Heritage and Politics Square

Never before has there been more talk about cultural heritage than now. But politicians are the most vocal about it. The political debate – which also has business interests and electoral campaigns behind it – overshadows the professional one. Beyond heritage, the square has become a battlefield over whose narrative dominates public opinion. But everything started backwards and in violation of the law. Then it turned into a spectacle. The start of works by the Municipality of Pristina without respecting the Law on Cultural Heritage has resulted in no small quarrels. “George Bush” Square has now also become a public battle

Situations with verbal clashes and even physical clashes between the Inspectorate of Cultural Heritage and municipal officials have never been seen before. Never before has there been more talk about cultural heritage than now. But politicians are the most vocal about it. The political debate – which also has business interests and electoral campaigns behind it – overshadows the professional one. Beyond heritage, the square has become a battlefield over whose narrative dominates public opinion.

But everything started backwards and against the law. Then it turned into a spectacle. 

The start of works by the Municipality of Pristina, disregarding the Law on Cultural Heritage, has resulted in considerable controversy. George Bush Square has now become a public battleground.  

Municipal officials, led by Mayor Përparim Rama, intend to continue the works. The Cultural Heritage Inspectorate has stopped them three times so far. It didn't take long for political clashes to begin.

Starting work without a permit

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The Municipality of Pristina has begun construction work in one of the central areas of the capital. The project, for which it has signed a contract worth 18.4 million euros, includes a large area that touches the "Zahir Pajaziti" square, the former "George Bush" street, the "Garibaldi" street and the area of ​​the National Library of Kosovo. In this entire area there are 5 monuments. Four under temporary protection and the National Library under permanent protection..... and for projects like these, permission from the heritage bodies is mandatory. 

In early March, the Municipality cut the ribbon for the start of the works. And on March 12, the Inspectorate of Cultural Heritage stopped the works with the justification that the work was being carried out between monuments and within the protected area of ​​the Historic Center of Pristina. The Law on Cultural Heritage stipulates that for works in protected areas, written permission from cultural heritage institutions is required. The Municipality has not complied with this. It then submitted the project for review to the Kosovo Institute for the Protection of Monuments. Still without receiving a response, it resumed the works in April. They were stopped again and a case was opened with the Kosovo Police.

The Kosovo Institute for the Protection of Monuments has not approved the project. Among other things, it has found that this project violates the integrity of the monuments and has recommended that the Municipality complete the case with additional documents. The construction of new premises is a problem in itself. 

The situation escalated last week. The municipality has resumed the implementation of the project by the City Architect Service and a subcontractor from Albania. 

On Monday, the Cultural Heritage Inspectorate found that work was being carried out outside the protected area. According to cultural heritage institutions, the protected area is bordered by the former road. The left side is protected, while the right side is not. That day, the municipality continued the work only on the right side. The next day, the situation changed. After the work started on the other side, the Inspectorate tried to stop it.

Accusations of untruths

"You have here a draft document, in which you claim that it is not approved and you have the face to call the Police, to waste their time... Stopping the great transformation project for the capital, with a draft document. This is not approved in what you claim, this is a joke", Mayor Rama addressed the director of the Inspectorate of Cultural Heritage, Imer Hakaj, last week. He disputed the boundary of the Historical Center of Pristina. Hakaj responded briefly. 

"Everything you say is untrue," he said. 

Municipal officials have opposed the border at all costs. According to them, there are no borders. The Inspectorate has requested assistance from the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage in Pristina. 

"The asset of the Historic Center of Pristina was initiated many years ago, but in 2019 it has arrived to be listed as a cultural heritage asset in the field of conservation and restoration. At the moment in the area we are talking about, the part on the left is a protected cultural heritage area. This is the form, it is signed by former Minister Vlora Dumoshi. You have also seen the letters that we have previously exchanged with the Municipality and cultural heritage institutions", explained Afërdita Gashi-Sinanaj, architect at the QRTK of Pristina. 

For municipal officials, these explanations were not valid either. According to them, the map is just a draft and is not part of the file through which in 2020 the Historic Center of Pristina became a cultural heritage asset under temporary protection. 

But for cultural heritage experts, George Bush Square is no simple space.

The square as a cultural space

"George Bush Square is located in a space that is not a building but a space with cultural heritage status. It means it is a cultural space that has a space protected by law. The whole conflict starts with this issue, because there are problems understanding the status of the space. A space with the status of this square for any development is subject to legislation. The legislation is intertwined between the obligations, conditions and criteria set out in the Cultural Heritage Law, the Spatial Planning Law and the Construction Law," said architect Gjejlane Hoxha. Hoxha, who until her retirement was an official of cultural heritage institutions in leading positions, says that cultural spaces are very complex and that all parties need to participate in designs that radically change these surfaces. 

