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The Kosovo Privatization Agency (KPA) has taken over the "Rajska Banja" complex in Banjskë, Zvečan, as the property belongs to a social enterprise in Kosovo, which has leased it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said the managing director of this agency, Arben Limani, to Radio Free Europe.
"The Board of Directors [of the KPA], at the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, for the needs and public interest of the Ministry, has decided to lease these properties for services to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. So, for their public services for which we have no information," Limani said, adding that the decision was made at the meeting held on December 14.
Limani stated that for a period, KPA had tried to contact individuals or entities that had used this property but received no response. Therefore, they sought the assistance of the Kosovo Police to administer this property, which is located in the northern part of Kosovo, mostly inhabited by Serbs.
"The properties of the Banjskë complex belong to the Social Enterprise Trepça Standard, headquartered in North Mitrovica, and the property is in the name of this unit and the existing facility. Presumably, someone has renovated the facility during a period we do not know because we had very limited access. Now, when we have access there, we have tried to contact the individuals or entities that have used it to understand the legal basis on which they are using it," said Limani.
According to him, the police have provided information to KPA that there have been illegal activities in this complex.
The director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petković, also reacted to this action by the police and KPA.
He described the action of the police and KPA to take over "Rajska Banja" as "illegal."
In a press release, Petković stated that members of the Kosovo Police raided the complex in Banjskë and expelled the workers who were working on the maintenance of the hotel and restaurant located there "under the threat of force."
According to Petković, with this action, the authorities in Kosovo "once again attacked the collective rights of the Serbian people and violated the inalienable right to the inviolability of property."
"Of course, we will inform the international community about this attack, including the intermediaries in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina," said Petković.
In the premises of this complex, after an attack by a group of armed Serbs in September of this year, two people were arrested but later released by the authorities.
During the September attack, a Kosovo police officer and three armed attackers were killed.
Kosovo blames Serbia for this attack, but Belgrade denies involvement.
The reconstruction of this resort began in 2015 by the Serbian Government through its Office for Kosovo. About 7 million euros were invested in that project.
The then director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Marko Đurić, had signed agreements for the restoration of the bathhouse with the Diocese of Raška and Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and the chairman of the Temporary Municipal Authority, Ivan Todosijević.
Thus, the "Rajska Banja" complex passed into the ownership of the Government of Serbia, the Church, and the Temporary Municipal Authority of Zvečan.
This resort is located near the Banjskë Monastery, in the place of the same name, in the municipality of Zvečan. In this place, there are hot and sulfuric water sources.
In Kosovo, this complex is registered as a limited liability company in the name of Aleksandar Zllatkoviq.
KPA manages all former social enterprises in Kosovo and claims to be the sole owner of those properties.