Who is concocting the „war in Kosovo“?

The text was written for KoSSev by journalist and analyst Milivoje Mihajlović

„Serbs can’t make a road we won’t find“ – this explanation of the situation in the north of Kosovo, which one of the commanders of the Kosovo police gave to a British Telegraph journalist, can serve as an illustration of jokes about the „intelligence of policemen“, as well as the „professionalism“ of journalists. Truthfully, a road cannot be concealed even in incomparably larger territories, let alone in the north of Kosovo, which covers only 1,007 square kilometers. In such a small area of the north of Kosovo, it should not be hard for the proficient police to solve, for example, the murder of Oliver Ivanović.

However, the Telegraph journalist, clad in a bulletproof vest, searched for „evidence“ in the north of Kosovo that war was „being planned“. And she found it in the statements of Kosovo policemen and politicians.

Clad in a bulletproof vest, the editor of the British Telegraph reports from a Leposavić hill on a possible „Serbian invasion of Kosovo“
Dr. Ivanov on the report of the British Telegraph: Suggesting that the escalations in Kosovo amount to war is just plain wrong

The entire text is a textbook example of using the PR pattern. A mix of „Russian influence“, claims that Aleksandar Vučić is „little Putin“ who is planning an attack on Kosovo (justification for this can be found in the events in Banjska), arming of Serbia, training of volunteers…

The allegation that Serbia is building military bases around Kosovo in a „horseshoe shape“ is an allusion to the 1999 „horseshoe“ also invented by the propaganda machines in the West to justify the bombing.

Admittedly, a quarter of a century ago, Telegraph and many other media outlets were much more imaginative in carrying out PR tasks related to Kosovo.

Reports about the preparation of a „war in the north of Kosovo“ is slowly taking up more and more space in the Western media. This is, first of all, a consequence of the work of several lobby groups that the current Kosovo government hired in Washington, New York, London, Berlin…

For example, Bloomberg published an article entitled „Putin’s new front in the Ukraine war is in the Balkans“, in which it is „assessed“ that the hypocenter of that war is in the north of Kosovo.

„The fear of war is on the rise in Kosovo“, warns „Kelner Stadt Anzeiger,“ conveying the warning of Kosovo’s Minister of Police, Xhelal Svecla, who claims that „four hundred ‘extremists’ near the border are undergoing military training, ready to carry out an aggression against Kosovo as soon as the Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić orders it“.

„Serbia has been jangling its weapons for a long time,“ this Cologne-based daily assesses and claims that dispatching troops to the border is supposed to send a „clear message“ to politicians in Pristina. However, they also state that the main exploiter in this whole story is Vladimir Putin.

The Austrian media are also warning about the escalation of the conflict. The Vienna-based Standard reported that the situation is complicated by calls for Serbs to boycott the referendum for the election of mayors in the north.

The census in Kosovo is also a problem because Srpska Lista called for a boycott.

„If we don’t wake up, there will be new wars,“ Gerald Knaus tweeted, the Standard reports, stating that the Vučić-Dodik duo is actually the biggest danger in the region.

What is the goal of this media campaign?

The media militarization of the north of Kosovo is primarily an alibi for the Kosovo government to deploy extra police forces north of the Ibar River and for additional special police operations. It is an illusion that the police repression of the Kosovo government for „preservation of sovereignty“ in the north can integrate citizens into the Kosovo system and this is the only real source of risk of possible incidents.

An increase in the number of KFOR soldiers deployed in that region would also lead to that. The consequences will be seen in further intimidation of the already intimidated Serbs, both in the north and in the enclaves.

The short-term goal of „pointing out the danger of war“ in northern Kosovo is for the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe not to be questioned. Therefore, the „danger of war“ conceals the non-fulfillment of obligations and the fact that the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities is still only a „currency“ or better said a „bad check“ in negotiations in the Brussels-Pristina-Belgrade triangle.

Using this „bad check”, the government in Pristina „bought“ the participation of Serbs from the north in the Kosovo elections, the integration of the Serbian police, the judiciary, the abolition of civil protection, competencies in the field of energy and telecommunications, Gazivoda, plates, the abolition of the dinar…

With this media campaign, the Kosovo Prime Minister is sending a message to the West that he needs protection. In this way, he strengthens his own positions in Europe.

He assures his voters that he is a true fighter for Albanian national interests (as he interprets them). He keeps political opponents under sedation with the tried-and-tested mantra – „If you overthrow me while Serbia is preparing for war, then you are the biggest traitors.“

On the other hand, Belgrade is wandering around the dead ends of spin news for internal purposes.

The government is focused on its own voters and its goal is to keep attention on the topic of the threat to Kosovo Serbs – until oblivion, as long as tabloids and tabloid pro-regime television channels do not „instill dislike of Kosovo“ and reduce Kosovo Serbs to humiliating „folks who sold Kosovo, those who have robbed, those who have not paid electricity for decades, those who build billionaire villas on the lake, those who pull out a megaphone and curse anyone who is against the government…“.

Frankly, the Belgrade tabloids have been inventing a „Storm“ in the north of Kosovo for a decade just to allow Vučić to claim that he „will not allow the persecution of Serbs“. This is how the „imperceptible“ surrender of Kosovo was covered up.

Because the reality of Kosovo spoils the fairy tales about „Louis Vuitton“, flying cars, subways, economic tiger, prosperity… and hundreds of cheap media tricks, with which both Serbs in Kosovo and all citizens of Serbia are kept under anesthesia to make the operation of the surrender of Kosovo in exchange for staying in power – painless.

All statements presented in this text are the personal opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial office. KoSSev is not the author of the text.