Avni Islami: BIA statements show that Kosovo is the target of hybrid warfare

Security professor Avni Islami has reacted to statements made by Relja Željko, head of the Serbian BIA’s Analysis Department, against journalist Ermal Panduri.

According to Islami, the attacks and labels directed at journalists, Kosovo’s institutions, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) are part of a propaganda campaign through which hybrid warfare is being waged against Kosovo.

He called on citizens to unite and stand up to the propaganda, emphasizing that Kosovo must not submit to blackmail or pressure coming from Belgrade.

The full reaction:

The reaction came after statements by well-known journalist Ermal Panduri, part of a powerful media outlet in Kosovo, whom Relja Željko, head of the Serbian BIA’s Analysis Department, described as a “dangerous man” with an “anti-Serb stance.” For Islami, this position highlights the true and aggressive nature of the Belgrade regime.

Since 2018 and to this day, this senior representative of Serbian intelligence has, according to him, conducted a fierce campaign of attacks, blackmail and denigration against every Albanian element, turning the institution he represents into a propaganda center against the Republic of Kosovo.

Željko, the reaction continues, lumps Albin Kurti, Kosovo’s institutions, the AKI and the sacred values of the KLA together, portraying them as an “aggressive machine” that allegedly poses a threat to Serbia.

According to Islami, such an approach constitutes direct hybrid warfare and a threat to Kosovo’s national security.

He says that the fascist mentality of the 1990s remains present in Belgrade. According to him, every free voice, every journalist who speaks courageously and every institution of Kosovo is treated as a target to be struck by the Serbian espionage apparatus.

Islami stresses that Albanians must not fall victim to this propaganda. In response, he calls for unity and the dissemination of the truth, insisting that Kosovo can be broken neither by BIA blackmail nor by its dangerous lists.