On Thursday, January 11, the US Ambassador to Belgrade, Christopher Hill, informed the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, that his country had accepted Kosovo's request to purchase American-made "Javelin" anti-tank missiles.
White House envoy to Belgrade clarified that the State Department will send Kosovo's request to the American Congress, which will then begin the official procedure for the sale of the requested quantity of these missiles.
The Kosovo Ministry of Defense confirmed the order for the "Javelin" missiles, saying that Kosovo has an agreement with the US for military purchases through the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) program.
Through this program, from this ministry STRESSED that Kosovo is set to make military purchases including the Javelin system and other modern military systems.
Even the news it was confirmed even from the US State Department itself, which said that Kosovo has requested to purchase Javelin missiles worth 75 million dollars. This is 246 anti-tank missiles of this type, which are produced by the US, according to a statement from the US Agency for Security Cooperation.
However, this story does not end here. In fact, this is only the beginning, as the next battle is not the training of personnel for their use, nor the location where these systems will be placed, but the battle for merit. The “race” for merit created an informational mess and, unable to access Kosovo’s request approved by the US, journalists were unable to clarify anything about the process of purchasing this weaponry. Journalists’ requests for access to this request did not receive a response from the Kosovo government.
Former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, emerged as the first recipient, saying that the news would be considered a success if it were not delayed for years, because according to him, since 2018, in the 10-year development plan of the Kosovo Army, the purchases of anti-tank systems, including "Javelin" missiles, have been agreed upon.
"This government cannot boast today about having made a request to purchase this anti-tank system, but it must account for why it has been delayed so long! It must answer why it has not met the objectives agreed upon in the 10-year plan to supply the Kosovo Army with necessary armaments, even though it has exceeded the tens of millions foreseen for the purchase of armaments and other logistical means for the KSF," Haradinaj wrote.
After him, another meritorious person emerged. He is the former leader of PDK, Kadri Veseli. A few words about him wrote to the MP of this party, Bekim Haxhiu.
"The truth about the purchase of weapons from the US, the negotiation and contracting was done by Kadri Veseli in 2018. Part of this weaponry, the 'Humvee' armored vehicles, from the US had arrived in Kosovo on 25.07.2020. Why there were delays for the rest of the weaponry, today's government leaders must be held accountable," wrote Democratic Party (PDK) MP Bekim Haxhiu on Facebook.
President Vjosa Osmani, as the Supreme Commander of the Kosovo Army, also joined in on this dance. Although she did not mention any merit for this potential purchase, she expressed full confidence that "Congress will support this potential sale to the most pro-American country in the world, as an act that will increase security in Kosovo, in our region, as well as on the European continent."
Even exponents of the ruling party, the Vetëvendosje Movement, rushed to attribute the credit to the current government.
Deputy Armend Muja expressed that the credit for purchasing weapons belongs to the Kurti Government and not to the former rulers. "This credit, both for drones and anti-tanks, belongs to this government, because they had certain limitations," he said.
As if this battle weren't enough, on Friday (January 12), another one began. This one too for armaments.
The Minister of Interior, Xhelal Sveçla, on his Facebook page, reported that all police patrols will be equipped with long weapons. The Minister specified that equipping all police patrols throughout the Republic of Kosovo with these weapons “will increase efficiency in fighting crime.”
He also said that this will enable “a safer environment, calmer public order and more security for our police officers.” Among other things, the minister thanked the Croatian state “for its close and correct cooperation with the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.”
Although the minister did not give up on the merits, he allowed them to be appropriated by someone else.
President Vjosa Osmani's husband, Prindon Sadriu, through a Facebook post, hinted that the leader of the state is the one who deserves credit for these weapons.
The First Gentleman republished a post by President Osmani made on October 11, 2023, during a visit to the weapons manufacturing company “HS Product” in Croatia, and wrote: “October 2023: Visit of the President to the company 'HS Produkt' in Karlovac, Croatia. Today, all Kosovo Police patrols are equipped with long weapons from the company 'HS Produkt'”.
Conclusion: in this tangle that has lost its thread, we can say that the main creditor of these achievements is the personal pronoun "I".
The lack of transparency from institutions often encourages and fuels informational distortion by state actors themselves, as journalists have no way to verify the information provided and the claims made by them. This then undermines the full information of citizens on developments in the country, especially in the field of security, which has served throughout 2023 as a source of disinformation and clickbait articles.
Analytical article by Agon Osmani