The operation to remove structures built without permits on land owned by the “Ibër-Lepenc” Public Hydro-Economic Enterprise near Ujman Lake has been accompanied by disinformation from Serbian media.

Although the villa owners had been notified to remove their belongings by July 17, the operation was portrayed as ethnically motivated and as a measure taken “exclusively against Serbs.”

In articles and reports published on Tuesday, “Novosti,” “RT Balkan,” “Sputnik Serbia,” and “RTS” used wording and headlines that created the impression that Kosovo’s institutions were acting against Serbs. These reports omitted the fact that the operation involved enforcing decisions to remove unauthorized structures from public property.

“They Are Driving Out Serbs With Heavy Machinery and Long Pipes: Kurti’s Men Are Demolishing Our People’s Vacation Homes at Gazivoda,” read a headline published by the newspaper “Novosti,” which linked the operation to claims of a campaign against Serbs.

“RTS” took a similar approach, reporting under the headline: “Demolition of Serb-Owned Vacation Homes at Gazivoda Begins, Assisted by the So-Called Kosovo Police.” In another report, the outlet wrote: “Demolition of Vacation Homes on the Shore of Gazivoda Begins, Large Police Forces Present.”

Through such framing, “RTS” attempted to distort the reality of the operation while also stoking panic with the claim that “large police forces” were at the scene.

“Sputnik Serbia” and “RT Balkan” followed the same line, describing the operation as the demolition of “Serbs’ vacation homes” without explaining the legal basis on which it was being carried out.

The facts, however, show that the measures are not limited to the Ujman area and do not depend on the owners’ ethnicity. Media outlets in Kosovo reported throughout the day on the demolition of illegal villas. Some published footage showed people removing belongings from the structures even today, although the deadline set for their removal was July 17.

“Ibër-Lepenc” has clarified that the operation covers structures built on plots owned by the enterprise.

The enterprise’s chief executive, Faruk Mujka, announced that 11 people had been formally ordered to vacate structures erected on “Ibër-Lepenc” property because they were deemed to have been built without permits.

“The decisions are being enforced by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, with the assistance of the Kosovo Police,” he said.

Mujka had previously emphasized that the process of verifying properties and removing unauthorized structures would not focus solely on the municipality of Zubin Potok. According to him, the measures would extend to all municipalities where “Ibër-Lepenc” infrastructure is located.

Kosovo’s institutions have carried out similar operations in the past to remove illegal structures in other tourist and protected areas. This shows that the measures are not applied solely to properties belonging to members of a particular community.

This is precisely the context that was omitted from Serbian media reports. Through phrases such as “driving out Serbs,” “demolition of Serbs’ homes,” and “Kurti’s men,” the operation was portrayed as an ethnically motivated intervention. At the same time, the reports failed to mention that the authorities based the action on claims of the usurpation of public property and had announced that procedures would be enforced in every area where unauthorized structures are identified.

As a result, the reporting is selective and creates the false narrative that the operation is aimed exclusively at Serbs. The authorities, meanwhile, have stated that they are enforcing the law against structures built on public property, regardless of the owners’ identity./TheGeoPost.

The post Serbian Media Distort Demolition of Illegal Villas at Ujman Lake, Portraying It as an Attack on Serbs appeared first on Albeu.com.

In this article, the Sputnik portal distorts the events in Prekaz and, through a selective choice of information as well as unconfirmed claims, tries to cast doubt on the announced indictment by Kosovo’s Special Prosecution regarding the events in Lower Prekaz in March 1998.

During the last war in Kosovo, 55 people were killed in the Jashari neighborhood in Prekaz. Of them, 22 were close family members of the legendary commander Adem Jashari, who had long been a target of the Serbian state. Nevertheless, Sputnik places the word “killing” in quotation marks, in an attempt to distort the facts.

Claim 1: “The hunt against Serbs continues: Pristina files indictment over the ‘killing’ of Adem Jashari”

Analysis and rebuttal:

Sputnik presents the announced indictment as a continuation of a “hunt against Serbs,” portraying the judicial process as ethnically motivated persecution against the Serbian people.

However, there is no evidence that Kosovo’s Special Prosecution is conducting a “hunt” against any people. The investigations concern war crimes and individual criminal responsibility.

Even the wording “The hunt against Serbs continues” has an emotional and accusatory character. It does not constitute a verifiable fact, but a political interpretation suggesting the existence of a systematic campaign against Serbs. In this way, the reader is steered from the headline toward a particular conclusion.

Claim 2: The word “killing” of Adem Jashari placed in quotation marks

Analysis and rebuttal: Placing the word “killing” in quotation marks is not neutral. By focusing on the procedural announcement of the indictment, the article is used to distort the events in Prekaz and to minimize the weight of the accusations related to the deaths of dozens of members of the Jashari family.

This is a well-known propaganda technique, often used to cast doubt on a documented event or to relativize responsibility for it.

The operation by Serbian forces in Lower Prekaz on March 5-7, 1998 ended with the killing of dozens of members of the Jashari family, including women, children and the elderly. Human Rights Watch has documented that among the victims were 13 women and 8 children, a fact also reflected in reports by international organizations.

Later international documentation, as well as materials used in proceedings at The Hague Tribunal, also treat the attack on Prekaz as one of the key events of the conflict in Kosovo, in which nearly 60 members of the Jashari family were killed.

During the operation in Lower Prekaz in 1998, dozens of members of the Jashari family were killed.

Claim 3: “He mercilessly forced his relatives to fight…” as well as the claim that he supposedly “created a human shield with women and children to buy time…”

Analysis and rebuttal: Under the standards of professional journalism, such a claim cannot be presented as fact in the absence of documents, verified testimony or court rulings supporting it.

In the reports of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and in the documentation used by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), there is no verified finding that Adem Jashari used civilians as a human shield.

Likewise, this claim has not been confirmed by any international judgment or by any recognized report of international human rights organizations.

Instead of verified evidence, this accusation usually appears in official Serbian narratives and in media that rely on them. It is precisely the lack of independent evidence that leaves this claim unconfirmed.

Kosovo conflict | Summary & Facts | Britannica

Claim 4: “he killed his nephew out of fear”

Analysis and rebuttal:

The claim that Adem Jashari killed one of his nephews “out of fear” constitutes one of the most serious accusations circulating in some Serbian propaganda narratives.

This accusation has appeared in some wartime narratives and in some media outlets, but it has not been proven by independent international sources or by court proceedings in international tribunals.

Therefore, there is no report by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the OSCE, or any other recognized international organization that confirms this claim.

Likewise, there is no judgment by The Hague Tribunal or any other international court that has found that such an event occurred.

As long as court documents, verified testimony and independent investigations that would support this accusation are lacking, presenting it as fact constitutes disinformation or, at the very least, the treatment of an unconfirmed claim as true.

An analysis of the text published by the Sputnik portal clearly shows that this outlet does not report objectively on judicial processes, but uses methods of hybrid disinformation and political framing.

The article contains several features characteristic of propaganda and disinformation, as events are presented selectively, with emotional language and without the necessary context.

In the same article, Sputnik presents only the version of Serbian institutions regarding the events of March 1998.

It leaves out the essential facts: that the operation in Prekaz ended with the killing of dozens of members of the Jashari family; that among the dead were women, children and the elderly; that the event is considered a massacre; and that it has been the subject of international analyses and reports.

In conclusion, when only one side of the story is presented, we are dealing with manipulation through the selection of information.

This once again reminds us that Sputnik functions as a platform for rewriting historical events and spreading propaganda, where legal processes are exploited to build political narratives while bypassing official documents and reports of international institutions.

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