(attacchi a mano armata contro case di non-albanesi, incendi,
aggressioni, una donna strangolata, profughi impossibilitati a
rientrare... e poi la gestione politica del protettorato del Kosovo,
dove pochi giorni fa la NATO ha imposto Agim Ceku, già ufficiale
dell'esercito ustascia di Tudjman e poi comandante dell'UCK , a fare
da "primo ministro"...)
KOSMET 2006 (english)
1. Selection of news from various sources
2. WAR CRIMINAL CEKU APPOINTED AS "PRIME MINISTER"
3. War Criminal, Ally, or Both?
The KLA's new leader, Agim Ceku, may have helped mastermind the most
brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign in post-communist Yugoslavia's
history. Now he's on NATO's side in the war over Kosovo.
by Jeffrey Benner, May 21, 1999
=== 1 ===
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?nav_id=33690&style=headlines
Beta (Serbia and Montenegro) - January 23, 2006
Another attack on Serbian home
GNJILANE – A hand grenade was thrown into the yard of
Slobodan Todorovic's home, in the village of Cernica,
near Gnjilane.
According to Serbian sources in Kosovo, the attack
occurred slightly before 10 pm last night and is the
fourth such attack on the Todorovic household in the
last several years. No one was injured in the attack,
but some property was damaged.
The police have yet to come and investigate the scene.
There are about 40 remaining Serbian families in the
village of Cernica.
In June 1999, there were 712 Serbs in the village,
there are now only about 200 left.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newssummary/#setimes/newsbriefs/2006/01/23/nb-04
Southeast European Times - January 23, 2006
New ethnic incident reported in Kosovo
VITINA, Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro - Two Serb
teenagers, aged 17 and 19, were attacked and beaten by
a group of ethnic Albanians in the southeast village
of Mogila on Sunday (22 January).
It happened in front of the local Serb Orthodox
Church, according to local media reports.
The case was reported to the Kosovo Police Service and
to KFOR. (Politika - 23/01/06; Tanjug - 22/01/06)
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fonet012406b.htm
Young Serb injured in incident near Gnjilane, Kosovo Police Service states
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - January 24, 2006 Tuesday
Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet
Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1649 gmt 23 Jan 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Vitina, 23 January: The Kosovo Police Service [KPS] spokesman
in Gnjilane, Naser Ibrahimi, told FoNet today that an incident had
occurred at a playground in the village of Mogila last Sunday [22
January], which had left a 17-year-old Serb boy injured.
Ibrahimi said that a conflict between young men of Albanian and Serb
nationality had occurred at the playground, and that a young Serb man
had been slightly injured.
Police have detained five young men, taken their statements and handed
them over to an investigative judge.
Serbs living in Mogila have specified that a big group of Albanians
attacked two young Serb men in the St Theodore church back yard, where
these had gone to make a phone call, since the signal for mobile
phones is best there.
Villagers said that Bojan Djuzic (17) and Dejan Nojkic (18) had been
beaten up.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/ap020806.htm
Kosovo Serbs demand return to homes and jobs in troubled province
Associated Press Worldstream - February 8, 2006 Wednesday 12:40 PM GMT
Copyright 2006 Associated Press
Posted for Fair Use only.
ZVECAN Serbia-Montenegro - Hundreds of Serbs displaced from Kosovo
since the 1998-1999 war held a protest rally Wednesday demanding a
safe return to their homes and jobs.
About 500 protesters gathered in the town of Zvecan, where the
province's U.N. administrator, Soren Jessen-Petersen, had arrived for
talks with the leaders of the dwindling Kosovo Serb community.
"Our right to work and live in freedom has been suspended more than
six years ago," protest leader Dragisa Terencic said, referring to the
1999 change of authority when NATO intervened in the armed conflict
between Serbs and ethnic Albanian separatists over Kosovo.
As NATO bombing forced Serbia to relinquish control over its southern
province, more than 200,000 Serbs fled while about 100,000 remained,
living mostly in enclaves surrounded by the ethnic Albanian majority.
The Wednesday rally gathered representatives of more than 7,000 Serbs
who worked in Kosovo's coal mines and power plants before the war.
Jessen-Petersen made no comment as he entered the talks with the Serb
leaders, but he was expected to address reporters after the meetings.
International negotiations on a final status for Kosovo were expected
to begin later this month in Austria. Ethnic Albanian demand
independence, while Serb leaders in Belgrade have vowed not to give up
the province.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/srna020606.htm
Serb home torched in Kosovo village
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - February 6, 2006 Monday
Excerpt from report by Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0924
gmt 6 Feb 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Vitina, 6 February: Unidentified persons torched Trajan
Savic's house in the village of Cernica near Kosovska Vitina
yesterday, the Kosovo Police Service has said.
Six members of Savic's family were asleep when their home was set
ablaze but they managed to escape.
Cernica Serbs have urged the international community [peacekeepers] to
set up a checkpoint and to secure constant Kosovo Police Service patrols.
Two weeks ago, a bomb was hurled at the Cernica home of Milorad
Todorovic, deputy chairman of the Coordination Committee for
Kosovo-Metohija.
Forty-five houses have been torched in the village of Cernica since
1999 [NATO intervention].
Some 120 Serb families used to live in the village until the arrival
of the UN mission in Kosovo-Metohija and now only 40 remain.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/b92020806.htm
Returnee says life impossible for Serbs in Kosovo capital
BBC Monitoring European. London: Feb 8, 2006. pg. 1
Text of report in English by Belgrade-based Radio B92 text website on
8 February
Credit: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0941 8 Feb 06
Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0941 8 Feb
06/BBCMonitoring/(c) BBC
Posted for Fair Use only.
Pristina , 8 February: Zoran Stanisic, a refugee who has returned to
Pristina, said that he cannot live in his own apartment, is constantly
being robbed, and cannot reopen his business.
After fleeing almost seven years ago, Stanisic, along with his mother,
moved back to Pristina five months ago. Before the war, Zoran, an
economist and electrical engineer, was the owner of a successful
private company in Pristina. He said that he has been riddled with
problems and obstructions in trying to reopen his business and rehire
his old associates, who are all of varying nationalities.
"I've found both my business and living places broken in to. I alerted
the Kosovo police, which came 15 minutes after the fact. Since I am
one of the few Serbs living in Pristina, it's funny that this is the
second time this month that someone has probably tried to send us a
message," Stanisic said.
Stanisic said that he trusted the promises of the international
community, the Kosovo Government and the Return Ministry, that the
minimum conditions of normal living would be given to him, which
encouraged him to return to Pristina.
"When winter came, we had nothing, so we were forced to temporarily
get out of the way, and wait to see whether their promises would be
fulfilled or not. It looks as if there is nothing for Serbs in this
city, and Serbs are ordained to live in enclaves, concentration camps,
and behind barbed wire," Stanisic said.
Until 1999, about 40,000 Serbs lived in Pristina. There are currently
150 living there now. Zoran Stanisic is now living in Gracanica,
because, as he stated, he cannot live in his Pristina apartment.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest_international.cfm?id=207292006
The Scotsman - February 10, 2006
Serbs stage British Embassy protest
Several hundred Serbs from Kosovo have rallied in
front of the British Embassy in Belgrade to protest a
British diplomat's alleged backing for the province's
independence from Serbia.
The protesters carried pictures of Serbs killed in
Kosovo, and some held photos of former Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic.
The demonstrators were angered by reports that a
senior British official suggested in talks with Serb
officials that they should accept that Kosovo will
gain independence in upcoming talks on the province's
future status.
The southern Serbian province has been administered by
the United Nations since a Nato air offensive drove
out Serb troops in 1999.
John Sawers, political director of Britain's Foreign
Office, visited both Belgrade and Pristina, Kosovo's
capital, earlier this week as part of preparations for
UN-brokered negotiations on the province's future
status.
Serbs cherish Kosovo as the cradle of their history
and culture and refuse to allow it to become an
independent state.
However, Kosovo's ethnic Albanians insist independence
for the province is the only acceptable solution.
The so-called Contact Group for Kosovo, which includes
the United States, Britain, Russia, Italy, Germany and
France, has demanded that the solution for Kosovo be
found by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, a European Union envoy for Kosovo met with
Serbia's President Boris Tadic to discuss preparations
for the talks. Stefan Lehne also met with Prime
Minister Vojislav Kostunica and other officials.
