Agim Çeku
Encyclopedia
Agim Çeku is the current Minister of Security Forces
for the Republic of Kosovo
. He is also the former Prime Minister of Kosovo
and a chief of the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA). He was born in the village of Ćuška
near Peć
, in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo
(in present-day Kosovo
).
Çeku is an ethnic Albanian
. He served as an officer in the Croatia
n army during the war
against the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina
, and was military commander of the KLA during the 1999 Kosovo War
, and then commanded the Kosovo Protection Corps
under the UN administration
of Kosovo.
, he attended the Zadar
Military Academy. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA) as an artillery captain. In 1991 the Yugoslav wars
broke out and he deserted from the JNA and joined the Croatian National Guard
, when the Republic of Croatia found itself at war
in breaking away from Yugoslavia.
He was closely involved in the subsequent Croatian War against the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina
. He participated in several military operations, he first was in Operation Maslenica
when he was the head of Velebit
's artillery section, from January to February 1993, Operation Medak pocket
near Gospic, in which he was wounded, and Operation Storm
in August 1995 that captured most of the Krajina territory. Subsequently he continued the advance as head of Croatian forces into the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
fighting in western Bosnia against the forces of the Serb Republic
in Operation Maestral.
After the war the Croatian Army was reformed and President Franjo Tudjman named Çeku commanding officer of the Fifth District Region in Rijeka
. In 1998 he filed request for retirement to go to Kosovo to join the Kosovo Liberation Army with which it maintained links, which was fulfilled in 1999.
Çeku developed contacts with the KLA, a guerrilla group fighting Serbian rule in Kosovo, some time in the mid-1990s. He resigned from the Croatian Army in February 1999. When the Kosovo War broke out in March 1999, the KLA initially did very badly against Serbian/Yugoslav forces, due in part to poor leadership under its senior commander Suleiman Selimi
, a militarily inexperienced individual who had been given the post largely because of his influence in the Drenica
region (the KLA's heartland).
In May 1999, Çeku was appointed the KLA's chief of staff, replacing Selimi. He immediately set about reorganising the KLA and implementing a proper military structure within the organization. In the closing days of the Kosovo War, the KLA began providing systematic intelligence to NATO as well as mounting attacks to lure Serbian forces into the open, enabling NATO warplanes to bomb them. According to reports at the time, Çeku was the principal liaison between NATO and the KLA.
Following the end of the war in June 1999, Çeku oversaw the demilitarisation of the KLA and its transformation into the Kosovo Protection Corps
(KPC), an ostensibly civilian organization charged with disaster response, demining, search and response and humanitarian projects. Although the international community insisted the KPC was a civilian organization, Çeku and its membership said they believed the KPC should evolve into the future army of an independent Kosovo. Çeku managed ably many difficult challenges for the KPC, including allegations that its members were supporting the ethnic Albanian insurgency in Macedonia in 2001
The Serbian Government claims that Çeku is a war criminal, though Serbia's jurisdiction in the matter is not recognised by the United Nations
. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY
) has stated that all indictments issued for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia
have been issued, and that no further indictments are planned . Though Çeku has not been the subject of any ICTY indictment, he was briefly detained in Slovenia
in October 2003 and in Hungary in March 2004 on the basis of an Interpol
warrant issued by Serbia
. Çeku was quickly released in both instances following pressure by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK
).
Colombia
n authorities have expelled Ceku from a conference held in the country because Serbia
requested his extradition because of possible war crimes committed by him during the Kosovo War
.
On 23 June 2009 he was arrested in Bulgaria
under the Interpol
arrest warrant issued by Serbia
for alleged war crimes in Kosovo against non-Albanian population. The Bulgarian authorities decided to release him from custody, but requested that he remain in the country for up to 40 days as officials consider the extradition request from Serbia to face charges of genocide. On 30 June, he returned to Kosovo, after the Bulgarian prosecutors decided not to appeal the court's decision for his release.
by the Kosovo Assembly. After being sworn in, he declared his support for Kosovo independence, whilst promising to protect the rights of the Serbian minority. Çeku's appointment was backed by former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj
, who resigned in early 2005 after the ICTY had indicted him for war crimes. In his first one hundred days in office, Çeku prioritized the implementation of the UN-endorsed "Standards" for good governance and multi-ethnicity, earning praise from UN Kosovo chief Søren Jessen-Petersen
and Contact Group
countries. On 24 July 2006, Çeku traveled to Vienna
for the first high-level meeting between the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo to discuss Kosovo's future status.
He stated that he would found a new political party after stepping down as PM, disspelling rumours that he would join the Reformist Party ORA
. However, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo
on 10 April 2008, and did not rule out that the party would unify with ORA.
On 23 February 2011, Çeku was made Minister of Security Forces
of Kosovo.
and the Croatian town of Zadar
.
