10.12.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

June 25, 1999
CRISIS IN THE BALKANS: THE SEPARATISTS; Leaders of Kosovo Rebels Tied to Deadly Power Play
By CHRIS HEDGES

The senior commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which signed a disarmament agreement with NATO, carried out assassinations, arrests and purges within their ranks to thwart potential rivals, say current and former commanders in the rebel army and some Western diplomats.

The campaign, in which as many as half a dozen top rebel commanders were shot dead, was directed by Hashim Thaci and two of his lieutenants, Azem Syla and Xhavit Haliti, these officials said. Mr. Thaci denied through a spokesman that he had been responsible for any such killings.

Although the United States has long been wary of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the rebel group has become the main ethnic Albanian power in Kosovo. Rebel commanders supplied NATO with target information during the bombing campaign. Now, after the war, the United States and other NATO powers have effectively made Mr. Thaci and the rebel force partners in rebuilding Kosovo. The agreement NATO signed with Mr. Thaci, for example, envisions turning the rebel group into a civilian police force and leaves open the possibility that the Kosovo Liberation Army could become a provisional army modeled on the United States National Guard.

While none of the rebel officials interviewed saw Mr. Thaci or his aides execute anyone, they recounted — and in some cases said they had witnessed — incidents in which Mr. Thaci’s rivals had been killed shortly after he or one of his aides had threatened them with death.

Remembering the beginning of fighting more than a year ago, Rifat Haxhijaj, 30, a former lieutenant in the Yugoslav Army who left the rebel movement last September and now lives in Switzerland, said: ”When the war started, everyone wanted to be the chief. For the leadership this was never just a war against Serbs — it was also a struggle for power.”

Mr. Thaci’s representative in Switzerland, Jashae Salihu, denied accounts of assassinations. ”These kind of reports are untrue,” he said. ”Neither Mr. Thaci nor anyone else from the K.L.A. is involved in this kind of activity. Our goal has been to establish a free Kosovo and nothing more.”

The charges of assassinations and purges were made in interviews with about a dozen former and current Kosovo Liberation Army officials, two of whom said they had witnessed executions of Mr. Thaci’s rivals; a former senior diplomat for the Albanian Government; a former police official in the Albanian Government who worked with the rebel group, and several Western diplomats.

But the State Department yesterday challenged some aspects of these accounts. ”We simply don’t have information to substantiate allegations that there was a K.L.A. leadership-directed program of assassinations or executions,” James P. Rubin, the State Department spokesman, said.

Mr. Rubin said he could not rule out the possibility that the rebel leaders were somehow tied to the killings. But he said department officials had checked a wide range of sources and could not confirm the accusations.

A senior State Department official and a Western diplomat in the Balkans, citing intelligence reports and extensive contacts with rebel officials inside and outside Kosovo, said they were aware of executions of middle-grade officers suspected of collaborating with the Serbs, but said they had no evidence to link those killings with Mr. Thaci.

A Reputation For Rough Intimidation

The Western diplomat in the Balkans said, however, that Mr. Thaci’s ruthless tactics are legendary in the region.

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nytimes

Albnews 

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10.12.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

Turkey and Greece agree to develop military rapprochement

10/12/2007

Turkey and Greece have agreed to further develop confidence-building measures with new steps in military co-operation after a recent meeting of the countries’ foreign ministers.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times — 10/12/07

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan (left) and Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis address the media in Athens last week. [Getty Images]

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his Greek counterpart, Dora Bakoyannis, met in Athens on December 4th for talks that resulted in agreements on multiple military measures between the two countries.

Turkey and Greece agreed to establish a Joint Operations Unit to ensure participation in peace support operations under NATO, a Joint Land Force Unit to participate in the NATO Response Force — a coherent, high readiness, joint, multinational force package, as well as a Joint Turkish-Hellenic Civilian Standby Disaster Response Unit.

Setimes

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