Belgrade, 27 Oct. (AKI) - Former Kosovo prime minister Ramus Haradinaj stands behind a new mysterious paramilitary group, which calls itself "Kosovo Independence Army" (KIA),the Belgrade daily âVecernje novostiâ alleged on Thursday. âThe sponsor and main ideologue of that terrorist army is Ramus Haradinaj, former prime minister of Kosovo, accused of war crimes by the Hague Tribunalâ, the paper said, quoting unnamed diplomatic sources in Pristina. The international police in Kosovo have confirmed recent reports of armed gangs operating in western Kosovo, stopping traffic and searching passengers.Haradinaj has been accused of crimes against Serb civilians during the ethnic Albanian rebellion against Belgrade rule in 1998/99 and subsequent repression, but was released by the Tribunal last June, pending trial. Haradinaj had previously resigned as Prime Minister and surrendered himself voluntarily to the Hague-based International Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
During the 1998/99 rebellion Haradinaj headed the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in his home region of Pec, in western Kosovo. âVecernje novostiâ said. It added that military commander of KIA was an old Haradinajâs ally, Rahman Rama, but gave no details. ICTY this month allowed Haradinaj to resume political activities while awaiting trial, but the decision was quickly revoked.
The international police in Kosovo have confirmed that armed gangs have been spotted in western Kosovo, stopping traffic and searching passengers. Two Kosovo policemen of Serbian nationality were killed in the area last month, and another four escaped injuries Wednesday night when unknown persons riddled their automobile with bullets.
KIA has sent letters to the Pristina media, saying that it would resume the KLA armed struggle if Kosovo, which has been under United Nations control since 1999, is not granted independence. The KLA was transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps, a sort of peace-time paramilitary organization, after the withdrawal of Serbian forces from the province in 1999. Ethnic Albanians, who make a 1.7 million majority against some 100.000 Serbs remaining in the province, demand independence, which Belgrade opposes. The United Nations Security Council decided on Monday to initiate talks on the final status of Kosovo, saying it was in the best interest of both nationalities.
In a related development, Serbian police on Wednesday arrested nine policemen, charged with killing 48 ethnic Albanian civilians in the Kosovo town of Suva Reka, during 1999 conflict.