“We are discriminated against and violated by municipality”, Albanians in Gracanica paper institutions and embassies

Through these letters Albanian residents in Gracanica alarm institutions for discrimination against them.

According to them, the municipality of Gracanica consciously and systematically violates their constitutional rights as Albanian citizens, deprived them of the right to equality before the law; disrespecting the obligation to make municipal decisions also in the Albanian language; adopting wrongly and arbitraryly the provisions of a discriminatory regulation; barring Albanian citizens from free exploitation/disposition with their properties and finally taking action that provokes interethnic tensions.

“We are citizens of the Albanian municipality of Gracanica, with different situations and professions. Some of us work in the public sector, such as education, health, state administration, and some of us are private businesspeople, including investors and builders”, continue complaints.

Those in the letters that have provided Telegrafi say that all have settlements on the administrative territory of the Gracanica municipality and are payment of municipal taxes and other contributions.

For years and years we have been constantly exposed to systematic violations of our constitutional rights by the Gracanica Community. This is being done deliberately by municipal authorities, in the application of political strategies aimed at mini-ethnic character of our municipality, making life difficult for Albanian residents of the Gracanica municipality”, it is written in letters of complaint.

In fact, these residents say that for these violations of their rights, which presented the ongoing controversy, they have also informed the central institutions of the Republic of Kosovo several times.

“is repeatedly told that central government institutions are reported for Gracanica's discriminatory practices towards Albanian residents, but no government has so far taken any serious action to end this situation. As a result of the discriminationist policies of the Gracanica municipality, we are constantly and systematicly violated by the right to equality before the law, guaranteed by Article 2 and 24 of the Constitution and the Defence Law; the right in the bilingual, guaranteed by Article 5 of the Constitution and Article 5 of the Law for Languages; property rights guaranteed with Article 46 of the Constitution”, they write.

They cite discrimination done at these points:

Gracanica municipality's Practices and Separative Decisions Against Albanian Residents
Disobedience of bilinguality especially from the cadastral services of the Gracanica municipality
Actions and practices discriminated against urban service in order for Albanian citizens to be unable to obtain construction permits and unhindered use of property rights
In the end, they have asked the ombudsman to recommend specific points:

So we're looking for the ombudsman to issue the Recomment Report:

It argues that the Gracanica municipality has violated Albanian residents' right to equality before law and property rights;
Consisting that the Gracanica municipality has wrongly interpreted Article 36 of Rule No. 03/18 / KG over the General Constitution for Parliament, Rules and Procedure Procedure Procedures and Release of Construction Conditions for Building Under the Power of the Communists;
It requires the Gracanica municipality to respect the legal obligation to issue any document of Albanian-language municipal organs;
It requires the Gracanica municipality to enable public access to any land parcel that is involved as a construction area in the urban plan of the Gracanica municipality.
These citizens have addressed letters to Kosovo institutions and foreign embassies in the country.

These complaints and cases have been contacted by the municipality of Gracanica.

Kristina Slavic, from the municipality of Gracanica, has said that citizens and investors' complaints are not real, and according to her, the municipality will prevent any action contrary to the law indiscriminately.

“in accordance with your question, we are obliged to announce that we continue to conduct inspection surveillance and act on the previously defined work plan, as well as according to citizens' reports based on the assessment of risk and seriousness of wrongdoing. All in the interest of our citizens and the respect of valuable laws and regulations. In that sense, there are no privileged persons on any basis, and we will not tolerate business that violates law and ignores legal procedures at the risk of citizens. I believe you agree with us in that sense. The Department of Inspection in the municipality of Gracanica is open to co-operation with all legal and physical subjects, as well as with the media in the area of law enforcement and the competence of the inspection organs”, it has said of Telegrafi.

On the other hand, a media communique dated February 14, 2023, published on the site of the Gracanica municipality, reportedly increased and increased the inspection measures of economic and business subjects' work.

The municipality of Gracanica, in co-operation with municipal services, has reportedly continued with monitoring and sanctioning all forms of illegal businesses and visiting the ground after citizens' reports.

“Municipal Information Department Director Jelena Stojanovic, with her inspectors and Public Services Department Director Vadica Trajkovovic, have visited several business and economic subjects in Uglare yesterday, where their work and operation are being viewed according to reports...

Warning measures have been given to the owners of the sites, and legal business documentation has been requested. The inspection has also visited business objects that were previously banned until the dispute was resolved to ensure implementation of inspection measures”, said the communiqué.

We perform inspections regardless of activity, nationality or any other affiliation, as well as whether it comes to business, economic or physical subjects. The rules should be the same for everyone and there is no room for doubt in this direction. The Gracanica municipality remains open for co-operation with all legal and physical persons in the area of law enforcement and competence of the inspection authorities”, Stojanovic, director of Inspection, had declared.

Lawyer Arian Koci had also written about this problem.

He had written on his Facebook account on 31 January 2022 that there is no respect in the Gracanica municipality as in other parts of Kosovo.

He even believes that they are using the Cyrillic alphabet in communication with Albanians.

“When the Serbian citizen communicates with any state organ, including courts, prosecutors and police, Serbs are provided with documents in their native language HINA even translators, if asked. It's not the opposite, even though we're over 90%. Albanians are not complaining in the actions of Gracanica municipality, because they are largely dependent on that administration; businesses very often tend to be short-connected, to do work”, Koci wrote.

Comments on these complaints have been requested by both the institutions and the ombudsman's Office.

The ombudsman's office has confirmed accepting the complaint of these residents.

“The Ombudsman's institution (IAP) has accepted this complaint today. IAP, according to competencies and mandates, will address this complaint”, have declared it to be Telegrafi from this institution.