* Kosovo
UcK
Who are the KLA?
Tha Vacau lihoration Army The Kosovo Liberation Army has grown rapidly, and attracted the support of many young emigres and refugees. But little is known about the group, and how close it remams to its left-wing origins.
According to Michael Karadjis of Green Left Weekly, "Part of the Kosovo Liberation Army's core derives from 'Marxist-Leninist' Kosovan resistance forces which fought Belgrade's repressive rule in the 1980s, and had links with Albania's Stalinist regime. In particular, it appears to have connections with the National Movement of Kosova, which was formed in 1982."
There are also connections to the Red Front which developed in the 1980s in Kosovo and among emigrants in Germany. Inspired by Enva Hoxha's Albania, the group called for an Albanian-speaking Kosovo Republic inside the Yugoslav federation. According to reports in the German left daily Junge Welt, 80 leading members were assassinated in Germany in the 1980s by Yugoslav secret service, with the help of the German authorities. This eliminated most of the left wing, Maoist, leaders of the Albanian resistance.
Those that remained were among the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (known by its Albanian initials, UCK) in the mid-90s. The most important founding group was the Kosovo People's Movement (LPK). They organised the 2 International Viewpoint #312 June 1999 money-raising and worked out the theory and strategy of the liberation struggle. It seems that by this time the UCK was not, or no longer, a Maoist movement.
In 1997 the 300 members of UCK launched several attacks on the Serbian Police. Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the massive "Ghandian" civil disobedience movement and "President" of Kosova in an unofficial 1991 referendum, called the UCK a Serbian attempt "to provoke violence and justify even greater repression." Albania's ex-president Sali Berisha made similar allegations.
In response, one pro UCK source protested that "Rugova and his clan are the biggest land owners in Kosovo and the biggest bourgeois family. The Rugova clan is, in general terms, a classic comprador bourgeoisie."
In any case, the Kosovar population was increasingly frustrated after 10 years of civil disobedience had failed to bring concessions from Serbia. According to Karadjis, "while the system of 'parallel institutions' was providing Albanians with basic services denied them by the Serb state, the feeling was growing that this policy only perpetuated Serbia's apartheid policies, paid for by doubletaxing the Albanian masses. Radical politics
"By 1996, a section of the political leadership, headed by Adem Demaqi, who had spent 28 years in a Serbian prison, began agitating for a change of strategy. For Demaqi and his Kosova Parliamentary Party, engagement with genuine Serbian opposition forces was more important than the hopeless goal of attracting Western attention.
This was handicapped by the fact that the major bourgeois Serbian opposition forces had a line on Kosova either identical to, or more extreme than, Milosevic's.
However, in a 1997 "Serbian-Albanian dialogue" organised by the Serbian Helsinki Human Rights Committee, considerable support among antinationalist Serbs was expressed for Demaqi's idea that a Republic of Kosovo, on gaining self-determination, could enter into a new and equal federation with Serbia and Montenegro. He called this concept "Balkania"
Demaqi recognised that many non-nationalist Serbs had at least a nostalgic attatchment to the multi-national model of Tito's Yugoslavia. He also argued that anti-Albanian and great-Serb prejudices were central elements of the ideological base of the Milosevic regime. "The same mechanism which keeps by sheer violence both Albanians and other peoples in captivity, has been hindering democratisation in Serbia for 100 years"
By mid-1998, the KLA had appointed Demaqi's party as its political leadership, in opposition to the Rugova line. Branches of his party throughout Kosova merged with the KLA. While coming from varied backgrounds, these forces had in common the view that Kosovans needed to rely on their own forces. Escalation
In early 1998, Serbian extremists massacred members of the Jashari clan, many of whom supported the UCK. This provoked a rapid growth in sympathy with and support for the UCK. In several weeks an organisation of 300 grow to a loose movement of 30,000. It became increasingly impossible for the LPK to control the new mass guerrilla movement.
Many Rugova supporters flooded into the UCK. According to Karadjis, "Volunteers, arms and money have also come from the 600,000 Albanians working in Germany and Switzerland."
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FORCED M age forcé state in 1997, a lot of weapons came onto the market, and many were brought accross the border into Kosovo.
The Canadian writer Michel Chossudovsky claims that "Arms smuggling from Albania into Kosovo and Macedonia started at the beginning of 1992, when the Democratic Party came to power, headed by President Sali Berisha.
