The European, 21 September 1998
Kosovo
How Germany backed KLA
Roger Faligot
Paris
AS THE exodus of Kosovar refugees continues after the failed guerrilla
offensive by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), substantial evidence is
coming to light that German secret diplomacy has been instrumental in
helping the KLA since its inception in February 1996.
The government of Helmut Kohl, the German chancellor, has officially
supported the western line of seeking to persuade Slobodan Milosevic,
the Yugoslavian president, to end his violent incursion into Kosovo and
enter negotiations with the rebellious Albanian majority in the
province. But behind the scenes it is understood that the German civil
and military intelligence services have been involved in training and
equipping the rebels, with the aim of cementing German influence in the
Balkan area and tackling the refugee problem. Germany is the principal
target destination for refugees from the Balkans and the influx has
become a matter of serious political controversy. Significantly, the
so-called government of the Kosovo Republic in exile is based in
Germany, where approximately 400,000 Kosovars now live.
Arming the Kosovar militants who seek independence from Serbia has led
to a serious rift between the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the German
intelligence service, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the
United States, according to French diplomatic sources.
Pierre-Marie Gallois, a retired French general and a specialist in
geopolitics, believes that there was a definite wish within some circles
of German decision-makers to destabilise the Serbs. He told The
European: "The Kosovo crisis has initiated a divorce between Germany and
the United States. Washington realised that pushing the Kosovars towards
a military confrontation with Milosevic, as the Germans wanted to do,
would have a boomerang effect on the Balkans.
"The United States put maximum pressure on Germany to stop supporting
the KLA behind the scenes, as did the other European countries such as
Britain and France."
Germany has traditionally been anti-Serb and anti-Milosevic in
particular: it was the first country to recognise an independent Croatia
before the Bosnian war. It is now attempting to define a new role for
itself in the Balkan region, which it regards as vital to its interests.
The birth of the KLA in 1996 coincided with the appointment of Hansjörg
Geiger as the new head of the BND. One of his first operational
decisions was to set up one of the largest BND regional stations in
Tirana, the Albanian capital. BND agents co-operated closely with the
leaders of the Shik, the Albanian secret service. The Shik was the
successor to the Sigurimi, the feared communist-era security service,
many of whose agents are still active. The BND men were in charge of
selecting recruits for the KLA command structure form the 500,000
Kosovars in Albania. At the same time the BND bureau in Rome was asked
to provide a political intelligence back-up, including working among
refugees in Trieste and Bari, two of the principal entry points into
Italy for Albanian refugees. The German Militärabschirmdienst (MAD), the
military intelligence arm, and special commandos such as the Kommando
Spezialkräfte (KSK) are also understood to have been involved in
training and the provision of communications equipment. Reporters
covering the Kosovo conflict, which was unleashed when Milosevic sent
police and special forces into the province earlier this year to
suppress the KLA, were surprised to find that some of the KLA fighters
wore Bundeswehr combat jackets with identifiable insignia, even in front
of television cameras.
The MAD also provided the Albanians with phone-tapping and communication
systems used by the Stasi, the former East-German communist secret
police. Some of this material has filtered through to Albanian-trained
Kosovar guerrillas. Weapons from former East Germany have been smuggled
into Albania by the German services for use by the rebels, according to
Dr Erich Schmidt-Enboom, a Munich-based intelligence specialist.
The black-uniformed KSK elite troops, previously active in Bosnia
tracking down Serbian War Criminals, have been involved in training
commandos in northern Albania - still controlled by supporters of Sali
Berisha, the former Albanian president - according to French
intelligence sources. Tomislav Kersovic, a member of the Belgrade-based
institute for geopolitical studies, suggests that the finances to
subsidise the training were provided through an Albanian foundation
known as "The Fatherland's Call", with branches in Düsseldorf, Bonn,
Stockolm, Bern and other European Capitals.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
