Pristina - Former Kosovo rebel commander and prime minister
Ramush Haradinaj returned home Friday to a hero's welcome after being
acquitted of alleged war crimes against Serbs.
A group of drummers and hundreds of cheering people, some waving
Albanian and US flags, greeted Haradinaj at the airport in Pristina,
the capital of newly independent Kosovo, when he arrived from The
Hague.
'I feel good among the citizens of Kosovo. This is a place where I
belong,' said Haradinaj, 39.
The Hague-based tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia ruled
Thursday that there was not enough evidence to convict Haradinaj, but
also said key witnesses refused to testify for fear of reprisal.
The verdict caused outrage in Serbia, where leading politicians
condemned it as 'shameful' and a mockery of justice.
In Kosovo, ethnic Albanians - still euphoric over the declaration
of independence from Serbia in February - partied in the streets to
celebrate a man they consider a hero. Ethnic Albanians constitute
about 90 per cent of Kosovo's population.
Kosovo media hailed the acquittal as a vindication of his group's
guerrilla war against Belgrade in 1998-99, which led to a brutal
reaction by Serb security forces and NATO's air war that broke
Serbia's hold on Kosovo.
Haradinaj was tried for his role as one of the top commanders
in the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), which launched a guerrilla war
against Belgrade's rule over the majority Albanians in the former
province.
After the war, Haradinaj joined other UCK leaders in exchanging
combat fatigues for suits. He became prime minister in late 2004, but
quit his post and surrendered to The Hague tribunal when he was
indicted for war crimes three months later.
Serbia, which still claims sovereignty over Kosovo, has branded
the UCK a terrorist organization and has compiled massive legal cases
against its commanders, including Haradinaj, the current Prime
Minister Hashim Thaci and his predecessor, Agim Ceku.
Serbian prosecutors claim that the three, along with other
UCK fighters, killed, tortured and maltreated hundreds of Kosovo
Serbs, policemen, soldiers and civilians.
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