Serbian police arrest two Albanians, seize large quantity of weapons in Presevo

May 25, 2008 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) --

The Serbian Interior Ministry has arrested Nazmi Haradinaj (4 and Adnan Haradinaj (24) and has found a large quantity of heavy weapons, equipment, and video and propaganda material hidden in their house and land in Presevo (south Serbia), Bosnian Serb News agency Srna reported 25 May.

During a search of Haradinaj's premises the police have found five automatic riffles, two hand-held rocket launchers, 20 rocket-propelled grenades, 10 machine guns, five pistols, two offensive hand grenades, and more than 20,000 pieces of ammunition for the weapons.

Also, the police have found uniforms of the Liberation Army for Presevo, Medvedje and Bujanovac (UCPMB), Albanian and USA flags, radio transmitters, photos of UCPMB soldiers, and video materials.

Nazmi Haradinaj is a former member of the UCPMB, in charge of logistic and arms procurement, and UCPMB veterans' association chairman until April 2007, Srna reported.

Kosovo Albanian political parties and UCPMB's war veterans association reactions to these arrests are reported by Kosovo RTK TV.

According to the RTK TV, "they believe that these arrests are happening in order to justify further presence of Serbian special security forces in Presevo Valley," without making any reference to the weapons and ammunition seized by the Serbian police.

Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1132 gmt 25 May 08; RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1309 gmt 25 May 08

BBC Mon EU1 EuroPol vp/eb

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=83150128

For people to realise what's going on in Presevo, here is a good text by BBC:




Presevo valley tension

By South-east Europe analyst Gabriel Partos

The conflict in the Presevo region is part of the legacy Yugoslavia's new democratic administration has inherited from ex-president Slobodan Milosevic's regime.

At the end of Belgrade's war with Nato over Kosovo in 1999, Mr Milosevic had to agree not only to the withdrawal of his security forces from the province, but also to the establishment of a 5km-deep demilitarised zone along Kosovo's boundary with Serbia.

Yugoslav soldier

The Yugoslav army is watching closely


This buffer zone provided the opportunity for ethnic Albanian militants to launch an armed campaign against Serbian rule.

With Yugoslav army and Serbian special forces excluded from the area at that time, a guerrilla force, known as the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, emerged last year in these three municipalities which have a substantial ethnic Albanian population.

KLA successor

Modelled on the Kosovo Liberation Army - which was disbanded after the war in Kosovo - the new guerrilla movement has been able to operate with relatively little concern about retaliation from Belgrade, which has been allowed to keep only the local police force in the area.




The UCPMB says it is acting in self defence
As the casualty toll has mounted the multinational peacekeeping force in Kosovo, K-For, has stepped up its patrols along the border between Kosovo and the Presevo valley in a bid to cut down the scale of cross-border movements - both of guerrillas and supplies.

Initially, the guerrillas' publicly-acknowledged objective was to protect the local ethnic Albanian population of some 70,000 people from the repressive actions of the Serb security forces.

At one stage during the clashes several thousand ethnic Albanians fled to Kosovo - either to avoid Belgrade's crack-down or to escape the fighting.

Uniting with Kosovo

Since Mr Kostunica's victory the Serbian police have adopted a much less hostile attitude towards the local Albanians in a bid to win the hearts and minds of the inhabitants.

But as the guerrilla force has become better established, its leaders have started to talk about more far-reaching goals, first and foremost, of uniting their region with Kosovo.


President Kostunica wants Nato to clamp down on rebel activity
That raises considerable concern among Serbs, who are already fearful that Kosovo - currently under a United Nations administration - is moving towards independence.

The last thing they would want to see is Presevo - an area that's internationally acknowledged to be an integral part of Serbia - joining Kosovo Albanians in their bid for independence.

But concern goes well beyond Serbia.

The Presevo valley is strategically important insofar as it is located on the northern border of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Fears of larger conflict

Macedonian Slavs are worried about their own militant ethnic Albanians who harbour the desire for a greater Albanian entity that would bring together Kosovo, northern and western part of Macedonia and the Presevo valley.

Later on that state could potentially even merge with Albania itself.

In the Presevo region - a small area with a small population - the guerrillas number just a few hundred fighters.

But Belgrade and Skopje were concerned that while Serbian forces were barred from Presevo, the localised clashes could one day reignite a larger conflict.

That is why President Kostunica repeated his calls for Yugoslav and Serbian forces to be allowed back into the buffer zone - or, at the very least, for the zone to be reduced in size.

Initially the UN was reluctant to accept this request - partly because it feared that such a move would lead to an escalation of the fighting, and partly because it wanted to avoid possible border incursions which could trigger clashes between Yugoslav forces and K-For.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1043583.stm

As I've said before, ultimate goal of the Albanian terrorists is Greater Albania which includes parts of several neighbouring countries: Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece.

They have to be stopped and dealt with by force.

the news is from: \


Friday, 2 February, 2001, 16:34 GMT

__________________
Jesus beat the devil with two sticks. Colossian 2:13,15

Proud American!

Communism/Socialism is similar to legalizing burglary and murder!

It's not news, it's an analysis which was posted as an explanation of the Presevo valley arrests of Albanian terrorists.

lol...it's still an opinion...hahahah

__________________
Jesus beat the devil with two sticks. Colossian 2:13,15

Proud American!

Communism/Socialism is similar to legalizing burglary and murder!

But much more relevant than yours.

When BBC reports on happenings in the Balkans - you link them when the reports are in Albanian favor, but call them "opinions" when they are not. *edit*

Until 1956, Presheva was apart of Kosova.

As for " Greater Albania ", The term itself was used only after Albania was actually made smaller. It's a term that is generally used by its opponents rather than by Albanians themselves.


It's used as some kind of bogeyman.

Nope. It's an active policy of Albanian structures. You even try to conduct it on the filed. Kosovo is step No1. Macedonia is step No2. Montenegro is step No3. You will be having many difficulties in Greece as step No4, since they are very keen on kicking your arses back to Albanian mountains.

Again, The term " Greater Albania" was used only after Albania was actually made smaller. A rump Albania was created by the Great Powers; Kosova was annexed to Yugoslavia, Chameria to Greece, Ilirida to FYROM etc- More than 50 percent of the Albanian population was left outside the boundaries of the newly created Albanian state.


Albanian political leaders have made great efforts to assure other countries in the region and the wider world that they have no interest in redrawing the borders of Albania.


There is no such thing as " Greater Albania ", it's just something that is used as a bogeyman by Serbs mainly.

Tell me please, when was Kosovo a part of Albania? Or Chameria, Ilirida? When? NEVER! These are areas illegally populated by Albanian clansmen that came down from Prokletije mountains.

Albania was not made smaller.

Albania was part of Serbian medieval empire, btw.