Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
In an article published by the site "Gunpowder Chronicles"(archived) an unfounded claim has been made that the German Ambassador, Jorn Rohde, has been dismissed from his position.
Platform article authors Gunpowder Chronicles that, based on the "about us" section of the site it is listed as owned by "VX media", they do not substantiate the claim raised with any factual data.
Furthermore, this claim is rejected by the party discussed in the article (the German Embassy in Kosovo) giving their official position which is completely different.
In a response to Hibrid.info, this diplomatic mission said that Ambassador Rohde's regular mandate "would have been completed by the end of June 2025", but that he has been asked to continue his mandate until the new ambassador designated "to be released from his previous obligations in October".
What is claimed in the Gunpowder Chronicles article?
Writing in “Gunpowder Chronicles” dated September 19th assumes that Ambassador Rohde has been dismissed from his post at the mission in Kosovo.
This article presents several assumptions raised by the authors, through which the claim is intended to be argued.
Excerpts from the Gunpowder Chronicles article:
"Ambassador Jorn Rohde is gone. Berlin will dress his departure in the language of routine rotations, farewell receptions and diplomatic courtesy."
"But the data is clear: "his dismissal comes after months of relentless scrutiny by 'The Gunpowder Chronicles', exposing a mandate that is a disgrace to Germany, a betrayal of the Vienna Convention, a betrayal of Germany's own code of diplomatic conduct, and a direct affront to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and freedom of the press in Kosovo," Xhymshiti and his colleagues assumed in the article dated September 19.
The authors confront the assumptions raised with the official positions of the responsible institutions, which in this case are the German Embassy in Kosovo and the central institution of German diplomacy - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, the responses received from official/responsible channels do not match the allusions/assumptions of the authors of the text.
The official responses received from the Embassy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country, published in this article, in fact state the opposite of the claim.
The response of the German Embassy in Kosovo presented in the article:
"Our assessment differs from yours... we continue to stand by our previously stated position," the Embassy told the journalists of the article in question.
The response from the German Foreign Ministry presented in the article:
"The German Ambassador to Kosovo fully represents the position of the Federal Government and acts in full compliance with the Vienna Convention."
What's wrong here?
The Gunpowder Chronicles account of German Ambassador Rohde does not provide any facts in its entirety to support the assumptions raised by the authors.
The authors present only some assumptions, interpreting the state and situation based on a chronology of political developments in the country.
Parts of the claim formulation made in the article in English (original language of the article):
Translated into Albanian:
"But the data is clear: His dismissal comes after months of relentless scrutiny by The Gunpowder Chronicles, exposing a mandate that is a disgrace to Germany, a betrayal of the Vienna Convention, a betrayal of Germany's own code of diplomatic conduct, and a direct affront to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and freedom of the press in Kosovo.
Even the responses received from both the German Foreign Ministry and the Embassy of this country in our country do not support any of the assumptions raised by them.
The German Embassy's response to Hibrid.info
Hibrid.info has contacted the German Embassy in Pristina to clarify the claim raised in the article. “Gunpowder Chronicles”.
The response refutes the claims raised in the article, specifying that Ambassador Rohde has completed his regular mandate, while emphasizing that he has also planned to retire.
"Ambassador Rohde has held the position of ambassador for more than 5 years – which is more than a regular term. Diplomatic personnel usually change positions in July of each year."
"Ambassador Rohde was scheduled to retire in 2025 after 37 years of service. In the German public system, the retirement date is usually June 30 each year, so his regular term would have ended by the end of June 2025."
"However, his designated successor was still involved in his previous mandate, so Rohde was asked to continue as Ambassador until the designated Ambassador is released from his previous obligations in October."
"This is why Ambassador Rohde's mandate is ending at the end of September," it was said in the response of the German Embassy in Kosovo.
Screenshot from the response of the German Embassy in Kosovo
Analyze
The claim made by the authors at the top of the article, that Ambassador Rohde has allegedly been dismissed from the mission, is intended to be presented through several assumptions.
The only facts that the authors present in the article are the official responses they receive from German diplomacy (the Embassy in Kosovo and the German Foreign Ministry).
However, none of these facts support the claim. Both responses do not substantiate the claim made. So, neither response states that Rohde violated any diplomatic principle, even that provided for by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, as alleged in the article.
Also, the German Embassy in Pristina, for Hibrid.info, has specified that Ambassador Rohde has completed his mandate as diplomatic envoy to Kosovo.
Therefore, by failing to factually verify the claim raised, the article published in "Gunpowder Chronicles", based on the methodology, is assessed as "Disinformation".
rationale
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.