Gazmend Berlajolli serves as the Executive Director of The Balkan Forum, a prominent think tank based in Kosovo. With over 18 years of expertise in project management, human resources, and institutional and organizational development, he has cultivated strong relationships across diverse teams in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. His work spans humanitarian relief, institutional development, and democratization with organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), OSCE, IFES, and IOM in locations including Pristina, Islamabad, Sydney, and Melbourne. His focus areas include human and institutional development, democratization, civil society, elections, conflict resolution, and mentoring.
The most recent instance for inviting him to the Currents podcast interview was the terrorist attack on the Ibar-Lepenec canal on November 29.
XHABIR DERALLA: What is the atmosphere in Kosovo nowadays after the attack on the Ibar-Lepenec canal? And how are the people coping with the potential risks for water and electricity supplies these days?
GAZMEND BERLAJOLLI: Well, today people are happy because the water supply has been restored. It’s a temporary solution according to authorities, which means that the four cities affected get water supply, drinking water has been restored. It is important that power plants were hit – this canal supplies one of the power plants, Kosovo B. Based on the latest information, everything is in order. So, the situation is restored. In that sense, people are kind of happy that we managed to pull this through. Although, from Friday and into the weekend, you can see that people are worried and these topics like “should we buy water and be prepared and what’s coming” – you could feel the tension building up in a closed environment that I was observing. But I must say that this is also the case, because it was a worrying act of terror.
DERALLA: Yes, from what we could see, it’s quite a damage, but also the feelings of the people, the atmosphere in the society is pretty important. So, if people are content with the swift reaction and at least temporary solution of the problem, that’s satisfying enough. However, the European Union has classified the incident as a terrorist one, and called it a “terrorist attack” and “sabotage”. According to the Kosovo Prime Minister, Mr. Albin Kurti, this is an attack from Serbia, also compared it to the Russian aggression tactics in Ukraine, while the Serbian President, Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, has denied any connection to the incident. How far has the investigation progressed and how credible are these opposing claims?
BERLAJOLLI: Well, I think first and foremost, it’s important to categorize this act as an act of terror. And that is so, because it was an attack on critical infrastructure. And that is true, and that is a fact. And then, of course, in my opinion – in whose interest would it be to do these acts. Before jumping into conclusions, we need to leave this to investigations. It goes without saying that it is the Serbian interest, also their big brother’s, which is Russia, to play and cause these new hotbeds, new conflicts, or just spark new events so that it keeps the tensions on – which seems to be an interest for them. I think it is also right to say that this is not an isolated thing. There is energetic infrastructure being hit also in Ukraine, the connection cable that was hit in the Baltic Sea, connecting Germany and Finland, and also Estonia and Lithuania.
So, it appears they are similar kinds of attacks, which describes the hybrid war of nowadays – that you just try to put pressure, economic pressure, security pressure, build this big confusion among societies.
DERALLA: And create insecurity and fear, of course…
BERLAJOLLI: And fear, fear, yes, that’s true. So, I think it requires an in-depth analysis and also investigations, so that we know who are orders these attacks. Of course, in terms of investigations in Kosovo, all the security forces were put in place, including KFOR, Kosovo Police Force, and then NATO, KFOR troops, and international community has joined condemning the attack.
But as far as investigations, I think, as we speak, there are two individuals detained as suspects, and there were some raids during Saturday and Sunday, with some small arms, ammunitions, and uniforms, etc., captured. So, yeah, so far, that’s where we stand.
DERALLA: But that’s altogether drawing a lot of attention, also exploiting or engaging a lot of resources, both domestic and international, which in times like the beginning of the winter – this is not very good for the country, and also for the region, I must say. So, that’s a pretty serious situation in general, regardless of having a final answer, who exactly or who directly has caused this sabotage, this terrorist attack, or not. This is a situation, which needs to be dealt with the utmost seriousness and engagement.
BERLAJOLLI: Absolutely true. I mean, that’s what needs to be done. We need to keep calm, but at the same time, be very careful with investigations and try to go analyze every detail that we can find and document what happened, because this is one of the unfortunate events that is happening in that area in the north of Kosovo, which is proving every day that there is big interest to keep that area in a conflict, in a big tension. And it’s impacting the reconciliation, I mean, which should be the topic for both countries, like a proper dialogue that is motivated towards a progressive vision, towards reconciliation, etc.
But we are nowhere near there. In that regard, we see tensions and hate speech and, of course, fake news and disseminations by all actors, and then also for political interest, also domestically being kind of triggered for their political gains, which doesn’t help. And it makes the situation even foggier.
But I think authorities who are specialized for this, and including international communities, should use their resources. And this is not a time to be neutral. I mean, use your resources and act so that we have the perpetrators, or whoever did this, brought to justice. And that would calm the society as well. If you leave them with this, you know, unpunishment, it just creates kind of…
DERALLA: Yes, impunity will lead to even more attacks and further destabilization of the country and the region, of course. From what you are telling us, I can say that we’ve seen this time and again in the Balkans. I have to ask, how vulnerable is Kosovo to this and similar security challenges – terrorist attacks, sabotages in the future, especially in the light of this attack, which is second most serious incident from the September 2023 terrorist attack in Banjska. So how vulnerable is Kosovo right now to this and to other terrorist attacks potentially in the future?
BERLAJOLLI: I think it is right to say that Kosovo remains fragile to these events. We are a fertile soil for disinformation to pick up, because of the tensions that are existing.
I think this varies depending on the region. The south of Kosovo is less affected, I would say, but the north is very much affected, because the interest is to keep that area in a high tension and over there you have all sorts of disinformation going on. And that is problematic because, you know, in the digital age that we’re living in, it’s very difficult to control or to fact check, etc. The motives are to keep, to fuel, to put fuel in the society, that the problem, the situation is bad, etc.
