Lumir Abdixhiku writes in his weekly column for the paper that the intervention of the state to put a stop to extremist activities inciting hatred was the logical conclusion of a country that has lost the functioning logic for some time now. Hate speech has been present in Kosovo for fifteen years now, claims Abdixhiku adding that the “brainwashing” organisations flourished in an environment that was under social and economic crises. After first usurping religious premises and later on, a part of religious leadership, these organisations began publicly preaching hatred against everyone with different opinions from them. “Fear, intimidation and manipulation were their only tools”, writes Abdixhiku.

However, no matter how impressive and patriotic the recent arrest operation may seem, terrorism is fought by hitting at its head not the tail, writes Abdixhiku. And its head does not include “brainwashed” youth and religious preachers but incompetent politicians who provide the “brainwashers” the possibility to play out their intentions. In order to prevent the youths from joining terrorist organisations and minimize support for them, the state should not only lead an uncompromised war against each terrorist but should also prevent any other anomaly, be it economic, social or cultural, that creates room for manipulation, impoverishment and misery.

Abdixhiku considers that the police operation is most definitely a result of the outgoing government’s need to fix relations with international community in Kosovo because why else would the operation take place now when during the last two mandates in power, the outgoing government did nothing to address the terrorism threat. “In fact, the first time the former prime minister took a stance on extremism and terrorist threat was only two weeks ago. Only when a US State Department report – warning of the extremism danger in Kosovo – was issued, did the former prime minister of Kosovo, after having allowed extremism for seven years, choose to react”, writes Abdixhiku.