Balkans | Adem Jachari, one of the symbols of Kosovo’s independence, is commemorated on the 25th anniversary of his death.

It’s been 25 years since Adem Jachari, one of the founding leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), and his family were murdered by Serbian army, police and paramilitary units.

The attack, known as the “Pricasa massacre”, is considered one of the turning points in NATO’s international intervention in the country.

The Serbian forces, consisting of about 5 thousand people, surrounded the house of Adam Al-Jashri in the village of Prikaz on March 5-7, 1998, and killed 56 people, including women, children and the elderly, in their attacks with tanks and heavy weapons. The massacre was spared by Bsarta, the 10-year-old daughter of Hamza al-Jashari.

“All findings prove that the attack was not aimed at capturing KLA soldiers, but rather killing and capturing them,” Amnesty International said in a report released after the attack on Al-Jashari’s family. included evaluation.

Painting exhibition “Prikaz massacre”

The “Kadri Kadriu” gallery located in the “Kroi i Vitakut” neighborhood, where Albanians and Serbs live, in the North Mitrovica municipality in Kosovo hosts the exhibition dedicated to the KLA resistance and the “Prikaz massacre”, prepared by a group of painters.

The director of the exhibition, Ali Qadriou, spoke about the paintings in the exhibition, which he dedicated to his brother who was killed in the Kosovo war, and the pain they suffered.

Ali Qadriou said that in the first year of the “Prikaz massacre”, his brother, who went to Prikaz with some painters to inspire the KLA soldiers, was killed by Serbian forces a few days later.

Pointing out that his brother went to Prikaz with paintings containing Albanian national symbols, Kadriu said: “Kadri Kadriu was killed on March 11, 1999 by Serbian forces for disturbing them because he was a cultural organizer, he loved Van Gogh, he would have To ensure the unification of Kosovo and Albania. He was a supporter of unity, and they divided it into two parts. Use phrases.

While describing a painting depicting the Jashari family home in flames, Qadri used the following phrases:

This is the house where Adam, Hamza and their families heroically died as they resisted and defended their homeland and their Albanian lands. Serbs were slaughtered here. The Jeshari family did not give up, but the Serbs had too much arsenal and could not cope with it.

The exhibition also includes portraits of mothers grieving for their families during the Kosovo war, KLA soldiers, women, elderly people, and children who fear war.

“Uncle, we did it!”

A symbol of the Kosovo War and the country’s independence, Adam and his brother Hamza Jachari were awarded the title “Heroes of Kosovo” by the first President of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova.

The slogan “Bac, u kry” (Uncle, we did it!) dedicated to Jachari is also one of the greatest symbols of an independent Kosovo.

The Jishari family home, which was almost destroyed by Serbian forces, and the martyrdom erected across the house, flooded with visitors throughout the year.

The country’s only airport is in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, and many schools, cultural and sports complexes bear the name of Adam Jachari. In Albania and North Macedonia, where a large Albanian population lives, streets and squares are named after Adam Jachari and his statues are erected. There are also gardens in Turkey bearing the name of Adem Jashari.

Kosovo War and Independence Process

In the Kosovo war, which began on March 24, 1999 and ended with NATO land and air operations against the former Yugoslavia, more than 10 thousand Kosovars, most of them Albanians, were killed, and more than a million Kosovars of different ethnic groups were forced to leave. their homes.

Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, but Serbia still considers Kosovo its “territory”.

Although Kosovo is recognized as an independent country by 117 countries today, it is described as one of Europe’s “frozen conflict” areas due to persistent ethnic tensions in its north and its inability to become a member of the United Nations (UN). .

Kosovo and Serbia are trying to find a common way to normalize relations and eventually for the two countries to recognize each other, as part of the dialogue process between Belgrade and Pristina, which began in 2011 and is mediated by the European Union.

AA