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The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX Kosovo, is a deployment of European Union (EU) police and civilian resources to Kosovo. This Common Security and Defence Policy mission is the international civil presence in Kosovo operating under the umbrella of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.

Serbia and a number of countries had initially strictly objected to the mission and supported UNMIK, demanding approval by the United Nations Security Council, which was rendered in late 2008.^[1] After signing a 5-point plan between Serbia and the UN, the UN SC approved the addition of the EULEX as an assistance mission subjected to the UNMIK, rather than outright replacing it, which would be technical in essence and not address the Kosovo status question, also rejected the Ahtisaari plan which the EULEX had originally supported.

The mission includes around 3,200 police and judicial personnel (1,950 international, 1,250 local),^[2] and began a four month deployment process on 16 February 2008.^[3][4] The mission intends to remain in Kosovo until at least June 2012.^[5]

Composition and deployment[link]

A 1,800 to 1,900 strong mission was approved by The European Council on 14 December 2007. This was later increased to 2,000 personnel due to an increase in expected instability due to a lack of an agreement with Serbia.^[3] It consists of police officers (including four anti-riot units^[6]), prosecutors and judges - hence focusing on issues on the rule of law, including democratic standards. The size of the mission means Kosovo is home to the largest number of EU civil servants outside of Brussels.^[7] Chief of the mission is French General Xavier Bout de Marnhac, who replaced Yves de Kermabon on 15 October 2010. He is accountable to the European Union member states.

The final decision on the mission was planned to be taken on 28 January 2008.^[8] This was postponed due to concerns over possible negative effects on the second round of the presidential election in Serbia on 3 February 2008 and the possible signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia on that date.^[9] The officially voiced reason for the postponement is the lack of a legal basis (through a UNSC resolution or something similar) for the mission.^[10] A Joint Action was approved on 4 February 2008 and the final decision was made on 16 February 2008.^[11][12]

Spain does not take part in EULEX mission, since legal questions over how it replaces the UN administration have not been answered. In June 2008, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos told a meeting of European Union Foreign Ministers in Slovenia that Spain will not send its contingent to the EULEX mission until there has been a formal transfer of powers from the United Nations.^[13]

Apart from EU members, third parties Croatia, Turkey, Switzerland, Norway, Canada and the United States also take part.^[14]

Political situation[link]

A map of EU member states and their stance on recognising Kosovo's independence
Key:

  recognises Kosovo

  does not recognise Kosovo

The EU has been divided on whether to recognize an independent Kosovo (for individual member states' stances on recognising Kosovo, see map to the right) without international and Serbian approval. The agreement was seen as ensuring the unity of the EU on the question, however the Presidency announced it would not amount to recognition of an independent Kosovo.^[15]

The EU has stated its mission will be legally based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, which introduced the international rule of Kosovo in 1999.^[15] However, the EU force, which was previously planned to be convered by Security council's approval of Ahtisaari proposal, has not received a new U.N. Security Council mandate due to the opposition from Russia. Russia specifically blocked transfer of U.N. facility to the EU mission.^[16][17] Serbia also views the mission as an EU recognition of an independent Kosovo.^[18]

In November 2008, the EU accepted the demand of Serbia not to implement the plan of Ahtisaari through EULEX and to be neutral regarding the status of Kosovo. On the other hand EULEX will be accepted by Serbia and the UN Security Council.^[19]

Protests[link]

On 25 August 2009, the EULEX mission was subject to violent protests, resulting in the damaging of 28 EU vehicles Three Kosovo police officers were injured in the clashes which resulted in 21 arrests by the Kosovo police. The attack was organised by a group called Vetëvendosja ("Self-Determination") in reaction to EULEX's police cooperation with Serbia and its actions in Kosovo.^[20] There is resentment towards the EU mission for exercising its powers over Kosovo while mediating between the state and Serbia. Policies concentrating on crisis management, rather than resolution, as well as the pursuit of ethnic autonomy and its overly broad mandate over Kosovo's governance is at the stem of the discontent with the EU mission.^[21]

