UN mission in Kosovo under a cloud

Pristina: The American deputy UN chief of mission in Kosovo said yesterday he was under investigation over allegations of "aggressive" behaviour and being too close to an indicted war crimes suspect.

Steven Schook, an outspoken former US Army general, said he had not been officially informed of the probe by the UN Office of Internal Oversight but learned of the allegations through questions asked of his staff on Tuesday.

As far as he was aware they included displaying "aggressive behaviour", having "personal relationships" with local and international female UN staff and having an "unprofessionally close relationship" with Energy Minister Ethem Ceku and Ramush Haradinaj, a former prime minister and war crimes defendant.

Asked if he was resigning, Schook replied: "Absolutely not."

"I know that, based upon how I do business and how I am, that at times, it can be a bit of a lightning rod, especially when you take passionate positions on very tough issues," the 54-year-old told a news conference.

"I have made a lot of friends in Kosovo, I have made a lot of enemies in Kosovo," said Schook, deputy to Special Representative Joachim Ruecker, a German diplomat.

Schook took up the UN position in April 2006, having served as a commander with Nato peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo. Haradinaj, an ethnic Albanian former guerrilla commander, was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in 2005. He promptly quit as premier and turned himself in.

He was released pending trial, but critics have accused the UN mission in Kosovo of giving him special treatment, believing his considerable influence has helped stop hardliners from turning to violence in the diplomatic deadlock over Kosovo's push for independence from Serbia.