Kosovo: Nato commander’s romance with ethnic Albanian sparks political row

Belgrade and Pristina, 10 Aug. (AKI) – Nato's peacekeeping force in Kosovo's commander Erhard Buehler's plan to wed an ethnic Albanian woman has drawn charges from Serb media that the German general is siding with Kosovo Albanians.

Belgrade daily Press ran a front page article on Wednesday reading “KFOR chief to get Albanian son-in-law,” in a reference to the Nato-led Kosovo Force.

“The emotional involvement of the KFOR head with an Albanian woman completely discredits him as main negotiator of the international community over the crisis in northern Kosovo,” the paper said.

Buehler, 55, who is already married with a 27-year-old son according to his official biography, will take home an Albanian bride when his term expires in September, Kosovo Albanian language television Klan Kosova reported.

The couple has been involved since 2004, when Buehler served with the German KFOR contingent in the western Kosovo city of Prizren.

Buehler, 55, last week negotiated an agreement with representatives of the Serbian government on removing barricades in northern Kosovo, set up by local Serbs who oppose Kosovo's independence.

He is being replaced as KFOR chief by another German general, Erhard Drews, and had asked for another one-year term in Kosovo, but the request was turned down by Nato, according to Klan Kosova.

It is not known if his romance was the reason for Nato's refusal to extend Buehler's tenure.

Milan Ivanovic, a Kosovo Serb leader, said Buehler’s affair came as no surpise because Kosovo Albanians lobbied for their cause with international officials by supplying them women and money.

The former head of the United Nation mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), German diplomat Michael Steiner, also married an Albanian women while serving in Kosovo, but she left him soon after his term was over, Ivanovic noted.

Steiner’s predecessor and former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner wasn’t immune to local women's charms while serving in Kosovo either, Ivanovic added.

Kosovo's overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade opposes.

A totoal of 77 countries, including the United States and 22 out of 27 European Union members have recognised Kosovo so far.