Serbian daily details new Albanian paramilitary organizations in Kosovo
BBC Monitoring European. London: Nov 3, 2005. pg. 1

Text of report by Stana Ristic entitled "OVK metamorphosis" published by Serbian newspaper Politika on 29 October
 
The appearance of in black dressed members of a new Albanian paramilitary unit in Metohija [Kosovo and Metohija, Kosmet, Kosovo] on the eve of the UN Security Council session devoted to Kosmet has rekindled fear among the local Serbs that the OVK ["Liberation Army of Kosovo" - UCK in Albanian] is coming back to life.
 
The new paramilitary unit called the "Army for Albanian Unification and Liberation" has urged "all patriots who are ready to make sacrifices for the performance of the holy duty of uniting the Albanian territories and creating a strong Albanian state in the Balkans and Europe." Some people call the paramilitary unit "Army of Independent Kosovo" (ANK).
 
The fliers of the paramilitary unit say that it will fight everyone who opposes the fulfilment of its objectives, even UNMIK [UN Interim Mission in Kosovo] and the Kfor [Kosovo Force].
 
Emergence of OVK
 
The members of the new para-army turned up in an area that is under the control of Ramush Haradinaj, a Hague tribunal indictee who has been released from custody until trial. It is claimed on the basis of [information coming from] sources in intelligence and diplomatic circles that Ramush Haradinaj is the brain behind and patron of the terrorist army called the Kosovo Independentist Army (KIA).
 
In order to be able to evaluate the appearance of the new para- army or para-armies, one ought to recall how the Liberation Army of Kosovo (OVK) had come into being, how it was later dissolved, that is, transformed, and how OVK cadres subsequently created the "Albanian liberation armies."
 
All these military units that had operated or operate in areas where Albanian population lives are offshoots of the Liberation Army of Kosovo. Otherwise, the name "Liberation Army of Kosovo" first appeared in public in 1992. However, armed, uniformed, and trained OVK members first appeared in public on 28 November 1997, the day of the Albanian national holiday, in the village of Lausa in the area of Drenica.
 
In 1998 the OVK became "famous" for its attacks on Serb civilians, as well as Albanians who did not wish to support it and were loyal to the Serbian authorities. It was a custom of the OVK members to kill Serbs on the doorstep of their homes and then set fire to those homes... [ellipsis as published]
 
The OVK was financed by members of the Albanian diaspora (Florin Krasnici, a US citizen of Albanians descent who lives in New York, which he conceded publicly on CBS) and also by members of the Albanian mafia in the United States and European countries. Information exists that Al-Qa'idah had sent financial aid and organized the arrival of mujahedin from Islamic countries in Kosmet. The mojahedin unit that operated as part of the OVK in the area of Drenica was called "Abu Bekir."
 
The United States had initially declared the OVK to be a terrorist organization and blacklisted it. It later changed its position and even started aiding the OVK.
 
When Kosmet Albanians fled to Albania and Macedonia in the spring of 1999, during the NATO bombings, the OVK members had enough time to store most of their weapons in hiding places.
 
It has been recorded that Bernard Kouchner, the first UN envoy to Kosmet, and Gen. Johnson, the first Kfor commander, had persuaded the US and UN political leaderships to create the Kosovo Protection Corps [KZK] out of 5,000 OVK members. That was done on 20 September 1999. They next "enrolled" the remaining OVK members into the Kosovo police service.
 
Some OVK commanders became engaged in politics. The best known are Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj. According to the available information, they have [in turn] introduced their OVK men into politics.
 
Members of the former OVK infiltrated the Medvedja, Bujanovac, and Presevo municipalities [southern Serbia]. An Albanian rebellion broke out in that part of south-eastern Serbia in 2001. It was led by the "Liberation Army of Medvedja, Bujanovac, and Presevo" (OVMPB). That was the first para-military offshoot of "mother" OVK. The rebellion in the Presevo Valley was suppressed.
 
Cadres of the former OVK moved to Macedonia. A new paramilitary unit, the "Liberation National Army" (ONA), was created. Clashes between the Macedonian police and ONA members ended after the Ohrid Agreement was signed.
 
White Al-Qa'idah
 
The cadres of the former OVK returned to Kosmet. A new para- army, the "Albanian National Army" (ANA), was formed. The ANA members urged the creation of a "Greater Albania." However, that did not suit the provisional authorities in Kosovo and Metohija, which urged then and still urge independence for Kosovo. In the meantime, the United States blacklisted ANA. ANA went dormant and then disappeared... [ellipsis as published]
 
Sources that are well acquainted with the situation in Kosmet say that the creation of the "Army for Albanian Liberation and Unification" out of 500 armed men is in fact a disguise for the emergence of far more serious military units. That is in fact the creation of "armed forces of independent Kosovo," as well as the training of members of the White Al-Qa'idah terrorist organization.
 
The creation of "armed forces of independent Kosovo" is well under way. The former KZK is being turned into a regular army of "independent Kosovo." The KZK command has been turned into the "general staff" of the "armed forces of independent Kosovo." The number of KZK members is being increased from 5,000 to 10,000 well- trained professional soldiers. In addition to that, the number of KZK reservists is being hiked from 6,000 to 20,000 reservists of the "armed forces of independent Kosovo." 

Credit: Politika, Belgrade, in Serbian 29 Oct 05
Posted for Fair Use only.