Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
Several articles are published claiming that the Kosovo Government, led by the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, "has taken a decision to divide a part of the Gjilan neighborhood and give it to the Municipality of Novo Brdo".
Articles with this claim were published on Monday (July 28) by several media outlets such as: "gazetametro.net","periscope.com","epokaere.com","balkani.info”And“information.net".
What is the truth?
Hibrid.info has found that there has been no decision in the last four years to change the administrative boundaries of the municipality of Gjilan.
These articles report that residents of the "Dardania" neighborhood in Gjilan have received a letter from the Government, more specifically from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Local Government Administration (MLGA), telling them that officially they are no longer residents of the municipality of Gjilan, but of Novo Brdo.
The article mentions the Government's position, stating that this action is justified as part of the implementation of the decentralization process. However, according to the article's own interpretation, this process is already considered completed.
The articles also took as a source the statement of a resident of this neighborhood.
Regulation No. 2000/43 of the United Nations Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which administered Kosovo pursuant to a United Nations (UN) Resolution on the Number, Names and Boundaries of Municipalities, had designated thirty municipalities as administrative units (see here).
Subsequently, the plan of the United Nations (UN) special envoy for the status of Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, submitted in 2007 as a proposal by him, stipulated changes in the administrative organization, which included Local Self-Government and DecentralizationArticle 6 of the document states: “6.1 Municipalities shall be the basic territorial units of local self-government in Kosovo. 6.2 Local self-government in Kosovo shall be based on the principles of good governance, transparency, and efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of public services, paying particular attention to the specific needs and concerns of non-majority communities and their members. 6.3 Municipalities in Kosovo shall have the right to inter-municipal and transboundary cooperation on matters of common interest in the exercise of their responsibilities, as provided for in Annex III to this Agreement. 6.4 The boundaries of new municipalities shall be defined in accordance with the Appendix to Annex III to this Agreement." (see here).
The definition of the boundaries of the new municipalities was presented in the appendix to “ANNEX III”.
The organization and functioning of local self-government in Kosovo was based on this plan. In the document official of this organization, it is said that "The Republic of Kosovo covers an area of 10908 km2, which is divided into 38 administrative units or 38 municipalities, which are located and operate in specific territorial conditions. The municipalities were initially established by UNMIK Regulation 2000/43 in 2000, while Kosovo was under UNMIK administration." (see here).
After the declaration of independence, based on the Ahtisaari Plan, the territorial organization and determination of the administrative boundaries of municipalities was regulated by the Law on Administrative Boundaries of Municipalities. From 2008 to 2012, 7 new municipalities were established and one municipality, the one of North Mitrovica, was in the process of being established at that time.
From the separation of the territory of existing municipalities and their merger, new municipalities have been formed in the Republic of Kosovo, such as: Graçanica, Partesh, Ranilug, Kllokot, Hani i Elezit, Mamusha and Junik. The creation of new municipalities was done at the expense of the territory of the municipalities: Prishtina, Lipjan, Fushë Kosovë, Kamenicë, Novobërdë, Gjilan, Viti, Kaçanik, Prizren, Suhareke, Rahovec, Suhareke, Deçan and Gjakova. The new municipalities have taken 265.4 km/2 of the territory of existing municipalities or 2% of the territory of Kosovo.
Although in the document “Organization and Functioning of Local Self-Government in Kosovo” Gjilan and Novo Brdo are mentioned as having lost territories after the creation of new municipalities, in the Ahtisaari Plan, among the municipalities mentioned after the definition of the borders of the new municipalities, Novo Brdo is also included (see here).
Article 5 of the Law on Administrative Boundaries of Municipalities, “Territorial Organization of Local Self-Government”, in point 5.3, states that: “The current municipality of Novo Brdo, with its seat in Bostan, will be expanded and will consist of the cadastral areas listed in this law.". (see here).
If we compare the map of Kosovo's municipalities before and after the municipal decentralization process, it is noticeable that Novo Brdo was expanded at the expense of Gjilan.
Map of municipalities before and after the formation of new municipalities:
According to the Law on Administrative Boundaries of Municipalities, namely Article 9, the change of the administrative boundaries of the municipality is made by supplementing and amending this law. Supplementing/amending laws is voted on in the Assembly of Kosovo.
Hibrid.info has found in the official gazette of the Republic of Kosovo that this law has never been subject to amendments and changes that have affected the administrative boundaries of municipalities (see here).
Which means that we are not dealing with any new decision, which would include territorial changes to the municipality of Gjilan, but with the implementation of decisions based on the current law.
This is also confirmed by the current director of the Cadastre in the municipality of Gjilan, Bekim Salihu, who, through a Facebook status published on Saturday (July 26), reacted to the concerns raised about this issue, writing that the border of Gjilan with Novo Brdo was determined during the decentralization process, as a result of this process, part of the Dardania neighborhood is territory that belongs to Novo Brdo (see here).
This is also confirmed by the call for an emergency session in the Municipal Assembly of Gjilan by the assembly members of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which was held on Tuesday (July 29), where the initiation of legal procedures for the correction of the cadastral and administrative line between these two municipalities was requested (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that the Kosovo Government, led by acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has made a decision to divide a part of the Gjilan municipality neighborhood and give it to the Novo Brdo municipality does not hold true.
Hibrid.info has found that no such decision has existed in the last four years and the administrative boundaries of municipalities have not been changed by any new government decision, but were determined earlier during the decentralization process.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses the claim as "Manipulation of facts".
Reasoning:
“Factual manipulation” is a rating given to informational content that uses facts known to be accurate but interprets them in a distorted manner. These reports typically use accurate information to draw incorrect conclusions or claims, thereby misleading consumers of media content about the actual meaning of the facts presented.