Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has largely avoided interviews with local media for a long time. Despite occasional media events, Kurti refuses interview requests by Kosovo media or any media that follows Kosovo closely.
This approach has raised concerns that the Kosovo government is attempting to control the narrative, presenting only its perspective without facing scrutiny or accountability from journalists or the public.
The government uses this approach for propaganda purposes to boost their support. According to a European Union official, speaking on background, “the main disinformation agent in Kosovo is the government itself.”
Kurti’s media strategy seems particularly targeted at minorities. In a recent video address to the Harvard Albanian Students Association, Kurti made several comments about minority issues in Kosovo that did not reflect the reality on the ground.
Kurti is right, when he says, that Kosovo’s strong constitutional protections for minority rights are enshrined in its constitution.
However, he remains silent on his government’s human rights violations, especially against the Kosovo Serb community and never mentions the illegal expropriation of land in Serbian communities or the excessive force reportedly used by both the regular police and special police units in the north, or even the illegal signage in the north.
Last weekend, a Kosovo Serb lawyer, Milos Subotic, was arrested and allegedly beaten by police while walking home with his wife from a celebration. He claims he was moving bags blocking a walkway in front of an Albanian-owned store.
However, police charged him with vandalism, denied the beating and claimed he resisted arrest. According to Subotic, he was never allowed to call a lawyer.
Instead of insisting on an investigation, government officials simply claimed nothing was wrong and the mayor of North Mitrovica said that NGOs who spoke out against Subotic’s treatment never spoke out against Serb cars being burned or against “terrorist” organizations in the north.
On Wednesday, the Police Inspectorate recommended suspending two officers in the case. The Prime Minister has yet to make a statement.
Kurti also refuses to implement the Association/Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities, a commitment Kosovo made in 2013 in Brussels and again in 2023 in Ohrid, North Macedonia.
He tends to avoid discussing this topic and often pushes back when journalists bring it up. Recently, the Prime Minister responded to questions on the matter, saying:“Please, do not put the cart before the horse; the Association cannot be made a priority. This is Belgrade's point of view.”
He then went on to instruct and lecture journalists in Prishtina about what kind of questions to ask.
“Whenever we discuss relations with Serbia, I kindly ask you to frame your questions differently. Don’t talk about the dialogue without referencing the basic agreement, and don’t talk about the Association without acknowledging the basic agreement,” he added.
Bullying journalists and implying that asking not to be questioned in the “wrong way” or the “Belgrade style” is not democratic but authoritarian.
A journalist could also ask the Kosovo government’s spokesperson why he insists on saying the government meets with Serbs. In fact, this government has never met with any Serb civil society groups about the policy approach in the north.
In fact, Vetevendosje’s whip, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, is the only government official to hold meetings with any Kosovo Serb representatives including with, Milan Radoicic, a known criminal sanctioned by the U.S. and who has claimed responsibility for the Banjska attack in September 2023. We only know about these meetings through leaked phone recordings.
The Kosovo government is unwilling to be held accountable by the media and, by extension, its constituents. Regardless of the government’s lack of transparency, shutdown threats, repressive media law and other offenses against the media; journalists must do more to fact-check government and police statements and push back against government disinformation.
