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Kosovo Police have temporarily detained for questioning the mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojevic, and the chairman of the Municipal Assembly, Ivan Zaporozhac, after they attempted to cover with red paint the green heart on the "I love Mitrovica" sign, which was placed by the previous government led by former Albanian mayor Erden Atiq.
After they were released, Radojevic told reporters that the local government was only implementing decisions it had previously approved.
Kosovo Police announced that they had received information about the removal of the “I Love Mitrovica” sign, after which municipal inspectors were notified that the implementation of that decision had to be postponed until a decision was made by the Ministry of Local Government Administration, which oversees municipalities in the country.
Police said they also encountered Mayor Radojevic at the scene, who, after the police station commander informed him of the situation, declared: "Now we will paint the emblem."
"Despite the request and order to stop damaging, namely painting, the public object, the people present began to paint it, for which police officers were forced to intervene and escort two people to the police station," the statement said.
The Serbian List – the largest Serb party in Kosovo, which has the support of Belgrade – returned to power in the four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo after last year's local elections.
Until then, North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok were led by Albanian mayors, after the representatives of the Serbian List had resigned in November 2022, as part of the collective departure from Kosovo institutions with the aim of preventing the implementation of the decisions of the Government of Kosovo.
Meanwhile, the Serbian List had twice called for a boycott of the elections, but then admitted that leaving Kosovo institutions was a mistake and, after returning to power, announced that it would undo all decisions made by the previous Albanian government.
Thus, at the end of May, the assembly members of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly voted in favor of the proposal to remove the "I love Mitrovica" sign.
Previously, a construction with a red heart and the inscription "I love Mitrovica of Kosovo" was placed at that location.
The Law on Local Self-Government in Kosovo does not clearly define whether a new municipal government can repeal the decisions of the previous government.
However, in the part of the law related to the supervision of legality, it is stated that if the supervisory body – in this case the Ministry of Local Government Administration or other responsible institutions of the Government of Kosovo – assesses that a decision or act of the municipality is not in accordance with the Constitution and laws, it may request that the municipality reconsider that decision or act.
If the municipal body does not respond to the request for review, the supervisory body may challenge the relevant act before the Basic Court competent for the territory of the municipality within 30 days of the failure to receive a response, of the rejection or of the confirmation of the contested decision or act.
The court may order, through an interim measure, the suspension or annulment of the contested decision or act, as well as other interim measures in accordance with the law in force.
Following the local elections of October 2025, the European Union stated to Radio Free Europe that it expects the new municipal authorities in northern Kosovo, in cooperation with central institutions, to engage constructively in resolving the needs and demands of the population through institutions and in accordance with the law.
After the removal of Serbs from Kosovo institutions in the north, at the initiative of the Serbian List, tensions continuously increased as a result of the Kosovo Government's efforts to extend its authority to the north of the country.
The situation escalated in September 2023 when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in the village of Banjska, Zvecan, killing a police sergeant.
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the former deputy leader of the Serbian List, Milan Radoićić, who is believed to be now in Serbia.
Kosovo accuses Serbia of involvement in this attack, which it has denied./ REL
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