The Albanian police have detained a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighter after an Interpol request for his arrest filed by Serbia.
Hysni Gucati, the head of the KLA veterans organization announced on Sunday that former fighter Murtez Kastrati was detained in Albania over Serbia’s request with Interpol. He warned KLA veterans to avoid travelling to Albania.
A few hours later, Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said she had discussed the issue with her Albanian counterpart, and announced that the former fighter had been released before their phone call.
Kosovo’s Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla blamed Serbia for the detention, and slammed the ongoing dialogue:
“It is unacceptable how Serbia falsely claims “constructiveness” towards Kosovo internationally, while it continues illegal actions against Kosovo as soon as the doors of the so-called dialogue are closed,” she wrote on Facebook.
She claimed that Albania does not have a list of Kosovo war veterans. Hence, in theory, they are all at risk of being detained in the country at the request of Serbia.
Blaming Serbia once again, the minister promised “close cooperation” with Albania’s counterpart Gent Cakaj to avoid “humiliation and mistreatment of Albanians due to Serbia’s illegitimate and illegal request.” The two ministers will start work to provide Albania with names of KLA veterans in order to avoid future detentions, according to Haradinaj-Stublla.
In 2014, at the initiative of Prime Ministers Edi Rama and Hashim Thaci, the two governments launched their first joint meeting in Prizren, Kosovo, one of the landmark cities of Albanian patriotism. Many such meetings have regularly occurred since then in Albania and Kosovo. Agreements in several areas have been signed and promises have been made in patriotic speeches by prime ministers, assuring the public that people on both sides of the border are one nation.
Nevertheless, 21 years after the Kosovo war, Albania seems not to have a list of KLA veterans to check them against Serbia’s Interpol arrest and extradition requests.
