Serbia and the “Panda” case: When Serbian propaganda kills even its own youth

27 years have passed since the “Panda” case, one of the darkest and most unresolved events in Serbia, marked by political manipulation and institutional silence.

For years, Albanians were publicly accused without any evidence, becoming targets of propaganda and collective criminalization.

According to critics, the greatest irony lies in the fact that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić himself has publicly stated that Serbian authorities possess information about the perpetrators of the crime and, as he put it, “know exactly what happened that day.”

However, even after this statement, no names have been made public, no criminal proceedings have been initiated, and the families of the victims have not been told any official truth.

Security expert Agim Musliu describes the “Panda” case as one of the most severe examples of false-flag operations by the Serbian state apparatus, used to justify repression against Albanians and to manipulate public opinion both within Serbia and internationally.

According to Musliu, the way the case was closed, the arrests made without evidence, and the complete lack of transparency demonstrate that this was a crime politically protected at the highest levels of the Serbian state.

He emphasizes that, although Serbia has carried out other similar actions over the years, the “Panda” case in particular shows how far a hegemonic state is willing to go: killing its own young people in order to use them as a tool to accuse Albanians. “This can only happen in a state that recognizes no human, moral, or legal limits,” Musliu assesses.

In this context, the statements of Serbia’s former war crimes prosecutor, Vladimir Vukčević, are also of particular importance. He previously stated that it was a well-known fact that in the Peja region, at the time of the attack on the “Panda Café,” there were “almost no Albanians.”

“We came to the conclusion that Albanians are not the perpetrators of the crime,” Vukčević told BIRN. However, he clarified that the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office did not investigate the case because it fell outside its jurisdiction.

Vukčević has also expressed skepticism that a renewed investigation by Serbian authorities would reveal the truth. “This has nothing to do with the time that has passed since the attack, but with the determination of those who are investigating,” he said.

According to Musliu, the “Panda” case is not only an unresolved crime but also evidence of a state strategy of manipulation and the sacrifice of human lives for a false political cause. He stresses that the world must understand the reality and the manipulations of a state that is willing to sacrifice even its own people for propaganda.

The continued silence of Aleksandar Vučić, critics argue, still protects this crime and keeps the injustice alive for the victims and their families, 27 years after the event. /The Geopost.