Intermediary mediation[link]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

Troops sent to Kosovo[link]

•  Germany: Germany is sending around 600 troops as peace keepers.^[22]
•  Italy: Italy is sending around 600 troops as peace keepers.^[22]
•  United Kingdom: On 25 April 2008, the UK announced that it will to send a battle-group based on 2 Rifles, a light infantry battalion of about 600 soldiers, to help maintain public order.^[23]

See also[link]

• Overseas interventions of the European Union
• Kosovo status process
• European Union Planning Team (EUPT)^[24]
• Kosovo Police

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website.
• Council Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP.
• Viewpoint: The EU's toughest operation, BBC News.
• Kosovo 2009: Uncertain Future - spotlight europe 2009/01
• EULEX Kosovo breaks new ground for ESDP, European Union Institute for Security Studies, Newsletter, January 2009
• Kosovo: one year on, Opinion by Jelena Obradović, February 2009, European Union Institute for Security Studies

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (September 2011)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2007)

Fatmir Limaj (born 4 February 1971 in the village of Banja, Mališevo municipality, Yugoslavia – now Kosovo^[a]) is a politician from Kosovo. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). Limaj served as Minister of Transport and Telecommunication in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.

Biography[link]

During the 1999 Kosovo War, Limaj was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in the Lapušnik area.^[1] His alias was Çeliku.^[1] After the war he was one of the founders of what is now Kosovo's largest political party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. After his indictment, which he was freed from in 2007 (see below), he has returned to politics. After a two year serve at the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, Limaj was considered to be the most successful minister in the history of Kosovo. In the elections held in December 2010 he was third most voted leader in the whole country but he decided not to be part of the government. Limaj was charged of another war crime case by European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), he was held for seven months in the house arrest and in 21st March the Court declared all statements of witness X as inadmissible whilst the whole indictment was based on those statement, hours after that Limaj was released with the court order.

Indictment[link]

Limaj was arrested on February 18, 2003, in Slovenia. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) charged him, Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala with war crimes against Serbs and Albanians regarding illegal imprisonment, cruel treatment, inhuman acts, and murders in Lapušnik prison camp.^[2][3][4] On March 4, 2003, he was sent to Haag, and on November 15, 2004, the trial began. In November 2005, Limaj was acquitted by the ICTY. On September 2007, "The Appeals Chamber finds that the Trial Chamber reasonably found that Fatmir Limaj does not incur criminal responsibility for any of the offences charged in the indictment," Judge Fausto Pocar said. On press conference help upon Judge Pocar's ruling, Limaj said that this verdict opens new paths for new victories.

Notes and references[link]

Notes:

References:

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Ramush Haradinaj
4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
In office 3 December 2004 – March 2005
Preceded by	Bajram Rexhepi
Succeeded by	Bajram Kosumi
Personal details
Born	(1968-07-03)3 July 1968 Glodjane, Yugoslavia
Political party	AAK

Supporting Ramush

Ramush Haradinaj^[a] (born 3 July 1968) is a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and former prime minister of Kosovo. He leads the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and is among former KLA officers charged of war crimes during the 1999 Kosovo War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague but was acquitted of all charges on 3 April 2008.^[1] However, on 21 July 2010, the Appeals Chamber ordered a partial retrial.^[2]

Early life[link]

Haradinaj was born on 3 July 1968 in the village of Glođane, near Dečani, in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo (in present-day Kosovo).^[b] He spent his youth in his native village with his parents and siblings, and finished High School in Đakovica. After graduating high school, he served in the Yugoslav Army.

