The participation of members of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and the Kosovo Police in the parade commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Liberation Day has been interpreted by some Serbian media as a threat to Serbs. This claim is not supported by facts; the article was crafted by taking reports from other media in Albanian and Serbian out of context.

On June 12, 2024, the Serbian portals Kurir.rs and Udarnavest.rs published an article titled: “NEW THREAT FROM ALBIN KURTI! What does the Prime Minister of Pristina’s provisional institutions want to say?”. Besides the sensational title, the article is based on a previous piece published on Kosovo Online, titled: “Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has stated that the Kosovo Army has its origins in the KLA,” adding that “it has never been larger and more armed than today.”

Photo: Kurir

The misleading headlines from media outlets like “Kurir” contribute to increasing distrust among Kosovo Serbs towards local institutions and aim to promote the narrative that the Kosovo Government intends to expel Serbs from Kosovo.

Before the parade began, Kurti delivered a speech at the central ceremony, where he mentioned the current military capabilities, more than six years after the adoption of the legislative package for transforming the KSF from a mandate for civil defense and emergency response into a defensive force.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has stated: “The Kosovo Army has never been larger or better armed and equipped than it is today. It has never been more trained, educated, and schooled in the most prestigious military academies of our Western allied armies. But, it has also never been stronger and more ready to defend our territory and sovereignty and our lives, because this is its mission, to defend Kosovo and develop and advance alongside our allies.”

Besides the parade of the Kosovo Security Force and the Kosovo Police, there was no display of weaponry, which Kurti mentioned is sufficient to defend the territory of Kosovo.

*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”