A published article Yesterday (August 24) Russia Today Balkans (RT Balkans) raised the claim that the possible sentencing of former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), including Hashim Thaçi, could trigger protests and violence in Kosovo, also endangering the Serbian community. The article links this scenario to the March 2004 riots, suggesting that a similar situation could be repeated.
The article builds a conspiratorial narrative according to which the consequences of the trial of former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in The Hague could "pay" for Serbs in Kosovo.
The article links the trial of Hashim Thaçi and other former KLA commanders to the possibility of an outbreak of violence against the Serbian community, presenting March 2004 as a precedent for a possible scenario of a recurrence of violence.
What does the article say?
The narrative is initially built on a statement by former KLA commander Nasim Haradinaj, who, according to RT Balkan, stated that in the event of Thaçi and others being convicted, “Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania will burn”. However, this statement does not contain evidence that Serbs will be the target of any possible violence. Haradinaj also clarified that his statement was about the state of Kosovo and the KLA war, stating that in this way “the state burns, the right to war burns, international investments burn, because the core of statehood is accused as criminal or as a perpetrator of crimes against humanity”. (here)
The article expands on this claim through statements by Ljuban Karan, who predicts that a conviction of KLA leaders could trigger “revenge against Serbs” and a “wave of violence.” Karan links this to another claim, according to which there is a “strategy of ethnic cleansing of Kosovo by Serbs.” For these claims, the article provides no independent evidence or data that would indicate the existence of such a plan.
A central element of this narrative is the connection to the March 2004 riots. The events of that time are used to create a parallel between the current situation and the past, suggesting that a decision by the court in The Hague could produce a similar reaction and that the Serbian community could once again become victims of violence.
However, the article does not present concrete evidence that a possible decision of the Specialist Chambers would be followed by a wave of violence against Serbs. It does not cite assessments by KFOR, EULEX, Kosovo Police or other security institutions that would warn of such a threat. It also does not present data on any concrete preparation, organization or mobilization for attacks against the Serb community.
As a result, the article's main claim remains unsupported by verifiable evidence. It is based largely on political statements and predictions by a commentator, while the reference to March 2004 is used to make the scenario more convincing and emotional.
Analyze:
RT Balkan claims that the trial and possible conviction of Hashim Thaçi and former KLA commanders could trigger a wave of violence against Serbs in Kosovo, similar to March 2004.
The article bases this mainly on Nasim Haradinaj's statements, on Ljuban Karani's predictions of "revenge against Serbs" and a "strategy of ethnic cleansing", linking it to March 2004.
The alleged scenario of violence and cleansing of Serbs is presented without evidence or facts to support it.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info qualifies this claim as a "conspiracy theory".
Reasoning:
"Conspiracy theories" are considered to be informational content that contains a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event or person, presenting it as part or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). The characteristic of these contents is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any reliable evidence.