After the Kosovo War he attended the University of Pristina where he graduated from the Faculty of Law.^[3] Haradinaj also has a Master's degree in business from the American University of Kosovo which is associated with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

After the demonstrations of Kosovo Albanians in 1989 and the increased suppression of the local ethnic Albanian population that followed, Haradinaj emigrated to Switzerland where he spent eight years working as a construction worker and security guard^[3] In Switzerland, he joined the separatist National Movement of Kosovo, from which originated the KLA.

War against Yugoslavia[link]

After Haradinaj's return to Kosovo in February 1998, the conflict in Kosovo erupted. According to the indictment against Fatmir Limaj, Haradin Bala and Isak Musliu at the ICTY, between 28 February and 5 March, government forces attacked the KLA-held villages of Likošane, Cirez, and Prekaze. On March 24, they surrounded the village of Glodjane and commenced their operation.^[4][5] The Haradinajs, however, were able to use their home village to good effect and under the leadership of Ramush, they successfully repelled the attack. This success propelled Haradinaj into a leadership position in the KLA in Western Kosovo. By May 1998 he was regarded as commander of Glodjane and surrounding villages, and by June 1998 he became commander of the Dukagjin Operational Zone (in Metohija).^{[citation needed]} Because of Western Kosovo's proximity to Albania, which provided a corridor through which the KLA could procure weapons, Haradinaj's area saw some of the heaviest fighting of the conflict and Ramush established himself as one of the KLA's most able commanders.^{[citation needed]}

In September 1998, some months later, the bodies of 39 people were found near Haradinaj's home village of Glodjane, some of them bearing evidence of having been tied and tortured. The victims were local people of both Albanian and Serbian ethnicity and they became the basis for public accusations of war crimes against Haradinaj and his group ^[6]

From soldier to politician[link]

After demilitarization of the KLA following NATO's entry into Kosovo in 1999, the KLA was transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). In this new force, Haradinaj was a deputy commander, under Agim Çeku, and is considered to have been a central figure in ensuring the successful transition into a civilian controlled force.^{[citation needed]} He retired from the KPC on 11 April 2000, and announced that he was entering politics. He founded, with support from the former communist leader Mahmut Bakalli, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), on 29 April 2000 and was elected president of the party. This decision caused disappointment to many of the more militant former KLA supporters who had hoped to see Haradinaj enter a political alliance with Hashim Thaçi.^{[citation needed]} Thaçi had been the political leader of the KLA and by 2000 was the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the main opposition to the Ibrahim Rugova-led Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which had been opposed to the KLA. Haradinaj gave as his reason for forming a new party the need to establish a new paradigm for the future well-being of democratic politics in Kosovo, untainted by war-time divisions.^{[citation needed]}

Haradinaj enjoyed limited electoral success up to and including the elections of 2004, being perceived as a soldier rather than a politician.^{[citation needed]} Following the elections of October 2004, however, he entered into coalition talks with the LDK, led by the then President of Kosovo, the late Dr. Ibrahim Rugova. The outcome was a government with Haradinaj as Prime Minister. In the Kosovo Assembly, Haradinaj’s candidature for Prime Minister, to the surprise of most observers, won the support of 72 members out of 120 with only three opposing.

Haradinaj’s coalition with the Rugova-led LDK was seen as a major healing of the animosities of the war and immediate post-war periods.^{[citation needed]} It provoked a hostile reaction from the PDK at the time. Haradinaj formed a close and productive working relationship with Ibrahim Rugova and other senior figures in the LDK.

In February 2009 he was asked by the Ugandan Rebel Group "Allied Democratic Forces" to mediate peace talks with the central government in Kampala.^[7]

Trial for war crimes at ICTY[link]

First trial[link]

Haradinaj served only 100 days as Prime Minister before being indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), at The Hague. The indictment alleges that Haradinaj, as a commander within the KLA, committed crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war between March and September 1998, the alleged purpose of which was to exert control over territory, targeting both Serb, Albanian and Romani civilians.^[8] He was acquitted on 3 April 2008, because of lack of convincing evidence.

