This Thursday, during a meeting with the Socialist Party parliamentary group and ministers, Prime Minister Edi Rama attacked the High Prosecutorial Council (HPC) and the High Judicial Council (HJC) over salaries, describing the two institutions as “the faces of the failure of justice reform.”

Rama said that if the salaries of HPC and HJC members—which, according to him, are many times higher than other salaries in the public sector—are considered insufficient, then “imagine what a public administration employee might say.”

“Salaries, of course, are always insufficient for everyone. When they are insufficient for the HPC and the HJC, imagine what it is like for everyone else. The HPC and the HJC are two faces of the failure of justice reform. If SPAK and the Special Court are the faces of its success, these two bodies are the faces of the failure of justice reform.

“When these two bodies, which govern the judiciary less, consider their salaries insufficient—even though they are many times higher than ours—imagine what a public administration employee might say when told that their salary is sufficient,” he said.

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Halil Geci has reacted strongly to the criticism and accusations directed at caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, describing them as an organized political and media campaign.

According to Geci, today’s situation resembles the attacks once directed at historic President Ibrahim Rugova. He claims that the same circles that once branded Rugova a spy and traitor are behind the discourse against Kurti, reports “Bota sot.”

Geci also spoke about Russian and Serbian influence, as well as the involvement of certain Albanian political circles. He called for any suspicions of harm to state interests to be investigated and the facts to be made public.

The full statement

THE ATTACKS ON KURTI EXPOSED THE SAME STRUCTURE THAT ONCE TARGETED RUGOVA

Those who years ago called Ibrahim Rugova a spy and traitor are now trying to portray Albin Kurti as a “spy for Iran, Russia or Serbia.” However, the passage of time is revealing ever more clearly the people and interests that, according to this belief, lie behind this propaganda.

To understand who Albin Kurti is, it was enough to carefully observe the sources from which the attacks against him came.

The criticism of Kurti has come from the Russian ambassador to the Security Council, from Serbia, from people linked to various political and security structures, from certain voices in Tirana, from circles that support Russian and Serbian narratives, and from some commentators who for years have pursued an uninterrupted line against him.

When you analyze the authors of the attacks and their motives, you can often understand for yourself where the problem lies, even without needing much evidence.

This is not a scheme that has appeared for the first time.

At its core, it is the same spirit that was once directed against Ibrahim Rugova. The same circles and people called him a spy, a traitor and an obstacle to Kosovo. There were also assassination attempts against him, while LDK associates and patriots were killed.

Today, this spirit appears through different language, labeling Albin Kurti a “spy for Iran,” “Russia” or “Serbia.”

But history shows that, over the years, the masks eventually fall.

As brothers, we recognized this reality a long time ago. For this reason, we shut the door on people we considered suspicious and dangerous to the national interest. Not everyone believed us. In fact, for a time, even Rifati of the Jasharaj family did not believe us. But after he understood what was happening, he too removed them, shut the door on them and made it clear that he did not want to see them there again.

For this position, my gratitude goes first and foremost to the graves of our ancestors. From them we learned that the homeland is not defended only in favorable circumstances, but especially when that defense requires sacrifices.

We chose the side we considered right many years before many others understood the same thing.

This position did not come without a cost.

Our comrades and friends have been killed, while our brothers have been wounded. We paid a high price for our convictions. Nevertheless, today we feel proud that we stood shoulder to shoulder with what we saw as right—with Kosovo and with our historic allies—America, England and Germany.

Our belief has been that, just as we defended the country during the war, we must defend it in times of peace and freedom as well.

For this reason, Albin Kurti and Donika Gërvalla, I congratulate you on your steadfastness in the face of a powerful political and media propaganda campaign which, in my view, consists of an intertwining of Slavic, Russian and Serbian interests with those of certain Albanian political circles.

When serious accusations have been raised against Kosovo’s institutions and suspicions of betrayal of the state interest have emerged within them, the task has been and remains to cleanse the institutions and bring the facts to light.

If there are people who have sold out Kosovo’s interests, they should be declassified and brought before justice. This should not be done out of political revenge, but to protect the state.

