B92, Belgrade
December 5, 2004

Haradinaj to remain PM

BELGRADE, PRISTINA -- Sunday - The UN Mission in Kosovo denied the Serbian
government's appeal to relieve Ramus Haradinaj of his position as Kosovo
Prime Minister.

Following an extraordinary meeting held on Saturday night, Serbian officials
contacted UN officials in Kosovo and asked them to repeal the election of
Haradinaj, because of the strong possibility that he may be indicted by the
international war crimes tribunal in Hague very soon.

Serbian officials agreed at the meeting that with Haradinaj, who is a former
leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, heading the regional government, the
legitimacy of discussions regarding the final status of Kosovo would be
sacrificed.

UNMIK representative Jeff Billy said that Haradinaj's appointment was "the
decision of the legitimate body of the Kosovo parliament, which followed
democratic procedures." and that "UNMIK will respect those procedures."

"It's a question of respecting the political process in Kosovo. There were
people against Haradinaj's election as a parliamentary representative, but
now he was legally elected to be prime minister." Billy said.

He added that Kosovo governor Soeren Jessen Petersen and his international
team will monitor the work of Haradinaj's cabinet to see whether he is
prepared to carry out standards in Kosovo.

Presidential advisor for matters concerning Kosovo, Branko Radujko, said
that today's decision by UNMIK shows that the missions chief, Petersen, is
not strong enough to take care of problems in Kosovo.

"The fact that a political agreement in Pristina is the reason that
Haradinaj was elected, says that nothing has changed from the time in Kosovo
when dialogue was led with guns and scopes. Today's reaction is on the other
hand, a sign that Petersen is just another in a string of special
representatives of the UN general secretary in Kosovo that has lost his
steam quickly and will not succeed in carrying out standards in Kosovo,
regardless of the reports he writes up. It's tragic to see someone, in the
name of the UN, announce their support for someone who is being investigated
by The Hague Tribunal." Radujko said.

He expects Petersen to be replaced if Haradinaj remains prime minister, but
also criticized the Serbian government for not reaction a month ago, when
the possibility of Haradinaj becoming prime minister was announced.

"Serbia cannot have any success if it only reacts to things that have
already happened. It is good that the government did react, but we must take
up a more active role in Kosovo. We will not be able to cooperate with the
temporary institutions which Haradinaj leads, nor will any of the Kosovo
Serbs representatives be able to participate in the work of these
institutions and this will be an immediate problem." Radujko said.

Former Justice Minister Vladan Batic presented evidence against Haradinaj
concern war crimes today, which he had forwarded to the Tribunal while he
was still minister.

Batic said that Haradinaj commanded the Kosovo Liberation Army in the
Dukadjini operative zone, where according to Batic, the greatest and most
monstrous crimes against non-Albanians were committed and said that 400,000
pages worth of documentation of the crimes exist.

"According to our statistics, Ramus Haradinaj committed 67 murders, ordered
at least 267 and organized the kidnapping of at least 400 people." Batic
said.