Experts propose Kosovo army

Experts propose Kosovo army

By Garentina Kraja - The Associated Press

PRISTINA - Western powers and the United Nations should allow Kosovo to create an army as part of resolving the final status of the disputed province, a think-tank said in a report yesterday.
The International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said that the final status determination should outline the steps that will be taken to develop a small Kosovo defense force, which would be limited in its size and capabilities.
The international community “must avoid creating a weak state,” the ICG warned. It proposed that the force should be made up of up to 3,000 personnel and have no tanks, heavy artillery, ground-to-ground missiles or attack aircraft until Kosovo and Serbia have joined NATO’s partnership programs.
Since coming under UN rule in mid-1999, authorities in Kosovo have built a new police force of some 7,000 officers. The province also has a 3,000-strong Kosovo Protection Corps, or KPC, a civil emergency organization, mainly consisting former ethnic Albanian rebels who fought Serb forces during 1998-1999.
The report urged NATO’s 17,000-strong peacekeeping force in charge of the overall security of the province to maintain its presence by providing mainly external protection until relations between Kosovo and Serbia are normalized.
The group said that the army - developed under strict NATO oversight - should be built in part by sucking in members of the civilian corps, but also bring the Serb minority on board. It said that such force should be oriented toward international missions, such as peacekeeping.