In recent days, Radio Television of Serbia reports, the Municipality of Gracanica is in the spotlight because of the handover of a part of the territory to the municipality of Kosovo Polje and has returned a part of the social land to its possession. The latest case from this municipality is the petition of Albanian residents of the village of Ugljare, to join the municipality of Kosovo Polje.
RTS reports that in Ugljare there were almost no Albanians before the war. Today in the village there are more and more Albanians versus Serbs, who are less and less, reports RTS. Ugljare belonged to the municipality of Kosovo Polje before the conflict in Kosovo, and a few years ago it is under the municipality of Gracanica.
RTS says that they did not find an Albanian who could confirm the signing of a petition. Nobody among Serbs have seen it, but they say it has been launched.
“There is a petition, but I did not see the petition, but I was told that this is a group of Albanians who want an additional part of Ugljare to join Kosovo Polje, says Ljubisa Cirkovic, the president of the Provisional Authority of Kosovo Polje.
RTS looks at possible motives for handover of this village to the municipality of Kosovo Polje.
RTS reports that Sinisa Simonovic, a member of Kosovo Polje Municipal Council, says that the goal is construction of buildings on the territory of the entire village of Ugljare in order to move in as many Albanians as possible.
The price of apartments in Kosovo Polje is around 500 euros per square meter and there are no more construction sites in Kosovo Polje.
“The Municipality of Gracanica passed a decree in 2014, not allowing construction of multi-storey buildings, and this does not correspond to the Albanians, and they are pressing for secession from the municipality of Gracanica and joining the municipality of Kosovo Polje,” Simonovic said.
RTS reports that the Serbs in Ugljare are not calm because, as they said, with forming of the municipality of Gracanica, they were eager to be part of community with Serbian majority.
“No one is for such an option to join the Kosovo Polje municipality, but there probably is a minority among us, who would like to belong to that Kosovo Polje municipality but for their own interest,” said President of Ugljare village, Srdjan Zivkovic. And the interest of this minority is visible from the street, with the inscriptions “houses for sale.”
In the municipality administration in Gracanica, they say that a petition, if any, does not have a binding form, and without their consent there is no separation of Ugljare. In that village, Gracanica municipality with the Government of Serbia is currently investing in the construction of a kindergarten and an ambulance building.
