President Elected Before Police Break Up Session of Kosovo Parliament

Serbian police broke up the first session of an ethnic Albanian parliament in restive Kosovo province Thursday but not before Ibrahim Rugova was sworn in as the self-declared republic’s president.

The separatist body’s action was aimed at strengthening the hand of the moderate Rugova in complex dealings with rival political parties in Kosovo, with the guerrilla forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army, with the Serbian-dominated government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and with the international community.

Rugova, a former professor of Albanian literature whose political trademark is extreme caution, had been under intense pressure from his supporters to call a meeting of the parliament, which was elected March 22 in underground voting.

“The bottom-line significance is simply that by convening the parliament, Rugova was able to satisfy some of the demands of the rank and file in his own party, and therefore it strengthens Rugova,” said a Western observer in Pristina, capital of the Serbian province, where the meeting took place.

Rugova, who advocates a nonviolent path to independence, is the key partner of the United States in the search for a peaceful settlement to the Kosovo crisis, so anything that makes him stronger could contribute to a diplomatic solution.

About 20 heavily armed police equipped with Kalashnikov semiautomatic rifles circled Rugova’s party headquarters as the clandestine parliamentary session was underway inside. Then about 10 plainclothes officers entered the building to demand a halt and seize documents. There were no reports of violence, injuries or arrests.

“The police action wasn’t brutal, but it was very swift,” Nekibe Kelmendi, a top official of Rugova’s party, told reporters. “They gave us a two-minute ultimatum to hand them the documents from the . . . session, which we did.”

Kelmendi called the meeting of the parliament “a historic act and the result of a new reality in the region which the international community will have to consider.”

The Serbian Interior Ministry issued a statement that the documents seized were “submitted together with criminal charges to the district prosecutor in order for legal steps to be taken against responsible persons.”

While the possible convening of the parliament had been openly discussed in Rugova’s party in recent days, no date had been announced, and it was unclear whether Thursday’s session was a well-kept secret or a spontaneous decision.

Alush Gashi, a spokesman for Rugova’s Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, said Thursday’s meetings began with a party caucus. Deputies of smaller parties then took part in joint discussions, and a decision was made to convene parliament on the spot, Gashi said. “After everything was in place, the feeling was we’d better use this occasion, not invite people a second or third time,” Gashi said.

Besides installing Rugova as president of the “Republic of Kosovo,” the parliament elected a chairman, Idriz Ajeti, three vice chairmen and a secretary-general, Gashi said. Out of 118 deputies elected in March, 73 were present Thursday, he said. “We also elected 19 different parliamentary commissions, which in the future will be different ministries,” he said. “We hope that in line with the constitution, President Rugova will now appoint a prime minister.”

Rugova is seen as an essential figure in a peaceful solution to the fighting in Kosovo, in which more than 350 people have died this year.

But his influence is limited by the refusal of other key political leaders in Pristina to participate in his shadow government. Most significantly, the second-largest party, led by former political prisoner Adem Demaci, boycotted the March poll, and Demaci recently declared that he would not cooperate with Rugova in any political body.

The guerrillas have also said they will not recognize Rugova’s leadership because his policy has failed.

“We are trying to find a peaceful solution with the Serb side,” Gashi said. “The reality is that people are dying, Albanians in big numbers and Serbs too. That is not good for anyone. . . . We are trying our best to continue to be part of a solution--to have elected people who will have support in negotiations for a transitional settlement.”

Gashi also renewed one of Rugova’s refrains: a plea for stronger international action. “We cannot solve this issue alone,” he said. “We believe we are all fighting for global goals of freedom, peace and justice. But we need help.”