Former Kosovo PM , Agim Ceku, Arrested in Bulgaria for War Crimes

[Magda Hassan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8116158.stm

Page last updated at 07:48 GMT, Wednesday, 24 June 2009 08:48 UK

Bulgaria arrests former Kosovo PM
Agim Ceku
Agim Ceku was expelled from Colombia last month

A former Kosovo prime minister, Agim Ceku, has been arrested in
Bulgaria on an international warrant issued by Serbia for alleged war
crimes.

The Bulgarian interior ministry said Mr Ceku was detained as he
crossed the border from Macedonia and a court would consider his case
in the next few days.

Serbia accuses Mr Ceku of committing war crimes in 1998-99.

At the time he was commander of the ethnic-Albanian Kosovo Liberation
Army (KLA), which was fighting Serbia.

He has dismissed the charges as politically motivated, and says the
arrest warrant has no legal basis.

He was arrested at the Qustendil border crossing between Bulgaria and
Macedonia on Tuesday evening.

Last month Mr Ceku was expelled from Colombia, after Serbia urged his
arrest, but later he transited France en route to the Balkans.

He had previously been detained in 2006 in Slovenia and Hungary.

Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. Ethnic Albanians form
the overwhelming majority of the population.

The US and more than 50 other countries have recognised its
independence, but more than 100 have not, including Serbia and Russia.

[Magda Hassan]

Sofia News Agency
June 25, 2009

US, UK, France Press Bulgaria for Ceku Release - Report

Bulgaria is under huge pressure from official representatives of the United States, Britain and France, who demand the immediate release of former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, Belgrade-based Danas newspaper claims.
....
Agim Ceku was arrested in Bulgaria on an international warrant issued by Serbia for alleged war crimes.

The Bulgarian interior ministry said Ceku was detained as he crossed the border from Macedonia and a court would consider his case in the next few days.

Serbia accuses Ceku of committing war crimes in 1998-99.

At the time he was commander of the ethnic-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which was fighting Serbia.

He has dismissed the charges as politically motivated, and says the arrest warrant has no legal basis.

He was arrested at the Qustendil border crossing between Bulgaria and Macedonia on Tuesday evening.

Last month Ceku was expelled from Colombia, after Serbia urged his arrest, but later he transited France en route to the Balkans.

He had previously been detained in 2006 in Slovenia and Hungary.

Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. Ethnic Albanians form the overwhelming majority of the population.

The US and more than 50 other countries have recognised its independence, but more than 100 have not, including Serbia and Russia.

[Peter Presland]

No surprises their then.

Several MSM sources reported yesterday that Bulgaria was 'Under severe pressure from US, UK France to release him.

From Al Jazeera:

Bulgaria releases Kosovo ex-PM
Ceku said the charges against him were 'ridiculous' [AFP] Bulgaria has released Agim Ceku, the former Kosovo prime minister, who was arrested in the country on Tuesday on a warrant from Serbia, where he is wanted on war crimes charges.
Ceku walked free on Thursday after a prolonged hearing into whether or not Sofia should extend his detention, and has been asked to remain in Bulgaria until July 2, in case the prosecution appeals against his release.
Ceku said: "I have had an opportunity for the first time to see the charges by Serbia and the Interpol arrest warrant. The charges are really ridiculous.
"Serbia has cheated and told lies to Interpol with invented and untrue information."
'Political' decision
Slobodan Homen, a Serbian justice ministry official, said the decision to release Ceku from detention was a "political one".
"Once again, politics overcome international law," Homen told the state-run Tanjug news agency.
He said that Ceku would be "sooner or later available to Serbia's justice" and that "our ministry is still awaiting official information from our Bulgarian counterparts and an explanation why Ceku has been released".
Ceku was detained on an Interpol arrest warrant at the Gyueshevo border checkpoint near Kyustendil on Tuesday night, while he was entering Bulgaria from Macedonia.
Serbia has since officially requested his extradition, while Kosovo insisted that Ceku be released.
Belgrade's claim to have Ceku extradited was backed by Amnesty International, the UK-based human rights organisation, which "called upon the Bulgarian authorities to extradite promptly Agim Ceku to Serbia ... to face trial on war crimes charges".
Handcuffs
The former premier and one-time military chief of Kosovo's Liberation Army of ethnic-Albanian fighters had been brought to the court on Thursday, heavily guarded and in handcuffs.

