Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
An article was published claiming that the US Embassy in Pristina could be threatened or attacked before December 28th.
The article with this claim was published on Wednesday (December 3, at 16:15 PM) from the Albanian language information portal, "lecanton27.ch"which operates in Switzerland.
What's wrong with this claim?
After fact-checking conducted by hibrid.info, it was determined that the article in question does not present any facts that would support this claim.
What does the article say?
In the title of the article, it is claimed that, "according to some services and conversations" that are circulating among "opposition militants", such an action may be done intentionally "not only to sour the good relations between Kosovo and the US, but also to compromise the national commitment of the Vetëvendosje Movement and Prime Minister Albin Kurti."
The article also states that the threat or attack on the embassy could occur at a time when "Today we read many comments on social networks against a statement published by the US Embassy in Pristina, which accuses Vetevendosje of divisiveness with Serbs following the CEC's decision to reject the participation of the Serbian List in the December 28 elections.".
However, the author does not provide any facts regarding these claims.
After research conducted by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this article was published after the public reaction on Facebook by the US Embassy, which on Wednesday (December 3, at 09:54) reacted after the non-certification of the Serbian List for the early elections of December 28 by the Central Election Commission (CEC), blaming the Self-Determination Movement (LVV) for blocking the certification. In this public reaction, the Embassy called LVV's actions divisive. (see here)
The US Embassy's reaction on Facebook, translated into Albanian
VV’s efforts to block the certification of the Serbian List to participate in Kosovo’s elections are short-sighted and divisive. All citizens of Kosovo should be able to exercise their democratic rights. Such actions harm Kosovo’s stability and U.S. interests, including the resumption of our strategic dialogue to advance opportunities for American and Kosovo businesses.
On December 2, the CEC did not certify the Serbian List for the early parliamentary elections on December 28. The recommendation to certify the Serbian List received only 2 votes in favor, 2 against, and 7 abstentions during a CEC meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
Members of the Vetëvendosje Movement in the CEC, Sami Kurteshi and Alban Krasniqi, were vocally against the certification of this party and were the only ones who voted against. While members of other Albanian political parties in the CEC abstained. (see here Radio Free Europe article)
Analyze:
The claim that the US Embassy in Pristina could be threatened or attacked before December 28th is not based on any facts.
This article with this claim was published after the public reaction of the US Embassy, following the non-certification of the Serbian List for the early elections of December 28 by the CEC. The US Embassy blamed the LVV for blocking the certification, calling it divisive actions.
The CEC on Tuesday did not certify the Serbian List for the early parliamentary elections on December 28. LVV members on the CEC, Sami Kurteshi and Alban Krasniqi, were the only ones who voted against.
So, the article published by "LeCanton27.ch", based on the time of posting, appears to have been written in the wake of this event. However, the content does not provide any facts that would support the claims made.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info evaluates the "LeCanton27.ch" article 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.