Mural to KLA Leaders in Pristina, Petkovic Recalls Pavle
A mural honoring four former KLA leaders is going up in Pristina eight days before their Hague verdict, as Petkovic recalls the detention of a Patriarch Pavle muralist.
Since this morning, a large mural honoring four former leaders of the so called KLA, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, has been going up in Pristina, just eight days before the first instance verdict of the Specialist Chambers in The Hague. The Kosovo outlet Klan Kosova broke the story, naming neither the artist nor the exact address where the piece is being painted, though the work was reportedly still under way as of today.
According to the outlet, the wall shows all four former leaders together in a single composition. The verdict on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity is due on September 16. Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi have been held in detention since their arrest in November 2020, and in its closing argument the Specialist Chambers prosecution asked that each be sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Petkovic Links the Mural to an Artist’s Case in North Mitrovica
The mural drew a reaction today, September 8, from Petar Petkovic, head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija. He said it is Pristina’s policy to glorify criminals who targeted Serbs while persecuting a man who never uttered a harsh word and devoted his life to peace, faith and reconciliation.
Petkovic linked the Pristina mural to an earlier episode involving Kosovo police in North Mitrovica. According to him, police there detained artist Stefan Stojanovic when he tried to repaint a mural depicting Patriarch Pavle and Metropolitan Amfilohije, even though, Petkovic says, he had a municipal permit for the work. The outlet Kosovo Online, citing its own earlier reporting, says that case took place in late June.
Petkovic posted the statement on X.
What will representatives of the international community in Kosovo and Metohija have to say about this, if they say anything at all?!
The question was not addressed to anyone by name, but it comes against the backdrop of both EULEX and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), which have been watching the situation on the ground ahead of the verdict.
Erased Murals in North Mitrovica, a Newer One in Decani
The case Petkovic cites is not an isolated one. Murals and graffiti bearing Serbian national symbols, which had stood for years on the walls of several buildings in North Mitrovica, were painted over in August of last year with the help of Kosovo police, on the order of the municipality then run by a mayor from the ruling Self Determination Movement, Erden Atic. During the same period, a mural honoring members of the so called KLA went up in Decani.
Srpske vesti previously covered the case of the four former KLA leaders when reporting on the announcement of the September 16 date, focusing then on the reactions of EULEX and President Vucic ahead of the ruling. The Pristina mural and Petkovic’s response show that, as September 16 approaches, the political mood ahead of the verdict is tightening further on both sides.
