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Kosovo Prime Minister indicted by Hague tribunal
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10 March 2005
Kosovo Prime Minister indicted by Hague tribunal
by Neil Barnett
Kosovo's Prime Minister, the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Ramush Haradinaj, was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY - The Hague Tribunal) on 8 March.
He tendered his resignation as Prime Minister at 1300 in a statement on Radio Kosova and left for The Hague on 9 March.
Coming almost exactly one year after the 17 March 2004 riots, in which 20 people died, the indictment raises the possibility of a violent reaction by Haradinaj's supporters.
He is widely popular in Kosovo and is seen as a hero of the KLA. Nato's Kosovo Force (KFOR) brought in reinforcements in the days preceding the indictment, bolstering its strength to more than 20,000.
In his resignation statement, Haradinaj called on Kosovo's population to do all they could to fulfil the so-called "standards" on which the start of Kosovo's final status negotiations is dependent. "I have to face this fact [of the indictment], but I was surprised that this indictment was raised against me," Haradinaj said. "The people of Kosovo must face this fact, even though it might be impossible."
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