Albanians selling houses in the north big, government of Serbia buys them

Residents say that this neighborhood was once inhabited by more than 80 percent Albanians, while now only 10 percent remain.

They criticised the country's institutions for its total disinterest in them, though they have been calling for the government to create a fund and buy these homes and property itself to prevent the ethnic cleansing Serbia is performing in that part.

All things develop without much noise as neither the owners nor the owners of the homes they sell speak publicly.

Fetije Pirqi, resident of the Bosnian Quarter, is in trouble about how to deal with her home. She criticised the government for failing to care about Albanian residents of the north, says that if the market trend continues this way, she will be forced to sell her own house.

Yes, the houses of Albanians are being sold, except who can, while we are staying here alone. The government isn't interested in us. We know what we're doing here. I don't mean to sell the house once, but what happens later, if I stay the last one, I have to sell it, but for now, not... if it goes on like this, of course the whole neighborhood will be emptied. Here as the house is being sold, Serbs are immediately falling. Concretically, the house of Ramadan Kelmendi felt as if he were saying Friday, has been brought to three families, which we had no wish for at all, but what to do to”, Pirqi said.

Tomor Bahtiri, also confirms the greater purchase of Albanian homes in this neighbourhood by the Government of Serbia, saying Serb families are being placed in houses purchased, as he said, which do not know where they are coming from. He blames all the governments that have allowed such a thing, while added that if this trend of selling houses continues this way, no Albanian will remain in this neighbourhood.

Yeah, recently they've been selling a lot, especially here at the Bosnian Quarter. It is buying Serbia's government larger, establishing Serb families that are unknown where they are coming from. This is where our government was normally supposed to buy, not this Kurt's, but the preliminary governments. It means they're all guilty of allowing the sale of houses by Albanians... if this sales trend continues, for a short time here unfortunately there's no remaining Albanians who are autochtons, I can tell since the sun warms the earth because we're local and autochthonic here”, Bahtiri stressed.

Emir Azemi, also resident of this neighbourhood and former deputy owner of the Northern Mitrovica Assembly, disclosed to Kosova Prees that Albanian property here is being bought with political and ethnic background. According to him, only this year have ten 3-4-story collective buildings started to build, meaning the deployment of a total of 120 families. He added that constructions are done without criteria, without urban conditions, are entirely political, and in that form Serbia is making ethnic cleansing and changing the demographic structure in this part.

“Brenda this year on this road where we are either in the Bosniaks' Lagen are sold two or three Albanian properties and buyers are Serbs, respectively, the parallel organs of Serbia operating here because those who are being placed are not buyers but the recipients of houses donated by the parallel organ, which let it be understood that these properties are purchased in political and ethnic background... Simply, the action to buy property, to build collective buildings only this year, according to what I've seen, are 10 buildings that have begun to build, fall from 12 homes, means 120 new families will come here, which have never been... in the circumstances when this property is bought by political and ethnic background, because they buy an Albanian parcel in an area where there are 7-8 homes of Albanians, then they destroy it and build a building, because these are not going to allow anything to be built, they're going to require urban or urban conditions, like the parking lot, and then they're building a building building building and building a building building building for a 40-year-old construction site, and then they're doing it's a 30-year-old change to the whole population structure or something. Constructions are without criteria, without urban conditions and with full political intent. If you look at how these buildings are being built, they're being built on foot, on the edge of the road, they're exploiting space almost entirely, and in this form they're having completely one or five other parcels that could eventually be built something else. In my opinion, this construction is illegal, without urban criteria, and with political background

Azem has warned that if he continues to do so and there is no interference on the part of the Government of Kosovo, very soon in this part a very symbolic number of Albanians will remain to justify the goal that this city is multiethnic.

He says he met Haradinaj and Kurti in the past to inform them about the situation in the north, but expressed disappointment because, as he said, neither one nor another have done anything concrete about this part.

...To tell you honestly if there is no government interference, at this rate we have remained very few, I can say that on the road where I live we've all been Albanians and the Bosniak community, I am now the only one left because they've all been sold. It means if the number of Albanians goes at this pace will be highly symbolic because they will keep a number of Albanians here to reflect that this country is multiethnic, but their impact will be minimal because they claim to strengthen the Serbian element in this part of the city, and then extend the influence further because they are not stopping. I am surprised that I had earlier contact with former Prime Minister Haradinaj as if he was not in power, met him at a distant time, even Kurti, and I've known his attitudes, and I'm surprised by the second, because the past was in government and did nothing, the present is still in government, and he's not doing anything, I'm totally surprised and disappointed how he has left this most important part of the city of Mitrovica<850, Azem stressed.

On the other hand, Fevzi Beqiri, representative of the Bosniak Quarter, agrees that the situation over selling houses in this neighbourhood is disturbing.

He warned that if the state of Kosovo does not intervene immediately, this neighbourhood will remain without Albanians very soon. If that happens, he added, then all successive governments will be responsible indiscriminately.

“Unfortunately the situation is disturbing, the houses are being sold, some secrets and some open. These are being sold to the government of Serbia and not to individuals, owners and not to Kosovo Serb citizens, but directly to the government of Serbia... How is it that the government of Serbia 400km from here comes and invests in the sovereign state of Kosovo, while our governments, 40 kilometers away, do not get the chance to come to terms with what is happening on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo... If this continues and does not intervene in Kosovo, the state of Kosovo will soon remain without Albanians, and then all governments, including this current, will be responsible. I hope that this current government urgently needs to be reformed, to do the prevention of sale by Albanian owners, and if the Kosovo government needs to share a special fund in order to buy Albanian properties and disrupt the colonisation of a fascist Serbia which is taking place ... It is well known that the north has been 80 percent inhabited by Albanians, and today we are not even 10 percent. Starting with all the neighborhoods that have been Albanian majority, today we are second-class citizens, we have no rights and everything in the north only works Serbian... Sadly, this change is taking place by Qubrillovic and Serbia has achieved its goal to a very large extent, but if Serbia continues that way, Serbia is achieving the goal of changing Albanian demographics, which has been 80 percent with Albanians”, explained to Kosovas Beqiri.