Balkans: Gang Rules

Balkans: Gang Rules:

The Kosovo government is under increasing scrutiny by Western European democracies. The Western Europeans are focusing on the corruption that plagues the new government. The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo has also criticized the corruption. The complaints are legitimate but a lot of Balkan observers are chuckling. Many senior government ministers have ties to the old Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which led the resistance against Serbia. The KLA had deep links to Balkan smuggling rings and to international narcotics traffickers. Even supporters of the Kosovar Albanian cause looked askance at dealing with the KLA because of the crime links. Criminals move into government and, presto, it's corrupt. Police reports of Serbian gangsters dealing with Albanian gangsters also receive the what-else-is-new treatment. These are Balkan smuggling rings, and they play rough.