A citizen in the Medvegja region of southern Serbia, inhabited predominantly by ethnic Albanians, has reported an attempt to illegally seize their property and transfer it to a Serbian owner amid ongoing challenges relating to the removal of Albanians from the civil registry, rendering them devoid of most legal rights.
Resident Bajram Luta, who lives in Switzerland, published an open letter detailing the transfer of his 65-hectare property into the name of a Serbian individual from a neighbouring village.
“A few weeks ago, we suddenly realised that the entire property of the Luta family in Tupala, which is about 65 hectares, was transferred to the name of a person named Pavle Drashkovic from the village of Vrapce, Medvegja,” he wrote. Luta added that his family does not know the individual, and they are concerned about the illegal alienation of the property that has been in the family for centuries.
“We are still not able to understand how it is possible for this to happen, except that we can conclude that for personal gain, we, as the legal and real owner, have been secretly worked on,” he wrote.
In the letter, he explained that the property was first transferred to a distant and deceased relative, Veljko Lutic, without the knowledge of the 15 families claiming the land. Following the initial transfer, Drashkovic then filed a lawsuit demanding the property based on maintenance, and ‘won’ the case with the signature of Lutic, who had passed away before signing.
The property was then registered in the Cadastre under the new owners’ name.
“We would like to inform you that the Luta family has not sold any land or land…we, the Luta family, do not give up our centuries-old properties at any price,” the letter continues.
The incident takes place in the context of what the Helsinki Committee describes as “ethnic administrative cleansing”- the removal of ethnic Albanians from the civil registry, leaving them unable to vote, buy and sell property, send children to school, be employed and pay taxes, receive benefits or access healthcare.
Medvegja is in the Presevo Valley, and over the last decade, over 6,000 Albanians have been removed from the civil registry in this way, leading to calls from civil society and Albanian politicians to rectify the situation, yet no action has been taken vis a vis Serbia.
Albanians living in the region have asked that the issue of their removal from the region be included in the EU-facilitated Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, like the call for an Association of Serb Municipalities in north Kosovo, yet the European Commission has not reacted. Instead, they said they are “monitoring” the situation.
Research conducted by academic Flora Ferati Sachsenmaier included the testimonies of many residents and former residents, analysis of historical voter lists, and reams of official documents.
The data shows that according to state statistics, Albanians have decreased by up to 71% in some areas, although they still physically live there. Residents say Serbian authorities sent state officials to verify their addresses, but these individuals would not actually visit the address and would instead report back that the property was empty. Entire families would then be removed from the civil registry, with no route for appeal.
Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti recently said that instead of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama proposing drafts from the ASM in Kosovo, he should use the same draft to protect Albanians in southern Serbia.
“Then all I propose is that Rama present this draft statute for national minorities to Vucic at the next meeting for the Open Balkans for the Albanians of Presheva, Medvegja and Bujanovac since the Constitution states that the rights of Albania must be protected Albanians outside the borders,” Kurti said.
In 2021, during a visit to the region, Rama said the power of diplomacy should be used to resolve issues related to Albanians in the area. He added it was important to “put in front of Serbs the comparison of how Serbs are treated in Kosovo, and how the citizens of Presevo are treated by Serbs. The contrast is great. Serbs in Kosovo have the freedoms any national minority would dream of having.”
Ferati shared the news of the recent development, stating, “Vucic’s regime has begun to confiscate the property of Albanians in the south of Serbia. I am familiar with the case of the Luta family because they are my distant relatives.”
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
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