Albanian/Nat A Kosovo Liberation Army parade drew thousands of ethnic Albanians to Pristina on Saturday in a last chance to publicly hail members of the force before the fighters are to hand over their weapons and put away their uniforms for good. The deadline for the demilitarization of the ethnic Albanian army is midnight Sunday. After that, NATO and the United Nation mission will begin organising a civilian Kosovo Corps for humanitarian missions such as fire fighting and rescues. The parade held on the eve of the Kosovo Liberation Army's (K-L-A) demilitarization, was led by the K-L-A military chief Gen. Agim Cheku and national guard Cmdr. Sulejman Selimi. It began near the university and wound its way through city streets to the sports stadium, where the supporters gathered and K-L-A leaders gave speeches. Supporters carried signs reading "KLA you brought us freedom" and "KLA yesterday, today and tomorrow". The fighters dressed in military fatigues also chanted the group's Albanian acronym "U-C-K". Gunshots were fired into the air at the start of the parade, led by a troupe in traditional Albanian dress. As the parade moved through the Pristina's streets, the crowd joined the fighters, making the affair seem more of a street festival than a military parade. At one point United Nations police had to clear a line through the masses to allow those marching to pass. Each brigade was to send a limited number of participants to the Saturday's celebration, marking the last days of the rebel force. But many more men dressed in army fatigues marked with the K-L-A's black-red-and-gold emblem were visible in the crowd and soaking up the late summer sun at sidewalk cafes. SOUNDBITE: (Albanian) "The demilitarization means we have to handover our weapons but the international community recognizes the K-L-A as an army force" SUPER CAPTION: Mesdi Thaqi, KLA soldier The demilitarization deadline for K-L-A is midnight on Sunday. After that, NATO and the U-N will organise a civilian Kosovo Corps. The Corps will carry out humanitarian missions such as fire fighting and rescues. But with the deadline approaching, there has been no detailed announcement of the organisation, structure and rules for the planned Corps. It suggests some last minute haggling between NATO's Kosovo commander, Gen. Mike Jackson, and the K-L-A military chief Gen. Agim Ceku. They're due to sign an agreement on the corps at 10:00 a.m. local time (0800GMT) on Sunday. You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9883cc78f4cba2d03cd830bba219770b Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

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