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Will the KLA demilitarise?

One minute to midnight on Wednesday is the deadline for the agreement by the Kosovo Liberation Army to demilitarise.

This is an important milestone. By that time the KLA is meant to have handed over virtually all its prohibited weapons.

That is, all guns of 12.7mm or more, anti-tanks and anti-aircraft weapons, grenades, mines and explosives.

It must hand in 30% of all automatic small arms by the deadline. And ammunition for all remaining weapons must be stored at an approved site.

Within 90 days the KLA is meant to have completed its demilitarisation, but this 30-day deadline is clearly a key test.

In public at least, Nato says it is generally satisfied so far.

A joint implementation commission, made up of senior K-For and KLA commanders, will assess the results once the deadline has passed. Until then Nato is saying nothing more.

Privately though, diplomats are suggesting the results are mixed and that it may require a sensitive political judgement on what to conclude.

Illegal arms caches

Clearly things are much better than they were. KLA fighters have not been parading in uniform to the extent they were in the early days following Nato's arrival in Kosovo. Weapons are being handed in.

But there continues to be incidents where KLA members have mounted illegal checkpoints and K-For troops continue to find illegal caches of arms.

Nato openly admits it does not know how many weapons the KLA has, raising doubts in some sceptics' minds about the value of the accord.

But from a political point of view, it was clearly important that Nato should seek some form of undertaking from the KLA to demilitarise and it was also considered significant that KLA Commander-In-Chief Hashim Thaci was prepared relatively easily to offer a demilitarisation process.

This was considered by the West to be a considerable act of good faith.

The questions always were how the deal would be implemented and whether the KLA leadership was really in a position to deliver it.

Serb exodus

Clearly there has been a need to reassure the Kosovo Serbs in order to halt, and if possible, reverse their exodus, which began as the Serb forces moved out and the Nato peacekeepers moved in.

In that sense, Nato is anxious to be seen to be implementing the KLA agreement as rigorously as it did the agreement of the Serb withdrawal.

It is accepted that a degree of KLA co-operation is necessary given that Nato does not know what its full armoury amounts to and it would be difficult for Nato to make a judgement that would threaten the agreement if progress is clearly being made.

But equally clearly considerable pressure is being put on the KLA to honour its undertakings.

However, even if this deadline passes satisfactorily there are long term tensions still to be resolved over the KLA's future - the extent to which it will be transformed into a political movement and just how prominent a role it might play in a national guard for Kosovo.

On this the views of Nato and the international community generally on the one hand, and some KLA members on the other, remain far apart.

Relevant Stories

KLA weapons deadline looms (21 Jul 99 | Europe)
Serb exodus warning (20 Jul 99 | Europe)
Moves to ease Yugoslav sanctions (19 Jul 99 | Europe)
Rebuilding Kosovo: ministers talk money (13 Jul 99 | Europe)
Serbia's silent refugee crisis (12 Jul 99 | Europe)
UN appoints Kosovo chief (02 Jul 99 | Europe)

Internet Links

United Nations in Kosovo
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
UN High Commissioner for Refugees - Kosovo update
Kosovo Crisis Centre
Serbian Ministry of Information

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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