecan were unlawfully seized under the pretext that they belong to the company Trepca,” the statement reads.

The Office says reactions from foreign representatives so far have produced no results and is calling for more concrete action.

“These moves in Zubin Potok, as well as in Zvecan, show that the international community, which has in the past supposedly ‘sharply condemned’ such unilateral actions by Albin Kurti’s authorities, must move from words to deeds and take concrete steps to stop Pristina’s rampage and terror and its violations of the law,” the statement continues.

The Office adds that its representatives, together with the Serb List, remain in contact with the families affected by today’s demolitions. On the Kosovo side, apart from the Kosovo Police’s confirmation that it is providing assistance in enforcing the ministry’s order, there have been no other official reactions so far.

For the people of Rezala, it remains an open question where the village will gather for its next Sveta Trojica celebration if the hall is not rebuilt. As for the remaining five buildings still on the list in Kovaci and Rezala, according to KoSSev and Radio Kim, no decision has yet been made.