Sent to European Press
April 2, 1999
Permission to redistribute in its entirety is given by Dr. deKorczak

Albanian terrorism in Kosovo

Albanian terrorism, whose goal is the expulsion of Serbs and other non-Albanians from
Kosovo and Metohija has lasted for centuries.

Albanian terrorism was particularly viscous during the 19th century, when Serbian population
was decimated by murder and driven out by the destruction of property and livestock,
blackmail, and expulsion.

Current terrorist activities by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija have their ideological
origins in the Prizren League Program of 1878, which sought the union of all the Albanians
living in Albania, Greece, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia and the creation of the Greater Albania.
This program is used by the Albanian terrorists today to justify the violence against the Serbs
in Kosovo and Metohija.

Albanian terrorists claim that half of Albanian territory remains outside today_s Albanian state.
Their goal is to rectify this by seceding parts of neighboring states and merging them with
Albania. However, as a precondition to secession, their aim is an ethnically pure territory,
both to justify demands for secession and to avoid having minorities in the future Greater
Albania.

Serbs and Montenegrins of Kosovo and Metohija have been subjected to systematic
persecution and continued emigrating under pressure out of the region in the 20th century.
Following World War I Albanians formed the "Kosovo Committee" to conduct terrorist
activities with the goal of "liberating" Kosovo and other regions populated with Albanians from
other ethnicities.

During World War II Albanians Kosovo and Metohija collaborated with Fascist Italy and Nazi
Germany and killed numerous Serbs and Montenegrins who were fighting on the side of the
Allies. One of their fascist groups, Saban Poluza, continued its terrorist activities until 1951.
During the 1960s, a number of illegal groups were formed, headed by the Revolutionary
Committee for the Liberation of Albanians.

In 1974 another group, Kosovo National Liberation Front, became active. Investigation into
their activities revealed eight additional secessionist groups that employed or were planning
to employ terrorism to drive non-Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija.

During the 1980_s the Kosovo National Movement was through the merger of four political
organizations: the National Liberation Movement of Kosovo and Other Parts of Albanian
Yugoslavia, the Kosovo Marxist-Leninist Organization, the Communist-Marxist- Leninist Party
of Albanians in Yugoslavia, and the Red National Front. This organization will transform itself
into Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the 1990_s.

The main target of the Albanian terrorist organizations was the Yugoslav Army. From 1981 to
1988, 203 assaults and 311threats were reported against Yugoslav Army officers and their
families as well as 254 attacks on military facilities.

The largest single incident happened on the night of September 2, 1987 in the Paracin Army
barracks when terrorist Aziz Keljmendi killed four conscripts in their sleep and wounded
several others.

On July 2, 1992, Albanian separatist leaders declared the "Kosovo Republic", trying to give
legitimacy to the terrorist groups under one political umbrella.

Since 1991, extremist Islamic influence has become increasingly significant in the separatist
and terrorist activity in Kosovo and Metohija.

In the mid 1990_s Kosovo Liberation Army has become increasingly active. It first announced
itself to the public in a letter to the editors of Albanian language newspapers in Kosovo. They
sent a similar letter to the editor of the German newspaper "Deutsche Welle" on June 20,
1996.

Terrorist Attacks

There were 1126 terrorist attacks by the Albanian terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija between
January 1, 1998 and August 30, 1998. Police forces were targets in 616 cases, and civilians in
510.

In the attacks on police forces, 74 policemen were killed and 282 wounded. Albanian
terrorists also killed 81 civilians:

30 Serbs and Montenegrins, 47 Albanians loyal to Yugoslavia, 3 Gypsies and one unidentified
person, while 95 civilians were wounded.

On January 12, 1998, unknown perpetrators with automatic weapons killed Sejdi Muja,
forester for a government company, on a country road in the village of Gradica. Muja was
struck by 28 bullets.

Kidnappings

In this same period, 208 civilians were kidnapped: 157 Serbs and Montenegrins, 42
Albanians, 6 Gypsies, 1 Macedonian, 1 Muslim and 1 Bulgarian. Of these 29 were women and
9 were children. Of those kidnapped, 39 were released, 7 escaped, 16 were murdered and
the fate of 146 is at this time still unknown. Albanian terrorists also kidnapped 10 policemen
and their fate is at this time unknown. Not included in these numbers are 22 kidnapped
Serbian civilians found murdered and buried in a mass grave near the village of Klecka .

(1998) James Rubin,
Spokesman of the Department of State:

"The United States is deeply concerned about the safety of the civilian population in Kosovo,
both Albanian and Serb. We are concerned about attacks againts Serbian civilians in Kosovo
by Albanian extremist groups, including the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

In recent weeks a number of Serb ciivilians have reportedly been kidnapped by armed
Albanian groups. There can be no excuse for such actions. The civilian population of Kosovo
should not be subject to armed attack or intimidation. Those holding civilian hostages should
release them immediately and without condition. The US believes hostage-taking and
kidnapping of civilians would be grounds for inquiry for ICTY investigators."

Weapons

Albanian terrorists used a variety of weapons in their attacks:

in 592 attacks, small caliber automatic arms
in 164 attacks, large caliber automatic arms, rocket propelled grenades and mortars
in 87 attacks, sniper rifles
in 26 attacks, hand grenades
in 14 attacks, explosives
in 6 attacks, handguns

In addition to the terrorist activities, the KLA committed numerous other crimes: robberies,
burglaries, rapes, destruction of property, etc. These crimes were directed at both the
Serbian and Albanian population.

