Ethnic Albanians protest over arrests of former KLA members
Several hundred ethnic Albanians protested on Sunday in central Presevo over the arrest of ten former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army on suspicion of committing war crimes against Serbs and other non-Albanians in the territory of the Gnjilane municipality in the period from June to September 1999
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, December 29, 2008
The protest, held in the organization of the families of those who were arrested, passed without incident. The protesters first gathered before the Presevo town hall and then staged a walkabout through the streets.
In Pristina, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo of former war crimes indictee Ramush Haradinaj has expressed bitterness over the arrest of ten former KLA members and called on the Serbian government to release them immediately.
"The Alliance expressed profound bitterness over the actions of the Serbian government which has now demonstrated that nothing has changed there (in Serbia) and recalled to mind, through this brutal act, past conduct towards Albanians", the Alliance said in a statement.
In Belgrade,Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that the operation for the arrest of the former members of the KLA was not aimed against the ethnic Albanian population, and that the fight against organized crime and war crimes does not differentiate between nationalities.
Dacic described the operation as very professional, noting that it was "one of the best actions carried out in this sphere."
Speaking to the press in the police anti-terrorist base in Barajevo, close to Belgrade, Dacic said that any deterioration of the situation in southern Serbia is not benefitial the need for the ethnic Albanians to be an integral part of the society and called for peace, promising to guarantee the safety of all regardless of nationality.