United States Senator Joe Biden commented on Haradinaj's indictment,

"In the overall post-Yugoslav context, Mr. Haradinaj's willingness after his indictment to surrender voluntarily and go to The Hague is striking. It stands in glaring contrast to the behavior of the three most infamous individuals indicted by The Hague, all of whom are still fugitives, resisting arrest: former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladić, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, and former Croatian General Ante Gotovina."^[9]

Haradinaj indicated in a statement at the time that he was willing to submit himself to the court and be scrutinised for his actions during or after the war, confident all actions were both legal and justified.

Haradinaj's trial at The Hague began on 5 March 2007 and his defence team was led by Ben Emmerson QC, a leading international human rights lawyer. Emmerson had supporting counsel in Rodney Dixon, also of Matrix chambers of London. The legal defence team as a whole was coordinated by Irish political consultant and financier Michael O'Reilly.

When the ICTY indictment was issued in March 2005, Haradinaj chose to step down immediately from his position as Prime Minister. The following day he travelled voluntarily to The Hague where he remained for two months until he was granted provisional release pending trial. Haradinaj received much praise for his actions and words at that time, which were perceived by many, including the International Crisis Group (ICG),^[10] US Senator Joe Biden ^[9] and the late British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook ^[11] as having prevented violence and civil unrest.

The then head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Søren Jessen-Petersen, described Haradinaj as a "friend" and as a man of "dynamic leadership, strong commitment and vision" whose presence would be greatly missed.

In March 2006, the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY extended his provisional release further and granted Haradinaj the unprecedented right for an indictee to engage in public political activity. Such activity was, however, subject to the approval of UNMIK.

On 26 February 2007 Haradinaj was flown back to the Hague so that the trial could proceed. In the previous days he held meetings with Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Agim Çeku, the head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, Joachim Rücker, and various diplomatic offices. At a news conference he urged the public to remain calm and was steadfast in his belief that the trial would result in a full acquittal. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

The chief prosecutor at The Hague, Carla Del Ponte, has remained steadfastly unimpressed by the international support for Haradinaj, continuing to make strongly negative statements about him. She told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that "according to the decision [to provisionally release him], he is a stability factor for Kosovo. I never understood this. For me he is a war criminal."^[15]

Del Ponte, in the same interview, claimed that it was difficult to find witnesses who were willing to testify not just to the prosecutors, but also for the tribunal. "The difficulty in Kosovo was that no one helped us, neither the UN administration nor NATO."^[16]

A recent BBC report found considerable support for Haradinaj among the Serb population. A Serb from north Kosovska Mitrovica said that

"only two governments of Kosovo, the one of Bajram Rexhepi, and especially the one of Ramush Haradinaj have managed to do something for the Serb minority... The latter has managed to bring the Serb minority closer, and institutionalize the Serb language in Kosovo."^[17]

The vagueness of the charges against Haradinaj personally, and the widely held suspicion he was indicted as part of a political deal with Belgrade combined with the overt international support for him, has had the effect of increasing rather than diminishing his political importance in Kosovo.^{[citation needed]} Carla Del Ponte has expressed her exasperation saying, "I don’t understand why there cannot be peace in Kosovo without Ramush Haradinaj."^{[citation needed]}

On 20 July 2007, Ramush Haradinaj's application for provisional release during the summer court recess was denied. He was granted a second exceptional provisional release over the Christmas court recess.

The trial chamber rendered its decision on 3 April 2008; not guilty. Defenders of Haradinaj, Balaj and Brahimaj have not taken a single witness of the defense to the stand considering that unnecessary. The prosecution was unable to bring to the courtroom three planned witnesses. One of them was committed to a mental health institution at the time he was called to testify. Another, Shefqet Kabashi, refused to testify citing the OTP's failure to live up to the conditions set for his testimony.^[18]

The Judges pointed out that many witnesses felt intimidated:

