A group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the north of Kosovo has warned about the widespread practice of spreading and promoting the Albanian nationalist idea through the Kosovo Police and the effects of that practice on members of non-majority communities, reports Radio Kontakt Plus.
In the publication "Ethnization of the Kosovo Police: Demolishing Ahtisaari's Foundations of Civic and Multi-Ethnic Institutions", NGOs New Social Initiative (NSI), Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA), Institute for Territorial Economic Development (InTER), Aktiv and the Center for Advocacy of Democratic Culture (ACDC), indicate that in the last three years in Kosovo, a trend has been observed on social networks, especially on TikTok, that members of the Kosovo Police are spreading Albanian ethno-nationalism, contrary to the constitution and legislation in force.
By analyzing the legislation, non-governmental organizations found that with this behavior on social networks, members of the Kosovo Police violate at least 13 articles of the by-law on discipline, as well as the Constitution of Kosovo itself and the laws governing Kosovo's civil and multi-ethnic institutions.
By analyzing the content on TikTok, from the beginning of November 2024, which included a cumulative search of hashtags related to the Kosovo Police, it was found that there are over 14.000 posts related to the same.
"For example, just with the hashtag #njesiaspecialekosoves (special units of Kosovo) there are over 4.000 posts that have generated over 270 million views," they specify.
At the same time, they add that the ethno-nationalist musical background that is used for the publication of the majority of problematic content, which is measured in the thousands, characterizes the security apparatus as the implementer of Albanian nationalist goals, and not the implementer of Ahtisaari's vision of Kosovo.
"Let the red and black flag fly from Skopje to Valona", "Hey, ethnic Albania, I want you in my arms again", "Better dead than alive without you, Mitrovica", "I'm used to killing the Skies and slaughtering the sultans" , "Don't touch Mitrovica or I will burn Čaglavica", are just some of the songs that follow such announcements.
"As proof of this illegal and nationalist practice that is collapsing the multi-ethnic and civil character of the security apparatus, the authors attached over 140 photos in which over 300 police officers, using illegal emblems and symbols, flags or gestures, clearly identify their ethnicity and highlight their nationalist political views or they glorify the concept of extrajudicial 'justice'", the publication states, reports Radio Kontakt Plus.
According to the information collected by non-governmental organizations, the scenes in question are Kosovo Police officers in uniform with the symbols of Albania, the Kosovo Liberation Army, "Greater Albania", "Punisher"...
The authors point out that this practice is not isolated, but part of a wider trend that intensified during the crisis situations in the north of Kosovo.
Although the trend indicated in the publication is generally present in Kosovo, public recognition of the harmfulness of this practice, condemnation and sanction of such behavior are also absent, they also indicate.
"The institutions most called upon to prevent such phenomena, the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo and international missions with monitoring status, such as the European Union Mission for the Rule of Law - EULEX, have not reacted in the last three years since the expansion of this trend began," according to the publication of the five organizations. of civil society from the north of Kosovo.
"Political statements and provocative symbols in the Kosovo Police strengthen existing divisions and increase tensions"
The display of provocative symbols by members of the Kosovo Police in the north serves as a clear message about ethnic and territorial domination, which only further strengthens existing divisions and increases tensions, the publication points out, reports Radio Kontakt Plus.
"In divided societies, symbols with a political and ethnic background are perceived as a threat to the identity and security of minority groups, undermining efforts to reconcile and build peace," the authors conclude.
At the same time, they indicate the role of governing structures in this process.
"The statements and behavior of the highest Kosovo officials trace a model of social and institutional behavior. In this sense, when the Prime Minister of Kosovo takes a picture with a map of Greater Albania, tells the Kosovo Police that it is the successor of the KLA, or says that Kosovo is Albania, such messages further affirm the characterization institution at all levels, including the Kosovo Police officers. At the same time, this practice deters members of non-majority, i.e. non-Albanian communities from joining security formations in Kosovo." they point out.
They note that the practice of publishing such content on social networks and such characterization of the Kosovo Police expands whenever a certain crisis situation occurs in the north, which involved the special forces of the Kosovo Police.
"As the special forces were not so often present in the north before that, the greater presence of this type of content and characterization of the Kosovo Police starts from September 2021 and the beginning of the license plate crisis, and extends throughout 2022 and 2023, and especially after the armed attack in Banjska in September 2023", they specify.
They also state that through their work in the field and communication with citizens, it has been noticed that a large number of incidents in the relationship with the police never end up in public due to, as they point out, fear of retaliation by the institutions.
"The main cause of such mistrust is precisely the inadequate addressing of this problem, both by Kosovo institutions and by international actors focused on issues of reconciliation, the rule of law and building a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo," they explain, reports Radio Kontakt Plus.
"Ethnic key" as a solution
The authors propose a number of measures to preserve the multi-ethnic character of the police, including the application of an "ethnic key" in the composition of police and inspector teams, strengthening trust in the Police Inspectorate and introducing mechanisms for transparent incident resolution.
"If we strive for any long-term, sustainable solution, in the light of the normalization of relations, which aims to preserve the multi-ethnic character of Kosovo", they say, the security issue of the Serbian community must be at the center of it, or integrated into solutions on the self-governance framework of the Serbian community.
"That solution should be based on the Constitution of Kosovo and the 'Brussels Agreement', and in accordance with that, enable respect for the principle of the 'ethnic key' in terms of the composition of the police, not only in the context of regional and local structures, but also in the context of special units KP - in order to prevent abuse of the police for the purpose of collecting political points for the Albanian parties in power," according to the NGO.
They also suggest that mechanisms should be established to strengthen trust in the institution of the Police Inspectorate, based on the decision on the judiciary and the panel of the Court of Appeal.
"And to demand that reports on exceeding the authority of police officers are assigned to officials in accordance with the principle of the 'ethnic key' - according to which the Albanian inspector and prosecutor would deal with cases of Albanians, and the Serbian inspector and prosecutor with cases in which Serbs were harmed," the non-governmental organizations conclude. from the north of Kosovo.
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