Politicians of the Serbian List and media in the Serbian language have continued to spread information raising allegations of possible arrests of former policemen and plans to kill Serbs who are standing at the barricades.
"Another Serb, a former policeman, was arrested today in North Mitrovica" - is the title of the Serbian-language media news, Kosovo Online, published on December 16. There it is claimed about another action of the Kosovo Police (KP), for the possible arrest of a former member of it, who had resigned along with other Serbs who left the KP, after the government's decision to convert illegal license plates to RKS. In the content of this news, it is said that, according to their information, it is about Zoran Mihajlovic, "but at the moment it is not known what he is accused of".
Regarding this news, the Minister of the Interior, Xelal Sveçla, reacted, who denied the arrest of the former policeman, Zoran Mihajlovic.
"The commissioned 'news' that the Kosovo Police has lists on which it is arresting ex-policemen, as an orchestrated part of the disinformation campaign, are being used as tools to justify Serbia's open territorial claims, barricades and to intimidate citizens our Serbs", says Sveçla's reaction.
He further added that the Kosovo Police will implement the orders of the justice bodies and will continue to be vigilant in maintaining public safety and fighting crime at all times.
KP also denied the news of the Serbian media.
"The next speculation from the Serbian media is that the Kosovo Police even today arrested a person (former policeman Z.M) in North Mitrovica", says the announcement of the KP.
In an effort to deny misinformation and the time when blockades continue to prevent free movement in the north, the Kosovo Police has increased its reactions to news that mainly originates from Serbia. According to KP, the Serbian media, in various forms and through speculations and non-official information, are trying to further destabilize the situation by misinforming the public.
Rakic's accusation that Kurti wants to kill Serbs
Tensions in the north are also being fueled by Serbian politicians who continue to stay at the barricades that were set up at the beginning of December. Thus, the chairman of the Serbian List, Goran Rakiq, taking the trigger from a statement by Prime Minister Kurti, has accused him of having the intention of killing Serbs. The former minister for communities and return made the statement through a video made near one of the barricades, which was also distributed in the local media in the Serbian language.
"Albin Kurti's last statement exceeded all measures. Kurti openly suggests killing the Serbs at the barricades, because according to him, the barricades cannot be removed in any other way. He is calling for the killing of our mothers, our sisters, our workers, doctors and professors who fight day and night and peacefully against his terror. Unfortunately, this threat goes unanswered by international representatives, which is unacceptable", said Rakiq.
According to him, the "recipe" for removing the barricades is the release of the arrested Serbs, the withdrawal of all Police units from the north of Kosovo and, as Rakic claims, "the removal of all secret lists for killing Serbs".
But the head of the executive, Kurti, in the statement given to the British medium "The Guardian", does not mention the killing of Serbs, but the consequences that would be caused by the violent removal of the barricades.
"Our concern is that the removal of these barricades cannot exclude the victims. And that is why we want to be as careful as possible to make sure that there will be no destabilization and there will be peace and security. However, we cannot allow this violation of legality and constitutionality forever. So, yes, this must end, the sooner the better", stated Kurti.
"The EU and the US all agree that the barricades should be removed. But they are also worried that this can be used and abused by Belgrade", he added.
Until now, there has been no police action to remove the barricades, although Kurti and Sveçla have repeated in several cases that they have the capacity to do so. In one of the last conferences, Kurti said that for the situation in the north, they are in full coordination with KFOR. According to him, the force, which operates on the basis of resolution 1244, has requested more time for intervention in removing the barricades. After the recent developments in the north, KFOR has increased its presence, but so far has not taken any action to remove the obstacles.
*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”