More than ever, citizens today need facts rather than labels, transparency rather than propaganda, and strong institutions rather than structures that operate in secret.

Therefore, Albin Kurti and Donika Gërvalla, remain steadfast in the face of pressure and do not submit to propaganda.

In the end, the truth is not determined by the noise of television studios, but by history and facts.

I will continue to support every position that protects Kosovo, its sovereignty and its strategic alliances.

Even if one day I have to express this with crutches in hand, like an old man holding his head high, my message will remain the same:

Kosovo stands above the interests of individuals. The homeland is more important than power. And the truth, sooner or later, brings down all masks.

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In a Facebook reaction, Xharra said that such mindsets continue to exist in Serbian politics. He stressed that Albanians speak out and react more about Palestine, while, according to him, little attention is paid to statements that incite hatred against Kosovo.

In his post, Xharra wrote:

Albanian friends,

We lament and curse so much over Palestine, while very few debate this Serbian minister, who blames the Milošević era for not wiping us off the face of the earth.

This idea still lingers today in their criminal minds.

Perhaps Grenell, the friend of many in Kosovo, will save us!

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AFP journalists reported that explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital a few minutes before the air raid sirens were activated.

The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Timur Tkachenko, announced via Telegram that the capital was under attack.

“The enemy is attacking the capital with missiles,” he wrote, urging residents to immediately seek shelter in safe places.

Meanwhile, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that six people were injured in the attack, while three of them were taken to hospital for medical treatment.

Ukrainian authorities are continuing to assess the damage caused by the attack, while the air raid alert remains active in several regions of the country.

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In a statement to Radio Free Europe, government spokesperson Arlind Manxhuka said that “Vucic’s statement shows that he controls the justice system and that attacks on Kosovo police officers do not constitute crimes for Serbia and are therefore encouraged by the head of state there himself.”

Earlier this week, Vucic said that Radoicic, who has admitted responsibility for the 2023 attack on the Kosovo Police in Banjska and for whom an Interpol red notice has been issued, is not facing criminal prosecution for any criminal offense.

“You did not say why Milan Radoicic is on a red notice. It is not because of a crime, but because of Kosovo,” the Serbian leader said.

Although he has claimed responsibility for the September 24 attack in Banjska, in which a Kosovo police officer was killed, Radoicic remains free in Serbia and is listed with a registered address in Belgrade. Serbian authorities have not filed any indictment against him.

Meanwhile, there is an international arrest warrant against him issued by Interpol, at Kosovo’s request through the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Manxhuka said Kosovo’s caretaker government expects the international community to condemn “this further degradation in the behavior of the Serbian state.”

He added that “Such statements prove that Serbia has not changed its stance toward the Republic of Kosovo and that this mindset poses a danger to peace in the region and beyond.”

According to the spokesperson, it has been clear to Kosovo that the sabotage and opposition to the rule of law in the Serb-majority north “is organized and directed by Serbia.”

“The fact that this group [which carried out the attack in Banjska, Zvecan] was organized, trained, prepared and ultimately sent from Serbia into Kosovo, and was also armed with official weapons of the Serbian state, as demonstrated and documented in the evidence found at the scene, clearly shows that Serbia was behind it and above it,” he said.

Kosovo describes the Banjska attack as terrorist and attributes responsibility to Serbia. Belgrade, however, denies any involvement.

Kosovo’s Special Prosecution has filed an indictment over the Banjska attack, and among the 45 defendants is Radoicic, described as the “leader of the terrorist group.”

Earlier this year, in this case, the Basic Court in Prishtina sentenced three people: two of them to life imprisonment and one to 30 years in prison.

The other defendants are on the run, and Kosovo has issued arrest warrants for them through Interpol. Kosovo continuously calls on Serbia to hand over Radoicic to face justice. At the time the Banjska attack took place, Radoicic held the post of vice president of the Serb List, the largest party of Kosovo Serbs backed by Belgrade.

The United States and the European Union, on the other hand, have called on Belgrade to prosecute those responsible for the Banjska attack.

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