In a statement issued after the meeting with Lehne,
Kostunica said Serbia is ready for the negotiations
and warned against "prejudging the future solution for
the status" of the province.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fonet021106.htm
Aid to Kosovo Serbs will have to be "smuggled" past new customs - official
BBC Monitoring European. London: Feb 11, 2006. pg. 1
Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet
Credit: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1449 11 Feb 06
FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1449 11 Feb
06/BBCMonitoring/(c) BBC
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Mitrovica, 11 February: The director of the [Serbian] Care
for Children Centre, [Strength of Serbia Movement - PSS official]
Boris Stajkovic, has told FoNet that this organization's humanitarian
aid was not delivered today to the Serb population in Kosovo
Pomoravlje [County], because UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo] had imposed customs obligations on non- governmental
organizations for this purpose.
Stajkovic said two vehicles carrying clothes and around 400 hygienic
and 200 school packages with books for children and inhabitants of
Silovo and Gnjilane had been stopped at the administrative line with
Kosovo, because UNMIK had demanded 2,000 euros in customs duty.
He added that the Care for Children Centre today did not know about
this UNMIK decision because this information had not been made public
anywhere in Serbia.
"This is a new tragic fact for Serbs in Kosovo, following the fact
that they have been barred from having access to electricity and their
jobs, and this stops us from delivering to the children everything
which they need most in order to survive," Stajkovic said, adding that
this was "yet another horrible form of pressure against the Serbs who
live in Kosovo under exceptionally difficult circumstances".
As he put it, the only thing they could do was to unload the aid in
Raska and then, using private cars, "smuggle" it bit by bit and this
way deliver to places where it is needed most.
"We have to deliver even humanitarian aid in various illegal manners,
but, really, we are not left with anything else to help people survive
such a situation in various ways," Stajkovic concluded.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/srna021506.htm
Serb woman strangled in divided Kosovo town
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - February 15, 2006 Wednesday
Text of report by Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0756
gmt 15 Feb 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Mitrovica, 15 February: Danka Kompirovic was strangled in her
Bosnjacka mahala home, in the [Serb-controlled] northern part of
Kosovska Mitrovica, at around 2130 [2030 gmt] last night.
The body of the 61-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in the
northern part of the town where a post-mortem examination will be
conducted.
According to witnesses, three persons fled from the Kompirovic home to
the southern [Albanian-controlled] part of the town and this is why
Albanians are suspected of committing the crime.
The Kompirovic home was the only remaining Serb house in Bosnjacka
mahala, out of some 100 prior to the arrival of the peacekeepers in 1999.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fena021906.htm
Bomb explodes outside Serbian bank office in Kosovo
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - February 19, 2006 Sunday
Excerpt from report by Bosnia-Hercegovina Federation News Agency FENA
Source: Federation News Agency, Sarajevo, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
0947 gmt 19 Feb 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Mitrovica, 19 February: No-one was injured when an explosive
device was activated in the town centre of Dragas [Muslim Slav enclave
in southern Kosovo] around 2120 [2020 gmt] last night.
The explosive device, most probably a bomb, was activated near the
Komercijalna banka [Belgrade-based bank] office, the Caglavica-based
KiM [Kosovo Serb] radio reported.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/mina022606.htm
Refugee bus reportedly stoned by Kosovo Albanians
BBC Monitoring European. London: Feb 26, 2006. pg. 1
Text of report by Montenegrin Mina news agency
Credit: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 2032 26 Feb 06
Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 2032 26 Feb
06/BBCMonitoring/(c) BBC
Posted for Fair Use only.
Decani, 25 February: A group of some 50 Albanian youths today stoned a
bus transporting displaced persons from Kosovo-Metohija who now live
in Montenegro.
The chairman of the Alliance of Refugee Associations in Montenegro,
Milenko Jovanovic, said that the incident had taken place in Decani
and that no-one was injured.
"The incident took place around 1500 [1400 gmt] and the bus, with some
60 passengers on board, was not damaged to a great extent," Jovanovic
said.
The displaced persons were travelling to Kosovo to visit graveyards
and the Visoki Decani monastery.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fonet030606.htm
Serbs shot at in Kosovo village
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - March 6, 2006 Monday
Excerpt from report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet
Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 2054 gmt 5 Mar 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation - Posted for Fair Use
only.
Belgrade, 5 March: The vehicle in which Radmila Natovic and Jelena and
Igor Djokic were was shot at in the village of Staro Gacko in the
municipality of Lipljan around 1930 [1830 gmt] this evening. No-one
was injured. [Passage omitted: more details]
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/mina030606.htm
POLICE CHECKPOINT FIRED AT FROM DIRECTION OF ALBANIAN VILLAGE IN SOUTH
SERBIA
BBC Monitoring International Reports - March 6, 2006 Monday
Excerpt from report by Montenegrin Mina news agency
Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 1812 gmt 6 Mar 06
Copyright 2006 Financial Times Information All Rights Reserved
Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2006 BBC Monitoring/BBC Source: Financial Times Information
Limited - Posted for Fair Use only.
Bujanovac, 6 March: Unidentified persons have attacked a police
security and inspection booth at the Konculj checkpoint [in southern
Serbia] on the administrative line with Kosovo, but no one was injured
in the incident.
According to a statement, the attack happened last night at around
1910 [1810 gmt], no one was injured and the police returned fire after
being shot at by the attackers.
The attack was conducted from the outskirts of the Albanian village of
Konculj, from a spot near the 29 November primary school, from a
distance of 600 metres from the checkpoint, Belgrade media have reported.
The attackers opened machine gun fire in the direction of the security
and inspection booth, with bullets falling 10 to 15 metres away from
the booth.
[Passage omitted: information on investigation which has been launched]
=== 2 ===
Source: Rick Rozoff at yugoslaviainfo @ yahoogroups.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060301/wl_nm/serbiamontenegro_kosovo_premier_dc
Reuters - March 1, 2006
Kosovo PM Kosumi quits under pressure By Shaban Buza
-Political sources said Kosumi's resignation was the
"result of pressure" following a round of meetings
with Western envoys earlier in the week, including the
United States.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
who now heads the Kosovo Protection Force....
-Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
-Former student activist Kosumi was sworn in on March
23 last year as head of Kosovo's interim government,
the handpicked successor of Haradinaj, 37, who was
also a former KLA guerrilla commander....
-Up to 200,000 Serbs fled when NATO occupied Kosovo in
the summer of 1999 fearing revenge [sic] attacks by
Albanians. Securing the safety and rights of some
100,000 who remain, many living in isolated enclaves,
is a central issue in the talks...
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi resigned on
Wednesday following international criticism that he
had failed to do enough to create a multi-ethnic state
as the province seeks independence.
Citing the need to preserve a coalition majority and
the cooperation of Kosovo's Western backers, Kosumi
told reporters: "I find the correct and ethical action
is to resign from the post of prime minister."
Kosumi, 45, handed in his resignation to President
Fatmir Sejdiu after word leaked that he no longer had
the confidence of his own Alliance for the Future of
Kosovo (AAK) party.
Kosumi was also criticized for ineptness by other
members of Kosovo's ruling ethnic Albanian coalition
and Western mentor states shepherding the Serbian
province through talks that could lead to its
independence later this year.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan criticized
the Kosumi government in a January report for not
doing enough to meet democratic standards set by the
U.N. for the creation of a just and smoothly
functioning multi-ethnic society.
Political sources said Kosumi's resignation was the
"result of pressure" following a round of meetings
with Western envoys earlier in the week, including the
United States.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
who now heads the Kosovo Protection Force, the civil
emergency unit set up to absorb former rebel fighters.
"Agim Ceku has been offered the post of prime minister
and is going to say he accepts at a press conference
this afternoon," a source close to Ceku said.
Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
Political sources said the ruling coalition was very
unhappy with Kosumi's performance, his perceived lack
of leadership and inefficiency. They pointed out that
two cabinet posts, for the interior and justice
portfolios, had still not been filled three months
after they were created by the province's
administration.
The West wants Kosovo's status resolved this year and
is impatient with any unnecessary delays. Kosumi quit
just as he was due to meet visiting United Nations
special envoy Marrti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish
president charged with mediating Kosovo status talks
with Belgrade.
FORMER GUERRILLA AS SUCCESSOR?
Serbs and Kosovo Albanians met in Vienna last week for
a first round of direct negotiations on the fate of
Serbia's disputed southern province.
