Preview of vote to form national army of Kosovo
1,027 views · Published 17 December 2018 · 6:03 · Indexed 25 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(12 Dec 2018) Kosovo is moving to build itself a regular army, angering its neighboring country Serbia, which has floated the idea of military intervention. In a vote set for Friday, Kosovo's 120-seat parliament is expected to easily approve draft government-submitted legislation to turn an existing 4,000-strong paramilitary force into an expanded, lightly armed army. Belgrade does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, a landlocked former Serbian province lost two decades ago after an uprising by ethnic Albanians and a campaign of NATO airstrikes. Officials in Pristina have denied claims by Serbia that the proposed army's main purpose would be to take over and ethnically cleanse Kosovo's Serbian-dominated north. Kosovo officials said it will essentially be a security force handling crisis response and civil protection operations _ essentially what the current paramilitary force does. Its main tasks would be search and rescue, explosive ordnance disposal, firefighting and hazardous material disposal. Lieutenant Colonel Sylejman Cakaj was one of the commanders of Kosovo Albanian paramilitary unit KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) during the war with Serbia in 1999. Cakaj, a military leader of Albanians in Kosovo, have become a battalion commander of Kosovo's Security Force, and today he is in charge of training of young soldiers in military skills. In an interview with the Associated Press, Cakaj said that formation of new Kosovo army is not meant to harm anyone, especially Serbs in Kosovo, it's aim is to serve all of Kosovo citizens but also to join international peace missions abroad. Cakaj said that some 4 percent of Kosovo Security Force today is filled with ethnic Serbs, and that these soldiers would be also transferred to new Kosovo Army. The new army will have a 98-million-euro (111 million US dollars) annual budget, with 5,000 troops armed with light infantry weapons and 3,000 reservists. A UN Security Council resolution from 1999 specifies that Kosovo is under the authority of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo with security provided by the NATO-led peacekeepers. NATO and the US have helped train the current Kosovo Security Force. The US backs formation of the new army through a long process leading to multiethnic representation, starting with a change to the country's constitution that makes no reference to an army. This, however, would require support from ethnic Serbian lawmakers, who strongly oppose the move. Long-simmering tensions soared after Kosovo slapped a 100-percent tax on Serb imports last month _ in apparent retaliation after Serbian lobbying thwarted Kosovo's bid to join Interpol, the international police organization. Serbian officials say the tariffs are a virtual embargo designed to force Kosovo's remaining ethnic Serbs, chief consumers of the affected goods, out of the country. The European Union, the United States and Russia have all urged lifting of the tariffs. Although Serbia has increased its saber-rattling, it is highly unlikely to take military action. That would trigger a direct confrontation with some 4,600 NATO-led peacekeepers, including US troops, stationed in Kosovo since 1999. It would also almost certainly prompt Western sanctions and Serbia's isolation. Serbia lost control over Kosovo after a 1998-99 war that left more than 10,000 dead. Serbia's bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists and civilians in Kosovo prompted NATO airstrikes. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence. The US and most of the West recognize it, but Russia and China do not. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/bea72499d9e51d76362c9603bc6789f5
