A statement has been published alleging that Justina Shiroka-Pula was a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which the author describes as a “terrorist organization.” The statement also accuses Shiroka-Pula of being part of Kosovo institutions, which the author describes as “occupying terrorist organizations,” equating them with the KLA.
The content was published on Wednesday (October 7) on the Telegram platform in the Serbian language channel “Српски Инат – Коридор СБ☧” (see here).
What's wrong with the content?
The content, without any evidence, claims that Justina Shiroka-Pula was a member of the KLA and describes her, the KLA, and Kosovo institutions as "terrorists."
Hibrid.info has investigated the claim that Justina Shiroka-Pula was a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In official biography published by the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts (KASA), which describes in detail her academic, professional and public activities, does not mention any membership or engagement in the KLA. According to this biography, after graduating from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Prishtina in 1976, Shiroka-Pula was employed at the National Bank of Kosovo in 1977, while from 1978 she began her academic career at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Prishtina.
ASHAK’s biography also documents her post-war activity, mentioning her engagement in civil society since 2001, including the establishment of the Kosovo Women’s Business Network and her engagement in the field of gender equality, business development and entrepreneurship. It further documents her functions as Minister of Energy and Mining in the Government of Kosovo during 2008–2011 and as a member of the Assembly of Kosovo during 2011–2014. Even these records do not mention any involvement in the KLA.
Hibrid.info has also reviewed the biographical data published by the University of Prishtina. They present Shiroka-Pula mainly through her academic and professional activities, while they do not provide data linking her to the KLA (see here).
In other claims where the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the state of Kosovo are described as terrorist organizations, hibrid.info found that this assessment comes from the Serbian authorities, expressed in official communications of Serbian institutions and in requests such as that from the Serbian List, for the Kosovo Police to be declared a terrorist organization by Serbia (see here).
However, these designations belong to the official position of the Serbian authorities and do not constitute a legal definition accepted by all states and international institutions.
Justina Shiroka Pula was elected president of Kosovo on October 7, following an agreement between the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV), the political entity governing the country, and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which is in opposition (see here).
Until yesterday, she was the director of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts (ASHAK).
Analyze:
The claim that Justina Shiroka-Pula was a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is not supported by the sources reviewed by Hibrid.info.
The official biography published by the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts (ASHAK), as well as the one published by the University of Pristina, describes her academic, professional and public activities, but does not mention any membership or engagement in the KLA.
Meanwhile, regarding the designation of the KLA and Kosovo institutions as "terrorist", Hibrid.info found that this language is used by the Serbian authorities. However, this is a position of the Serbian authorities and does not constitute a universally accepted legal definition.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, Hibrid.info assesses the content as "Fake News".
rationale
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.