Balkanalysis.com

5/19/2009: Kosovar Leader Ceku Seeks Refuge in France

5/19/2009: Kosovar Leader Ceku Seeks Refuge in France

(Balkanalysis.com Security & Intelligence Brief 30) The former Kosovo Albanian premier Agim Ceku has been expelled from Columbia, where he had been attending a conference on disarmament- an ironic fact, considering Ceku’s previous experience as a KLA militant leader and former general in the wartime Croatian army.

In fact, Ceku was expelled from Columbia due to Serbia’s Interpol extradition request regarding crimes committed by Ceku’s Croat forces against Croatian Serb civilians in the Medak Pocket in 1993- as recounted by Canadian war reporter Scott Taylor here.

However, Serbian intelligence officials responding after the news believe there is “no chance in hell” that Ceku will be extradited. He is now in safe hands in France, where the foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, was one of the top officials in the UN administration government that was set up following NATO’s 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia.

France and other leading EU countries have been strong backers of an independent Kosovo, and as one of its leading figures, Ceku cannot be sacrificed without risking protests and other destabilizing actions from Kosovo Albanians.

The most interesting detail remains why Columbia, a close US ally – America has been Kosovo’s major international supporter for over a decade – would choose to expel Ceku. The fact that he was participating in an event bringing together persons aware of developments in the arms and military industries may indicate other, unpublicized aspects for researchers to delve into.