The talks were delayed a month by the death of Kosovo
Albanian president Ibrahim Rugova.
Former student activist Kosumi was sworn in on March
23 last year as head of Kosovo's interim government,
the handpicked successor of Haradinaj, 37, who was
also a former KLA guerrilla commander respected for
his grasp on Kosovo's fractious political scene.
The province's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority
wants independence from Serbia, which Belgrade says it
is not prepared to grant. But Belgrade lost control of
Kosovo nearly seven years ago when NATO intervened...
Up to 200,000 Serbs fled when NATO occupied Kosovo in
the summer of 1999 fearing revenge attacks by
Albanians. Securing the safety and rights of some
100,000 who remain, many living in isolated enclaves,
is a central issue in the talks.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01716252.htm
Reuters - March 1, 2006
FACTBOX - Agim Ceku, nominated as Kosovo PM
Former guerrilla commander Agim Ceku was nominated as
Kosovo prime minister on Wednesday after Bajram Kosumi
bowed to domestic and international pressure to
resign.
Here are five facts about Ceku:
-- An ethnic Albanian native of Kosovo, Ceku was
stationed in Croatia as part of the Yugoslav Army when
war broke out there in 1991. Siding with the Croats,
he fought Serb troops for the republic's independence
from Yugoslavia.
-- Ceku married a Croatian woman but returned to
Kosovo as a commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA), which in early 1998 launched a
guerrilla war against Serb forces. A career soldier,
Ceku took responsibility for overhauling the KLA
command structure.
-- Serb forces pulled out in 1999 under NATO bombing
and Ceku helped oversee the disbanding of the KLA. He
took command of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), a
civil emergency force created by the United Nations to
absorb the former rebels.
-- Ceku has had to purge the Corps of rogue elements
several times since 1999. But he retains the strong
support of Kosovo's Western backers, most notably
Britain, which took on the role of KPC sponsor and
mentor.
-- Serbia says Ceku is guilty of war crimes against
Serb civilians during the Kosovo war. He has twice
been detained - in Slovenia and Hungary - on
Serbian-issued arrest warrants, but was quickly
released on both occasions. Ceku was born near the
western Kosovo town of Pec on Oct. 29, 1960.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1133751.php/Kosovo_Prime_Minister_Kosumi_resigns
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - March 1, 2006
Kosovo Prime Minister Kosumi resigns
Pristina - Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi
unexpectedly resigned Wednesday, in the midst of
crucial talks with Serbia on the future status of the
province.
Agim Ceku, a former rebel commander who fought Serbia
throughout the 1990s, was expected to be nominated as
the next head of the government.
The step would irk Belgrade officials, who on top of
worries over the prospect of losing Kosovo now also
have to negotiate the man Serbian courts convicted as
a war criminal.
'Taking into account that the government is at risk of
losing the majority in parliament and...in the overall
interest of cooperation with our international
friends, I took this decision to resign from the post
of the prime minister,' Kosumi said.
He described the step as a 'moral act,' but did not
immediately offer a deeper explanation of the pressure
his cabinet.
Minutes earlier, the leading Democratic League of
Kosovo (LDK) party also sacked the parliament speaker
Nexhat Daci, saying it was unhappy how he handled the
assembly during preparations for the crucial talks
with Serbia.
The dramatic changes were announced during the visit
of the United Nations envoy mediating the Kosovo
status talks, Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, who
said they would not affect the talks.
'I don't see this development as a government crisis,'
Ahtisaari said. 'We will continue the negotiations ...
this development will not influence the process.'
Kosumi and Daci both came under the pressure in their
own parties, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and
LDK. The province has been embroiled in a power
struggle since the death of the overall leader and
president Ibrahim Rugova in January.
Kosumi was elected prime minister a year ago, after
his party supremo Ramush Haradinaj and another
ex-rebel commander, was indicted for war crimes by the
Hague-based International criminal Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia and forced to resign.
Ceku, 45, formally non-aligned politically, heads the
Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), an unarmed organization
mostly composed of ex-guerrillas (UCK).
Though unarmed and formally a disaster relief
organization, the KPC is widely seen as the core of
Kosovo's future army.
A career soldier, he skipped from the former Yugoslav
Army to fight for Croatia in its 1991-1995 war for
independence. He resigned from the Croatian army early
in 1999 on invitation by UCK to take control.
In 2004 he was briefly detained in Hungary, on an
Interpol warrant issued by Belgrade, in 2004.
Haradinaj and another top Kosovo Albanian leader,
Hashim Thaci, were also convicted by Serbian courts as
war criminals.
Consultations were under way on the nomination, which
would formally be put forward by President Fatmir
Sejdiu.
The NATO intervention paved the way to a UN
administration in the province, which last month,
after six years, opened the direct talks with Serbia
on its future status.
The Albanians, who make up the vast majority in
Kosovo, unanimously want quick independence from
Serbia, which Belgrade ruled out, offering instead
only a broad autonomy.
http://www.mia.com.mk/ang/glavnavest/lastvest.asp?vest=\Refresh1\388-0103.htm
Macedonian Information Agency - March 1, 2006
AHTISAARI: KOSUMI, DACI REPLACEMENT WILL NOT AFFECT KOSOVO TALKS
-Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA)....
-Earlier today, news agencies reported that an
organisation calling itself the Albanian National Army
(ANA) requested for the UN Mission (UNMIK)
withdraw from Kosovo (UNMIK) and announced a struggle
for the creation of a Greater Albania.
-"We will fight against any enemy or traitor to the
full victory, the uniting of the Albanian nation, with
the motto - one nation, one state."
The United Nations envoy mediating the Kosovo status
talks, Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, said
Wednesday that the resignation of Kosovo Prime
Minister Bajram Kosumi and sacking of Parliamentary
Speaker Nexhat Daci will not affect the course of
talks on Kosovo status.
"I don't see this development as a government crisis,"
Ahtisaari said. "We will continue the negotiations ...
this development will not influence the process."
This evening, Kosumi should meet Ahtisaari, who
arrived in Pristina for a three-day visit.
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi resigned on
Wednesday following international criticism that he
had failed to do enough to create a multi-ethnic state
as the province seeks independence.
Citing the need to preserve a coalition majority and
the cooperation of Kosovo's Western backers, Kosumi
told reporters: "I find the correct and ethical action
is to resign from the post of prime minister".
Kosumi, 45, handed in his resignation to President
Fatmir Sejdiu after word leaked that he no longer had
the confidence of his own Alliance for the Future of
Kosovo (AAK) party.
Political sources said the ruling coalition was very
unhappy with Kosumi's performance, his perceived lack
of leadership and inefficiency. They pointed out that
two cabinet posts, for the interior and justice
portfolios, had still not been filled three months
after they were created by the province's
administration.
Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
who now heads the Kosovo Protection Force, the civil
emergency unit set up to absorb former rebel fighters.
Minutes earlier, the leading Democratic League of
Kosovo (LDK) party also sacked Parliamentary Speaker
Nexhat Daci, saying it was unhappy with how he handled
the assembly during preparations for the crucial talks
with Serbia.
Earlier today, news agencies reported that an
organisation calling itself the Albanian National Army
(ANA) requested for the UN Mission (UNMIK)
withdraw from Kosovo (UNMIK) and announced a struggle
for the creation of a Greater Albania.
"There is no democracy within that organisation (UN).
It continues to rule with the right to veto as in the
Middle Ages and cannot build democracy," ANA said in a
statement delivered to the media in Pristina.
A former UNMIK chief, Michael Steiner, branded ANA a
terrorist organisation.
"We will fight against any enemy or traitor to the
full victory, the uniting of the Albanian nation, with
the motto - one nation, one state," read the
statement.
ANA claimed responsibility for a number of armed
attacks in Kosovo and the region in recent years.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?order=priority
B92 (Serbia and Montenegro) - March 3, 2006
Cheku's [Ceku] nomination unacceptable
BELGRADE – The Serbian Government has deemed the
Kosovo's nomination of Agim Cheku for prime minister
unacceptable, stating that he is facing war crimes
indictments.
The Serbian Government's Media Cooperation Office's
Chief, Srdjan Djuric, said that the War Crimes
Tribunal has indicted Cheku for war crimes charges,
adding that there are no instances in Europe or around
the world where a country or state's prime minister is
indicted for war crimes.
