KOSOVO DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE DISTANCES ITSELF FROM CONDEMNATION OF GUERRILLA ARRESTS

PRISTINA, Aug 21 (Hina) - The Kosovo Democratic Alliance, the leading Kosovo Albanian party, headed by Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, on Wednesday supported the rule of law in the province and respect for the independence of the judiciary, distancing itself from the condemnation of the arrest of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) officials by the Kosovo government and other Albanian parties. #L# Most ministers in the Kosovo government which slammed the arrests and supported protests prompted by them come from the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo. "The Kosovo Democratic Alliance supports the rule of law in Kosovo because it is to the benefit of Kosovo," said party spokesman Blerim Grainca. "If the judiciary establishes that the arrested are innocent, the party will make efforts to help release them," he said. The Democratic Alliance of Kosovo has always supported the independence of the judiciary and investigative bodies which have to make the final decision regarding the arrested, he said. The party's ministers in the Kosovo government supported the adoption of a more moderate public statement regarding the arrests which prompted protests in Kosovo, of which they informed the UN Mission in Kosovo and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) through internal channels, Grainca said explaining his party's distancing from the government statement. In its Monday statement the Kosovo government condemned the arrest of former KLA members, describing it as politically motivated. The same was done by Hashim Thaqi's Democratic Party of Kosovo and Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for Kosovo, the coalition partners of the Kosovo Democratic Alliance. International representatives expressed regret at key political institutions and structures infringing on the independence of the judiciary. (hina) rml