FLASH
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"Meet the mayor of the municipality of Leposavič, who is rejected by the majority of residents and who has been blocked due to tensions between Albanians and Serbs that escalated into violence earlier in the year", this is how Reuters begins the report dedicated to the mayor of the municipality northern Lulzim Hetemi, who said that he lives and sleeps in his office since May, guarded by NATO troops and Kosovo's special police.
"Who wants to stay in the office and sleep on the chair? As you know, the beginning was very difficult. This place was filled with police and special forces. The situation was very tense. Who will stay away from the family, away from the children. This is the love for the homeland and for sovereignty", says Lulzim Hetemi.
Hetemi, a beekeeper, was elected with just 100 votes in elections boycotted by ethnic Serbs, who make up 97% of Leposavic's total population.
While ethnic Albanians make up the vast majority of Kosovo's 1.8 million people, the 50,000 Serbs in its north reject Kosovo citizenship and see Belgrade as their capital, 15 years after Kosovo declared independence following a guerrilla uprising. Serbia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo.
The unrest in the north intensified after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in the Serb-majority area, a move that prompted the US and its allies to criticize Pristina. The Serbian population had boycotted the elections, which took place in four northern municipalities after their mayors resigned in a long-running dispute over car registration.
The northern region has seen the worst violence this year since independence, starting with an incident on September 24 when Serb gunmen attacked police in the village of Banjska, killing Kosovar policeman Afrim Bunjaku and leaving 3 gunmen missing. life.
Shortly after he took office, violent protesters surrounded his office demanding his resignation. Hetemi refused and said that he has been staying inside the building since May 29, without returning home for a single day.
"My wife tells me: you will return home or I will leave you... I'm joking that she knows why we are here... she doesn't have a problem", says Lulzim Hetemi.
As he recounts, he later found a bed to replace the chairs he used to sleep on, placing it in a room adjacent to the office, where he meets with international envoys and NATO officials who are trying to prevent further violence. and find a way out towards holding new elections.
Formal suits hang on the walls while on the table he holds three bottles of honey, one of which is almost empty. The former municipal staff refused to serve the Albanian mayor and were replaced by 75 other employees who are also Serbs.
Hetemi says he has been careful not to touch anything belonging to the previous administration, including dozens of alcoholic beverages.
"We have not touched anything. Neither alcoholic beverages, books, Serbian flags nor even their painting...When they come, they will find everything as they left it because we don't want to destroy any of them", says Lulzim Hetemi.
The only exit Hetimi makes every day is to the balcony, where he gets fresh air and sees NATO soldiers from the third floor. He says he is ready to end his mandate when new elections are called, but there is still no agreement on this in EU-mediated negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia.
In a sign of progress, local residents have sought the mayor's services to register their vehicles. Prime Minister Kurti has set December 15 as the deadline for the registration of about 10,000 vehicles with Kosovo license plates, or they will face heavy fines. / Reuters
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