Following the covering of murals and inscriptions in the Zvecan municipality, leaflets urging the public to display Serbian flags—on windows, cars, and other visible places—have circulated in the area. The leaflets included messages such as “Serbia is not anyone’s game” and “Let everyone place the flag wherever Serbs live.”
The mayor of Zvecan, Ilir Peci, stated that any flags placed in prohibited areas would be removed in accordance with the law.
“As a municipality, we first removed the photo of the war criminal Ratko Mladić and have since taken steps to cover other provocative inscriptions for the sake of the citizens. If someone places flags in permitted areas, I, as mayor, would allow it. However, if they are placed in prohibited areas, they will still be removed,” Peci said.
The Deputy Police Director for the Mitrovica North region confirmed that the removal of murals and inscriptions was carried out with assistance from the Kosovo Police.
“Yesterday morning and this morning, the Kosovo Police assisted a company that had municipal permission to cover graffiti, murals, and other inscriptions in the north. We completed our task without incidents. Last night, some leaflets were distributed in Zvecan, but there were no legal grounds to initiate a case,” explained Elshani.
Security expert Arben Dashevci suggested that these actions by local Serbs are likely directed from Belgrade.
“In my view, these directives originate from Belgrade, aiming to exploit internal issues there and the state’s harsh apparatus,” Dashevci said.
Leaders of the Serb List have promised that the murals will be restored after local elections. Meanwhile, representatives of the Serbian Democracy party claimed that there is an ongoing attempt to systematically erase Serbian identity in Kosovo.
Despite the controversy, Mayor Peci emphasized that covering the murals and inscriptions is a concrete step to remove symbols of violence and hatred from public spaces.
