Sat, Feb 11 2012

Rebel Commander Hoxha says Albanians can resist Macedonia

Thu, Dec 25 2008 12:47 CET

byBalkanInsight.com

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A key figure of the 2001 ethnic Albanian insurgency against Macedonian forces said the disbanded rebel group National Liberation Army could be revived to protect local Albanians from harrassment by the police.

Fomer NLA commader Xhesair Shaqiri, who is wanted by Macedonian police on racketeering charges, told  Alsat M TV on Tuesday that police raids and arrests over the murder of a former NLA member in late November were deliberately targeted against former fighters.

ÒWe have our methods of defence, and I can say without a doubt that we possess enough capacity to re-establish the former NLAÓ, said Shaqiri, who goes by the nom de guerre 'Commander Hoxha'.

The police raids were sparked by the murder of a 39-year old ethnic Albanian ex-NLA fighter who had joined the special anti-crime Alfa police unit after the rebels disbanded. He was killed in Skopje by unknown gunmen, who also injured two other policemen..

The local television station that secured the interview said that Shaqiri is hiding in the village of Tanusevsi by the border with Kosovo, where smugglers and criminals have carved out a police no-go area. Shaqiri denies any connection with criminal groups.

NATO and the European Union intervened heavily to end the six-month NLA insurgency, brokering the Ohrid peace deal guaranteeing greater cultural and political rights to Macedonia's 25-percent ethnic Albanian minority.

Read the full article on BalkanInsight.com

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