"The War Crimes Court has issued an indictment against
Agim Cheku and an international warrant for his arrest
is pending. Today in Europe, and throughout the entire
globe most likely, there are no prime ministers who
are accused of war crimes. For the Serbian Government,
it is completely unacceptable to have a man, who
should be in court facing war crimes charges, be
elected as prime minister or for any other political
position. The officials of the international community
who are responsible for Kosovo have an obligation to
protect the elementary norms of civilisation and stop
Agim Cheku from being elected and make a mockery of
the values which a democratic society is founded on,"
Djuric told B92.
=== 3 ===
From: p-tosic
Subject: [yugoslaviainfo] Agim Ceku: War Criminal, Ally, or Both?
(and other news related to Kosovo)
Date: March 5, 2006 4:44:06 AM GMT+01:00
To: yugoslaviainfo @ yahoogroups.com
["Well, I have always made it clear ... that NATO has no direct
contacts with the KLA*," answered Shea. "Who they appoint as their
leaders, that is entirely their own affair."]
*video proves the opposite Mr Shea!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6557813549136654170
Google: Latest News from Kosovo
http://news.google.be/news?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&tab=wn&q=Kosovo&btnG=Search+News
MakFax: Kosumi: No negotiations with Serbia over Kosovo status
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2006/March_01/19.html
Kosovo PM Kosumi quits under pressure
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060301/wl_nm/serbiamontenegro_kosovo_premier_dc
Kosovo's 'delicate moment'
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=c4629b44-454b-4a17-aa
08-32a0b7bf2ef4&k=69986
Sorry, My Mistake
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/comments.php?id=P2670_0_1_0
1999-2006: Western Support Brings War Criminal Ceku To Power In Kosovo
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01716252.htm
Kosovo: KLA Chief As Prime Minister, Armed Struggle For Greater Albania
http://www.mia.com.mk/ang/glavnavest/lastvest.asp?vest=\Refresh1\388-0103.htm
.............................
http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/
Kosovo Report
March 1, 2006
a.. SRSG's statement on resignation of Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi
b.. Serbia holds two over murder of Albanian-American prisoners
c.. Kosovo prime minister steps down
d.. BREAKING NEWS: Kole Berisha to Become New Speaker of the Kosovo
Assembly...developing
e.. KPC General Agim Çeku – Prime Minister (Express)
...........................
http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/total_coverage/kosovo/ceku.html
Mother Jones
War Criminal, Ally, or Both?
The KLA's new leader, Agim Ceku, may have helped mastermind the most
brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign in post-communist Yugoslavia's
history. Now he's on NATO's side in the war over Kosovo.
by Jeffrey Benner
May 21, 1999
The Kosova Liberation Army (KLA)'s new chief of staff, Agim Ceku, has
been linked to two of the grisliest episodes of brutality in the
ongoing war in the former Yugoslavia, perhaps even worse than the
current Serb campaign against ethnic Albanians. Now he's on NATO's
side in the war for Kosovo. Who is this man, and why is NATO making
excuses on his behalf?
Ceku joined the newly formed Croatian military (HV) in 1991 during
that region's effort to secede from Yugoslavia. He quickly rose to the
rank of brigadier general, and retired last February. Though it sounds
lifted from a résumé, a short description of Ceku in Jane's Defense
Weekly credits him with helping to orchestrate Operation Storm and the
Medak offensive, which involved the cleansing of ethnic Serbs from the
Krajina region of Croatia, the deliberate shelling of civilians, rape,
and systematic arson.
According to Jane's, "in 1993 Ceku masterminded the successful HV
offensive at Medak, and in 1995 was one of the key planners of the
successful 'Operation Storm,' in which the HV quickly defeated [its]
Serb opponents."
Ceku also has some well-placed references to go along with that
résumé: An unnamed retired U.S. military official told Jane's, "We
were impressed by [Ceku's] overview of the battleground and the
ability to always predict his enemy's next move."
In Operation Storm, a four-day offensive in August of 1995, the
Croatian army regained control of the Krajina region, which was
primarily inhabited by ethnic Serbs. Many analysts say Operation Storm
was undertaken with the tacit approval of the West, and perhaps even
with the assistance of U.S. military advisers (much the same way it is
reportedly advising the KLA in Kosovo).
According to an Amnesty International report, "Croatia: Impunity for
killings after 'Storm,'" nearly the entire ethnic Serbian population
of the region, estimated to be at least 180,000 people, fled in face
of the attack. Hundreds of civilians were murdered, most of the
victims being elderly and disabled persons who were unable to flee.
The report estimates that 5,000 structures were torched by the
advancing Croatian army.
According to The New York Times, the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia has determined that war crimes were indeed
committed during Operation Storm. In a March 21, 1999 article, the
Times revealed an unpublished report produced by the Tribunal. Among
the report's assertions:
"During the course of the military offensive, the Croatian armed
forces and special police committed numerous violations of
international humanitarian law."
The Medak offensive in 1993, which Jane's credits Ceku with
"masterminding," is also known as the "Medak massacre." While the name
may not ring a bell for most readers in the U.S., it is remembered in
Canada as that nation's largest military action since the Korean War.
According to the book, Tested Mettle, Canadian peacekeepers in the
"Medak Pocket" engaged Croatian soldiers in a firefight to stop them
from terrorizing Serbian civilians. Four Canadians were wounded in the
battle, which left nearly 30 Croatian soldiers dead.
Excerpts of the book's account of the fighting at Medak were published
in newspapers across Canada last November. Atrocities witnessed by
Canadian soldiers are described in detail. "A drunken Croat soldier
emerged from a building and staggered toward [a Canadian soldier],"
begins one section. "A girl could be heard screaming inside the house.
Draped on the drunken soldier's head was a pair of blood-soaked panties."
While details about his role in such horrors remain unconfirmed, the
mere mention of Ceku's possible connection to war crimes is enough to
put NATO on the defensive, especially since the U.S. has been linked
with him in the past. During the May 14 NATO press briefing, a
reporter asked Jamie Shea to comment on reports of Ceku's involvement
in ethnic cleansing while he was serving in the Croatian military.
"Well, I have always made it clear ... that NATO has no direct
contacts with the KLA," answered Shea. "Who they appoint as their
leaders, that is entirely their own affair. I don't have any comment
on that whatever."
However, unable to restrain himself, Shea did comment. Using a
laughable chain of reasoning, he lay the blame for NATO's association
with the KLA at the feet of their mutual arch enemy, Milosevic. "If
Milosevic had not started a policy of brutality in Kosovo some years
ago, the KLA would never have existed." Shea said. "It is a very
recent creation, and it is a creation of Belgrade, first and foremost."
Chillingly, Shea went on to imply that the Krajina atrocities during
Operation Storm were a case of the Serbs getting what they deserved.
"When you spoke about the Serbs who were driven from the Krajina, this
is absolutely true," he admitted. "But as somebody who remembers these
events particularly well, do not forget that there were many, many
Croats who were persecuted and also driven from their homes in that
part of the world, when the Yugoslav national army moved there in 1991."
In fact, this sort of response from a Western official regarding
atrocities committed by the Croatian army is hardly new. The West has
long seen Croatia as a valuable ally against Milosevic, so misdeeds by
the Croatian military have been downplayed by Western European and
U.S. officials. According to the Times, American lawyers hired by the
Pentagon argued at the International Criminal Tribunal against
indicting the Croatian generals who led Operation Storm. The lawyers
argued that only legitimate military targets were shelled during the
attack.
The following assessment, printed in the August 22, 1995 edition of
The Washington Post, still rings true:
"In the battle for international public opinion, Croatia has so far
escaped serious criticism for Operation Storm despite increasing
evidence of shootings of civilians and officially sanctioned arson of
many Serb houses in the Krajina [region]. International attention has
focused on rebel Serbs, who are being charged with digging mass graves
near Srebrenica -- a U.N. 'safe area' in Bosnia that fell to a
combined Yugoslav-Bosnian Serb assault in July."
While the Krajina battle is often cited as the turning point which
brought opposing parties to the negotiating table in 1995, for Ceku it
served as inspiration to make war. According to a BBC translation of a
May 14 Croatian news report, Ceku issued a statement saying: "There is
only one way out. And we have advocated it from the very beginning: a
final defeat of the Serbian army and its expulsion from Kosovo; a
defeat similar to the one they [the Yugoslav army] suffered in Croatia."