NAMES OF VICTIMS:

Avduljaj Bajram, 51, born in village Zabrdje near Klina
Berisa Sali, 50, born in village Zabrdje near Klina
Saljiljaj Ibrahim, 48, born in village Zabrdje near Klina
Zogaj Ibrahim, 58, born in village Iglarevo near Klina
Ramadan Ibrahim, 40, born in village Iglarevo near Klina
Fadilj Ibrahim, 27, born in village Iglarevo near Klina

Albanian terrorist organizations in Kosovo and Metohija can be categorized as separatist and
nationalist, meaning that their basic goal is separatism and secession from Yugoslavia. There
are many examples of this type of terrorism in the world, including the Irish IRA and the
Basque ETA. In their style of conducting terrorist actions, the Albanian groups are very
similar to these well-known examples.

The TARGETS OF ATTACKS by Albanian terrorists include:

citizens of non-Albanian ethnicity (primarily Serbs and Montenegrins). The goal of these
attacks is to arouse fear, create general insecurity, and make life unbearable so that the non-
Albanian population emigrates from Kosovo and Metohija and thereby contributes to creating
an ethnically pure Kosovo;

ethnic Albanians who are not willing to accept separatist politics, but who are loyal citizens of
Yugoslavia. The logic of "who isn_t with us is against us" puts all ethnic Albanians on notice
that they will be treated as enemies if they don_t accept the declared national ideals.

police and government buildings, because they represent the state, which the separatists
don_t recognize.

on February 20, 1998, in the village of Lausa terrorists attacked a truck with automatic
weapons, killing one passenger, Milorad Ristic, and critically wounding another passenger,
Zdravko Djuricic.

On February 28, 1992, Albanian separatists carried out three terrorist attacks against the
police in the village of Likosane.

A police vehicle was ambushed with hand grenades and automatic weapons. A second attack
was committed against the patrol car that was sent to offer assistance, killing two policemen
and critically wounding two others. An armed combat vehicle, sent to assist the attacked
patroles, became a new target for attack upon entering the village. The police blockaded the
buildings from which the ambushes were perpetrated. While catching the terrorists, two
policemen were critically wounded and they later died from their injuries.

Albanian terrorists use various forms of terrorist action:

- assassination,
- murder,
- threats,
- kidnapping,
- and other forms of physical and psychological abuse calculated to evoke fear.

As a rule, attacks are conducted from ambush by small groups of masked and armed men.

By conducting simultaneous actions at a number of sites in Kosovo and Metohija, Albanian
terrorists create the impression of a secret presence throughout the whole territory. One of
their typical actions took place in April 1996, when terrorists synchronized attacks in four
different places, with the loss of five lives. In September 1996, there were a series of
terrorist attacks against 12 police stations.

In recent years, terrorist actions by Albanian in Kosovo and Metohija have occurred
continuously, without let-up, and then intensified at the beginning of 1998. By plan, the
terrorists don_t want to give the impression of a pause or interruption in their actions.
Continuous actions present an artficial impression of enormous organizational strength.

In recent years, terrorist actions by Albanian in Kosovo and Metohija have occurred
continuously, without let-up, and then intensified at the beginning of 1998. By plan, the
terrorists don_t want to give the impression of a pause or interruption in their actions.
Continuous actions present an artificial impression of enormous organizational strength.

There is credible evidence that Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members have been attending
various terrorist training camps in several foreign countries.

The largest contingent is being trained in the makeshift military camps in Northern Albania.
This camp concentrates on heavy weapons training - rocket propelled grenades, medium
caliber cannons, tanks and transporter use, as well as on communications, and command and
control.

Additional camps have been used in Lebanon, Avganistan and Sudan, where KLA members
training is financed by some renegade Saudi businessmen.

In most cases, the entry point for all this trained terrorists is through Albania and Bulgaria.

In addition to trained KLA terrorists, foreign mercenaries have also been discovered fighting
on the KLA side in Kosovo and Metohija. They are primarily from Croatia, but also include
Bosnian Croats from Herzegovina and Bosnian Muslims. They are infiltrated from
Split(Croatia), Bari(Italy), Drach(Albania) and over Prokletije mountains. Captured
documents show that they are mostly demolition specialists and that they are paid 5,000 -
15,000 DM per month, depending on experience and expertise.

A significant number of Mujahedin fighters from various Islamic countries are also fighting
alongside the KLA in Kosovo and Metohia. Most of them gather in Munchen, Germany. They
usually travel to the Italian port of Bari from where they are ferried to the Albanian port of
Drach, and then overland to Tropoje, a major entry point for the KLA and mercenaries.

Chechens are also participating in the Kosovo and Metohia conflict, and although they are
engaged in some fighting, they are mostly involved in drug smuggling which is used to
finance the KLA. Voice of Russia radio reported that drugs are smuggled from Chechnia via
the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus and Albania, through Kosovo to Germany and then to the
rest of Europe. The radio reports that KLA members are paid 4,000 DM per month and
receive an equal bonus for each killed or captured Serbian police officer.