"An expansive underground economy and cross border trade had unfolded. A triangular trade in oil, arms and narcotics had developed largely as a result of the embargo imposed by the international community on Serbia and Montenegro and the blockade enforced by Greece against Macedonia."
Some returning Kosovars were inspired by the left-wing migre circles in Germany and Switzerland. Others were influenced by right wing emigre groups in the United States. These latter groups provided not only funds, but the necessary contacts and introductions to the US secret services and media. How strong?
According to Samary "it is impossible to estimate the size of the UCK, or the number of emigrants who are returning to enlist. But the guerrillas are certainly popular among Kosovars abroad. Inside Kosova, in the run-up to the Rambouillet talks, the UCK was steadily gaining support, though it was obviously divided between currents closer to Rugova, and more radical groups."
Left observers disagree about the effectiveness and presence of the UCK within Kosovo. According to Samary, "the UCK has clearly been unable to protect the population or to organise effective resistance. What little news we have does not indicate clearly whether or not Kosovars have massively participated in the Armed struggle at all."
Karadjis, however, claims that "by mid-1998, the UCK had taken control of substantial sections of central Kosova.
However, without a growing supply of arms, many of these gains were rolled back by the [Serb] occupation forces by October.
There is little doubt, however, that the UCK resistance corresponded to the feelings of the mass of Kosovars at the time. Thousands of villagers joined the rebels as self-protection from the police and army. "There is no doubt that these groups have the full support of the local population", writes Albanian journalist Fehim Rexhepi. The Kosovar political spectrum
According to Samary, "the UCK has had a difficult relationship with the various Kosovar political parties, particularly with the more moderate factions influenced by Rugova. Despite growing frustrations with Rugova's moderation and 'hegemonic methods, few Kosovars responded to the UCK and radical groups' call for a boycott of the parallel elections last March."
Despite this growing unrest, Rugova went to Rambouillet enjoying a considerable level of prestige among the Kosova population. By including the UCK in the Kosovar delegation to Rambouillet, politicians like Rugova hoped to assert a political control over the fighters. The actual result was the opposite. The UCK's radicalism influenced the rest of the delegation.
The Kosovar delegates agreed to form a "provisional government" including Rugova's LDK, the UCK, and the United Democratic Movement (a regroupment of Rugova's opponents). UCK spokesman Adem Demaci was to be became Prime Minister.
But Demaci had refused to participate in the Rambouillet negotiations, and he now refused to participate in "a government which has neither legitimacy nor any legal base to represent the Albanians of Kosova."
The exact motives of those concerned are still unclear. As the talks collapsed, contents
Kosovo, NATO, Serbia
2 Who are the KLA?
• Mark Johnson
5 The Serbian opposition
• Catherine Samary
8 European left responses
• François Vercammen
10 NATO or neutrality?
• Gerry Adams
11 Dissolve NATO
• Against the Currents (USA)
14 North American opposition europe
15 Italy's Communists
• Livio Maitan
16
Iceland: left greens
• Einar Olafsson
17
Britain: anti-racist conference special report on Brazil
18
Democratic and popular government in Rio Grande do Sul state • Mark Johnson
20
Inherited debt (document)
22
Participation, education
• Raul Pont
23
The people, the party, and the participatory budget
• Mark Johnson
24 The "In defence of Brazil"
campaign americas
11 Dissolve NATO
14
North American opposition to NATO bombing
25
Paraguay: Popular struggle
• Ernesto Hererra asia
28
East Timor in the balance
• Jon Land
29
Australia: trade union solidarity with East Timor
30
New Zealand: Students reject voluntary union membership • Zanny Begg
31
China: capitalism in the constitution • Zhang Kai debate
24 Debt and human rights
• Eric Toussaint
Southern Africa Jubilee
32 debt summit listings and reviews
Conference listing
34 books: sex race & religion
36
36
Internet
International Viewpoint #312 June 1999 3
* Kosovo and Serbia increased its aggression, Kosovar politics increasingly concentrated on the question of NATO intervention.
