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Adem Shaban Jashari (born Fazli Jashari; 28 November 1955 – 7 March 1998) was one of the founders of the
Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...
(KLA), a Kosovo Albanian separatist militia which fought for the secession of
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
from the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
during the 1990s. Beginning in 1991, Jashari participated in attacks against the Serbian police before travelling to
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
to receive military training. Arrested in 1993, he was released at the behest of the Albanian Army and later returned to Kosovo, where he continued launching attacks against the Yugoslav establishment. In July 1997, he was convicted of
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
'' by a Yugoslav court; the trial was subsequently criticized by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
. After several unsuccessful attempts to capture or kill him, Serbian police launched an attack against Jashari's home in Prekaz in March 1998. The battle that followed resulted in the deaths of 57 members of Jashari's family, including that of Jashari, his wife, brother and son. Seen as the "father of the KLA", Jashari is considered a symbol of Kosovar independence by ethnic Albanians. He was posthumously awarded with the title " Hero of Kosovo" following its
declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
in 2008. The Adem Jashari Square near the National Theatre, the Pristina International Airport and the Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium have been named after him.


Life

Adem Shaban Jashari was born on 28 November 1955, in the village of Prekaz, AR KiM,
SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
, as Fazli Jashari. Descended from Kosovo Albanian guerrillas who had fought Yugoslav forces decades prior, he was raised on Albanian war stories and was rarely seen without a gun. According to journalist Tim Judah, Jashari "hated the Serbs, and although he was one of the KLA’s early recruits, he was no ideological guerrilla." The earliest known attack against Serbian police by Adem Jashari dates back to Kosovo protests in 1989, where Hashim Thaçi stated that Jashari was "armed to the teeth" and threw Molotov cocktails at Serbian armored vehicles.


Guerrilla activities

Drenica Drenica (, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Klina, Zubin Potok, Mitr ...
is a hilly region in central Kosovo inhabited almost exclusively by Kosovo Albanians. Prior to the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
, the government of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
considered it "the hotbed of Albanian terrorism." Jashari was a farmer. In 1991, he participated in an armed uprising against the Yugoslav authorities in Kosovo. During this period, a Kosovo Albanian
irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...
organization that came to be known as the
Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...
first emerged. From 1991 to 1992, Jashari and about 100 other ethnic Albanians wishing to fight for the secession of Kosovo from Yugoslavia underwent military training in the municipality of Labinot-Mal in
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. Afterwards, Jashari and other ethnic Albanians committed several acts of
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
aimed at the Serbian administrative apparatus in Kosovo. Attempting to capture or kill him, Serbian police surrounded Jashari and his older brother, Hamëz, at their home in Prekaz on 30 December 1991. In the ensuing siege, large numbers of Kosovo Albanians flocked to Prekaz, pressuring the police to withdraw from the village. While in Albania, he was arrested in 1993 by the government of
Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...
and sent to jail in
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
before being released alongside other Kosovo Albanian militants at the demand of the Albanian Army. With the Yugoslav forces now considering Prekaz a "no-go" area, Jashari launched several attacks over the next several years. These targeted the Yugoslav Army (VJ) and Serbian police in Kosovo. Jashari was convicted of
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
'' by a Yugoslav court on 11 July 1997.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
subsequently described the trial, in which fourteen other Kosovo Albanians were also convicted, as " ailingto conform to international standards." Pursuing Jashari for the murder of a Serb policeman, Yugoslav forces again attempted to assault the Jashari compound in Prekaz on 22 January 1998. With Jashari not present, thousands of Kosovo Albanians descended on Prekaz and again succeeded in pushing the Serbs out of the village and its surroundings. The next month, a small unit of the KLA ambushed Serbian policemen. Four Serbs were killed and two were injured in the ensuing clashes. At dawn on 5 March 1998, the KLA launched an attack against a police patrol in Prekaz.