"the Chamber encountered significant difficulties in securing the testimony of a large number of these witnesses. Many cited fear as a prominent reason for not wishing to appear before the Chamber to give evidence. In this regard, the Chamber gained a strong impression that the trial was being held in an atmosphere where witnesses felt unsafe, due to a number of factors set out in the Judgement. "^[19]

Kujtim Berisha, a Roma who was also to be called as a witness by the OTP in the case against Haradinaj, was killed in a car accident in Podgorica, Montenegro on 18 February 2007, when 67-year old Montenegrin Serb Aleksandar Ristović drove his car into Berisha and two other men. The Montenegrin daily Vijesti states that police 'confirmed that at the moment of accident Ristović was drunk – driving at a very high speed'.^[20]

Serbian media have written that as many as ten people who were supposed to witness in the trial against Haradinaj have died but ICTY's representative in Serbia, Nerma Jelačić, said allegations about killing of witnesses were untrue.^[21]

Geoffrey Nice, the ICTY prosecutor in the Milošević case, wrote in a column in Koha Ditore that at least three experienced prosecution lawyers advised Del Ponte against indicting Ramush Haradinaj since it could not be proved he was guilty.^[22]

On 25 April 2008 the ICTY officially opened indictments against Astrit Haraqija and his councilor Bajrush Morina for contempt of court in Haradinaj's case. According to the indictment, Astrit Haracija who back then was Kosovo Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport and a member of “Defence committee for Ramush Haradinaj”, has paid for the trip of Morina, then's editor of the Pristina daily Bota Sot, to the country where witness under protection P.W. resided and attempted to intimidate him not to witness at the trial.^[23] Harqija was acquitted on appeal.^[24]

On 1 May 2008 the ICTY prosecutors under Serge Brammertz officially lodged an appeal to Haradinaj's verdict, before the 3 May deadline expired. The prosecutors also lodged appeals against the acquitting verdict of Haradinaj's cooperatives Idriz Balaj and Lahi Bahrimaj, the latter of whom was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

In 2009, The Trial, a feature-length documentary on Haradinaj's trial at the ICTY was produced and released.^[25] The film premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2009.^[26]

Second trial[link]

After an appeal, the ICTY had decided to partially repeat the process against Haradinaj, issuing on 19 June 2010 a warrant for arrest. On 21 July 2010 Haradinaj was arrested again and transferred to the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a repeat trial:^[27] according to Hague tribunal president Patrick Robinson the original trial had been marred by witness intimidation.^[28]Some international lawyers have expressed concern over the order of the retrial.^[29]

Biography[link]

His early life and war years are described in a book-length dialogue between Haradinaj and author Bardh Hamzaj published by Zëri Biblioteka Publicistike in Pristina, in 2000) entitled A Narrative about War and Freedom. ( A second book, The peace of the General: the end of War, due to be published in English in early 2007, describes the post-war period when Haradinaj was central to the international intervention in Kosovo, the disbanding of the insurgent Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the beginnings of parallel political institutions within the region.

Family and life[link]

Ramush Haradinaj is married to the RTK news reporter Anita Haradinaj, they have two young children (a boy and a girl). Anita Haradinaj is a senior announcer of Kosovo's most watched and respected newscast.

Haradinaj has five brothers. Two of them, Luan and Shkelzën, were killed as officers of the Kosovo Liberation Army during the fights with the Serbian security forces. His brother Daut Haradinaj served a five-year sentence in Kosovo for unlawful killings of fellow Albanians during the Kosovo War of 1999. His brother Enver was killed in a drive-by shootout in Kosovo in April 2005 [3]. The youngest brother Frashër was still a student as of 2007 and worked in the service of the now former Provisional Institutions of Self-Government.

Haradinaj's uncle Lahi Brahimaj, who stood accused together with Haradinaj for war crimes before the ICTY, was found guilty of torture and was sentenced for a prison term by the same court [4].

His father, mother and younger remaining siblings still reside in the family home in the community of Glodjane.

Notes[link]

References[link]