More Kosovo Coverage from the MoJo Wire
aggressioni, una donna strangolata, profughi impossibilitati a
rientrare... e poi la gestione politica del protettorato del Kosovo,
dove pochi giorni fa la NATO ha imposto Agim Ceku, già ufficiale
dell'esercito ustascia di Tudjman e poi comandante dell'UCK , a fare
da "primo ministro"...)
KOSMET 2006 (english)
1. Selection of news from various sources
2. WAR CRIMINAL CEKU APPOINTED AS "PRIME MINISTER"
3. War Criminal, Ally, or Both?
The KLA's new leader, Agim Ceku, may have helped mastermind the most
brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign in post-communist Yugoslavia's
history. Now he's on NATO's side in the war over Kosovo.
by Jeffrey Benner, May 21, 1999
=== 1 ===
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?nav_id=33690&style=headlines
Beta (Serbia and Montenegro) - January 23, 2006
Another attack on Serbian home
GNJILANE – A hand grenade was thrown into the yard of
Slobodan Todorovic's home, in the village of Cernica,
near Gnjilane.
According to Serbian sources in Kosovo, the attack
occurred slightly before 10 pm last night and is the
fourth such attack on the Todorovic household in the
last several years. No one was injured in the attack,
but some property was damaged.
The police have yet to come and investigate the scene.
There are about 40 remaining Serbian families in the
village of Cernica.
In June 1999, there were 712 Serbs in the village,
there are now only about 200 left.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newssummary/#setimes/newsbriefs/2006/01/23/nb-04
Southeast European Times - January 23, 2006
New ethnic incident reported in Kosovo
VITINA, Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro - Two Serb
teenagers, aged 17 and 19, were attacked and beaten by
a group of ethnic Albanians in the southeast village
of Mogila on Sunday (22 January).
It happened in front of the local Serb Orthodox
Church, according to local media reports.
The case was reported to the Kosovo Police Service and
to KFOR. (Politika - 23/01/06; Tanjug - 22/01/06)
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fonet012406b.htm
Young Serb injured in incident near Gnjilane, Kosovo Police Service states
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - January 24, 2006 Tuesday
Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet
Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1649 gmt 23 Jan 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Vitina, 23 January: The Kosovo Police Service [KPS] spokesman
in Gnjilane, Naser Ibrahimi, told FoNet today that an incident had
occurred at a playground in the village of Mogila last Sunday [22
January], which had left a 17-year-old Serb boy injured.
Ibrahimi said that a conflict between young men of Albanian and Serb
nationality had occurred at the playground, and that a young Serb man
had been slightly injured.
Police have detained five young men, taken their statements and handed
them over to an investigative judge.
Serbs living in Mogila have specified that a big group of Albanians
attacked two young Serb men in the St Theodore church back yard, where
these had gone to make a phone call, since the signal for mobile
phones is best there.
Villagers said that Bojan Djuzic (17) and Dejan Nojkic (18) had been
beaten up.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/ap020806.htm
Kosovo Serbs demand return to homes and jobs in troubled province
Associated Press Worldstream - February 8, 2006 Wednesday 12:40 PM GMT
Copyright 2006 Associated Press
Posted for Fair Use only.
ZVECAN Serbia-Montenegro - Hundreds of Serbs displaced from Kosovo
since the 1998-1999 war held a protest rally Wednesday demanding a
safe return to their homes and jobs.
About 500 protesters gathered in the town of Zvecan, where the
province's U.N. administrator, Soren Jessen-Petersen, had arrived for
talks with the leaders of the dwindling Kosovo Serb community.
"Our right to work and live in freedom has been suspended more than
six years ago," protest leader Dragisa Terencic said, referring to the
1999 change of authority when NATO intervened in the armed conflict
between Serbs and ethnic Albanian separatists over Kosovo.
As NATO bombing forced Serbia to relinquish control over its southern
province, more than 200,000 Serbs fled while about 100,000 remained,
living mostly in enclaves surrounded by the ethnic Albanian majority.
The Wednesday rally gathered representatives of more than 7,000 Serbs
who worked in Kosovo's coal mines and power plants before the war.
Jessen-Petersen made no comment as he entered the talks with the Serb
leaders, but he was expected to address reporters after the meetings.
International negotiations on a final status for Kosovo were expected
to begin later this month in Austria. Ethnic Albanian demand
independence, while Serb leaders in Belgrade have vowed not to give up
the province.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/srna020606.htm
Serb home torched in Kosovo village
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - February 6, 2006 Monday
Excerpt from report by Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0924
gmt 6 Feb 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Vitina, 6 February: Unidentified persons torched Trajan
Savic's house in the village of Cernica near Kosovska Vitina
yesterday, the Kosovo Police Service has said.
Six members of Savic's family were asleep when their home was set
ablaze but they managed to escape.
Cernica Serbs have urged the international community [peacekeepers] to
set up a checkpoint and to secure constant Kosovo Police Service patrols.
Two weeks ago, a bomb was hurled at the Cernica home of Milorad
Todorovic, deputy chairman of the Coordination Committee for
Kosovo-Metohija.
Forty-five houses have been torched in the village of Cernica since
1999 [NATO intervention].
Some 120 Serb families used to live in the village until the arrival
of the UN mission in Kosovo-Metohija and now only 40 remain.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/b92020806.htm
Returnee says life impossible for Serbs in Kosovo capital
BBC Monitoring European. London: Feb 8, 2006. pg. 1
Text of report in English by Belgrade-based Radio B92 text website on
8 February
Credit: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0941 8 Feb 06
Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0941 8 Feb
06/BBCMonitoring/(c) BBC
Posted for Fair Use only.
Pristina , 8 February: Zoran Stanisic, a refugee who has returned to
Pristina, said that he cannot live in his own apartment, is constantly
being robbed, and cannot reopen his business.
After fleeing almost seven years ago, Stanisic, along with his mother,
moved back to Pristina five months ago. Before the war, Zoran, an
economist and electrical engineer, was the owner of a successful
private company in Pristina. He said that he has been riddled with
problems and obstructions in trying to reopen his business and rehire
his old associates, who are all of varying nationalities.
"I've found both my business and living places broken in to. I alerted
the Kosovo police, which came 15 minutes after the fact. Since I am
one of the few Serbs living in Pristina, it's funny that this is the
second time this month that someone has probably tried to send us a
message," Stanisic said.
Stanisic said that he trusted the promises of the international
community, the Kosovo Government and the Return Ministry, that the
minimum conditions of normal living would be given to him, which
encouraged him to return to Pristina.
"When winter came, we had nothing, so we were forced to temporarily
get out of the way, and wait to see whether their promises would be
fulfilled or not. It looks as if there is nothing for Serbs in this
city, and Serbs are ordained to live in enclaves, concentration camps,
and behind barbed wire," Stanisic said.
Until 1999, about 40,000 Serbs lived in Pristina. There are currently
150 living there now. Zoran Stanisic is now living in Gracanica,
because, as he stated, he cannot live in his Pristina apartment.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest_international.cfm?id=207292006
The Scotsman - February 10, 2006
Serbs stage British Embassy protest
Several hundred Serbs from Kosovo have rallied in
front of the British Embassy in Belgrade to protest a
British diplomat's alleged backing for the province's
independence from Serbia.
The protesters carried pictures of Serbs killed in
Kosovo, and some held photos of former Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic.
The demonstrators were angered by reports that a
senior British official suggested in talks with Serb
officials that they should accept that Kosovo will
gain independence in upcoming talks on the province's
future status.
The southern Serbian province has been administered by
the United Nations since a Nato air offensive drove
out Serb troops in 1999.
John Sawers, political director of Britain's Foreign
Office, visited both Belgrade and Pristina, Kosovo's
capital, earlier this week as part of preparations for
UN-brokered negotiations on the province's future
status.
Serbs cherish Kosovo as the cradle of their history
and culture and refuse to allow it to become an
independent state.
However, Kosovo's ethnic Albanians insist independence
for the province is the only acceptable solution.
The so-called Contact Group for Kosovo, which includes
the United States, Britain, Russia, Italy, Germany and
France, has demanded that the solution for Kosovo be
found by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, a European Union envoy for Kosovo met with
Serbia's President Boris Tadic to discuss preparations
for the talks. Stefan Lehne also met with Prime
Minister Vojislav Kostunica and other officials.