Death

In response to this attack, the Yugoslavs organized a "full-scale revenge mission" involving tanks, APCs and
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
s. They were backed up by
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
from a nearby ammunition factory. With the intention of "eliminating the suspects and their families," the police attacked villages that had been identified as KLA strongholds, including Likošane and Ćirez. Human Rights Watch noted that "special police forces attacked without warning, firing indiscriminately at women, children and other noncombatants." KLA members and their families subsequently fled to Jashari's compound. Here, the police invited Jashari to surrender, giving him a deadline of two hours in which to respond. During this period, a number of families left the compound. Jashari remained, ordering his family members to stay inside and telling his militants to resist to the last man. Once the two-hour deadline had expired, the two sides began exchanging gunfire. In one of the houses, where most of Jashari's extended family had gathered, a mortar shell fell in through the roof, causing many deaths. After a two or three-day siege, the police captured the Jashari compound. Once inside, they discovered that Jashari and his brother Hamëz had been killed. Also killed were Jashari's wife, Adilje, and his thirteen-year-old son, Kushtrim. Overall, approximately fifty-eight Kosovo Albanians were killed in the attack, including eighteen women and ten children under the age of sixteen. Goran Radosavljević, a major in the Serbian
Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
, said that " ashariused women, children and the elderly as hostages." Speaking of the attack, Yugoslav General Nebojša Pavković stated that it was "a normal policing action against a well-known criminal. It was successful. The other details I don't remember." The only survivor was Besarta Jashari, Hamëz Jashari's daughter. She claimed that the policemen had "threatened her with a knife and ordered her to say that her uncle (Adem Jashari) had killed everyone who wanted to surrender."


Aftermath

Soon after the attack against Prekaz, 46 bodies were taken to a hospital morgue in
Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...
on 7 March before being returned to
Skenderaj Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaji) or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a List of cities in Kosovo, town and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality located in the District of Mitrovica, Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2021 cens ...
the next day. There, they were placed inside a warehouse located on the outskirts of town. Photographs taken during this time revealed that Jashari had received a bullet wound to the neck. On 9 March, the police publicly stated that they would themselves bury the bodies of those killed if they were not quickly claimed and buried by family members. The next day, the police dug a large grave near Donji Prekaz and buried the bodies of fifty-six people, ten of whom could not be identified. On 11 March, the bodies were disinterred by relatives and reburied in accordance with Islamic tradition on a field known as the "field of peace". The shootout at the Jashari family compound involving Adem Jashari, a KLA commander and surrounding Yugoslav troops in 1998 resulted in the massacre of most Jashari family members.. The deaths of Jashari and his family generated an international backlash against the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
. As news of the killings spread, armed Kosovo Albanian militias emerged throughout Kosovo, seeking to avenge Jashari's death as Albanians flocked to join the KLA. The event became a rallying myth for KLA recruitment regarding armed resistance to Yugoslav forces.. "We concentrate on one symbolic event – the massacre of the insurgent Jashari family, killed in the hamlet of Prekaz in March 1998 while fighting Serbs troops. This was neither the only massacre nor the worst during the recent conflict..."; pp: 515–516.


Legacy

The exploits of Adem Jashari have been celebrated and turned into legend by former KLA members, some in government, and by Kosovar Albanian society resulting in songs, literature, monuments, memorials with streets and buildings bearing his name across Kosovo... Dubbed the "Legendary Commander" () by Albanians, Jashari is regarded by many in Kosovo as being the "father of the KLA". Portraits of him carrying an automatic weapon often adorn the walls of homes inhabited by ethnic Albanians. Considered a symbol of independence by Kosovo Albanians, the anniversary of Jashari's death is annually commemorated in Kosovo and his home has since been transformed into a shrine. The field where he and his family were buried has since become a place of pilgrimage for Kosovo Albanians, and several authors have equated Jashari with Albanian national hero
Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...
as well as Albanian '' kaçak'' rebels from the past. Following Kosovo's
declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
in 2008, Jashari was posthumously awarded the title "Hero of Kosovo" for his role in the Kosovo War. The football stadium in Mitrovica, the square near National Theatre in Pristina and Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari have also been named after him.


See also

* Albanian nationalism (Kosovo) * Adem Jashari Memorial Complex


References


Books

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Websites

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jashari, Adem Adem Jashari 1955 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Albanian military personnel Albanian nationalists in Kosovo Guerrillas killed in action People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Serbia Kosovan revolutionaries Kosovo Albanian soldiers Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers People convicted on terrorism charges Military personnel from Skenderaj People murdered in Kosovo 1998 crimes in Kosovo 1990s murders in Kosovo 1998 murders in Europe