The article with misinformation from the Kurir.rs medium was corrected after being handled by hibrid.info (see the corrected article). here)
Serbian language media outlet "Novosti" yesterday (September 26) published an article claiming that a convoy of Kosovo Security Forces vehicles was seen in the Zubin Potok area on Saturday. The outlet made this claim based on unofficial sources, claims that are not supported by photographic evidence or other details.
The Serbian political entity in Kosovo, "Serbian List" (Srpska Lista), and the head of the office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petkovic, have reacted to the claims of the Serbian daily, describing them as a violation of the 2013 agreement guaranteed by NATO, which guarantees that no armed formation from Pristina can operate in the north without the permission of the mayors of municipalities and the KFOR commander.
The claim of the presence of the KSF has been denied by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kosovo, Armend Mehaj, through a reaction on his Facebook account.
Furthermore, the claim that no armed formation can operate in the north without the permission of KFOR and the mayors of the municipalities there, according to the 2013 agreement, is unfounded because that agreement only emphasizes the KSF and not other armed formations.
Link to the article published in "Novosti":
Parts of the article published in "Novosti":
Namely, as "Novosti" unofficially learns, on Saturday in the Zubin Potok area, on Mokra Gora Mountain, a convoy of vehicles was observed coming from the direction of the Istog municipality. of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF), in which there were eight vehicles: five "Land Rover Defenders" and three "Mitsubishi Pajer".
So far, no one from the international KFOR mission has commented on this outrageous action by the Prime Minister of the Provisional Institutions in Pristina, Albin Kurti, who threatens to threaten peace in Kosovo and Metohija, without whose consent and without prior notification of representatives of the Serbs, no armed formation can enter the northern provinces, according to UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
The claims of the daily "Novosti" have taken up space in the main Serbian media. (here, here, here)
The Serbian political entity "Serbian List" (Srpska Lista) has also reacted to the claims of the Serbian newspaper, saying that, “The illegal incursion of members of the Kosovo Security Forces into the territory of the municipality of Zubin Potok is a serious violation of the 2013 agreement, guaranteed by NATO, which guarantees that no armed formation of Pristina can occupy Serbian municipalities in the north without the approval of the mayors of these municipalities and the KFOR commander.” (here)
The head of the office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, also reacted to the claims of the Serbian-language media outlet, stating in a Facebook post that, "This is a direct violation of the 2013 agreement with the NATO Secretary General, according to which members of any military formation coming from Pristina have no right to stay in the north of the Republic of Kosovo without the dual approval of KFOR and the four Serbian leaders from the north." (here)
The claims of the Serbian newspaper about the presence of the Kosovo Armed Forces (KSF) in the north of the country, more specifically in Zubin Potok, have been denied by the Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, who has called these claims "dangerous misinformation with the aim of creating a climate of tension and a tendency to damage the image of the Republic of Kosovo and the KSF in the international aspect." (here)
Parts of the Mehaj ministries' response:
The Ministry of Defense denies the false news that has circulated in some Serbian media outlets about the alleged movement of KSF troops in the area of the Zubin Potok municipality.
We consider this fake news as dangerous disinformation with the aim of creating a climate of tension and a tendency to damage the image of the Republic of Kosovo and the KSF in the international aspect, but in reality, our citizens, regardless of ethnicity, correctly understand the protective role of the KSF and undoubtedly the geographical area that the Army of the Republic of Kosovo, together with international partners, covers is also clear, i.e. every corner of the state.
The Ministry of Defense and the KSF carry out all training and operational activities in cooperation and coordination with local and international authorities, namely KFOR, in accordance with our constitutional and legal mandates.
The reaction of the Mehaj ministries has also been reported in Serbian-language media. (here, here, here)
Also, another claim made in the Serbian daily and also emphasized by the "Serbian List" and the head of the office for Kosovo, Petkovic, is that according to the 2013 agreement, guaranteed by NATO, no armed formation from Pristina can operate in the north without the approval of the mayors of these municipalities and the KFOR commander.
For this, hibrid.info has consulted with official documents relevant to this issue, and has found that the claims of the Serbian political entity and Petkovic are incorrect. Official documents that classify the claims of Serbian officials as unfounded and prove that the Kosovo Police operates through a unified chain of command throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo are: The Agreement of April 19, 2013 between the former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi (see here); Law on Police, article 4, point 3 (see here); Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, reached on 19 April 2013 (see here).
The above-mentioned claims to link the April 19, 2013 agreement between former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and former Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, both in office at the time, to limit the operation of the KSF in northern Kosovo, without KFOR permission, with the Kosovo Police, turn out to be untrue (here).
In fact, in this Agreement, there is no mention of the Kosovo Police at all.
Hibrid.info also reviewed the Law on the Kosovo Police to verify whether the statement of the aforementioned entities is true, since the operation of this security institution in Kosovo is regulated only according to this relevant law. According to Article 4, point 3 of the Law on the Police, it is stated that “The police operate through a unified chain of command throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo." (see law here), without making any regional distinction.
Another document that hibrid.info has dealt with is the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, reached on April 19, 2013 between the two then prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, respectively, Hashim Thaçi and Ivica Dacic, (here) which provides in more detail the functioning of the Kosovo Police in the north of the country.
In this agreement, which was ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo on June 27, 2013 (here), the functioning of the Kosovo Police is envisaged:
"There will be a police force in Kosovo, called the Kosovo Police. All police in Kosovo Northern Kosovo Police will be integrated into the Kosovo Police framework. Salaries will be from the KP only. 8. Members of other Serbian security structures will be offered a place in equivalent structures of Kosovo". (see point 7 of the document of this ratified agreement) here)
So, according to this agreement signed by the Prime Minister of Serbia himself, of which the current President Vučić was also a part as First Deputy Prime Minister (here), it is envisaged that the Police in northern Kosovo will be integrated within the framework of the Kosovo Police. However, this document does not contain details about its functioning in the north.
Analyze:
The Serbian daily "Novosti" claims that the KSF is patrolling the Zubin Potok area, according to unofficial sources. The newspaper's claim has been denied by the Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, through a reaction on his Facebook account.
The Serbian political entity "Serbian List" (Srpska Lista) and the head of the office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petkovic, have also reacted to the newspaper's unfounded claims, calling it a violation of the 2013 agreement, guaranteed by NATO.
In the documents consulted and processed by hibrid.info, the claim of Serbian officials does not hold true, and that the 2013 agreement, guaranteed by KFOR, did not include all armed formations, but only the KSF.
For this reason, hibrid.info assesses these claims as "Disinformation" and "Manipulation of Facts".
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.
The evaluation as "Manipulation of facts" is given to those media reports that use facts known to be correct, but interpret them in a distorted way. These reports typically use inaccurate information to draw inaccurate conclusions or claims, thereby misdirecting consumers' conclusions of media content in relation to the actual meaning of the facts presented.