The Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports (MKRS), Bislim Bislimi, held a press conference today regarding the indictment filed for abuse of official position against two officials of the Urbanism Directorate in Prizren.
Bislimi stated that the accused allowed the demolition of a building that is legally protected.
“As announced to the public, yesterday the Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Prizren filed an indictment against two individuals in their capacity as public officials of the Municipality of Prizren for allowing the demolition of buildings with permanent legal protection status as architectural cultural heritage assets, specifically the demolition of the former Sarajet e Vjetra complex in Prizren,” said Bislimi.
He also added that this is not the first time such a thing has happened, but the ministry has taken measures to reduce the destruction of protected buildings, and those who allow it to happen will not go unpunished.
“For years, competent professional institutions of cultural heritage have faced numerous cases of intentional damage, destruction, or alteration of buildings that enjoy legal protection. These damages were often done for private gain, ignoring legal restrictions on these properties, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Law on the Historic Center of Prizren, and other applicable legal acts. Beyond the large-scale conservation and restoration programs currently being implemented, MKRS in recent years has intensified its efforts, through the administrative and executive functions of its institutions—particularly the Cultural Heritage Inspectorate—to significantly prevent illegal acts of destruction and the loss of cultural and historical assets protected by the Constitution and law,” he said.
Regarding further institutional steps, Bislimi emphasized that they call on the Prosecutor’s Office in Prizren to handle the case and punish the responsible officials. He also urged the accused to resign from their positions and noted that reconstructing the demolished building would require an allocation of 15 million euros, a significant amount from the state budget.
“MKRS also reminds that coordination between the Ministry, the Police, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the judiciary will be further strengthened, and any case in which illegal actions are identified in protected assets or zones will be prosecuted, whether involving central or local public officials or other parties involved in the destruction or loss of legally protected values. Given the increasing negative involvement of local officials that undermines the Law on Cultural Heritage in favor of illegal private or group interests, we call on them to abandon this practice, to fully coordinate with competent cultural heritage institutions, and to ensure the enforcement of sectoral legislation in this area of public interest, as all of us exercising public authority are obliged to do,” he said.
Reconstructing the demolished building will require nearly 16 million euros, a significant sum from the state budget.