Kosovo Security Force
The Kosovo Security Force is an emergency response force charged with conducting operations in Kosovo and abroad in the areas of Search and Rescue, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Firefighting, and Hazardous Material Disposal. It is widely assumed that the KSF will take on an additional defense...
for the Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. He is also the former Prime Minister of Kosovo
Prime Minister of Kosovo
The Prime Minister of Kosovo is Head of Government of the disputed Republic of Kosovo .The Prime Minister and the Government of Kosovo, which he or she heads, are responsible for their actions to the Assembly of Kosovo, of which they must all be members...
and a chief of the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA). He was born in the village of Ćuška
Ćuška
-Events:in the Kosovo War on May 14, 1999 there was a massacre of civilians there, the Šakali group is accused of these war crimes.-Notes and references:Notes:References:...
near Peć
Pec
Peć or Pejë is a city and municipality in north-western Kosovo and Metohija - Serbia, and the administrative centre of the homonymous district. Governor of city is Ali Berisha....
, in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1946-1974)
The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was an autonomous province of Serbia, within the larger federation of Yugoslavia from 1963 to 1974, when it was replaced by the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo...
(in present-day Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
).
Çeku is an ethnic Albanian
Albanians in Kosovo
Albanians are the largest ethnic group in Kosovo . According to the 1991 Serbian census, boycotted by Albanians, there were 1,596,072 ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or 81.6% of population...
. He served as an officer in the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n army during the war
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
against the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
, and was military commander of the KLA during the 1999 Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, and then commanded the Kosovo Protection Corps
Kosovo Protection Corps
The Kosovo Protection Corps was a civilian emergency services organisation in Kosovo active from 1999 to 2009.The KPC was created on September 21, 1999 through the promulgation of UNMIK Regulation 1999/8 and the agreement of a "Statement of Principles" on the KPC's permitted role in Kosovo...
under the UN administration
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
of Kosovo.
Military and paramilitary career
After Agim Çeku finished the secondary military school in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, he attended the Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
Military Academy. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
(JNA) as an artillery captain. In 1991 the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
broke out and he deserted from the JNA and joined the Croatian National Guard
Croatian National Guard
The Croatian National Guard was the name of the first modern Croatian military force. Croatian president Franjo Tuđman signed to law the Decree of Formation of the Croatian National Guard on April 20, 1991 which became the first professional armed forces with defence and training duties.These...
, when the Republic of Croatia found itself at war
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
in breaking away from Yugoslavia.
He was closely involved in the subsequent Croatian War against the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
. He participated in several military operations, he first was in Operation Maslenica
Operation Maslenica
In early September, 1991, during the opening stages of the Croatian War of Independence, Serb-dominated units of the Knin Corps of the Yugoslav People's Army , under the command of Colonel Ratko Mladić and supported by the ethnic Serb Krajina militia, conducted offensive operations against areas...
when he was the head of Velebit
Velebit
Velebit is the largest though not the highest mountain range in Croatia. Its highest peak is the Vaganski vrh at 1757 m.The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior...
's artillery section, from January to February 1993, Operation Medak pocket
Operation Medak Pocket
Operation Medak Pocket: Mid-September 1993 United Nations Protection Force and the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry advanced into the Medak Pocket, named after the village of Medak, in Southern Croatia, with orders to implement a ceasefire between the Croatian Army Troops...
near Gospic, in which he was wounded, and Operation Storm
Operation Storm
Operation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to gain back control of parts of Croatia which had been claimed by separatist ethnic Serbs, since early...
in August 1995 that captured most of the Krajina territory. Subsequently he continued the advance as head of Croatian forces into the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
fighting in western Bosnia against the forces of the Serb Republic
Serb Republic
Serb Republic can refer to:* Republic of Serbia or "Republika Srbija", the homeland of the Serbs, a successor state of Yugoslavia* Republika Srpska or "Serb Republic", the Serb-dominated region of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
in Operation Maestral.
After the war the Croatian Army was reformed and President Franjo Tudjman named Çeku commanding officer of the Fifth District Region in Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
. In 1998 he filed request for retirement to go to Kosovo to join the Kosovo Liberation Army with which it maintained links, which was fulfilled in 1999.
Çeku developed contacts with the KLA, a guerrilla group fighting Serbian rule in Kosovo, some time in the mid-1990s. He resigned from the Croatian Army in February 1999. When the Kosovo War broke out in March 1999, the KLA initially did very badly against Serbian/Yugoslav forces, due in part to poor leadership under its senior commander Suleiman Selimi
Sylejman Selimi
Lieutenant General Sylejman Selimi is the current Commander of the Kosovo Security Force of the Republic of Kosovo.-History:Prior to the Kosovo Security force, Selimi was commander of its predecessor, the Kosovo Protection Corps. On 19 December 2008, Selimi was appointed Commander of the Kosovo...
