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Victory in Kosovo has not brought law and order - far from it. Despite the best endeavours of Nato's occuping army, violence, lawlessness and disorder are rife and the establishment of a United Nations police force is a long way behind schedule. Two months after British troops entered Pristina, anarchy is taking hold and the chances of setting up a responsible civilian administration are remote. Unless the situation improves quickly, Nato's military success may turn into a political catastrophe, with General Sir Mike Jackson and his 7,000 British soldiers in the middle of it.
The difficulty of dealing with the Kosovo Liberation Army was recognised when Nato began its air campaign to free their province from Serbian control. The KLA's attitude since Slobodan Milosevic pulled out has fully justified such fears. KLA commanders have exploited the vacuum left by the Serbian withdrawal with scant regard for civil rights or the promises they made. They have rejected reconciliation with Serbs who remain in Kosovo and they have claimed the right to govern by force of arms. They have seized property from its rightful owners, both Serbian and Albanian, and have intimidated anyone who resists. They have held on to many of their heavy weapons, which they should have surrendered. Faced with such mayhem, and unequipped for police duties, Nato appears to be indulging the KLA.
Ibrahim Rugova, the figurehead of Kosovo's moderates, has missed his opportunity. A KLA leader has appointed himself provisional prime minister and made his cronies ministers. All that stands in the way of a complete KLA takeover is Nato and the UN. Nato's 30,000 troops are there, but where is the UN? How soon will it honour its promise to provide 3,000 trained and armed police? So far, only 500 or so have arrived and there is not a single policeman on the beat. As the KLA entrenches itself further, the danger grows of Kosovo heading towards the same lawless shambles that now blights Albania.
That was not part of Nato's strategy. The West's aim was to rescue Kosovo from Milosevic, give it a democratic constitution and hold free elections. It will soon be time for its farmers to sow their next crop. Nato and the UN must act fast if they are to prevent a harvest of wrath.