In the south of Kosovo, of course, it’s not perfect, ideal, but it’s less so. But, of course, here as well, disinformation is used for different aims and goals, mainly to put fights among political parties and then use that for electoral gains. But I think we are a fertile soil for disinformation and propaganda because we don’t see that this situation has calmed down and, on the contrary, it’s escalating. I think it’s also related to the world where we are, because it’s a vacuum or a gap in the EU institutions being established, then you have the new American president taking office in a two months’ time. My gut is saying that there’s this vacuum here that it can be exploited. If you see the attacks that are happening in Ukraine or in the Baltic Sea and then in Kosovo, and then also elsewhere in the Middle East, etc., it leaves me the impression that, okay, now is the time to create new hotbeds and make a chaos, so that we stretch the West or the alliance as far as possible so that they are kind of distracted.
It’s time for unity. It’s time for democracy. It’s time for all people to keep calm, but at the same time work together to mitigate the challenges that we are facing and those are mainly energy at the moment, economic, but security is most important.
DERALLA: Well, it’s good that we speak to you because if we speak to the politicians, they usually say that everything is fine, that they are going to solve the problems, and that they are going to defend the country, that the country and the society are resilient and very happy. Well, it’s important to face the facts and who else, but the civil society actors to reveal the truth. In this respect, you already spoke about the disinformation campaigns and that the Kosovo society, but also all Western Balkan societies, and beyond, are extremely vulnerable to disinformation campaigns.
In that respect, what is the impact of the disinformation and propaganda in Kosovo in the last period of, let’s say, one year since Banjska until now? How deep is the impact of the disinformation and what is actually the state doing to prevent the negative effects, the destructive effects of disinformation, and how other societal actors are behaving in this period? Is there any solution or are you just coping from one to another case?
BERLAJOLLI: Well, there are actions being taken, but I think the power that lies with disinformation and the types of disinformation nowadays in the digital age that we are living in – it’s very difficult fight. I think authorities have increased transparency in terms of showing what’s happening and in that regard – if we just take the last example – I think the information was good and all relevant authorities, like emergency authorities, put a call in place quickly and the reaction was good. In 24 hours everything was restored in terms of water supplies. But for the disinformation, I think we should view it in the long run.
I think this is a matter of treating it with calm, but also from the educational aspect, I think we need to change a lot in our educational system and include some subjects as critical thinking in our elementary schools, etc., so that the society becomes more critical about what they read. But as a short-term solution, I think there are civil society actors that are trying to fact-check the news and label them, so we have some transparency meters that indicate what is false and what is true, but I don’t know how much reason those things have, because the bad story just penetrates quite fast to most of the people, and then you can tell from the reactions of people that are talking about the war prepared by this, by that. You sense that, okay, people are scared, of course, that this may deteriorate.
DERALLA: I think there is no competition in the speed. Actually, disinformation and propaganda narratives are incomparably faster in being disseminated, in being installed or instilled in people’s minds. From the experience of the team that I work with, the monitoring of the disinformation propaganda narratives, I can share, actually, that the attackers, the power entities that are creating and disseminating propaganda and disinformation narratives, actually are trying to cause a hurricane of negative feelings of fear or hate.
So, we’ve seen that in other cases, that hate narratives are being disseminated in order to destabilize and to sow hate and fear among people. That’s something that you may very well expect if it’s not already happening, especially in the social networks like Twitter or Facebook or TikTok or some other social network.
BERLAJOLLI: You touched a very good point. Observing as an outsider, I can easily say that the aim is to polarize the society as much as possible. And I think how this is working is basically trying to find weak spots among society. And where those weak spots are found, usually, you know, those are between far-right groups, like, yes, that can be Islamophobic and that could be, you know, anti-Serb or pro-Serb or anti-West, anti-Vax, anti-NATO.
So, they attack those groups and they are right. And of course, they will just engage immediately because – that’s what far-right groups do. And then how you fight that? I mean, it’s very challenging to counterattack that.
But I think we should stick to the old game, which is improve the transparency with factual information, with, you know, document, be reactive a lot and proactive to supply with a decent information from authorities so that it calms the societies down. Because I think when it comes from the government or from the institutions, that’s what makes people calm down. And if there’s no response, then it’s a matter of people just using their imagination and then becoming a victim of these groups. And then you don’t control those.
DERALLA: Yes. Mr. Berlajolli, at the end of this conversation, you as the Executive Director of The Balkan Forum, one of the most prominent think-tank organizations in Kosovo and beyond, what would you recommend to the Kosovo and to the regional public in light of the latest terrorist attack in Kosovo?
BERLAJOLLI: Well, my message for Kosovo is basically, I think it’s a time when everyone should be united.
This was an attack in our country, in a critical infrastructure. This is a time when we should stick together and ask for a proper investigation, have those who did this brought to justice and have a fair trial. That is, I think, my message that should go.
We should keep and adhere to democratic principles. And yes, we should be calm, but at the same time, relevant institutions should be prepared to the fullest, to the best of their ability and work with our allies, you know, international community in a coordinated way to find a solution that works for all and for the region as well. But first and foremost, be aligned with everyone in this regard, because this is not just Kosovo, it’s happening in Kosovo, there is a trend, but it’s, I see it as a more global thing, which needs to be carefully reviewed, but dealt with steel, I must say.
DERALLA: Yes, and calmness. Of course. Thank you very much for this interview, Mr. Berlajolli. Have a good day.
BERLAJOLLI: Thank you. It was a pleasure.
[ARCHIVE] Interview with Ferdinand Nikolla, security expert, on September 26, 2023
