Ethnic Albanian leaders say they will
turn to diplomacy to solve problems
By Scott Schonauer,
Kosovo bureau
Terry Boyd / Stars and Stripes
Presevo mayor Riza Halimi, left, makes an emphatic point while talking with former
guerrilla leader Shefket Musliu during a press conference. Musliu, who surrendered to
American KFOR troops last week, said he is pursuing diplomatic means of protecting the
ethnic Albanian minority in southwestern Yugoslavia. |
GNJILANE, Kosovo — Trading guns for rhetoric, ethnic Albanian leaders said Tuesday
they will turn to diplomacy to solve problems in southern Serbia.
The ethnic Albanian mayor of Presevo, Riza Halimi, and the former top rebel army
commander, Shefket Musliu, said they would work with the Serb officials rather than fight
them.
"We are ready to solve the problem politically," Musliu said.
"There is only one way we are going to negotiate," Halimi added, "and
that is in a political way."
Their comments, which came during an impromptu press conference at a gas station just
outside a U.S. Army base, showed how quickly situations and perspectives change in the
Balkans.
One day southern Serbia is on the brink of war. A week later, ethnic Albanian
insurgents are laying down their weapons and ready to talk with Serbs.
Fear swept through southern Serbia last week when Yugoslav forces moved into the buffer
zone around Kosovo. NATO-led peacekeepers beefed up forces along the boundary bracing for
a bloody battle between ethnic Albanian rebels and Yugoslav troops that never happened.
The zone, established in 1999 to put space between international peacekeepers and Yugoslav
forces after the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, was used as a safe haven for rebels.
Now, ethnic Albanian rebels and politicians are talking compromise in a usually
uncompromising part of Europe.
"We have a lot of work to do," Halimi said.
During the past 16 months, both Musliu and Halimi wanted nothing more than to drive
Serb forces out of three ethnic Albanian-dominated areas in southern Serbia. The Yugoslav
army and Serbian police clashed periodically with armed rebels in the region.
But the beginning of the end for the rebels was when NATO invited Yugoslav forces back
into the last section of a buffer zone between Serbia and Kosovo.
Overwhelmed by the Yugoslav army, rebels learned quickly that when the buffer zone
disappeared, so did the chance for a clear military victory.
Before Yugoslav forces entered the zone on May 24, Musliu agreed to disband the
so-called Liberation Army for Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac, more commonly known as
UCPMB.
Since then, Yugoslav troops have met little resistance in the buffer zone, more than
450 rebels have surrendered and the insurgents have turned in truckloads of weapons.
On Thursday, Musliu appeared in public for the first time since he turned himself in to
peacekeepers in Kosovo.
Wearing a navy blue suit instead of his familiar olive-drab battle fatigues, he was
barely recognizable to local reporters. His anti-Serb rhetoric was gone as well, as he
spoke of cooperation with the Serbs.
"We have realized our plans," Musliu said. "I hope we will go forward
with negotiations."
As U.S. Army soldiers stood nearby carrying automatic weapons, Halimi seemed to talk
from the same script as Musliu. He said it is critical that the Serbian government create
a multi-ethnic police force filled with a significant number of ethnic Albanians,
including former rebel fighters.
He preached diplomacy rather than confrontation.
"We now have hard work to do," he said. "We have no illusions that we
will get all of the conditions we are asking, but we are optimistic the new [Yugoslav]
government is better than the old one."
Both men insisted that the first priority would be the return of hundreds of residents
who fled southern Serbia. Most are living with family and friends in Kosovo.
"The people need to begin their normal life," Halimi said.
Although both men talked about working with Yugoslav and Serbian officials, Musliu said
the death of a popular commander, Ridvan Qazimi-Lleshi, still stings. He said it sheds
doubt on whether Albanians can trust Serbs, but it will not hinder negotiations.
Yugoslav forces shot and killed Lleshi as troops advanced into the buffer zone.
"He was my right-hand man," Musliu said. "But we will continue his
politics."
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