The Kosovo Assembly’s committee for oversight of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) has expressed concern over frequent scandals in the agency, saying that these incidents have a negative impact on the image and credibility of this institution.
Some members of the committee even said that Prime Minister Thaci should brief them on developments in KIA. The committee’s deputy chair Fadil Demaku however said the law does not allow the prime minister to brief the committee, but that they can request to see reports that he receives from the Agency.
Demaku did not rule out an eventual request for resignation of KIA chief Bashkim Smakaj. “First and foremost, I hope that the Prime Minister is closely following developments in the institution and I believe necessary measures will be made to correct wrongdoings there. The request for resignation is not ruled out and I think that in order to improve things we need to start from the highest level,” he said.
Members of the committee said scandals in the Agency are a result of an open war between Kosovo Police and KIA. AAK MP Burim Ramadani said Police and KIA, the two key institutions for security in the country, declared war on one another after several senior police officials failed to pass the verification test conducted by KIA. Ramadani said the security system and national security will suffer if the two institutions do not communicate, especially at the managerial level.
