POLITICS-BALKANS: Kosovo PM Faces War Crimes Charges

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE, Mar 8 2005 (IPS) - Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj (37) resigned Tuesday after he was told he faces charges for war crimes before The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

"Haradinaj received the indictment, called the cabinet meeting and resigned," Serb deputy in the Kosovo parliament Slavisa Petkovic told IPS. "He is expected to leave for the tribunal Wednesday."

Reports reaching Belgrade say the province is calm, despite the ominous expectations of many that the two million ethnic Albanians there who see Haradinaj as the hero of liberation from Serbian rule might take to violence against the local Serb minority.

A top European Union (EU) diplomat confirmed to IPS Tuesday night that Brussels has warned authorities both in Kosovo capital Pristina and in Belgrade "to show restraint".

"Ethnic Albanians should know they could jeopardize their status if any clashes start," said the diplomat who insisted on anonymity. "Belgrade should know that there’s no reason for triumph. With the help of both sides, things should remain normal."

The indictment against Haradinaj, who became Prime Minister of Kosovo only 100 days ago, was not immediately released. But the former commander of the western wing of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is commonly known to have been involved in at least two atrocities against civilians.

One is the abduction and execution of a group of 37 Serbs in July 1998. Their bodies were found years later in a mass grave near Radonjicko lake, some 400 km south of Belgrade.

The other is the abduction of dozens of Roma and ethnic Albanian wedding party guests near the town of Djakovica in June 1999. Three men were executed and more than a dozen savagely tortured for allegedly being "collaborators" of Belgrade.

The ICTY investigators questioned Haradinaj about these events last November.

The KLA had started an armed rebellion against the regime of former leader Slobodan Milosevic in 1998, demanding independence for Kosovo and its two million ethnic Albanians. Belgrade considered their actions "terrorism".

The conflict that followed took the lives of more than 10,000 people, with the eviction of more than 800,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo by Serb security forces.

Belgrade’s rule over Kosovo ended after 11 weeks of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999.

Since then, Kosovo is practically semi-autonomous, ruled with the help of the UN administration and under the protection of some 20,000 peacekeeping troops led by NATO. It has its own president, prime minister and parliament, but remains a part of Serbia under UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

Kosovo UN governor Soren Jessen-Petersen said in a statement Tuesday that Haradinaj was a "close partner and friend" whose leadership and commitment had brought Kosovo "closer than ever before to achieving its aspirations." He warned that "people of Kosovo should respond with the same dignity and maturity as that shown by Mr Haradinaj."

"I understand the sense of shock and anger over this development," Petersen said. "I appeal, however, to the people of Kosovo to express your feelings through peaceful means. A violent response will not help Kosovo. It will only serve the interests of those determined to block Kosovo’s way forward. It will be a major setback to everything Kosovo has achieved recently and it will defeat all the recent achievements, notably those reached during Mr. Haradinaj’s leadership."

Haradinaj promised to lead Kosovo to full independence, but the UN Security Council assessed recently that the province had not met international standards on human rights and the rule of law. This is the "standards before status" policy, meaning that the independence of Kosovo will be achieved only after required standards have been met.

"There is no particular reason for Serbs or Serbia to celebrate this event," analyst Miki Mihajlovic told IPS. "Haradinaj’s appearance before the court can help solve the mystery of missing Serbs and other non-Albanians, but can never absolve others of their crimes." More than 4,000 people, Serbs, Albanians and Roma are still missing in the province.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said in a statement Tuesday night that "all those indicted for war crimes should appear before the ICTY", and warned that the indictment against Haradinaj "should not be abused for purpose of daily politics on either side. The security of the region should come first."

Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova said "justice will prevail" and said he hoped Haradinaj would return to Kosovo and resume work on its independence. But he also stressed that "at this moment the security situation is very important and we all have to contribute to it."

In an effort to keep things stable in the meanwhile, the Kosovo government will be run by Haradinaj’s deputy Adem Salihaj. "There should be no damaging vacuum," Rugova said.