Police announced on Monday that they had arrested four Serbian hunters who had illegally crossed into Kosovo territory. But former Interior Minister Bejtush Gashi stated that the prosecution should investigate this case thoroughly because they could also be members of the intelligence services.
Gashi, on the "60 Minutes" show on KTV, requested cooperation with the NATO mission in Kosovo on this case.
"It cannot be qualified as an incident because it has an impact on three dimensions; illegal border crossing, testing of institutional response and violation of territorial integrity and integrity. In this specific case, the prosecution must follow all protocols for the reasons for illegal crossing because they could be members of the intelligence services whose mission is to test the response of security institutions, respectively the level and response of institutions responsible for preserving the territorial integrity of Kosovo. Cooperation with the NATO mission in Kosovo is required because they can provide additional information to assess the purpose of the entry. They cannot be hunters or simple members because we have had such cases from time to time", declared Gashi.
Regarding Serbian reporting on this case, Gashi called it a strategy to create disinformation and influence the international community. According to him, it is also to shift attention from the tense internal situation in which the Serbian state finds itself.
Former Minister Gashi called the injury and kidnapping of Milan Vukashinović within the territory of Kosovo a serious case and, according to him, the burden of blame also falls on the NATO mission for not having prevented such a thing.
"This case is very serious due to the fact that he was kidnapped in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo by the state institutions of Serbia, namely the Serbian gendarmerie. The address of criticism here also goes to the NATO mission present in Kosovo, which has the obligation to prevent such cases and warn Serbia. More accurate information should be provided due to the fact that from some publications, the same person had communications, bought honey from an officer and it was known exactly when he would be there and on what occasion he was kidnapped. A good opportunity to develop diplomatic pressure, to put pressure on Serbia to stop such acts", declared Gashi.
According to former Minister Gashi, this diplomatic opportunity was not sufficiently exploited.
Regarding the EU's conditionality regarding the lifting of measures against Kosovo with the transfer of power to elected Serb mayors in northern municipalities, Gashi said that the new mayors could have influence on the new police commanders, to create tensions.
"Not in the direct sense, but they will influence the appointment of people who will be loyal to the new mayors and to the pressures that may come from Serbia. They may influence the creation of groups that create tensions," declared Gashi, referring to the detonators that were found on November 15 in Leposavic, in which case, according to him, it is almost impossible to completely stop the illegal entry of weapons.
According to the Kosovo Police report, ten Cable detonators were found in Leposaviq by KFOR and Kosovo Police units near the river in the village of Gnjezhdan.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also reacted to this case. Acting Interior Minister, Xhelal Sveçla, who said that Serbia is still planning terrorist attacks against Kosovo. But according to Sveçla, the expansion of the Kosovo Police prevented many dangerous terrorist attacks that could have occurred.