Kosovo authoritiesare illegally selling Serbian property, targeted and agricultural cooperatives. The "privatization" is not recognized either by UNMIK, but nobody prevents robbery.

With dozens of thousands usurped Serbian houses and apartments in Kosovo by the Kosovo Privatization Agency, in recent months and the institutional robbery is taking place of the Serbian public property - companies and institutions. Despite the fact that the workers and managers of the agency are under investigation of even their own government in Pristina, they seemed to rush to end the "privatization" of companies in the Serbian areas, so as not to leave the space to negotiation.

Igor Popovic, team leader for human rights and property relations in the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, warns that in the last months the Kosovo Privatization Agency (formed in 2008th after the self-proclamation of independence), from earlier this year began a violent illegal privatization. In addition to the recently occupied factory "Lola" in Strpce/Shterpce, from which 150 workers were expelled, previously veterinary clinic was hijacked , as well Department store "Mladost", and two days ago the employees of the Agency took the hotel "Junior" in which there are more than 80 displaced people. In addition to the mass expropriation of the Serbian property in Brezovica, Popovic stresses that in recent months the target are and the Farmers Cooperatives.

- Since the beginning of the year they "started" with fighting cooperatives, and it is known that the Serbian population is in rural areas, so their Cooperatives were the only left resources that would provide a livelihood to some extent. Apart from south of the Ibar/Iber river, the "target" of the agency has become and famous cooperative in Zubin Potok, although it is known that it is not a social enterprise - said Popovic and emphasizes that the aforementioned agency, that presents itself as the successor of UNMIK's trust agency, even though it has no legal basis by UNMIK, illegally privatized more than 70 per cent of the former companies, which in Kosovo were 700. From the sale, around 600 million euros poured into the Agency cash register.

- Although the result of "privatization" in Kosovo is not recognized by UNMIK, nobody prevents illegal disposal of Serbian property on the grounds that they do not have mechanisms. In regards to the return of the property, from EULEX we always get an answer that if we believe that privatization is carried out illegally, we can turn to a special chamber of the Supreme Court, although it does not provide restitution but financial compensation - says the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

Indemnification makes no sense, since the property is sold at bargain-basement prices. For example, the factory "Feronikl" from Glogovac/Gllogovc was sold for 37 million euros, although according to experts it is worth at least half a billion dollars! "Pecka/Peja Brewery" was sold for ten million, while its true value is at least ten times higher.

In addition to public property, companies from Serbia have more than 1 350 facilities in the territory of Kosovo, and the Fund for the Development has a stake worth € 180 million in 163 companies.

Trapped hundreds of billions

According to the data of the Serbian Chamber, property in Kosovo is worth more than $ 200 billion, which the state can claim, and that does not include mineral resources and land, as well as private property owned by Serbs. Besides the large number of real estate in the province, more than 1.4 million square meters of official buildings, 145 000 square meters of commercial and 25 000 residential buildings, the state of Serbia owns and about 580 000 hectares of agricultural, forest and building land.