, a militarily inexperienced individual who had been given the post largely because of his influence in the Drenica
Drenica
Drenica also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering . Located west of the capital Prishtina, its population of 110,000 is largely ethnic-Albanian....
region (the KLA's heartland).
In May 1999, Çeku was appointed the KLA's chief of staff, replacing Selimi. He immediately set about reorganising the KLA and implementing a proper military structure within the organization. In the closing days of the Kosovo War, the KLA began providing systematic intelligence to NATO as well as mounting attacks to lure Serbian forces into the open, enabling NATO warplanes to bomb them. According to reports at the time, Çeku was the principal liaison between NATO and the KLA.
Following the end of the war in June 1999, Çeku oversaw the demilitarisation of the KLA and its transformation into the Kosovo Protection Corps
Kosovo Protection Corps
The Kosovo Protection Corps was a civilian emergency services organisation in Kosovo active from 1999 to 2009.The KPC was created on September 21, 1999 through the promulgation of UNMIK Regulation 1999/8 and the agreement of a "Statement of Principles" on the KPC's permitted role in Kosovo...
(KPC), an ostensibly civilian organization charged with disaster response, demining, search and response and humanitarian projects. Although the international community insisted the KPC was a civilian organization, Çeku and its membership said they believed the KPC should evolve into the future army of an independent Kosovo. Çeku managed ably many difficult challenges for the KPC, including allegations that its members were supporting the ethnic Albanian insurgency in Macedonia in 2001
The Serbian Government claims that Çeku is a war criminal, though Serbia's jurisdiction in the matter is not recognised by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
) has stated that all indictments issued for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
have been issued, and that no further indictments are planned . Though Çeku has not been the subject of any ICTY indictment, he was briefly detained in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in October 2003 and in Hungary in March 2004 on the basis of an Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
warrant issued by Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Çeku was quickly released in both instances following pressure by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
).
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n authorities have expelled Ceku from a conference held in the country because Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
requested his extradition because of possible war crimes committed by him during the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
.
On 23 June 2009 he was arrested in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
under the Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
arrest warrant issued by Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
for alleged war crimes in Kosovo against non-Albanian population. The Bulgarian authorities decided to release him from custody, but requested that he remain in the country for up to 40 days as officials consider the extradition request from Serbia to face charges of genocide. On 30 June, he returned to Kosovo, after the Bulgarian prosecutors decided not to appeal the court's decision for his release.
Political career
On 10 March 2006 Çeku was elected Prime Minister of KosovoPrime Minister of Kosovo
The Prime Minister of Kosovo is Head of Government of the disputed Republic of Kosovo .The Prime Minister and the Government of Kosovo, which he or she heads, are responsible for their actions to the Assembly of Kosovo, of which they must all be members...
by the Kosovo Assembly. After being sworn in, he declared his support for Kosovo independence, whilst promising to protect the rights of the Serbian minority. Çeku's appointment was backed by former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj
Ramush Haradinaj
Ramush Haradinaj is a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army and former prime minister of Kosovo. He leads the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and is among former KLA officers charged of war crimes during the 1999 Kosovo War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
, who resigned in early 2005 after the ICTY had indicted him for war crimes. In his first one hundred days in office, Çeku prioritized the implementation of the UN-endorsed "Standards" for good governance and multi-ethnicity, earning praise from UN Kosovo chief Søren Jessen-Petersen
Søren Jessen-Petersen
Søren Jessen-Petersen is an international civil servant from Denmark. He was named Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Kosovo and head of UNMIK on 16 June 2004 and held the position until the end of June 2006...
and Contact Group
Contact Group
The Contact Group is the name for an informal grouping of influential countries that have a significant interest in policy developments in the Balkans. The Contact Group is composed of United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. It was first created in response to the war...
countries. On 24 July 2006, Çeku traveled to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
for the first high-level meeting between the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo to discuss Kosovo's future status.
He stated that he would found a new political party after stepping down as PM, disspelling rumours that he would join the Reformist Party ORA
Reformist Party ORA
Reformist Party ORA was a social-democratic centre-left political party in Kosovo. The party stood for an independent, free and democratic Kosovo.The party was normally referred to as ORA, which in Albanian means the Hour....
. However, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo
Social Democratic Party of Kosovo
The Social Democratic Party of Kosovo is a political party in the Republic of Kosovo. It was established on the 10th February 1990 and was second political party to be established in the newly pluralist Kosovo.- Leadership :...
on 10 April 2008, and did not rule out that the party would unify with ORA.
On 23 February 2011, Çeku was made Minister of Security Forces
Kosovo Security Force
The Kosovo Security Force is an emergency response force charged with conducting operations in Kosovo and abroad in the areas of Search and Rescue, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Firefighting, and Hazardous Material Disposal. It is widely assumed that the KSF will take on an additional defense...
of Kosovo.
Family life
He is married to Dragica, who is half-Serbian, half-Croatian. They have three children and the family divides its time between PristinaPristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
and the Croatian town of Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
.