Ceku was formerly military chief of Kosovo's Liberation Army [AFP] Clad in an offical black suit and a tie, he told the court that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague had already investigated crimes in the region and identified the people responsible for them. Addressing the court, he said: "No charges were raised against me. I am not a Serbian national and never was.
"Serbia cannot request the extradition of foreign nationals [other than] its own."
Bulgarian media reported that his lawyers had presented the court with a letter from Hashim Thaci, the Kosovo premier, confirming that Ceku is a member of Kosovo's diplomatic community.
They also tabled a written statement from the United Nations, saying that the detained person was under the jurisdiction of the UN's interim administration in Kosovo.
Colombia detention
Ceku was prime minister of Kosovo in the two years leading up to the disputed territory's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008.
He is wanted by Serbia for war crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo during the 1998 to 1999 war with Serbia.
Belgrade says Ceku's fighters killed 669 Serbs and 18 non-Albanians during the fighting.
It also accuses him of separate charges over his time as a leader in the Croatian army during that former Yugoslav republic's 1991 to 1995 independence war.
The Serbian indictments were issued in 2002, leading to Ceku's detention in Colombia earlier this year and in Slovenia and Hungary in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Serbia has rejected Kosovo's declaration as a breach of international law and has said it will never recognise an independent Kosovo.

We can't have uppity junior NATO/EU aspirants exercising sovereignty over who they judge worthy of War crimes charges now can we? International law? - what's that?

[Jan Klimkowski]

Ceku is Their drug baron and people trafficker.

Wtf did the Bulgarians think it was OK to arrest Their guy on an Interpol warrant for horrendous war crimes?

Jeez - those Bulgarians really don't get it.

Camp Bondsteel is a US/Halliburton sovereign state & spying post in Europe.

Kosovo is a drug, guns & people trafficking conduit to fund black operations.

The KLA are freedom fighters, not terrorists.

Agim Ceku is a made man. He can't be touched.

If Bulgaria wants western aid, its politicians and judges need to wake up and get with the programme.

Weren't the Bulgarians listening to Miliband minor?

The situation in Kosovo is unique given its history and the extent of Security Council involvement over the last 9 years. The international legal framework for Kosovo stems from UN Security Council Resolution 1244 adopted in 1999. That resolution created a political process as well as establishing an international regime for Kosovo within the territory of Serbia.

http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/miliband/...s_it_legal

Get that, muppets? Kosovo is "unique".

:eek:

I despair at Their brazenness.

[Magda Hassan]

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=105187

Sofia News Agency
June 30, 2009

Former Kosovo PM Ceku Free to Move in, outside Bulgaria

-Ceku was traveling to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Atlantic Club, a non-governmental organization, to lobby for NATO membership, the club's honorary president and Bulgaria's former Foreign Minister Solomon Passy said.

Bulgaria's prosecutors have not challenged the decision of a district court to release Kosovo's former prime minister two days after he was detained on an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia for alleged war crimes.

The district court in the western city of Kyustendil decided to release Agim Ceku from custody on Thursday. The ruling was to be appealed within three days and, pending completion of the legal process, Ceku remained available to Bulgarian authorities.

The expiration of the deadline for appeal practically means that Ceku now is free to move inside Bulgaria and leave it at his wish.

Belgrade has warned Sofia that its decision to release Kosovo's former prime minister will hurt bilateral relations.

