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| THE KLA'S FUTURE | |
 June 23, 1999 
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NewsHour correspondent Charles Krause examines the future of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
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CHARLES KRAUSE: The Kosovo Liberation Army did not win the war against the Serbs, but in the eyes of most of their countrymen, the KLA fought bravely, earning the right to play an important even decisive role in Kosovo's future. WOMAN: It's my army, for that they were fighting for this day. For that, that's our people.
MAN: We can see the future in KLA. CHARLES KRAUSE: Within just hours after the Serb withdrawal began less than two weeks ago, the KLA began to move down from the mountains, into Kosovo's populated cities and villages. Clearly long before the war ended, the guerrillas had a plan for occupying Kosovo, and that plan has been implemented effectively. U.S. Army Sergeants Kevin Neil and Danny Green are civil affairs specialists assigned to the American sector. Working in the city of Urosevac, part of their job is to access the KLA's strength and popularity. SGT. KEVIN NEIL: They are the army basically to these people, and people -- they have like 100 percent support. Because of that, you know, in some form you do have to deal with them -- which is -- can't be ignored.
SGT. KEVIN NEIL: Sometimes we have to, to get stuff done. SGT. DANNY GREEN: And with their support, we're able to get the popular support of the population. |
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| KLA establishes control. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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XHABIR ZHARKU: Our ideology is to free Kosovo. Our ideology is to have independence to Kosovo. And we dream for one independent Kosovo as a democratic state with many parties as -- many countries in Western Europe. I see future of my country just an independent Kosovo. And I'm going to be here because this is my dream, to return back to my country. And it doesn't matter in what kind of position I'm going to be, military, police, or civil life. I'm going to go from here, because this is my country. CHARLES KRAUSE: What do you see is the KLA's future role in Kosovo?
CHARLES KRAUSE: You say you have an agreement. Is that how you interpret the agreement that was reached with KFOR? XHABIR ZHARKU: Yes. As I said, KLA going to be a transform to the police, to the regular police, and national forces.
SPOKESMAN: How are you? SPOKESMAN: I'm fine. CHARLES KRAUSE: Yesterday U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Anderson paid a visit to Zharku complain about several violations of the agreement in the Kajonic area. Kajonic is in the American sector. LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: We're having some problems down here. Can you tell me why we keep having checkpoints set up? XHABIR ZHARKU: We have those checkpoints to register the people when they come in from Macedonia. LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: That is not authorized. You understand that?
LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: You have got to move into your assembly areas that are designated, which you're still using this building, which is okay, as long as you comply. But checkpoints aren't authorized. XHABIR ZHARKU:I asked the NATO police, if you can -- if you have ability to stop the refugee to come with no control, because we have a problem from the booby traps and mines. LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: Right. XHABIR ZHARKU: And if the refugee comes, they are our parents. They are our children. We can't let them go into the place where we don't know if it's mine or not. And we ask them to stop this refugee. And they said, "we can't do it." LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: That's our job, not yours. We will follow through with that. XHABIR ZHARKU: But they are our people. LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: I understand. I understand. XHABIR ZHARKU: Our people have the right to help each other.
XHABIR ZHARKU: No, there's no Serbs here. LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: But the country, there's two types. XHABIR ZHARKU: In the country, but I'm talking about this territory I'm concerned with. Around here there's no Serbs. LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: But you don't control it. That's the point. You have no authority to administer anything. |
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| The quest for political power. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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CHARLES KRAUSE: Colonel Anderson has probably had more direct contact with the KLA, which he calls by its Albanian name UCK, than any other commander in the American zone. He says the checkpoints are just a detail, related to a much larger issue, political power.
CHARLES KRAUSE: There's a lot of charges before all this came to an end that the UCK were drug dealers, Muslim fundamentalists, communist, I mean, all kinds of things were said. What's your impression of the guys that you've been dealing with? I mean, are they fanatics? LT. COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: My personal opinion is no. They have strong beliefs, just like we do in America about what they believe is right and wrong, but my impression of them by in large is they are committed to their people. They're committed to their country. They're very patriotic. Many of them are professional soldiers who would give their life for their cause, which gives us a special bond. But fanatical, tyrannical, maniacal, any of those concepts I don't see. They seem to be by in large a pretty decent group of folks. And they very much respect the United States of America. They very much respect the U.S. Military tremendously and they're very thankful for what we've done and are committed to working with us.
SADIK HALITJA: (speaking through interpreter) We are totally aware that when they, KFOR troops will leave Kosovo, and that during that period, we must train our soldiers. We must establish our infrastructure and try to preserve our ability to defend ourselves. And I am totally convinced that by the time KFOR forces leave Kosovo, even if it's a year from now, we'll be ready to defend ourselves.
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MAN:
They must give the rules and keep, you know, in their hands our land.
SGT.
DANNY GREEN: If we want to get things done, then we negotiate with them.
And we get their support. And it's not that we deal directly with them,
but we make advice.
CHARLES
KRAUSE: The city of Prizren was the first major populated area where
the KLA established effective control. That was early last week. Since
then, KLA soldiers have moved quickly to fill the administrative and
political void left by the Serbs elsewhere throughout the country. This
morning in the city of Kajonic, KLA soldiers were involved in everything
from sweeping the streets to sweeping mines, to registering refugees
as they returned home. KLA Commander Xhabir Zharku now sits in the mayor's
office, occupied until ten days ago by a local Serb appointed by the
Milosevic government in Belgrade. Xhabir lived in Stamford, Connecticut,
for several years before returning to Kosovo to fight with the KLA In
1997. Today in his office, we asked him what the KLA believes in and
what it stands for. 
XHABIR
ZHARKU: As we have now agreement, the KLA Is going to be transformed
into police, regular police forces and national guard. 
CHARLES
KRAUSE: But Zharkus' interpretation of this week's agreement between
the KLA's political leader, Hashim Faci, and KFOR Commander General
Michael Jackson is different from the way it's understood by KFOR authorities.
XHABIR
ZHARKU: Yes. I read the agreement that says within seven days we have
to take over checkpoints in the villages. 
LT.
COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: But there's two kinds of people here. There's
Serb people and Albanian. 
LT.
COL. JOSEPH ANDERSON: They see an opportunity to seize a chance to integrate
themselves more and take charge and be forceful and aggressive. They
have been very aggressive in trying to do that, to fill the voids left
by the Serbs, wanting to be the respected representative government,
legitimate government from the get-go, which again is not the charter
of how things are going to work out here. But that's where the military
and the U.N.-type agencies have our separate glide paths here. 
CHARLES
KRAUSE: Still, there seems to be a certain amount of deliberate fudging
on the most sensitive issues: When the KLA will have to turn in which
weapons, what will happen to the weapons, and which weapons the KLA
will be allowed the keep. In some sectors of Kosovo, KFOR troops are
searching KLA Cars and seizing weapons. In other sectors, KLA troops
are turning in their guns and ammunition voluntarily. But most KLA commanders
refuse to acknowledge the agreement their political leaders signed earlier
this week, which would require them to disarm and apparently to disband
by September. Sadik Halitja is a senior KLA commander in the Pastic
region which includes the city of Prizren. On a tour of his military
zone yesterday, Halitja said he welcomes the NATO presence in Kosovo,
but still, he says he believes the KLA should become a standing army.
CHARLES
KRAUSE: Tonight, Hashim Faci, who heads the KLA's provisional government
for Kosovo, was cheered as he walked through the streets of Pristina,
Kosovo's capital. But despite his popularity, whether the KLA's commanders
in the field share Faci's vision of the KLA becoming a political rather
than a military force in Kosovo remains an open question.