In a statement issued after the meeting with Lehne,
Kostunica said Serbia is ready for the negotiations
and warned against "prejudging the future solution for
the status" of the province.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fonet021106.htm
Aid to Kosovo Serbs will have to be "smuggled" past new customs - official
BBC Monitoring European. London: Feb 11, 2006. pg. 1
Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet
Credit: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1449 11 Feb 06
FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1449 11 Feb
06/BBCMonitoring/(c) BBC
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Mitrovica, 11 February: The director of the [Serbian] Care
for Children Centre, [Strength of Serbia Movement - PSS official]
Boris Stajkovic, has told FoNet that this organization's humanitarian
aid was not delivered today to the Serb population in Kosovo
Pomoravlje [County], because UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo] had imposed customs obligations on non- governmental
organizations for this purpose.
Stajkovic said two vehicles carrying clothes and around 400 hygienic
and 200 school packages with books for children and inhabitants of
Silovo and Gnjilane had been stopped at the administrative line with
Kosovo, because UNMIK had demanded 2,000 euros in customs duty.
He added that the Care for Children Centre today did not know about
this UNMIK decision because this information had not been made public
anywhere in Serbia.
"This is a new tragic fact for Serbs in Kosovo, following the fact
that they have been barred from having access to electricity and their
jobs, and this stops us from delivering to the children everything
which they need most in order to survive," Stajkovic said, adding that
this was "yet another horrible form of pressure against the Serbs who
live in Kosovo under exceptionally difficult circumstances".
As he put it, the only thing they could do was to unload the aid in
Raska and then, using private cars, "smuggle" it bit by bit and this
way deliver to places where it is needed most.
"We have to deliver even humanitarian aid in various illegal manners,
but, really, we are not left with anything else to help people survive
such a situation in various ways," Stajkovic concluded.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/srna021506.htm
Serb woman strangled in divided Kosovo town
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - February 15, 2006 Wednesday
Text of report by Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0756
gmt 15 Feb 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Mitrovica, 15 February: Danka Kompirovic was strangled in her
Bosnjacka mahala home, in the [Serb-controlled] northern part of
Kosovska Mitrovica, at around 2130 [2030 gmt] last night.
The body of the 61-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in the
northern part of the town where a post-mortem examination will be
conducted.
According to witnesses, three persons fled from the Kompirovic home to
the southern [Albanian-controlled] part of the town and this is why
Albanians are suspected of committing the crime.
The Kompirovic home was the only remaining Serb house in Bosnjacka
mahala, out of some 100 prior to the arrival of the peacekeepers in 1999.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fena021906.htm
Bomb explodes outside Serbian bank office in Kosovo
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - February 19, 2006 Sunday
Excerpt from report by Bosnia-Hercegovina Federation News Agency FENA
Source: Federation News Agency, Sarajevo, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
0947 gmt 19 Feb 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.
Kosovska Mitrovica, 19 February: No-one was injured when an explosive
device was activated in the town centre of Dragas [Muslim Slav enclave
in southern Kosovo] around 2120 [2020 gmt] last night.
The explosive device, most probably a bomb, was activated near the
Komercijalna banka [Belgrade-based bank] office, the Caglavica-based
KiM [Kosovo Serb] radio reported.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/mina022606.htm
Refugee bus reportedly stoned by Kosovo Albanians
BBC Monitoring European. London: Feb 26, 2006. pg. 1
Text of report by Montenegrin Mina news agency
Credit: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 2032 26 Feb 06
Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 2032 26 Feb
06/BBCMonitoring/(c) BBC
Posted for Fair Use only.
Decani, 25 February: A group of some 50 Albanian youths today stoned a
bus transporting displaced persons from Kosovo-Metohija who now live
in Montenegro.
The chairman of the Alliance of Refugee Associations in Montenegro,
Milenko Jovanovic, said that the incident had taken place in Decani
and that no-one was injured.
"The incident took place around 1500 [1400 gmt] and the bus, with some
60 passengers on board, was not damaged to a great extent," Jovanovic
said.
The displaced persons were travelling to Kosovo to visit graveyards
and the Visoki Decani monastery.
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/fonet030606.htm
Serbs shot at in Kosovo village
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - March 6, 2006 Monday
Excerpt from report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet
Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 2054 gmt 5 Mar 06
Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation - Posted for Fair Use
only.
Belgrade, 5 March: The vehicle in which Radmila Natovic and Jelena and
Igor Djokic were was shot at in the village of Staro Gacko in the
municipality of Lipljan around 1930 [1830 gmt] this evening. No-one
was injured. [Passage omitted: more details]
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/mina030606.htm
POLICE CHECKPOINT FIRED AT FROM DIRECTION OF ALBANIAN VILLAGE IN SOUTH
SERBIA
BBC Monitoring International Reports - March 6, 2006 Monday
Excerpt from report by Montenegrin Mina news agency
Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 1812 gmt 6 Mar 06
Copyright 2006 Financial Times Information All Rights Reserved
Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2006 BBC Monitoring/BBC Source: Financial Times Information
Limited - Posted for Fair Use only.
Bujanovac, 6 March: Unidentified persons have attacked a police
security and inspection booth at the Konculj checkpoint [in southern
Serbia] on the administrative line with Kosovo, but no one was injured
in the incident.
According to a statement, the attack happened last night at around
1910 [1810 gmt], no one was injured and the police returned fire after
being shot at by the attackers.
The attack was conducted from the outskirts of the Albanian village of
Konculj, from a spot near the 29 November primary school, from a
distance of 600 metres from the checkpoint, Belgrade media have reported.
The attackers opened machine gun fire in the direction of the security
and inspection booth, with bullets falling 10 to 15 metres away from
the booth.
[Passage omitted: information on investigation which has been launched]
=== 2 ===
Source: Rick Rozoff at yugoslaviainfo @ yahoogroups.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060301/wl_nm/serbiamontenegro_kosovo_premier_dc
Reuters - March 1, 2006
Kosovo PM Kosumi quits under pressure By Shaban Buza
-Political sources said Kosumi's resignation was the
"result of pressure" following a round of meetings
with Western envoys earlier in the week, including the
United States.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
who now heads the Kosovo Protection Force....
-Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
-Former student activist Kosumi was sworn in on March
23 last year as head of Kosovo's interim government,
the handpicked successor of Haradinaj, 37, who was
also a former KLA guerrilla commander....
-Up to 200,000 Serbs fled when NATO occupied Kosovo in
the summer of 1999 fearing revenge [sic] attacks by
Albanians. Securing the safety and rights of some
100,000 who remain, many living in isolated enclaves,
is a central issue in the talks...
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi resigned on
Wednesday following international criticism that he
had failed to do enough to create a multi-ethnic state
as the province seeks independence.
Citing the need to preserve a coalition majority and
the cooperation of Kosovo's Western backers, Kosumi
told reporters: "I find the correct and ethical action
is to resign from the post of prime minister."
Kosumi, 45, handed in his resignation to President
Fatmir Sejdiu after word leaked that he no longer had
the confidence of his own Alliance for the Future of
Kosovo (AAK) party.
Kosumi was also criticized for ineptness by other
members of Kosovo's ruling ethnic Albanian coalition
and Western mentor states shepherding the Serbian
province through talks that could lead to its
independence later this year.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan criticized
the Kosumi government in a January report for not
doing enough to meet democratic standards set by the
U.N. for the creation of a just and smoothly
functioning multi-ethnic society.
Political sources said Kosumi's resignation was the
"result of pressure" following a round of meetings
with Western envoys earlier in the week, including the
United States.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
who now heads the Kosovo Protection Force, the civil
emergency unit set up to absorb former rebel fighters.
"Agim Ceku has been offered the post of prime minister
and is going to say he accepts at a press conference
this afternoon," a source close to Ceku said.
Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
Political sources said the ruling coalition was very
unhappy with Kosumi's performance, his perceived lack
of leadership and inefficiency. They pointed out that
two cabinet posts, for the interior and justice
portfolios, had still not been filled three months
after they were created by the province's
administration.
The West wants Kosovo's status resolved this year and
is impatient with any unnecessary delays. Kosumi quit
just as he was due to meet visiting United Nations
special envoy Marrti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish
president charged with mediating Kosovo status talks
with Belgrade.
FORMER GUERRILLA AS SUCCESSOR?
Serbs and Kosovo Albanians met in Vienna last week for
a first round of direct negotiations on the fate of
Serbia's disputed southern province.
The talks were delayed a month by the death of Kosovo
Albanian president Ibrahim Rugova.