Ceku, a former rebel commander who was prime minister of Kosovo between 2006 and 2008, is wanted in Serbia for allegedly committing war crimes during the 1998-1999 fighting in Kosovo between ethnic Albanian rebels and Serb government forces.

Ceku was arrested while entering Bulgaria from Macedonia late Tuesday and on the next day Serbia filed an extradition request with the Bulgarian authorities.

Ceku was traveling to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Atlantic Club, a non-governmental organization, to lobby for NATO membership, the club's honorary president and Bulgaria's former Foreign Minister Solomon Passy said.

Last month Ceku was expelled from Colombia, after Serbia urged his arrest, but later he transited France en route to the Balkans.

He had previously been detained in 2006 in Slovenia and Hungary.

Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. Ethnic Albanians form the overwhelming majority of the population.

The US and more than 50 other countries have recognised its independence, but more than 100 have not, including Serbia and Russia.

[Magda Hassan]

The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria. And I never knew Bulgaria was on the Atlantic lol. The usual rogues gallery appears below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Club_of_Bulgaria

Atlantic Club of Bulgaria


[/url]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ACB-Logo.png]
Club's logo


The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria is a non-governmental, non-partisan organization dedicated to fostering the common values of the Euro-Atlantic community.

Mission

Originally formed in 1990 around the pro-NATO lobby in the first post-Cold War Bulgarian Parliament, and officially established on 4 April 1991, the Atlantic Club has grown to include members from all walks of life: government, academia, military, business and media. The Club works to promote Bulgaria’s integration with and role in the Atlantic Alliance, and all Euro-Atlantic political, security, economic and other structures. Within Bulgaria, the Atlantic Club serves the broader purpose of supporting democracy, human rights, free market economy and rule of law.

Public lectures

The Club’s activities focus primarily on raising public awareness about security and international affairs. The list of distinguished guest speakers includes the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Lech Walesa, Shimon Peres, Mikhail Gorbachev and the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet. A number of heads of states and governments have addressed the Club, such as Tony Blair, Romano Prodi, Mesut Yilmaz, Bülent Ecevit, José María Aznar, Lyubcho Georgievski, Mikulas Dzurinda, Mircea Snegur, Mário Soares, Ion Iliescu, Adrian Năstase, Stjepan Mesić, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Vladimír Špidla, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Alfred Moisiu, Fatos Nano, Pascal Couchepin, and Bulgaria’s Georgi Parvanov, Petar Stoyanov, Zhelyu Zhelev, Sergey Stanishev, Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Ivan Kostov and Zhan Videnov, Secretaries General of WEU Wim van Eekelen and Jose Cutileiro, as well as Council of Europe Secretaries General Daniel Tarschys and Walter Schwimmer, President of European Parliament Pat Cox and other prominent EU leaders. NATO Secretaries General Dr. Manfred Wörner, Dr. Javier Solana, Lord George Robertson and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, a number of NATO Supreme Allied Commanders Europe (SACEURs), and foreign and defense ministers and high ranking military commanders from various countries have also spoke before the Club.
The Atlantic Club initiated a national committee that organized the visit of Pope John Paul II to Bulgaria in 2002, and also co-hosted the mass rally for U.S. President Bill Clinton who visited Sofia in 1999, and another one for US Secretary of State Colin Powell in 2003.

Research and policy promotion

In its think-tank capacity the Atlantic Club sponsors round tables, seminars and conferences on a wide variety of topics, and is a leading partner in the Security Sector Reform Coalition formed by Bulgarian NGOs to develop strategic reports on key policy issues in the field of foreign and security policy, and defense reform and modernization.
In 1998 the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria was awarded the annual Manfred Wörner Fellowship by NATO to develop a strategic study entitled NATO’s Global Mission in the 21st Century.
The Club has contributed greatly to initiating and carrying out the public debate, opinion making and policy advocacy in times of crises, starting with ensuring of Bulgarian support for the Allied liberation of Kuwait in 1991, through the wars and post-war reconstruction in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Outreach

The Atlantic Club was the first Atlantic NGO outside NATO — founded on Warsaw Pact territory actually — and the first non-NATO member (since 1992) of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA), and has assisted in the establishment of Atlantic associations in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, most recently in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Asian, African and South American countries. In particular, the Club holds an annual Bulgarian-Afghanistan NATO Week, and a Bulgarian-Iraqi NATO Week, organized jointly with the Afghanistan Council for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and the Atlantic Club of Iraq respectively.

