(The Anatomy of Denial on the 27th Anniversary of the Massacre)
Ridvan Emini – Researcher at Institute for Hybrid Warfare Studies “OCTOPUS”
The denial of the Racak Massacre by Serbia is not merely a battle with “truth” over guilt or innocence; rather, it is part of a broader strategy tied to its hegemonist project of the “Serbian World.” This involves an intensive political, media, and cultural engagement—including the role of the Orthodox Church—aimed at generating confusion in order to evade responsibility, as the only way to “legitimize” the continuation of its hegemonist policy toward Kosovo and other countries in the region.
The Racak Massacre also symbolically exposes the narrative of alleged international “injustice” toward Serbia, stemming from insinuations by Aleksandar Vucic and other state officials that it was “a fabrication to justify NATO’s intervention.” Alongside the denial of the genocide in Srebrenica and the glorification of war criminals as a “heroic sacrifice” in defense of Serbs, within the framework of a hybrid strategy against Kosovo, Racak has also been subjected to an “artistic and cultural” denial—presented as a more “refined” method of distorting the truth for both the Serbian public and the international audience.
“Culture” as a Hybrid Instrument
After failing to conceal the crime through institutional manipulation, Serbia has continued its campaign by combining official denial with the instrumentalization of art and culture. Numerous documentaries, feature films, exhibitions, and operatic projects have been invested in promoting the “truth” about Racak and the “defense” of Kosovo. Subtitling in foreign languages and dissemination abroad through official channels and broadcasting platforms demonstrate that these productions are not intended solely for a domestic audience, but also for the international one. Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), as a megaphone of Serbian propaganda, has played—and continues to play—a key role in this regard.
The documentary “Račak – istine i laži” (Racak – Truths and Lies, 2009) is its production marking the tenth anniversary of the massacre, portraying civilian victims as members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and directly attacking the head of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, William Walker, as an alleged “stager” of the crime. Together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia (MUP), the broadcaster also produced a documentary series entitled “Dosije Kosovo” (The Kosovo File, 2021–2024), consisting of four parts, which “chronologically recount” events and the fates of civilians and Serbian security forces in Kosovo during the period 1998–2004.
In each episode, the “facts” are manipulated with the aim of portraying the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as a “terrorist” force. The first part focuses on the year 1998, where, through staged interviews, KLA attacks and killings in villages inhabited by Serbs are “presented as evidence.” The second part addresses the Racak Massacre, portraying civilian victims as “disguised” members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) wearing civilian clothes. This episode represents the peak of propaganda aimed at denying this mass crime committed by Serbian forces. Meanwhile, the third part deals with the so-called “Yellow House”, accusing the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) of kidnapping Serbs and engaging in organ trafficking—a fabrication that has since been discredited, yet one that has had serious consequences for Kosovo and former KLA leaders, who continue to be tried by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. The fourth part addresses the events of March 2004, demonizing the state of Kosovo and accusing Albanians of an alleged ethnic cleansing of Serbs. The interviews and narration in English, Russian, and Albanian indicate that Serbia, through this documentary, aimed to disseminate its false narratives not only in the international arena but also among Albanian public opinion.
Immediately after the completion of this documentary cycle, an alleged “independent production” released the film “Anatomy of Deception – Racak” (2023), which represents a continuation of the Serbian narrative on Racak. This film demonizes the figure of Ambassador William Walker, portraying him as an alleged CIA agent with a destabilizing mission, and further “elaborates” the conspiracy theory depicting the Racak Massacre as a “fabrication.” On the other hand, in order to obstruct Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO, alongside direct state-to-state lobbying, Serbia has also employed the documentary “Kosovo: A Moment in Civilization” (2017). This production was financially supported by the so-called Office for Kosovo within the Government of Serbia, as well as by the Serbian Cultural Center in Paris. Through this documentary, Serbia sought to portray Albanians as vandals, Kosovo as an incapable and barbaric state, and Serbs as persecuted and suffering—precisely on the eve of the vote on membership in UNESCO, issuing an open call for a vote against it.
Meanwhile, the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, led by Arnaud Gouillon, has promoted propaganda through the organization of exhibitions and activities across numerous countries worldwide, including the exhibition “Encounters with the Last Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija” in Paris, deliberately calculating the disinformation of international audiences about Kosovo. Thus, alongside documentaries, feature films construct a symbolic universe portraying Serbs as perpetual victims and Albanians as aggressors and morally unworthy. This logic also extends to the newest operatic project, “The Battle of Kosovo”, announced by the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. This project is not merely an artistic initiative, but represents the latest investment in the narrative warfare against Kosovo. Through opera, as an elite form of cultural communication, the regime of Aleksandar Vucic will seek to generate sympathy for—and legitimize—the Serbian myth of Kosovo on prestigious international stages. In this way, cultural products are instrumentalized to deny crimes, in service of the hegemonist objectives of the so-called “Serbian World.”
Internationally Denounced ‘Concealment’
The denial strategy also involved the then investigating judge Danica Marinkovic, who continues to attempt to distort the truth. After efforts to conceal the crime in Racak failed, she ordered the transfer of the bodies for autopsy, seeking to construct a deceptive narrative through control over the evidence. However, authorship of the crime was confirmed by the forensic medical expertise of the European Union team led by Dr.Helena Ranta, which approximately two years later reported that “all those killed and massacred were unarmed Albanian civilians, forcibly removed from their homes and taken to Babush Hill for execution.”
The two-year “delay” gave Serbia room for manipulation, but independent international media reported the truth and exposed Serbian attempts to conceal this crime. Despite this, Serbia has continued its policy of denial through the Security Information Agency (BIA) as well, implicating espionage networks in Kosovo in fabricating claims about a KLA military hospital in Monopollc, following a pattern similar to the “Yellow House” scenario.
The Indictment as a Denunciation of Serbia
The filing of an indictment by the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosova against 21 individuals held responsible for the crimes committed in Racak represents the latest development demonstrating that this is not merely a procedural step of justice, but also a direct confrontation with Serbia’s falsifying narrative. This indictment, although delayed, confirms that the crime committed by Serbia in Racak has not been forgotten and that criminal responsibility does not “expire” with time.
According to the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosova, the suspects are charged with the joint perpetration of the murder of 42 Albanian civilians, as members of the Army of the former Yugoslavia, the 243rd Mechanized Brigade, the Third Army—known as the Pristina Corps—as well as members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia (MUP). They are also accused of inhuman treatment, destruction of property, mass expulsion, and ethnic cleansing of the civilian population.
With this development by the justice institutions, the Racak Massacre now also receives a juridical “seal” of Serbia’s state responsibility, as a crime documented 27 years ago—despite the persistent use of various “filters” to eclipse it.