Former student activist Kosumi was sworn in on March
23 last year as head of Kosovo's interim government,
the handpicked successor of Haradinaj, 37, who was
also a former KLA guerrilla commander respected for
his grasp on Kosovo's fractious political scene.
The province's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority
wants independence from Serbia, which Belgrade says it
is not prepared to grant. But Belgrade lost control of
Kosovo nearly seven years ago when NATO intervened...
Up to 200,000 Serbs fled when NATO occupied Kosovo in
the summer of 1999 fearing revenge attacks by
Albanians. Securing the safety and rights of some
100,000 who remain, many living in isolated enclaves,
is a central issue in the talks.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01716252.htm
Reuters - March 1, 2006
FACTBOX - Agim Ceku, nominated as Kosovo PM
Former guerrilla commander Agim Ceku was nominated as
Kosovo prime minister on Wednesday after Bajram Kosumi
bowed to domestic and international pressure to
resign.
Here are five facts about Ceku:
-- An ethnic Albanian native of Kosovo, Ceku was
stationed in Croatia as part of the Yugoslav Army when
war broke out there in 1991. Siding with the Croats,
he fought Serb troops for the republic's independence
from Yugoslavia.
-- Ceku married a Croatian woman but returned to
Kosovo as a commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA), which in early 1998 launched a
guerrilla war against Serb forces. A career soldier,
Ceku took responsibility for overhauling the KLA
command structure.
-- Serb forces pulled out in 1999 under NATO bombing
and Ceku helped oversee the disbanding of the KLA. He
took command of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), a
civil emergency force created by the United Nations to
absorb the former rebels.
-- Ceku has had to purge the Corps of rogue elements
several times since 1999. But he retains the strong
support of Kosovo's Western backers, most notably
Britain, which took on the role of KPC sponsor and
mentor.
-- Serbia says Ceku is guilty of war crimes against
Serb civilians during the Kosovo war. He has twice
been detained - in Slovenia and Hungary - on
Serbian-issued arrest warrants, but was quickly
released on both occasions. Ceku was born near the
western Kosovo town of Pec on Oct. 29, 1960.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1133751.php/Kosovo_Prime_Minister_Kosumi_resigns
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - March 1, 2006
Kosovo Prime Minister Kosumi resigns
Pristina - Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi
unexpectedly resigned Wednesday, in the midst of
crucial talks with Serbia on the future status of the
province.
Agim Ceku, a former rebel commander who fought Serbia
throughout the 1990s, was expected to be nominated as
the next head of the government.
The step would irk Belgrade officials, who on top of
worries over the prospect of losing Kosovo now also
have to negotiate the man Serbian courts convicted as
a war criminal.
'Taking into account that the government is at risk of
losing the majority in parliament and...in the overall
interest of cooperation with our international
friends, I took this decision to resign from the post
of the prime minister,' Kosumi said.
He described the step as a 'moral act,' but did not
immediately offer a deeper explanation of the pressure
his cabinet.
Minutes earlier, the leading Democratic League of
Kosovo (LDK) party also sacked the parliament speaker
Nexhat Daci, saying it was unhappy how he handled the
assembly during preparations for the crucial talks
with Serbia.
The dramatic changes were announced during the visit
of the United Nations envoy mediating the Kosovo
status talks, Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, who
said they would not affect the talks.
'I don't see this development as a government crisis,'
Ahtisaari said. 'We will continue the negotiations ...
this development will not influence the process.'
Kosumi and Daci both came under the pressure in their
own parties, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and
LDK. The province has been embroiled in a power
struggle since the death of the overall leader and
president Ibrahim Rugova in January.
Kosumi was elected prime minister a year ago, after
his party supremo Ramush Haradinaj and another
ex-rebel commander, was indicted for war crimes by the
Hague-based International criminal Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia and forced to resign.
Ceku, 45, formally non-aligned politically, heads the
Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), an unarmed organization
mostly composed of ex-guerrillas (UCK).
Though unarmed and formally a disaster relief
organization, the KPC is widely seen as the core of
Kosovo's future army.
A career soldier, he skipped from the former Yugoslav
Army to fight for Croatia in its 1991-1995 war for
independence. He resigned from the Croatian army early
in 1999 on invitation by UCK to take control.
In 2004 he was briefly detained in Hungary, on an
Interpol warrant issued by Belgrade, in 2004.
Haradinaj and another top Kosovo Albanian leader,
Hashim Thaci, were also convicted by Serbian courts as
war criminals.
Consultations were under way on the nomination, which
would formally be put forward by President Fatmir
Sejdiu.
The NATO intervention paved the way to a UN
administration in the province, which last month,
after six years, opened the direct talks with Serbia
on its future status.
The Albanians, who make up the vast majority in
Kosovo, unanimously want quick independence from
Serbia, which Belgrade ruled out, offering instead
only a broad autonomy.
http://www.mia.com.mk/ang/glavnavest/lastvest.asp?vest=\Refresh1\388-0103.htm
Macedonian Information Agency - March 1, 2006
AHTISAARI: KOSUMI, DACI REPLACEMENT WILL NOT AFFECT KOSOVO TALKS
-Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA)....
-Earlier today, news agencies reported that an
organisation calling itself the Albanian National Army
(ANA) requested for the UN Mission (UNMIK)
withdraw from Kosovo (UNMIK) and announced a struggle
for the creation of a Greater Albania.
-"We will fight against any enemy or traitor to the
full victory, the uniting of the Albanian nation, with
the motto - one nation, one state."
The United Nations envoy mediating the Kosovo status
talks, Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, said
Wednesday that the resignation of Kosovo Prime
Minister Bajram Kosumi and sacking of Parliamentary
Speaker Nexhat Daci will not affect the course of
talks on Kosovo status.
"I don't see this development as a government crisis,"
Ahtisaari said. "We will continue the negotiations ...
this development will not influence the process."
This evening, Kosumi should meet Ahtisaari, who
arrived in Pristina for a three-day visit.
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi resigned on
Wednesday following international criticism that he
had failed to do enough to create a multi-ethnic state
as the province seeks independence.
Citing the need to preserve a coalition majority and
the cooperation of Kosovo's Western backers, Kosumi
told reporters: "I find the correct and ethical action
is to resign from the post of prime minister".
Kosumi, 45, handed in his resignation to President
Fatmir Sejdiu after word leaked that he no longer had
the confidence of his own Alliance for the Future of
Kosovo (AAK) party.
Political sources said the ruling coalition was very
unhappy with Kosumi's performance, his perceived lack
of leadership and inefficiency. They pointed out that
two cabinet posts, for the interior and justice
portfolios, had still not been filled three months
after they were created by the province's
administration.
Kosumi was elected by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo
parliament a year ago when then-Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj was indicted on war crimes charges by the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
He is expected to be succeeded by Agim Ceku, a former
senior commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
who now heads the Kosovo Protection Force, the civil
emergency unit set up to absorb former rebel fighters.
Minutes earlier, the leading Democratic League of
Kosovo (LDK) party also sacked Parliamentary Speaker
Nexhat Daci, saying it was unhappy with how he handled
the assembly during preparations for the crucial talks
with Serbia.
Earlier today, news agencies reported that an
organisation calling itself the Albanian National Army
(ANA) requested for the UN Mission (UNMIK)
withdraw from Kosovo (UNMIK) and announced a struggle
for the creation of a Greater Albania.
"There is no democracy within that organisation (UN).
It continues to rule with the right to veto as in the
Middle Ages and cannot build democracy," ANA said in a
statement delivered to the media in Pristina.
A former UNMIK chief, Michael Steiner, branded ANA a
terrorist organisation.
"We will fight against any enemy or traitor to the
full victory, the uniting of the Albanian nation, with
the motto - one nation, one state," read the
statement.
ANA claimed responsibility for a number of armed
attacks in Kosovo and the region in recent years.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?order=priority
B92 (Serbia and Montenegro) - March 3, 2006
Cheku's [Ceku] nomination unacceptable
BELGRADE – The Serbian Government has deemed the
Kosovo's nomination of Agim Cheku for prime minister
unacceptable, stating that he is facing war crimes
indictments.
The Serbian Government's Media Cooperation Office's
Chief, Srdjan Djuric, said that the War Crimes
Tribunal has indicted Cheku for war crimes charges,
adding that there are no instances in Europe or around
the world where a country or state's prime minister is
indicted for war crimes.
