KLA Is Peacekeepers Big Challenge
By JEFFREY ULBRICH Associated Press Writer
PARTES, Yugoslavia (AP) - Col. Kenneth Glueck led his American Marines
into a cauldron of
hatreds where ethnic Albanians had suffered horribly at the hands of
the Serbs. His challenge now is
preventing the victims from exacting brutal revenge.
After thousands of ethnic Albanians were killed and hundreds of thousands
more were driven from
their homes by a Serb rampage, it is now Serb civilians who live in
fear. The rebel Kosovo
Liberation Army is showing every sign of wanting revenge, even though
its leader has signed a
demilitarization pact with NATO.
The Marines and other foreign troops must stop them.
``My biggest surprise has been the KLA,'' said Glueck, 47, commander
of the 2,000-man 26th
Marine Expeditionary Unit, reflecting on his first week in Kosovo.
``There has been a certain amount
of cooperation, but also a certain amount of belligerence.''
Now that President Slobodan Milosevic has withdrawn his estimated 40,000
army troops and police
from the province, NATO's forces, including Glueck's Marines, are attempting
to fill the vacuum and
try to bring peace to a tiny piece of Europe that has known only strife
for years.
The cardinal rule is to be evenhanded. That's not always easy when much
of the world - and most of
these Marines - believe the real culprits are the Serbs.
As Kosovo Albanian refugees begin to return to their devastated homes,
the KLA - largely ragtag
bands of guerrillas who have been fighting for independence - is trying
to impose its authority and is
pushing the international force to the limit.
Glueck's instructions are to disarm everybody. The KLA didn't wait long
to put those instructions to
the test.
The Marines had barely moved into their sector when more than 100 heavily
armed KLA fighters
marched up to a checkpoint and announced they planned to march through
to Gnjilane, the largest
town in this southeast corner of Kosovo.
The Marines said no. The KLA unit leader said he was going forward whether
they liked it or not.
The Marines brought in more forces. The KLA got ready to deploy in
combat formation. Daylong
negotiations proved fruitless. Finally, Glueck declared negotiations
over, arrested the leaders and
told the rest to give up their arms or be obliterated. They complied,
and marched on unarmed, red
flag still proudly flying.
The next day, a group of angry Serbs rushed to another Marine checkpoint
in the same area and
demanded protection, saying the KLA had badly beaten two of their number.
``You made the security leave, now you have to replace it,'' shouted one.
Another, Jovica Maximovic from the town of Pasjane, said more and more
Serbs were packing up
and leaving and pleaded with the Marines to help stop the exodus. In
this small region, around 40
percent of the population is Serb.
An estimated 50,000 Serb civilians have fled the region despite appeals
from Yugoslav officials that
they remain and Belgrade's efforts to force Serb refugees to return
to the province.
``The Serbs are now portraying themselves as the victims,'' said Glueck.
``But they are pretty well
armed for victims. I think they have a lot of arms hidden.''
Capt. James D. Davis, commander of a company of Marines, says he is
optimistic that the Kosovo
Albanians can be appeased.
``It's going to take a bit of time for some of the wounds to heal, though,''
he said. ``With the
Albanians feeling that the Serbs pretty much raped them of their homes
and their families and their
way of life, they're not going to forget that overnight.''
Glueck looks on Gnjilane, with its mixed Serb-Albanian population, as
a model city. If life there can
return to normal, then it probably can be managed elsewhere.
So far, however, peace has been shaky. Shots continue to ring out every
day. There are shootings,
killings.
``It's still pretty volatile,'' the colonel acknowledged.
The KLA has been asserting its authority throughout Kosovo in the days
since NATO's air
campaign against Yugoslavia ended. In some cases they have taken over
towns and are providing
police functions.
