The Serbian daily "Novosti" published today (October 27) an article titled "WHAT is hidden behind the ALBANIAN PLAN WITH LICENSE PLATE, Vučić: We will not allow the killing and persecution of Serbs."
The content of the article is based on statements by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, made in a public speech, after meeting with several Serbian political representatives from Kosovo at a session of the National Security Council.
The Novosti headline raised the dilemma about the existence of a plan, which they claim to clarify through the Serbian president's statement.
In his presentation, Vučić made an unfounded claim that "behind the plan to register vehicles with RKS license plates... lies an attempt to expel and prevent the return of Serbs to Kosovo."
This statement by Vučić has been published in full by several Serbian media outlets, including the daily "Novosti", without confirming the claim.
Link to the article published in "Novosti":
Parts of the article published in "Novosti":
THE PRESIDENT of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, in a public speech after a meeting with representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and a session of the National Security Council, revealed what is hidden behind the vehicle re-registration plan and declared that Serbia will not allow the persecution and murder of its people from Kosovo and Metohija.
Part of Vučić's statement, published in the content of the "Novosti" article:
Their plan is as follows: that the KM plates be removed from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija to the territory of Serbia, and then not allowed to return to the territory as they call the “independent state of Kosovo”. Therefore, they should not be allowed to enter the territory of the Republic of Kosovo with those plates. They simply did not understand what they were producing. I think they think that it is an easy decision and that the world will not blame them. I do not know what the world will do against them, but they will certainly encounter democratic resistance from the population and Serbia will not allow the persecution and murder of the Serbian population.
Serbian President Vučić's claim, published in "Novosti", that the plan to register license plates in the RKS is aimed at the murder and persecution of Serbs is unfounded.
Vučić does not present any facts that prove his claim, except for referring to the Kosovo Government's decision on the deadline for registering vehicles with RKS license plates.
Based on statements by Kosovo's political and institutional leaders made since the time this topic was updated, hibrid.info has not been able to find any indication that proves the existence of any plan to expel Serbs.
In fact, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in his latest statement on this topic, called on all citizens of the Serbian community to use the period until November 1 to re-register their vehicles, demanding its implementation, but made some threats, which would create a threatening impression.
"Instead of October 1, it is November 1, so the last date is October 31 when all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, who have vehicles with outdated license plates from the Milosevic era, will have the opportunity to convert them to legal license plates."", Kurti said. (here)
This call by Kurti yesterday was interpreted in the Serbian media in a tendentious manner, as if Kurti was seeking war, which was supported today by statements by Serbian President Vučić. (here)
According to the plan for registering vehicles with license plates in the RKS, the movement of vehicles with license plates issued by the Serbian state is restricted. According to the Law on Road Traffic Safety, the Police has the right to remove from traffic a vehicle that is not registered or does not have certain license plates. (here, here)
Analyze:
The Serbian newspaper "Novosti" published an article today with the unfounded claim of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that "the plan to register vehicles with RKS license plates is hiding the expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo."
Vučić does not base his claim on any concrete facts, even though the official statement from Pristina does not contain the Serbian president's claims.
Furthermore, the registration plan includes restricting the movement of vehicles with registrations issued by Serbia and stipulates that, according to the traffic safety law, the Police has the right to remove these vehicles.
Hibrid.info, based on its work methodology, assesses that the claims made are unfounded and are considered "misinformation".
Reasoning:
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.