Serbia terrorism expert warns of probable fresh wave of violence in Kosovo
BBC Monitoring Europe - Political - November 25, 2005 Friday

Text of report by "I.A." entitled "Talks on [Kosovo] status, as initial spark" published by the Serbian newspaper Danas on 23 November

Belgrade: The beginning of talks on the final status of Kosmet [Kosovo and Metohija] is most likely to create new security problems in Serbia and most likely also a new wave of violence by Albanian extremists against the Serb population, Zoran Dragisic, a Faculty of Civil Defence professor and the executive-director of the newly founded Centre for Studying of Terrorism, said yesterday.

Dragisic said that it had been shown more than once up to now that in response to the beginning of every negotiations, the militant Albanians in Kosmet step up the terrorist attacks and that, therefore, no different scenario should be expected this time. Addressing a news conference, Dragisic said that a great deal would depend also on the final outcome of the talks between Belgrade and Pristina and that, if the talks ended in a way that the Albanian side did not like, problems far more serious than terrorism could be expected in Serbia.

"The Albanian terrorist organizations that are now topical in Kosovo and Metohija are nothing other than the OVK [Kosovo Liberation Army - UCK in Albanian], whose individual parts have only changed their name. The same people with the same demands are involved. More serious problems should also be expected in southern Serbia, because the so-called Army for Independence of Kosovo recently said that the talks on the final status of Kosmet should also cover the three predominantly Muslim [populated] municipalities in southern Serbia," Dragisic emphasized.

Goran Radosavljevic "Guri," an ex-commander of the Gendarmerie and the incumbent head of the Centre for Studying of Terrorism, has said that it may soon be the case that the Albanians in Kosmet start slowly withdrawing from the multi-ethnic police in order to leave only Serbs in it. Radosavljevic said that a great security challenge in southern Serbia was also the fact that Riza Halimi would be replaced as Presevo municipality chief by the far more radical Ragmi Mustafa.

The three-day international meeting "The Balkans as Terrorists' Western Gate and New Anti-Terrorism Technologies" will be opened by Serbian President Boris Tadic at the Majestic Hotel [in Belgrade] the day after tomorrow [ 25 November].

Source: Danas, Belgrade, in Serbian 23 Nov 05

Copyright 2005 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.