On May 6, 1999, Serbian forces killed the renowned professor and vice president of the LDK, Fehmi Agani.
The prestigious medium New York Times published a long article about the murder of Fehmi Agani, where Hashim Thaçi, British chief diplomat Robin Cook also spoke out, and the reaction of the German Foreign Ministry was published, supporting Thaçi's statements about this event.
The article explained that Serbia had intended to blame the KLA for Agani's murder, but this was categorically denied by the family of Professor Fehmi Agani, by Hashim Thaçi and by international diplomats, reports Demokracia.com.
New York Times began the article by telling how Fehmi Agani was killed:
“A moderate Albanian leader whose body was found yesterday in Kosovo was taken from a train by Serbian police the day before, a family member said today. The leader, Fehmi Agani, was part of the team that signed the Rambouillet peace agreement for the province.”
Immediately after the murder, the Serbian media Teaching right had aimed to blame the KLA for this serious criminal event.
"The Yugoslav state news agency Tanjug reported earlier that Mr. Agani had been found dead near the village of Lipjan. It said he was believed to have been held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, the Kosovo Albanian rebels who fought for independence.", wrote the NYT in 1999.
But, Hashim Thaçi and the family of Professor Fehmi Agani immediately denied the news and the Serbian slander.
The New York Times wrote that "The leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaci, said Mr. Agani was killed by Serbia in an attempt to destroy the unity of Kosovo Albanians. The family member who spoke about Mr. Agani's detention was in Skopje, the Macedonian capital, and asked not to be identified. The relative said that after a failed attempt to leave Kosovo for Macedonia with his wife and son, Mr. Agani was removed from a train from Pristina, the Kosovo capital, filled with refugees. Serbian authorities turned the train back at the Blace border crossing on Thursday after Macedonia temporarily closed the border, the family member said.".
The New York Times report continued with the account of Fehmi Agani's family member, indicating that "Serbian police officers stopped the train in Lipjan on its way back to Pristina and detained Mr. Agani, but allowed his wife and son to continue. On Friday, Mr. Agani's wife went to the Pristina Police headquarters to seek news of her husband, but was forced to leave without explanation.".
The death of Mr. Agani, whom he had known as co-chair of the Rambouillet talks, was evidence of terror in Kosovo. Mr. Agani's family "believes he was killed by Serbian police."'. If so, it is the latest example of brutality and massacre, which is why we are waging a military campaign and why we will continue until we end the killing.", British top diplomat Robin Cook told the NYT.
Thaci, who led the guerrilla group's delegation to the talks, told the NYT by phone from Kosovo that Mr. Agani's killing was intended to create a division in ethnic Albanian political ranks.
"We are certain that he was killed by Serbs in an attempt to destroy the political process.", Thaçi told the NYT in 1999.
The prestigious New York Times reported on the great fear of Kosovo Albanians.
"Kosovo Albanians have said they fear that moderate leaders like Mr. Rugova and Mr. Agani could be assassinated and their deaths blamed on the Kosovo Liberation Army.".
The German Foreign Ministry had supported Thaçi's statements that the murder of Fehmi Agani was carried out by Serbian police.
"The German Foreign Ministry backed Mr. Thaci's claims today, Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday, saying it was also understood that Mr. Agani had been arrested by Serbian police while on a train near Pristina on Thursday, and that he died while in custody. It has called for an independent investigation into the death.", the New York Times reported in 1999, "Demokracia" reported.
The article continues and returns again to the British chief diplomat, who had emphasized that "Mr Cook said Mr Agani's son told British officials that his father had been arrested two days earlier by Serbian police and that the body had recently been returned to the family home.".
Agani was a founding member of the Democratic League of Kosovo.
The full New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/world/crisis-balkans-killing-family-says-slain-albanian-leader-had-been-seized-serbs.html
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