Meanwhile, architect and politician Eliza Hoxha states that the whole process has not started properly.

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"The whole process has been built backwards. First, we have not seen a complete project. I personally, as a person in this field or even my colleagues, let them give their opinion, I have not seen a complete project with all the phases, such as a project that must go and finally be provided with a permit and with all these decisions that must be made as a result of the sensitivity of certain objects or a certain area to then move on to a broad process of public discussion and the actors who live there, work there, whether it is here where we are and how people see it.... the extension of the square to the cathedral", said Hoxha.

For the Municipality of Pristina, the situation created has nothing to do with cultural heritage but entirely with political orders. For this reason, it has insisted on preventing the cessation of works on one side of the surface. It even insists that all this is being done for the good of the monuments and the capital.

The political clash

"The highest authorities are telling us, that is, the ministers, such as the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Culture, who today enjoy that duty illegally, are also working illegally and putting pressure on the Police. They are using the Inspectorate of Cultural Heritage to take illegal actions that have no legal basis and are stopping the work halfway through. Now they say that it is protected and this is not protected. Ad hoc decisions, purely political, to stop the good work that is happening in the capital," said Mayor Rama on Tuesday when the works were stopped for the third time. 

The municipality says it is in full compliance with the legal framework. However, experts say otherwise. 

"Regarding the planning of projects, of transformative interventions in the city center, such as the square, radical transformative interventions, meaning the complete content of the functions, the volumes and forms will change. The main artery of the city, the city center with the status of a cultural space under legal protection that requires standards and standards that must be respected so that we can shape a city center as a cultural space of the period of modern architecture that belongs to modern architecture, there are standards, there are rules, there are laws. All of these have been violated, ignored by the team in charge of the design," said architect Gjejlane Hoxha. 

The Municipality of Pristina intends not to stop. The supplements requested by the Kosovo Institute for the Protection of Monuments have not yet been sent. It is based on the permit received from the Directorate of Urbanism. But the Law on Spatial Planning and the Law on Construction define other rules for protected areas. While the Law on Cultural Heritage gives the right of veto to cultural heritage institutions. 
"Surprisingly, this project has started without permission, without planning, without any procedure. If we go into detail and elaborate, it will turn out that the Municipality does not even have the right to plan in this space, because the Spatial Planning Law prohibits it," said Hoxha. 

Criminal charges have been filed in both cases. In addition, citizens have been called to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with cultural heritage institutions. 

"We will also invite the citizens of the capital to demonstrate against these purely illegal political decisions. We must not fall prey to these blackmails, sabotages by people who do not want the best for this people," said Mayor Rama. 

Considering the area where the project is intended to be implemented, the situation is very complex. But the Law on Cultural Heritage makes the Ministry of Culture responsible for policies for the protection and treatment of cultural heritage. And this law is of vital interest. 

"I would like to emphasize one issue, that the Law on Cultural Heritage is among the 5 laws as vital laws in the Constitution of Kosovo. This law has many shortcomings and its supplementation can be initiated for political reasons. But as a vital law, it is above all other laws. Not out of desire or for any other reason, but because cultural heritage is a vital issue, vital for a country and the state has obligations," said architect Hoxha.  

Three Municipality projects – without permits

The municipality is in constant conflict with cultural heritage institutions. Last year, work began on the project "Arbëri Urban Island - Youth Palace". The railway is the border between the protected area of ​​the Historic Center of Pristina and the other part, that of Arbëria, which is not included in this area. Work has also stopped there. Now work is being done on the other side. The contract weighs 6.5 million euros. 

For the tunnel project on the “Agim Ramadani” street, the Municipality has requested permission. It has been refused. The tender with an estimated value of 6 million euros is being finalized. Only the signing of the contract is missing. 

On the “Rexhep Luci” street, works are also being carried out without permission from the cultural heritage institutions. But in this case, the Inspectorate has not stopped them, as there is a court decision that has prohibited the closure of the street. Despite this, the works continue. 

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The contracts for the works that have already been stopped by the Municipality weigh over 20 million euros. Including those for which there is no permit, but procedures have been developed, the value goes over 30 million. The Ministry of Culture has requested the Kosovo Police to launch investigations into all these projects. 

What will be the epilogue of these initiatives and especially the largest, the "George Bush" square, remains to be seen. These days it has been transformed into a theater, into an open environment. Into a square of cultural heritage and politics.