"Documentary reveals Albanian arms dealer donated cash to the Kerry
campaign
Scotland on Sunday 24 Oct 2004
By: Fraser Nelson In New York
JOHN Kerry has acquired a financial backer likely to provide him with
more problems than support in his battle for the White House: the
Kosovo Liberation Army.
A documentary produced by a Dutch television crew alleges Florin
Krasniqi, a Albanian arms dealer, is buying weapons in the US and
sending them to Kosovo - while perfecting contacts with the
Democratic Party in the United States.
Mr Krasniqi is filmed at a Kerry fundraising event handing over a
cheque, then chatting and joking with senior Democrats including
Wesley Clark, the former NATO commander and Richard Holbrooke, Mr
Kerry's senior foreign policy adviser.
The documentary, broadcast last month in The Netherlands and seen by
The Scotsman, follows Mr Krasniqi from his home in Brooklyn in New
York to his Albanian base where he distributes arms to mercenaries on
the Kosovo border.
Showing remarkable candour, Mr Krasniqi says the KLA has "unfinished
business" with the Serbs and predicts that war will break out again
in "about a year and a half" if the UN does grant Kosovo independence
from Serbia and Montenegro.
The Kerry fundraising event is shown making a direct pitch for
Albanian money. Mr Holbrooke warns in a speech that Mr Bush is
planning to pull troops out of Kosovo - the implication being the
Serbs would be unconstrained.
John Belushi, the Albanian-American actor, then appears in a video
soliciting donations. "If you care about the fate of Albanians in the
Balkans, I hope you'll do anything to can to make sure John Kerry is
elected as our next President," he says.
The documentary goes on to show Mr Krasniqi buying guns from a dealer
in St Mary's, Pennsylvania.
With frankness bordering on the brazen, he explains to the film crew
how easy it is to smuggle arms. "We had set up a hunting club in
Albania," he says - and simply tell anyone who asks they are planning
an excursion to Tasmania.
He admits being "caught twice" - by Italian and Swiss authorities -
but allowed to proceed after saying the Albanian hunting club was
preparing for an expedition to hunt elephants in Tasmania. Other arms
are smuggled under humanitarian aid, he says.
While there is no suggestion that Mr Kerry had knowledge about the
funds being donated by Mr Krasniqi, the video will be deeply
embarrassing for the Massachusetts senator as he combats accusations
of being soft on terror.
Mr Krasniqi is named in the Federal Election Commission returns as a
registered donor to the Kerry campaign at his Brooklyn address. The
sum is dollars 1,000. The Kerry-Edwards campaign was asked to
comment, but did not return calls to The Scotsman yesterday."
http://members.scotsman.com/clortho.cfm?going_to=http%3A//news.scotsm
an.com/index.cfm%3Fid%3D1244732004
Zum Videostream gehts hier(rechts oben unter "Video"):
http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/afleveringen/18793157/
campaign
Scotland on Sunday 24 Oct 2004
By: Fraser Nelson In New York
JOHN Kerry has acquired a financial backer likely to provide him with
more problems than support in his battle for the White House: the
Kosovo Liberation Army.
A documentary produced by a Dutch television crew alleges Florin
Krasniqi, a Albanian arms dealer, is buying weapons in the US and
sending them to Kosovo - while perfecting contacts with the
Democratic Party in the United States.
Mr Krasniqi is filmed at a Kerry fundraising event handing over a
cheque, then chatting and joking with senior Democrats including
Wesley Clark, the former NATO commander and Richard Holbrooke, Mr
Kerry's senior foreign policy adviser.
The documentary, broadcast last month in The Netherlands and seen by
The Scotsman, follows Mr Krasniqi from his home in Brooklyn in New
York to his Albanian base where he distributes arms to mercenaries on
the Kosovo border.
Showing remarkable candour, Mr Krasniqi says the KLA has "unfinished
business" with the Serbs and predicts that war will break out again
in "about a year and a half" if the UN does grant Kosovo independence
from Serbia and Montenegro.
The Kerry fundraising event is shown making a direct pitch for
Albanian money. Mr Holbrooke warns in a speech that Mr Bush is
planning to pull troops out of Kosovo - the implication being the
Serbs would be unconstrained.
John Belushi, the Albanian-American actor, then appears in a video
soliciting donations. "If you care about the fate of Albanians in the
Balkans, I hope you'll do anything to can to make sure John Kerry is
elected as our next President," he says.
The documentary goes on to show Mr Krasniqi buying guns from a dealer
in St Mary's, Pennsylvania.
With frankness bordering on the brazen, he explains to the film crew
how easy it is to smuggle arms. "We had set up a hunting club in
Albania," he says - and simply tell anyone who asks they are planning
an excursion to Tasmania.
He admits being "caught twice" - by Italian and Swiss authorities -
but allowed to proceed after saying the Albanian hunting club was
preparing for an expedition to hunt elephants in Tasmania. Other arms
are smuggled under humanitarian aid, he says.
While there is no suggestion that Mr Kerry had knowledge about the
funds being donated by Mr Krasniqi, the video will be deeply
embarrassing for the Massachusetts senator as he combats accusations
of being soft on terror.
Mr Krasniqi is named in the Federal Election Commission returns as a
registered donor to the Kerry campaign at his Brooklyn address. The
sum is dollars 1,000. The Kerry-Edwards campaign was asked to
comment, but did not return calls to The Scotsman yesterday."
http://members.scotsman.com/clortho.cfm?going_to=http%3A//news.scotsm
an.com/index.cfm%3Fid%3D1244732004
Zum Videostream gehts hier(rechts oben unter "Video"):
http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/afleveringen/18793157/