"The War Crimes Court has issued an indictment against
Agim Cheku and an international warrant for his arrest
is pending. Today in Europe, and throughout the entire
globe most likely, there are no prime ministers who
are accused of war crimes. For the Serbian Government,
it is completely unacceptable to have a man, who
should be in court facing war crimes charges, be
elected as prime minister or for any other political
position. The officials of the international community
who are responsible for Kosovo have an obligation to
protect the elementary norms of civilisation and stop
Agim Cheku from being elected and make a mockery of
the values which a democratic society is founded on,"
Djuric told B92.
=== 3 ===
From: p-tosic
Subject: [yugoslaviainfo] Agim Ceku: War Criminal, Ally, or Both?
(and other news related to Kosovo)
Date: March 5, 2006 4:44:06 AM GMT+01:00
To: yugoslaviainfo @ yahoogroups.com
["Well, I have always made it clear ... that NATO has no direct
contacts with the KLA*," answered Shea. "Who they appoint as their
leaders, that is entirely their own affair."]
*video proves the opposite Mr Shea!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6557813549136654170
Google: Latest News from Kosovo
http://news.google.be/news?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&tab=wn&q=Kosovo&btnG=Search+News
MakFax: Kosumi: No negotiations with Serbia over Kosovo status
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2006/March_01/19.html
Kosovo PM Kosumi quits under pressure
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060301/wl_nm/serbiamontenegro_kosovo_premier_dc
Kosovo's 'delicate moment'
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=c4629b44-454b-4a17-aa
08-32a0b7bf2ef4&k=69986
Sorry, My Mistake
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/comments.php?id=P2670_0_1_0
1999-2006: Western Support Brings War Criminal Ceku To Power In Kosovo
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01716252.htm
Kosovo: KLA Chief As Prime Minister, Armed Struggle For Greater Albania
http://www.mia.com.mk/ang/glavnavest/lastvest.asp?vest=\Refresh1\388-0103.htm
.............................
http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/
Kosovo Report
March 1, 2006
a.. SRSG's statement on resignation of Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi
b.. Serbia holds two over murder of Albanian-American prisoners
c.. Kosovo prime minister steps down
d.. BREAKING NEWS: Kole Berisha to Become New Speaker of the Kosovo
Assembly...developing
e.. KPC General Agim Çeku – Prime Minister (Express)
...........................
http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/total_coverage/kosovo/ceku.html
Mother Jones
War Criminal, Ally, or Both?
The KLA's new leader, Agim Ceku, may have helped mastermind the most
brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign in post-communist Yugoslavia's
history. Now he's on NATO's side in the war over Kosovo.
by Jeffrey Benner
May 21, 1999
The Kosova Liberation Army (KLA)'s new chief of staff, Agim Ceku, has
been linked to two of the grisliest episodes of brutality in the
ongoing war in the former Yugoslavia, perhaps even worse than the
current Serb campaign against ethnic Albanians. Now he's on NATO's
side in the war for Kosovo. Who is this man, and why is NATO making
excuses on his behalf?
Ceku joined the newly formed Croatian military (HV) in 1991 during
that region's effort to secede from Yugoslavia. He quickly rose to the
rank of brigadier general, and retired last February. Though it sounds
lifted from a résumé, a short description of Ceku in Jane's Defense
Weekly credits him with helping to orchestrate Operation Storm and the
Medak offensive, which involved the cleansing of ethnic Serbs from the
Krajina region of Croatia, the deliberate shelling of civilians, rape,
and systematic arson.
According to Jane's, "in 1993 Ceku masterminded the successful HV
offensive at Medak, and in 1995 was one of the key planners of the
successful 'Operation Storm,' in which the HV quickly defeated [its]
Serb opponents."
Ceku also has some well-placed references to go along with that
résumé: An unnamed retired U.S. military official told Jane's, "We
were impressed by [Ceku's] overview of the battleground and the
ability to always predict his enemy's next move."
In Operation Storm, a four-day offensive in August of 1995, the
Croatian army regained control of the Krajina region, which was
primarily inhabited by ethnic Serbs. Many analysts say Operation Storm
was undertaken with the tacit approval of the West, and perhaps even
with the assistance of U.S. military advisers (much the same way it is
reportedly advising the KLA in Kosovo).
According to an Amnesty International report, "Croatia: Impunity for
killings after 'Storm,'" nearly the entire ethnic Serbian population
of the region, estimated to be at least 180,000 people, fled in face
of the attack. Hundreds of civilians were murdered, most of the
victims being elderly and disabled persons who were unable to flee.
The report estimates that 5,000 structures were torched by the
advancing Croatian army.
According to The New York Times, the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia has determined that war crimes were indeed
committed during Operation Storm. In a March 21, 1999 article, the
Times revealed an unpublished report produced by the Tribunal. Among
the report's assertions:
"During the course of the military offensive, the Croatian armed
forces and special police committed numerous violations of
international humanitarian law."
The Medak offensive in 1993, which Jane's credits Ceku with
"masterminding," is also known as the "Medak massacre." While the name
may not ring a bell for most readers in the U.S., it is remembered in
Canada as that nation's largest military action since the Korean War.
According to the book, Tested Mettle, Canadian peacekeepers in the
"Medak Pocket" engaged Croatian soldiers in a firefight to stop them
from terrorizing Serbian civilians. Four Canadians were wounded in the
battle, which left nearly 30 Croatian soldiers dead.
Excerpts of the book's account of the fighting at Medak were published
in newspapers across Canada last November. Atrocities witnessed by
Canadian soldiers are described in detail. "A drunken Croat soldier
emerged from a building and staggered toward [a Canadian soldier],"
begins one section. "A girl could be heard screaming inside the house.
Draped on the drunken soldier's head was a pair of blood-soaked panties."
While details about his role in such horrors remain unconfirmed, the
mere mention of Ceku's possible connection to war crimes is enough to
put NATO on the defensive, especially since the U.S. has been linked
with him in the past. During the May 14 NATO press briefing, a
reporter asked Jamie Shea to comment on reports of Ceku's involvement
in ethnic cleansing while he was serving in the Croatian military.
"Well, I have always made it clear ... that NATO has no direct
contacts with the KLA," answered Shea. "Who they appoint as their
leaders, that is entirely their own affair. I don't have any comment
on that whatever."
However, unable to restrain himself, Shea did comment. Using a
laughable chain of reasoning, he lay the blame for NATO's association
with the KLA at the feet of their mutual arch enemy, Milosevic. "If
Milosevic had not started a policy of brutality in Kosovo some years
ago, the KLA would never have existed." Shea said. "It is a very
recent creation, and it is a creation of Belgrade, first and foremost."
Chillingly, Shea went on to imply that the Krajina atrocities during
Operation Storm were a case of the Serbs getting what they deserved.
"When you spoke about the Serbs who were driven from the Krajina, this
is absolutely true," he admitted. "But as somebody who remembers these
events particularly well, do not forget that there were many, many
Croats who were persecuted and also driven from their homes in that
part of the world, when the Yugoslav national army moved there in 1991."
In fact, this sort of response from a Western official regarding
atrocities committed by the Croatian army is hardly new. The West has
long seen Croatia as a valuable ally against Milosevic, so misdeeds by
the Croatian military have been downplayed by Western European and
U.S. officials. According to the Times, American lawyers hired by the
Pentagon argued at the International Criminal Tribunal against
indicting the Croatian generals who led Operation Storm. The lawyers
argued that only legitimate military targets were shelled during the
attack.
The following assessment, printed in the August 22, 1995 edition of
The Washington Post, still rings true:
"In the battle for international public opinion, Croatia has so far
escaped serious criticism for Operation Storm despite increasing
evidence of shootings of civilians and officially sanctioned arson of
many Serb houses in the Krajina [region]. International attention has
focused on rebel Serbs, who are being charged with digging mass graves
near Srebrenica -- a U.N. 'safe area' in Bosnia that fell to a
combined Yugoslav-Bosnian Serb assault in July."
While the Krajina battle is often cited as the turning point which
brought opposing parties to the negotiating table in 1995, for Ceku it
served as inspiration to make war. According to a BBC translation of a
May 14 Croatian news report, Ceku issued a statement saying: "There is
only one way out. And we have advocated it from the very beginning: a
final defeat of the Serbian army and its expulsion from Kosovo; a
defeat similar to the one they [the Yugoslav army] suffered in Croatia."
More Kosovo Coverage from the MoJo Wire