Vehicles displaying KLA and Albanian flags seen in Gracanica; police and KFOR check Kosovo Online journalists’ IDs

Vehicles displaying KLA and Albanian flags were seen in Gracanica today before and after a rally in support of former KLA leaders held in Pristina, while shouts of “UCK” and Albanian nationalist songs could be heard coming from the vehicles. A visible KFOR and Kosovo Police presence has also been noted in Gracanica.

Two German KFOR patrols are stationed near the roundabout, while police officers responsible for security at the monastery are patrolling Knez Lazar Street. Two EULEX vehicles are also parked near the police station in central Gracanica.

According to Kosovo Online reporters, while they were filming the streets of Gracanica, KFOR soldiers asked them what they were filming and why, as well as whether they had KFOR authorization to film their vehicles. They then asked to see their media credentials and subsequently reported the matter by telephone.

Asked by the journalists whether there had been any provocations involving KLA flags and chants of “UCK” in Gracanica today, KFOR personnel replied that “there had been no provocations, only flags.”

A similar situation occurred with the Kosovo Police, when two police officers, one Serb and one Albanian, approached the Kosovo Online team. They requested the journalists’ media credentials and identity cards and then reported by telephone that the Kosovo Online team was filming in Gracanica.
When asked why they had checked their identities, given that they had never done so before, the police officers replied that it was for security reasons.

Asked about the security situation in Gracanica, the officers said that nothing out of the ordinary was happening today.