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Adem Jashari(born in Prekaz, Drenica, then part of the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. He was one of the chief architects of the KLA; the Kosovo geurilla movement which fought a war in the late 1990s with Serb forces. Along with his brother Hamza, Adem participated in attacks and assassination of Serb forces, hiding out in the hills for weeks on end some times. His actions precipitated a Serb crackdown on his home, leading to the death of dozens of his family members in March 1998.. He is known in Albanian as "Komandanti Legjendar" or (English) the "Legendary Commander". He was awarded with Kosovo's highest honour, "Hero of Kosovo" in 2008 by Prime minister Hashim Thaci.

The Yugoslav government portrayed the KLA as a terrorist organization. The U.K. and USA agreed with this for a brief time, but later embraced the KLA as allies

Life

In 1991, Jashari moved to Albania to train with the first volunteers who later joined in Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). On February 28, 1998 a group of insurgents led by Adem Jashari attacked Serbian police patrols killing four policemen and injuring two. In the attack sixteen KLA members were killed. The Jashari family fought Serb/Yugoslav forces in Kosovo from the early '90s but this fact was kept hidden from the general public by both moderate Albanian politicians and by the Belgrade government, in order to preserve the status-quo. The first battle between Jashari and his friends against federal forces took place on the morning of December 30, 1991. Jashari's house was surrounded by a large number of security personnel demanding his surrender. They broke the siege and later participated in several actions against Serbian army and police. The Jasharis residence in Prekaz was next attacked by Serbian police forces on January 22, 1998. The attack was repelled when, according to Shaban Jashari, Adem's father, "friends from the woods" came to help.

Death

In the early morning hours of March 5, 1998, Prekaz was attacked again by the large national army and police forces. A second ring of troops were formed to prevent any possible escape. The attacking force consisted of armored personnel carriers and police men, backed up by artillery from a nearby ammunition factory. Action lasted for two days.

In one of the houses, the police fired mortars, followed by tear gas. Most of Jashari's extended family gathered in a single room, which had a brick wall. A shell then fell through the roof, killing a number of family members. The shelling continued for another thirty-six hours before the police finally entered the compound.

Local villagers say that Adem shot himself. As a matter of fact, there was only one bullet wound in his right jaw, showing that Adem possibly shot himself.

Aftermath

Jashari became a symbol of independence for Kosovo Albanians, as many have been known to wear t-shirts with his picture after Kosovo declared its independence on Sunday, February 17, 2008. The t-shirts are known to say "Bac, U Kry!", which roughly translates to 'Uncle, It's Done!" in English.

Nevertheless, some accuse him of criminal activity:

In one village, Donji Prekaz, lived a local tough called Adem Jashari. Several years before he had killed a Serbian policeman and been convicted, but the Serbs were frightened to get him because he would shoot at them from his house. They had tried in January but were forced to retreat. Jashari was a maverick. He hated the Serbs, and although he was one of the KLA’s early recruits, he was no ideological guerrilla. In the words of one source: “He liked to get drunk and go out and shoot Serbs.” In this sense he was a true, dyed in the wool, Drenica kacak.

— Tim Judah, Kosovo, War and Revenge

See also

• Kosovo War
• Serbian-Albanian conflict
• Attack on Prekaz

Notes and references

Notes:

References:

1. Book: Tim Judah, Kosovo, War and Revenge
2. Terrorist Groups and Political Legitimacy
3. http://www.amazon.com/Kosovo-War-Revenge-Tim-Judah/dp/0300083548 Book: Tim Judah, Kosovo, War and Revenge
4. BBC News: Kosovo killings: Belgrade's official version of events
5. New Kosova Report - Uncle, it's done!
6. New Kosova Report - Uncle, it's over!
7. Book: Tim Judah, Kosovo, War and Revenge
8. Cancelled exibition “Odstupanje” (eng: “Exception”)

External links

• Kosovo Liberation Army
• Violations in the Drenica Region - Human Rights Watch website
• Kosova's silent houses of the dead
• Kosovo killings: Belgrade's official version of events - BBC News Article
• Terrorist organization logos
• article about Adem Jashari Template:Pl icon - Gazeta Wyborcza

• Kosovo soldiers
• 1955 births
• 1998 deaths