In early April, the Voice of Kosova, newspaper of the main UCK faction LPK, still carried its traditional sub-title "long live Marxism-Leninism". Adverts listed the books of Albanian Maoist leaders Enver Hoxha and Ramis Alia. By April 25, the Voice of Kosova headline was "NATO thank you". Inside, there are no left books advertised. More significantly, not one of the old editorial board is listed. Presumably all the new editors are from the right of the party. It would be interesting to know what has happened to their predecessors.
As Samary notes, "NATO support is clearly motivating young people to join the UCK. But it is difficult to say how long this will last.
"On the one hand, the reluctance of Western governments to commit land troops could encourage them (particularly the USA) to support the UCK more directly. Like in Bosnia, the US will seek to identify and build up those local groups which are ready to fight in the
Transformation and regroupment
Regroupments of forces determined to learn the lessons of the historical abomination that was Stalinism and to continue, against the winds and the tides, to fight against capitalism are being realised in a number of countries.
In all the countries where such possibilities exist, the organisations of the Fourth
International are ready to be part of the re-groupment process. We consider this as recomposition of the anti-capitalist left on an important step towards the a world scale.
At the international level, the Fourth International is an active participant in regroupment, bringing with it the advantages of a long tradition of combat against capitalism and Stalinism. *
Price: ES/$10. International Viewpoint, PO Box 27410,
London SW9 9WQ, Britain.
<International [email protected]
4 International Viewpoint #312 June 1999
The economic collapse and civil war in Albania created a power vacuum, in which the UCK could establish camps, win recruits, and acquire weapons. West's interests-like the Croatian and Serb minority. Most UCK-linked websites make no mention of the Serb Bosnian armies. "At the same time, the UCK is in a minority, except to say that it is in the very weak position. The US has already interests of "peace in the Balkans, for criticised the group's intolerant practices, both the Serbs and the Albanians", for which Washington thinks might further the occupation of Kosovo to end. In destabilise the region: things like the Demagi has also urged Kosovars to interdiction of political parties in UCK- support the right of self-determination of controlled zones, threats and violence the Krajina, a part of Croatia from which against moderate Albanians and those over 100,000 Serbs were expelled in the th who refuse to enlist in the UCK, refusal early 1990s. Other UCK leaders have of all dialogue with the Serbs, and the tried to gain weapons from the Croatian recent attempts to set up bases in dictator, Franjo Tudjman. C Macedonia, which is contributing to tensions there. Near to NATO? gr
"The final US position will depend Many UCK guerrillas would like to lit on a number of political and geostrategic become NATO ground troops. On 10 ar factors. But it is far from sure that US April a KLA spokesman told Britain's Sc interests will coincide with those of the Financial Times that "the KLA is also Pe helping NATO by supplying information, Se
There are a range of currents within including bomb damage reports." Tel the UCK. Some call for NATO help but But NATO isn't giving them the tic openly protest that NATO will not give modern weapons or the support that they "C them independence. need. Germany is the imperialist state
Paradoxically, it was the more mili- most willing to run proxy wars in the O1 tarist faction of the UCK which signed Balkans, but the UCK is still on Bonn's the Ramboullet agreement (calling on the list of proscribed "terrorist" organisa- pu UCK to disarm and accept Western tions. German police have banned fund an 'protection' , while Demagi's more raising by radical Albanian groups and C moderate, and more sophisticated current confiscated LPK funds. TI called for continued resistance. To the extent that it has a plan for
Kosova, NATO's vision is a protectorate. et Demaqi falls The western powers will not let Kosovo
In yet another twist, the new UCK join Albania or become independent. leadership say Adem Demaqi is a traitor, Most Kosovars have already realised that Z who will be executed. Demagi's crime NATO cannot and will not help the SC was to oppose the NATO bombings, refugees and displaced persons. Sooner which he called attacks against Serbia or later, significant sections of the UCK "( and the Albanians." He said that "both will surely come into conflict with their th people must act against imperialism." dangerous "allies" in Bonn and ul
Currently hiding in the Slovenian Washington. * capital Ljubljana, Demaci calls for self- determination for Kosovo, with full by rights for the Serbian minority [about * This article was compiled by International Viewpoint at staff writer Mark Johnson, on the basis of reports by 10% at the end of 1998]. "Rosa Liebknecht," (a regular contributor to the m
It is unclear how many UCK the French magazine Critique communiste and Michael German left daily Junge Welt), Catherine Samary of members accept the idea of rights for the Karadjis of the Australian Green Left Weekly.