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Adem Demaçi

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Adem Demaçi
Born(1936-02-26)26 February 1936
Podujevë, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(now Kosovo)
Died26 July 2018(2018-07-26) (aged 82)
Pristina, Kosovo
Burial placeMartyr Cemetery, Pristina
NationalityKosovar
Other names
  • Balkan Mandela[1]
  • Baca Adem
  • Adem Dema
Alma materUniversity of Pristina
University of Belgrade
University of Skopje
Occupations
  • Activist
  • Politician
Years active1950–2017
Known forActivist for human rights[2][3]
Peaceful struggle against the Yugoslav authorities in Kosovo[2][3]
Balkania (proposed state)[2][3]
Notable workGjarprinjt e gjakut (English: The Snakes of Blood)
Political partyParliamentary Party of Kosovo (1996–98)
MovementKosovo Liberation Army
OpponentFederal Republic of Yugoslavia
SpouseXhemajlije Hoxha
ChildrenAbetare and Shqiptar[4]
AwardsSakharov Prize 1990
Human Rights Prize at the University of Oslo 1995
Hero of Kosovo 2010
Signature

Adem Demaçi (pronounced [dɛmatʃi] ⓘ; 26 February 1936 – 26 July 2018) was a Kosovo Albanian politician and human rights defender.[2][3] He became notable during the breakup of Yugoslavia for suggesting the creation of Balkania in 1996, a hypothetical confederacy proposed as an independent successor state to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the Balkans.[2][3]

Early life

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Demaçi studied literature, law, and education in Pristina, Belgrade, and Skopje respectively. In the 1950s, he published a number of short stories with pointed social commentary in the magazine Jeta e re ("New Life"), as well as a 1958 novel titled Gjarpijt e gjakut ("The Serpents of Blood") exploring blood vendettas in Kosovo and Albania. The latter work brought him literary fame.[5] In 1963 he founded the underground organisation the Revolutionary Movement for the Union of Albanians.[6]

Demaçi was first arrested for his opposition to the authoritarian government of Josip Broz Tito in 1958, serving three years in prison. He was again imprisoned 1964–1974 and 1975–1990. In the late 1980s, he was considered one of Yugoslavia's most prominent political dissidents.[5]

In 2010 he received the order Hero of Kosovo.[7]

Political career

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After his release, he was Chairman of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms of the People of Kosovo from 1991 to 1995. He also served as editor-in-chief of Zëri, a magazine based in Pristina, from 1991 to 1993.[5][8] In 1991, he was awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.[5]

On 24 March 1993 he went on a hunger strike together with many journalists in defense of free speech and the newspaper "Rilindja"[9][10]

In 1996, Demaçi moved into politics, replacing Bajram Kosumi as the president of the Parliamentary Party of Kosovo;[5] Kosumi became his vice-president.

Two years later, he joined the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), serving as the head of its political wing.[5] In a 1998 interview with The New York Times, he refused to condemn the KLA's use of violence, stating that "the path of nonviolence has gotten us nowhere. People who live under this kind of repression have the right to resist."[11] In 1999, he resigned from the KLA after it attended peace talks in France, criticising the proposed deal for not guaranteeing Kosovo's independence. Sources stated that Demaçi had grown estranged from the KLA's younger, more pragmatic leadership, leaving him "faced with a decision of jumping or waiting to be pushed".[12]

Though Demaçi's wife left Kosovo before the war, he remained in Pristina with his 70-year-old sister during the entire Kosovo War.[5][13] He was critical of Ibrahim Rugova and other Albanian leaders who fled the conflict, stating that they were missing an important historical event.[14] He was a critic of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, calling them "attacks against Serbia and the Albanians" and saying that "Both peoples [Serbs and Kosovar Albanians] must act against imperialism."[15][16].

Following the war, Demaçi served as director of Kosovo Radio and Television until January 2004. He remained active in politics, affiliated with Albin Kurti, head of the Vetëvendosje! political party.[5]

Death

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At the age of 82, Demaçi died on 26 July 2018 in Pristina, Kosovo. His death was marked by three days of national mourning. On 28 July 2018, Demaçi was buried in the cemetery of martyrs in Pristina, in a state funeral ceremony.

References

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  1. ^ "Kosovars Pay Tribute To Demaci, The 'Balkans' Mandela'". No. Death of Adem Demaci. RFE/RL's Balkan Service. Radio Free Europe. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e Koinova, Maria (2013). "International Agents, Self-Reinforcement of Conflict Dynamics, and Processes of Change". Ethnonationalist Conflict in Postcommunist States: Varieties of Governance in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Kosovo. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 114–117. ISBN 9780812245226. JSTOR j.ctt3fhscq.8. LCCN 2013012707.
  3. ^ a b c d e Janjić, Dusan; Lalaj, Anna; Pula, Besnik (2013). "Kosovo under the Milošević Regime". In Ingrao, Charles; Emmert, Thomas A. (eds.). Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative. Central European Studies. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. pp. 293–295. doi:10.2307/j.ctt6wq753.13. ISBN 9781612492285. LCCN 2012029231.
  4. ^ Young, Antonia. "Shkëlzen Gashi, Adem Demaçi Biography: a Century of Kosova's History through One Man's Life" (PDF). Central and East European Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. Scarecrow Press. pp. 73–4. ISBN 978-0810872318.
  6. ^ Robertson, James (18 August 2018). "From Enver Hoxha to Bill Clinton". Jacobin. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  7. ^ "VOAL - Online Zëri i Shqiptarëve - Krasniqi Dekoron "Hero I Kosovës" Hamëz Jasharin, Adem Demaçin, Jusuf Gërvallën,.... Presidenti Në Detyrë Dekoron Personalitete Të Kosovës".
  8. ^ "ICG Kosovo Spring Report". International Crisis Group. 1 March 1998. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  9. ^ Islami, Abdylazis (1995). Pëshpëritjet e udhëtarit plak: poezi. Logos-A. p. 92. ISBN 9989601143.
  10. ^ "In Memoriam: Adem Demaçi". Radio Evropa e Lirë. 27 July 2018.
  11. ^ Hedges, Chris (13 March 1998). "Kosovo Leader Urges Resistance, but to Violence". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Kosovo rebel leader quits". BBC News. 2 March 1999.
  13. ^ Erlanger, Steven (10 August 1999). "Champion of Free Kosova Now Urges Moderation". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Jacky Rowland (27 May 1999). "Kosovo leader calls for Nato troops". BBC News.
  15. ^ https://www.kosovo.net/kla6a.html
  16. ^ http://socialismtoday.org/archive/39/kla39.html
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