State Department transcripts show that Gelbard attributed “the great majority” of the violence to the police while at the same time calling the UÇK a terrorist group by its actions [1] [2].
According to HRW, Gelbard later retracted the allegation and the group was never placed on the US list of terrorist organisations; at the time some analysts read the statements as a “green light” for a counter-insurgency campaign. The attack on Likoshan and Qirez came five days later [3].
How do we know this?
On 22 February 1998 in Prishtina, US envoy Robert Gelbard described the UÇK as a terrorist group by its actions, while attributing most of the violence to the police.
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.Last reviewed: 16 September 2026- U.S. Department of State, Press Conference: Robert S. Gelbard, Special Representative, Pristina, 22 February 1998, 1998
- U.S. Department of State, Press Conference: Robert S. Gelbard, Special Representative, Belgrade, 23 February 1998, 1998
- Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward, Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo, 2001
Sources
- [1]U.S. Department of State. Press Conference: Robert S. Gelbard, Special Representative, Pristina, 22 February 1998. 1998-02-22. https://1997-2001.state.gov/policy_remarks/1998/980222_gelbard_pristina.html. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- [2]U.S. Department of State. Press Conference: Robert S. Gelbard, Special Representative, Belgrade, 23 February 1998. 1998-02-23. https://1997-2001.state.gov/policy_remarks/1998/980223_gelbard_belgrade.html. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- [3]Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward. Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo. 2001-10-26. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/kosovo/. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Editorial status: Awaiting verificationDrafted from the cited sources; not yet fully reviewed by the editors.
Last reviewed:
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