Kosovo Assembly Deputy Speaker Ardian Gola has called for claims about interethnic tensions in Kosovo to be supported by concrete and verifiable evidence, warning that unsupported assertions could reinforce narratives promoted by Serbia and President Aleksandar Vučić.
In a Facebook post, Gola said describing the situation in Kosovo as one of interethnic tension was too serious a claim to make without specific evidence.
He argued that when such statements are made without facts, they go beyond political criticism and risk reinforcing what he described as narratives that Serbia and Vučić have used against Kosovo for years.
“This is even more problematic when such statements are conveyed through international media,” Gola said, arguing that interethnic relations should not be assessed on the basis of personal impressions but through evidence.
Gola said he understood stronger criticism of the Kosovo government, even when such criticism may conflict with what he described as the country’s state interests. He added that individuals were entitled to hold cosmopolitan principles, but argued that presenting an unsubstantiated assessment of interethnic relations as an established fact was not constructive criticism.
According to Gola, such claims could contribute to increasingly polarized political rhetoric and create space for accusations and labels such as “traitors” and “patriots.”
“Therefore, anyone who claims that there are interethnic tensions in Kosovo should explain what the facts or indicators are,” Gola said.
In the absence of such evidence, he argued, claims about interethnic tensions are not only irresponsible but could also be objectively harmful to Kosovo.
Gola’s comments come amid continuing political debate over relations between Kosovo’s Albanian majority and Serb community, as well as competing assessments of the security and political situation in the country.
