The Banjska and Ibër Lepenc attacks were carried out with a specific objective. Aleksandar Sekulović, a collaborator of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Belgrade, believes that the main political interest of Serbia’s leadership is to show that Kosovo is not capable of independent life, that it is an immature society that must be returned under Serbia’s care, and that its authorities are unable to provide security. According to him, Serbia uses various narratives to present, without evidence, the ‘bad life’ of Serbs living in Kosovo. From these deliberate narratives, Sekulović is convinced that numerous incidents have occurred in Kosovo, the most notable being the Banjska and Ibër Lepenc attacks.
It has now become tiresome to expect anything rational or constructive from statements made by Serbian authorities regarding Kosovo, Sekulović assesses. He is a collaborator with the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Belgrade and Vice President of the Anti-Fascist Association of Serbia. He expressed these views in an authored piece dedicated to the attacks and the perpetrators committing terrorist acts in Kosovo, published on the official website of helsinki.org.rs.
Sekulović emphasizes that, as far as Serbia and its citizens living in Serbia are concerned, their interest in peace and stability is the same as Kosovo’s interest and that of its citizens.
“However, the same cannot be said for the current government in Serbia and almost the entire Serbian political class, which is deeply filled with Serbian nationalism and a determined aim to return Kosovo under Serbian sovereignty, often emphasizing that this should be done ‘by any means necessary’,” he states.
From this perspective, Sekulović argues that the primary interest of Serbia’s political class is to demonstrate that Kosovo is incapable of independent existence, that it is an immature society that must return under Serbia’s care, and that its authorities cannot guarantee peace and security for its citizens, especially those of Serbian origin.
“In such a situation, the least Kosovo’s authorities need are incidents and conflict situations, especially terrorist acts that would show that Kosovar society is immature, unstable, and conflict-ridden, and unable to care for itself,” he says.
Considering these facts, Sekulović concludes that the terrorist attack on the Ibër-Lepenc canal seriously harms Kosovo’s authorities and their efforts to normalize social life in Kosovo, portraying them as incapable of governing the country and ensuring basic stability and peace.
Of course, he adds, given that the incidents in Kosovo support such theses and aims of Serbian authorities, it cannot be concluded, unless proven otherwise, that they were in any way involved in the destruction of the Ibër-Lepenc canal.
“Nevertheless, Serbia’s political elite and its branches in Kosovo, especially the branches of the ruling party, bear direct responsibility for creating collective beliefs and the political atmosphere within the Serbian community in Kosovo. And the atmosphere they create is filled with irrational emotions, fear, hatred, and aggressive behavior.”
When describing the situation in Kosovo and the position of the Kosovar elite towards Serbs, Sekulović assesses that members of the Serbian political elite compete with each other in dramatizing the situation, using the harshest terms when referring to the Kosovar government and Prime Minister Kurti.
“Every day there are complaints about the terrible condition of Serbs in Kosovo, the violence against them, the terror, the persecution, and the planned ethnic cleansing by Kurti. The fact that this narrative has little to do with the real situation in Kosovo does not affect the environments and communities where emotions, irrational feelings, and traditional ethnic distance and mistrust dominate.”
“This story only deepens irrational thinking, leading it to an explosive state, to the desire for active resistance against these distant plans, and to strong urges for revenge against those who ‘torture’ Serbs.”
From this heated situation, Sekulović is convinced that numerous incidents have emerged in Kosovo, the most famous being the Banjska case.
“At the same time, it does not matter at all whether Serbian authorities, particularly military ones, knew about this action and whether they organized and financed it. Their dramatic rhetoric created an atmosphere from which legitimate actions against the state of Kosovo arise, actions that aim to damage its image as a stable state and cause significant economic harm, as seen in the destruction of the Ibër-Lepenc canal.”
For such actions, the Vice President of the Anti-Fascist Association of Serbia asserts that there are always plenty of willing candidates to act on their own initiative.
“Because in every society and ethnic community, there are individuals who are intoxicated by stories of evil enemies and national suffering. But if such stories are constantly repeated and become a national narrative, then this is reliable evidence that situations, conflicts, and incidents are being intentionally escalated, regardless of what is verbally claimed otherwise.”
After the terrorist events in Banjska and Ibër Lepenc, Sekulović says it is natural that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić did not miss the opportunity to give one of his “famous public addresses” and accuse the Kosovar government and Prime Minister, while hiding behind the expectation of the investigation results that will emerge.