Other activities

The Atlantic Club is active in other fields like sustainable development, aerospace and Antarctic research, as well as market economy studies, respectively as a co-founder of the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute and the Economic Policy Institute, Sofia.
The Club raised the funds, and jointly with the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute organized the resumption of Bulgaria’s Antarctic activities in 1993, the upgrading of the Bulgarian refuge on Livingston Island and its redesignation as St. Kliment Ohridski Base, as well as the construction of a new main building of the base started during the 1995/96 season.

Structure

An important part of the Club’s network is its International Board of Directors comprising prominent individuals from Bulgaria, Europe and North America working for Atlanticism or humanism in general. The organization has regional chapters in Burgas, Dospat and Sarnitsa, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Plovdiv, Ruse, Varna and Yambol, and is associated with the NATO Information Center in Sofia, the Bulgarian Euro-Atlantic Youth Club, and the Manfred Wörner Foundation.
The Founding President (1991-2001) and Honorary President of the Club (since 2001) is Dr. Solomon Passy. The present Chairman and CEO of the Atlantic Club is Dr. Lyubomir Ivanov.

Honours

The Atlantic Club bestows its Golden Award for outstanding personal contribution to promoting Atlantic values, solidarity and cooperation.
The Club has sponsored the naming of Manfred Wörner Street, Atlantic Square, Atlantic Alliance Plaza, Atlantic Hall, NATO Park-Plaza, Atlantic Optical Plant, and Atlantic Solidarity Square by the relevant authorities of Sofia, Haskovo, Sandanski, Plovdiv, Dospat, Panagyurishte and Varna respectively.
In recognition of the organization’s contribution to fostering Atlantic values, the President of Bulgaria has named a geographical feature in Antarctica for the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, namely the Atlantic Club Ridge on Livingston Island.

Publications


Bezmer Guide

• S. Popov et al., NATO's Global Mission in the 21st Century, Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2000
  
• J. Bugajski and B. Tashev eds., Early warning and policy perspectives in the Trans-Atlantic security agenda: Central and East European point of view, NI Plus Publishing House, Sofia, 2005, ISBN 954-90437-7-0
  
• L. Ivanov and P. Pantev eds., The Joint Bulgarian-American Military Facilities: Public opinion and strategic, political, economic, and environmental aspects, NI Plus Publishing House, Sofia, 2006 (in Bulgarian)
  
• L. Ivanov ed., Bulgaria: Bezmer and adjacent regions — Guide for American military, Multiprint Ltd., Sofia, 2007, ISBN 978-954-90437-8-5
  

See also

• Atlantic Council
  
• Atlantic Treaty Association
  
• Manfred Wörner Foundation
  

References

• Atlantic Club of Bulgaria
  

[Jan Klimkowski]

Magda - great digging re: the self-styled Atlantic Club.

The entire brazen farce reminds me of the scene in Scorsese's The Departed where Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is in a seedy bar, and has just thumped a guy who took the mickey out of him. Mr French (Ray Winstone), Mafioso boss Costello's top muscle, intervenes:

Mr. French: Do you know me?
Billy Costigan: No... No.
Mr. French: Well, I'm the guy who tells you there's guys you can hit and guys you can't. Now, that's not quite a guy you can't hit, but he's almost a guy you can't hit. So I'm gonna make a fuckin' ruling on this right now: you don't fucking hit him. You understand?