Raxhimi: Albanian Army backed KLA
Albanian journalist Altin Raxhimi, whose reports on the abuse of inmates of the camps of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) have drawn considerable public attention, has sad that it is no secret that the Albanian Army backed the KLA.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, April 27, 2009
„The Albanian rebels in Kosovo obviously got on very well with then socialist government in Albania, which made it possible for them to have access to diplomatic circles", Raxhimi said in an interview for the Vienna daily Der Standard.
The political situation in Kosovo is very instable and the UN has been relying on their cooperation with the former KLA fighters who are now part of the government, he said.
There is also the problem of witness protection in Kosovo, the journalist said, pointing out that at least 20 persons had been killed because they wanted to give statements about war crimes.
Raxhimi underlined that the people in Kosovo were displeased with the fact that those who now referred to themselves as leaders had committed ghastly crimes, and added that the safety in the region was rather poor and that many blamed certain KLA commanders for that.
He said that the Kosovo constitution envisaged a protection of minorities, but that on the other hand, many ethnic Albanians still cherished the feeling of revenge and kept threatening the Serbs.
More than 100,000 Serbs that fled Kosovo during the NATO bombing campaign have never returned, Raxhimi reminded.
