Terrorist group in “Kosovo”?
Two days ago, the newspaper “Republika” received a fax entitled “Communiqué No. 27”, signed with the initials of the “Kosovo Liberation Army”. According to an internal confirmation, although the fax has no number or sender’s address, it was sent from Switzerland. As can also be seen in the facsimile we are publishing, through this communiqué the self-proclaimed “Kosovo Liberation Army” claims responsibility for the killing of two Serbian policemen in the village of Surkish, in Podujevë, on October 25, 1996. According to this fax, the decision was made by the so-called Central Headquarters of the Kosovo Liberation Army. “The address of terrorism in Kosovo is in Belgrade. The real perpetrator of terrorism is Slobodan Millosheviçi.” This is the official response given to the newspaper “Republika” by Kosovo representatives in Tirana. Kosovo officials confirm that, first, the Kosovo government lacks accurate information about who is responsible for these incidents, and that the situation in Kosovo is very serious. The Kosovo issue is taking on new dimensions precisely because of these recent developments. The arrests that followed the incidents are a consequence of the uninterrupted state terror that has been inflicted on Albanians for several years. The pretexts for the arrests are highly opaque and absurd, and point to a new conception of the military and police forces in Kosovo. This confirms the most traditional feature of the Serbian regime: making the victim bear the blame. The government of the Republic[k] confirms that Bukoshi has confirmed there is no information about the existence of such an army, since Kosovo absolutely has no army. If Kosovo had an army, confirms the number one figure of the Kosovo government, Bujar Bukoshi, things could be different. All the institutions are fabricated by the Serbian government and are attempts, in a moderate guise, to shift the blame onto the Albanian people. “We know who the main terrorist there is,” is the official confirmation from the Kosovo Government. What still remains a mystery is whether this organization exists or not. And, further still, it is not known whether we are dealing with a genuine political terrorist group, with nationalist tendencies, or with people deliberately planted by certain Serbian [forces?]. The increasingly visible emergence of the KLA comes at a time when the Serbian side is trying to play the card of talks, without ever actually playing it. On the other hand, as is also evident from the text we are publishing, the self-proclaimed KLA goes so far as not only to appeal to Kosovo politicians to support the path it has chosen, but also to threaten them that, if they do otherwise, it will “knock on their doors.”
Facsimile of the fax sent to the newspaper “Republika” and a victim of Serbian terror in Kosovo