Ex - Kosovo Leader Leaves Colombia After Expulsion

[Judi Lynn]

May 7, 2009
Ex - Kosovo Leader Leaves Colombia After Expulsion
By REUTERS
Filed at 10:19 a.m. ET

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Thursday he had left Colombia following an expulsion order from the local security agency as he is wanted in Serbia on war crimes charges.

"The Colombian authorities received a request from Serbia asking to arrest me and extradite me to Serbia," Ceku told Reuters by telephone from France.

"This is an illegitimate arrest warrant. I am really surprised that anyone would follow this request and Interpol still is dealing with this when they know that Serbia has no authority over Kosovar citizens."

Serbian authorities had asked their Colombian counterparts to arrest Ceku, but the DAS Columbian state security agency said its agents were restricted by local law from carrying out the detention order.

Ceku arrived in Colombia on May 3 to participate in an international seminar on demobilization and disarmament, the DAS said.

"I received a written order to get out of the country," Ceku said. "I will not be able to go to Colombia for the next 10 years."

Serbia indicted Ceku, a former top commander of Kosovo Albanian guerrillas during the 1998-1999 war, for war crimes against Serbs and other non-Albanians.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia more than a year ago but Belgrade continues to say the region is part of its territory.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/05/07/world/international-us-colombia-ceku.html?_r=1

[Judi Lynn]

1. Colombia Expels Former Kosovo Leader

Colombia Expels Former Kosovo Leader
Pristina | 07 May 2009 |

http://www.setimes.com.nyud.net:8090/cocoon/setimes/images/2007/05/07/BLERTAphoto2.jpg

Agim Ceku

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku has left Colombia after local authorities ordered him to leave the country, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Serbia's Interpol has an international arrest warrant out for the arrest of the ethnic Albanian, formerly one of the leaders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, and after the 1999 conflict one of Kosovo`s prime ministers.

According to Reuters, Ceku has already left Colombia, where he was attending a conference on conflict.

Earlier in Belgrade, Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that Colombia's Interpol office has notified Serbia that Agim Ceku is in that country, B92 reported.

Belgrade wants Ceku arrested as authorities suspect he had committed war crimes against Kosovo's Serbs and other non-Albanians.

Dacic explained today that the Colombian side notified Serbia that the country's laws prevent detention and extradition of foreign nationals wanted for acts committed prior to 2005.

"They asked us to use diplomatic channels to further discuss the possibility of Ceku's detention," Dacic said.

http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/18728/