After assuming responsibility for the terrorist attack against UNMIK vehicles in Pristina the newly active KLA again issued a new communiqué, which we are enclosing in Serbian translation from an Albanian language press review:

COMMUNIQUE NO. 2

The Kosovo Liberation Army appeals to the Albanian people in Kosovo as a whole to distance themselves from cooperation with UNMIK authorities, and to refrain from keeping them in their homes. The UNMIK police, together with their collaborators from the KPS [Kosovo Police Service], have sullied their hands with Albanian blood for no other reason than to force our people to become captives of unacceptable solutions. Just as the Titoists once accused the people of being responsible for events in Kosovo, so today's politicians in Kosovo accuse the people. These political leaders who claim they led a war of liberation from 1998-1999 for the dignity and identity of the entire nation and whom the people fanatically believed cannot comprehend that they are on the wrong path and they believe that the KLA is their personal property.

We are advising you that the KLA is not the property of Hasim Thaci, Ramush Haradinaj, Jakup Krasniqi, Rrustem Mustafa or Agim Cheku. These people have transformed the moral wealth of the KLA into their material wealth. It is enough to see their villas and the jeeps in which they cruise with the numerous bodyguards who accompany them.

The KLA will not allow any sort of organization of this kind whether it is local or international. The KLA will not tolerate individuals such as Veto Surroi ("golden boy"), who is again appearing [publicly] with his Kosovo fascist theories which despise our people, while in fact he himself is a endlessly wretched character. The KLA will not allow these individuals to damage our right to culture, our right to principles, our values and our right to self-determination because we want to fulfill the promises for which we fought. The KLA, as a child of the Albanian people, will remain faithful to its historical goals. Long live the Albanian people. Long live national unity.

Operational commander of the KLA
Petrit Pristina, February 20, 2007

Ulrich: NATO will not tolerate violence in Kosovo

PRISTINA, February 24, 2007 (Beta) - Admiral Harry Ulrich, commander of NATO forces for Southeast Europe, said today in Pristina that NATO will not tolerate any form of violence in Kosovo.

"KFOR will support the Kosovo Police Service and U.N. police and will react quickly and firmly to any form of violence and to those who incite violence and to those who plan violence," said Ulrich, who held separate meetings in Pristina with international and Kosovo representatives.

He agreed with assessments by Kosovo authorities that incidents such as those occurring February 10 during demonstrations by members of the Self-Determination Movement in Pristina and the attacks on UNMIK vehicles a few days ago are counterproductive and destructive for the future of Kosovo.

Ulrich expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the riots on February 10 and emphasized that he had received assurances from UNMIK representatives that a comprehensive investigation into the matter would soon be completed.

The NATO commander said that the UN special envoy for the status of Kosovo had proposed "a clear path for the future of Kosovo".

"If Kosovo wants a peaceful and enhanced future, then the political process, the rule of law and justice must be respected and supported by all citizens," said Ulrich.

He repeated the position of the Contact Group that there will be no division of Kosovo and emphasized that the NATO mission will remain in Kosovo after the question of status is resolved.

Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu and premier Agim Cheku assessed that Kosovo needs a KFOR presence even after status [resolution].

"We wish to thank KFOR forces for their contribution in preserving peace in Kosovo," said Sejdiu, adding that the stability of Kosovo during the period of status definition is very important.

Cheku said that "Kosovo welcomes the Ahtisaari proposal which foresees a role for NATO in Kosovo, as well as the development of Kosovo security forces in accordance with NATO standards".

"We will need a NATO presence for some time yet, until institutions in Kosovo are not capable of guaranteeing security and the territorial integrity of Kosovo," concluded Cheku.

SNC opposes W. Walker's visit to Kosovo

KIM Radio, February 24, 2007 - Following reports that the former head of the OSCE observation mission in Kosovo and Metohija William Walker will be visiting the province and renewed activity by members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, the Serb National Council of Kosovo and Metohija issued a public communiqué expressing its concern over [Walker's visit] and stating that such a visit will remind the Serb people in this region of the instability during 1998 and 1999.

We believe that it is no coincidence that at the very moment negotiations on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija are taking place [and] when the majority of the international community realizes that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija must be resolved in accordance with international law and without endangering the international quo, William Walker is visiting the province and thus lending courage to the extremist part of the Albanian community gathered around the so-called KLA and the organization Self-Determination, says the statement.

Because of the difficult situation in the province and the present position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, the SNC KiM is asking the international community to completely fulfill its mandate and ensure a peaceful and calm life for all in Kosovo and Metohija, not to allow threats, implementation and argument of force without the backing of international law to be used to carry out secession from an internationally recognized country and the retailoring of its borders.

Kosovo ex-leader, headed for Hague, urges calm

REUTERS, 23 Feb 2007 15:52:47 GMT
By Fatos Bytyci

PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, recalled to The Hague to be tried for war crimes, urged Kosovo Albanians on Friday not to destroy their prospects of independence from Serbia through impatience.

"It is difficult to build something, but it's easy to destroy it," said the stocky ethnic Albanian former guerrilla commander, whose trial starts on March 5.

"We have a duty to make Kosovo a state we can be proud of, and where everyone will feel at home," he said after meeting Prime Minister Agim Ceku and U.N. governor Joachim Ruecker.

All three men, plus the NATO peacekeeping commander Lieutenant-General Roland Kather, are concerned about the risk of extremist violence or popular unrest if Kosovo's bid for statehood is delayed or thwarted at the last minute.

Haradinaj has earned a reputation for being able to keep the lid on in Kosovo at times of tension.

He is a regular on the diplomatic circuit in the United Nations-run territory, but media appearances are strictly limited under the terms of his pre-trial release from the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.

As Haradinaj returns to the court on Monday, Serbs and Kosovo Albanians will sit down to a second week of final talks in Vienna on a U.N. plan for Kosovo independence.

At a rare news conference, he called for calm, echoing Western concern at the mood among the 90-percent Albanian majority. Many Albanians are angry at the plan's restrictions on sovereignty and the postponement of the decision beyond 2006 by Western powers anxious to limit the fallout in Serbia.

Two people died on Feb. 10 in clashes between police and Albanians protesting against the plan's provisions for EU supervision and self-government for the Serb minority.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed to drive out Serb forces accused of killing and expelling civilians in a two-year war with guerrillas led by, among others, Haradinaj and Ceku.

Haradinaj was indicted in March 2005 when prime minister, charged with murder, rape and torture of Serbs, Roma and ethnic Albanians accused of collaborating with Serb forces. He resigned and surrendered for trial in The Hague. But analysts say he remains the most influential figure behind the coalition government and is credited with keeping Albanian tempers largely in check.

The plan drafted by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari offers Kosovo independence in all but name, under European Union supervision. It needs U.N. Security Council approval.

Ahtisaari hopes to wrap up talks and send his final plan to the U.N.Security Council by late March.