Karanovic: Rama seeks penalties for Serbia as he competes with Kurti to become the leader of the Albanians

An analyst from the Center for Social Stability, Ognjen Karanovic, sees Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's calls for sanctions against Serbia after the events in Banjska as a part of his attempt to assert himself as the leader of all Albanians.

Karanovic, speaking to Kosovo Online, points out that Rama reiterated his call for measures against Serbia after a meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in Zagreb on Monday.

"Both Prime Ministers agreed that, for some reason, Serbia deserved strong measures, almost sanctions by the international community, as they interpret it, I presume they mean exclusively the countries of the political West, which is somewhat understandable for their stance. The question arises as to why Edi Rama, who knew how to criticize Albin Kurti in recent years when Kurti was taking steps that could only be described as acts of terrorism, is now doing this. Why is Rama's need to call for punishment against Serbia suddenly arising now? It should be noted that Kurti and Rama have been competing for years for leadership among the Albanians. Both of them pretend to be pan-Albanian leaders. So, they are now competing because it is politically correct, to see who can achieve something first, who can announce some grotesque, sensationalistic statement sooner, and of course, who can better curry favor with their political mentors," Karanovic points out.

He adds that it appears that both Kurti and Rama, as well as Plenkovic, have mentors at the same address, whether that address is in Berlin, Washington, or Brussels.

He points out that the events in Banjska on September 24, when three Serbs and an Albanian policeman were killed, are being exploited to keep Serbia isolated.

"This is just another proof that the entire event in Banjska has been abused. I am sure it was well-prepared and then executed to be abused for political purposes so that Serbia remains isolated; so that it loses Kosovo and Metohija. And so NATO or the political West punishes Belgrade because that is the only chance for them to be more successful than Serbia. The fact is that 63% of all investments coming to the Balkans go to Serbia. This is one of the things that motivated Edi Rama to seek measures against Serbia," Karanovic says.

He also emphasizes that, on the other hand, it should not be surprising that any Albanian politician has such a stance towards Serbia.

"All of them, including Rama, perhaps more than anyone else, dream of a 'Greater Albania'. And on the way to achieving that 'Greater Albania', President Vucic and the state of Serbia are quite a nuisance to them. So in that context, this statement is completely understandable, although it is unacceptable and deserves condemnation," Karanovic concludes.