U.S. criticizes Kosovo’s poor anti-terrorism capacity, Russia completes aid to Kosovo Serbs
A U.S. State Department report has criticized Kosovo’s anti-terrorism capacity, arguing it was plagued by poor resources, corruption and lact of adequate mechanisms for witness protection.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, May 01, 2008
"Porous boundary lines that were easily crossed by individuals trafficking in people, weapons, and narcotics hampered Kosovo's counterterrorism efforts. Moreover, poorly paid border and customs officials were susceptible to corruption," the report said.
"Witness intimidation was also an obstacle to combating terrorism in Kosovo", it added.
UNMIK's Department of Justice is quoted as source of information that there were three terrorism-related convictions in Kosovo last year, and seven terrorism cases underway with local judges and prosecutors.
International prosecutors and the Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office (KSPO) also initiated four terrorism-related investigations and filed two indictments, which were pending confirmation at year's end.
One of the indictments was related to Albanian National Army (ANA) activity, the report says, and one of the investigations involved the Front for Albanian National Unification the ANA's "political wing".
The ANA, "which UNMIK designated as a terrorist organization in 2003, continued to intimidate Kosovo citizens", the report, which refers to the terror group by its Albanian acronym AKSH, said.
Meanwhile, Russia completed its month-long delivery of humanitarian aid to the Kosovo Serbs. Nearly 7,200 Kosovo Serb families in Kosovo, including the northern part with collective centres, will benefit from the aid.
