Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Through a statement, it has been claimed that the explosion in the Ibër-Lepenc canal in Zubin-Potok gives Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti an alibi "to continue the persecution of Serbs."
The statement was made by the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, on November 30, on the website of this office.
The part of Petkovic's statement that mentions Kurti and the Kosovo authorities:
"Such unacceptable damage actually gives Kurti an alibi to continue the persecution of Serbs and the attack on Belgrade. It was a matter of time before Kurti would resort to new propaganda in order to strengthen his activities in the election campaign. In order to continue the further occupation of the north, Kurti needed a way to send new teams of Albanian police to the north and to continue the further militarization and fortification of the north of Kosovo and Metohija.
In recent days, with the violent and unilateral acts that Kurti is implementing in the north, in violation of all agreements reached in Brussels, laying the foundation stone for the construction of a new police base and various provocations on the occasion of Albanian Flag Day, Kurti had to accelerate the persecution of Serbs..
What's wrong with this statement?
Petkovic's claim that the explosion in the Ibër-Lepenc canal in Zubin-Potok will serve as an alibi "for the continued persecution of Serbs" in northern Kosovo is unsubstantiated, since it is not based on any facts.
Hibrid.info has on several occasions addressed the unfounded statements of Petkovic and other Serbian officials that “Serbs in the north are being persecuted” by Kosovo institutions. (see here, here and here)
While Petkovic claimed that the case paves the way for sending more Kosovo police forces to the north, it was the Kosovo Police that, in a public announcement about half an hour before the explosion in Ibër-Lepenc, announced increased security measures after incidents of various nature in recent days. In this case, the Police announced that there will be increased police activities to provide more security throughout the country (Police notification)
Petković's statement was also published by several Serbian-language media outlets (see here, here and here)
What is known about the explosion in this canal?
According to Kosovo Police, damage to critical infrastructure of the water canal in the village of Varage in Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo occurred at around 19:00 on Friday (November 29). Kosovo Police said that security measures have been taken and that intensive investigations are being conducted into the case. It also announced that security measures have been increased in sensitive locations. According to initial investigations, suspicions are that the attack was deliberate and carried out with explosives by an individual or criminal group (Police notification)
Analyze:
The Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, has said that the explosion in the Iber-Lepenc canal gives Kosovo authorities an alibi for "continuing the persecution of Serbs" in the north.
But Petkovic has not offered any arguments for this statement. Hibrid.info has in the past covered several unfounded statements by him and senior Serbian officials about the "persecution of Serbs."
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Unverified Content".
Reasoning:
Unsubstantiated statement is the assessment of statements that political and public figures with influence on opinion make with claims that are not based on facts.