The Irish Times
Thursday, July 5, 2001
REBEL CHIEF WORKED FOR UN FUNDED FORCE IN KOSOVO
The leader of the Macedonian rebels was originally
paid by the UN, writes Chris Stephen, in Pristina
MACEDONIA: The co-ordination of the international
community in the Balkans has been thrown into
confusion by revelations that the leader of
Macedonia's rebel army was a leading figure in
Kosovo's UN- funded civil defence force.
Before launching war in Macedonia, Commander Gezim
Ostremi was paid by the UN to help set up the Kosovo
Protection Corps (KPC), being appointed its
chief-of-staff.
Now President Bush has banned Commander Ostremi from
entry to the US, and accused five key members of the
KPC of aiding the rebels.
Yet the United Nations says it will take no action
against these five men, all still serving officers,
because Washington has yet to pass on details of what
the men are supposed to have done.
This row comes just as the US and the EU are groping
for a joint response to the escalating violence in
Macedonia, which yesterday saw rebels fighting
government forces in several places in the northern
mountains.
Yet while one part of NATO tries to stop the
guerrillas crossing the border from neighbouring
Kosovo, in Kosovo itself other parts of NATO and the
UN are busy paying and training them.
The KPC, formed at the end of the Kosovo war as part
of a deal between the former guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army
and the UN. In return for the guerrillas disbanding, they would be
allowed to reform, a new force, funded and trained by the UN but
organised for civil defence.
In fact, the KPC's role is a polite fiction. Because
Kosovo is still officially part of Yugoslavia, it can
have no army. Yet Kosovo's Albanian majority are keen
to have an embryonic army to protect them should NATO
ever withdraw. The result is an awkward compromise.
The KPC is an army without weapons which trains for
war, but pledges publicly that its job is limited to
fight forest fires and natural disasters.
Now this delicate balance has been thrown out of gear
by evidence that it is feeding men into battle in
Macedonia.
The lack of close supervision meant it was weeks
before the UN realised Commander Ostremi had left to
command the rebels in Macedonia - with some assuming
he had gone on holiday.
NATO provides the 5,000strong KPC with training in a
wide range of military skills, including transport, communications,
map-reading and medicine, though there is a ban on firearms training.
The UN pays its $7 million per year wage bill.
Inside Kosovo, the KPC has been a success: Its units,
who wear military uniforms, have military ranks and
carry out military drills, are well disciplined. Fears
that they would carry out revenge attacks against
their former Serb enemies have proved groundless.
Washington's blacklist includes not just Commander
Ostremi, but his replacement as chief-of-staff at the
KPC, Commander Daut Haradinaj.
Also on the list are the commander and deputy
commander of the KPC's elite force, the Rapid Reaction
Corps, plus the leaders of two of its six regional
divisions, Commandrer Sami Lushtaku and Commander
Mustafa Rrustem.
In a statement last Friday President Bush said the US
would restrict entry of these men for seeking to
"undermine peace and stability in the region" as well
as those "responsible for wartime atrocities". He did
not specify who is blamed for which offence, but said
the move aimed to cut fund-raising in the US for such
groups.
Commander Rrustem yesterday said he was mystified by
the American decision to ban him. "I have no
information about this. We read about it in the
newspapers, we are not accused of anything."
He denied having involvement in the war in Macedonia.
"Maybe some people want to go and help them [the
Macedonians]. There are links from ancient time. But
for us what is important is the KPC."
Commander Rrustem, known as "Remi" earned fame during
the Kosovo war as one of the most successful guerrilla commanders. He
has since become a favourite with NATO commanders, whose glowing
commendations line the walls of his office.
Certainly if the Americans have reservations about him
they have yet to show it: on Tuesday two separate US
army teams came to his base to train his men.
But the fact remains that there is little the UN can
do to stop KPC members dashing off to fight in
Macedonia, with NATO units unable to adequately police
the mountainous border between the two countries.
A KPC spokesman, Mr Shemsi Syla, said Commander
Ostremi is no longer a member, but denied he had been
sacked. "Our regulations say that you are no longer a
member of the KPC if you fail to report for work.
Ostremi has not reported for work for some time."
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
