Ridvan Qazimi
Ridvan Qazimi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | "Lleshi" "Commander Lleshi" |
| Born | 4 April 1964 Bujanovac, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Died | 24 May 2001 (aged 37) Veliki Trnovac, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia |
| Allegiance |  Croatia Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Kosovo Liberation Army Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac |
| Years of service | 1991–2001 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Unit | 112th Brigade |
| Battles/wars | |
| Children | 4 |
Ridvan Qazimi (4 April 1964 – 24 May 2001), known by his nom de guerre as Lleshi, was one of the commanders of the Albanian militant group Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB). During the 1999–2001 insurgency in the Preševo Valley, he was one of the five commanders of the UÇPMB and commanded the 112th Brigade.
Biography[edit]
Qazimi was born on 4 April 1964 in Bujanovac.[1] He graduated from the mechanical engineering school in Pristina,[2] but he worked as a tailor and was the owner of a boutique in Bujanovac. He took part in the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War fighting against Serbian forces. Qazimi also fought for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo War, where he was under the command of Adem Jashari.
Insurgency in the Preševo Valley[edit]
Along with Shefket Musliu, Muhamet Xhemajli and Mustafa Shaqiri, he founded and commanded the UÇPMB which began training in the Ground Safety Zone (GSZ).[3][4] The group began attacking Serbian civilians and police, with the goal of joining Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac into Kosovo, which escalated into an insurgency.[5]
Qazimi was the head of the negotiating delegation of the UÇPMB in all peace talks,[1] and was one of the commanders who advocated for negotiations and peaceful ways of solving problematic situations.[6]
Qazimi was known among his soldiers as Commander Lleshi, and was in charge of the UÇPMB Center zone. It included the villages of Veliki Trnovac Breznica, Mali Trnovac, Dobrosin, Končulj, Lučane, Turija. The command of his sector was in the village of Veliki Trnovac, in which he commanded the 112th Brigade with around 600 to 700 soldiers that carried out the most attacks during the insurgency.
Towards the end of the insurgency, he announced that he would be the last to lay down his weapons, but that he would still lay it down. He then warned that the UÇPMB would fiercely respond to any provocation by Yugoslav Army (VJ) when entering the GSZ, an area that previously VJ units were prohibited from entering after the Kumanovo Agreement.[2]
Death[edit]
As part of an agreement by NATO, the VJ were allowed to enter the GSZ via Operation Return.[7][8] On 21 May 2001, UÇPMB commanders Shefket Musliu, Muhamet Xhemajli, Qazimi and Mustafa Shaqiri signed the Končulj Agreement which resulted in the full demilitarization, demobilization, and disarmament of the UÇPMB.[9][10] According to the agreement, the VJ was to enter the rest of the GSZ by 31 May 2001.[1][2] At the same time, the Serbian side agreed to sign the Statement on conditional amnesty for members of the UÇPMB, which promised amnesty to UÇPMB members from 23 May 2001.[11]
Qazimi was killed only a day later on 24 May 2001 during a battle between the UÇPMB and the VJ near Veliki Trnovac, which lasted from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It was later found out that he was killed by a sniper.[1][12] Journalists were told that day in the Press Center of the Coordination Body for the municipalities of Bujanovac, Preševo and Medveđa that it was indeed an accident, and that Qazimi and other members of UÇPMB were shot because, according to an earlier agreement, they were not supposed to be there while the VJ were entering the GSZ. The then president of the Southern Serbia Coordination Center, Nebojsa Čović,[13] expressed regret over this event, which he repeated several times later.[6]
Legacy[edit]
After the conflict, at the entrance to Veliki Trnovac, local Albanians erected a monument to him in 2002. He is highly respected by Albanians in southern Serbia, and a four-day manifestation, called "Commander Lleshi's Days", is held in his honor every year.[12] Qazimi has a museum, located in Veliki Trnovac. It was opened on 26 November 2012, and was built by local Albanians with the help of the Albanian diaspora. It exhibits Qazimi's personal belongings, such as photographs, his uniform and his weapons, as well as the jeep in which he was killed.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Razmena vatre došla mu glave". arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
- ^ a b c "Ušli smo u ozloglašeno selo, rodni kraj teroriste, uoči "Dana Kapetana Lešija": Kada smo pitali Albance za njega, dobili smo jasan odgovor, na srpskom (FOTO)". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-08-22.
- ^ Yonah Alexander; Richard Prosen (15 August 2015). NATO: From Regional to Global Security Provider. Lexington Books. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-1-4985-0369-3.
- ^ Corson, Mark W.; Turregano, Clemson G. (2002). "Spaces of unintended consequences: The Ground Safety Zone in Kosovo". Springer. 57: 273–282.
- ^ Rafael Reuveny; William R. Thompson (5 November 2010). Coping with Terrorism: Origins, Escalation, Counterstrategies, and Responses. SUNY Press. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-1-4384-3313-4.
- ^ a b Jugpress, Postavio (2019-05-25). "Obeleženo 18 godina od pogibije komandanta Lešija". JUGPRESS (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2020-08-22.
- ^ "Serbia offers talks with rebels". BBC. 6 February 2001.
- ^ "Ground Safety Zone (GSZ): Time out for rebel strong hold - Serbia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2001-06-01. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- ^ Kožul, Dejan (16 August 2021). "THE FORGOTTEN VALLEY". Kosovo 2.0.
- ^ "PA-X: Peace Agreements Database". www.peaceagreements.org. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ "Serbia: IDPs still seeking housing solutions and documentation to access their rights" (PDF). refworld.org. 2009-12-29.
- ^ a b "Albanci Preševa i Bujanovca slave komandanta Lešija". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-08-22.
- ^ "Covic to stay at Kosovo Coordination Centre". B92.net. 26 February 2004.
- ^ "Танјуг: Ридван Ћазими - "Командант Леши" - добио музеј у Великом Трновцу". Нова српска политичка мисао (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-08-22.