National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo

The National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo[a] (Albanian: Lëvizja Kombëtare për Çlirimin e Kosovës, LKÇK) was a radical left-wing nationalist political movement in Kosovo during the 90s, as well as a political party after the Kosovo war.[2]

National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo

Lëvizja Kombëtare për Çlirimin e Kosovës
LeaderAvni Klinaku, Bahri Fazliu[1]
Founded1993
Split fromPeople's Movement of Kosovo
HeadquartersPrishtina
IdeologyLeft-wing nationalism
Marxism-Leninism
ColoursRed and Black
Kosovo
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History

The party was founded as an underground movement on 25 May 1993 in Pristina by a faction of the dissident Marxist-Leninist organization People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK), the founding base of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerilla movement. It would derive its name from one of the main core marxist organizations that formed LPK, National-Liberation Movement of Kosovo and other Albanian Regions (Albanian: Lëvizja Nacional-Çlirimtare e Kosovës dhe të Viseve tjetra Shqiptare në Jugosllavi, LNÇKVSHJ), founded in February 1978 by Metush Krasniqi, Jusuf Gërvalla and Sabri Novosella.[3][4] Just like LPK, the LKCK faction advocated the concept of Natural Albania and military action against the Milošević administration, but contrary to the pacifist policies of the dominant Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and what it perceived as similar tendencies to moderation inside the LPK.
After imprisonment of Avni Klinaku by Yugoslavian authorities, Bahri Fazliu would take charge as the leader. Fazliu would join Kosovo Liberation Army during the war and fall on May 7, 1998 somewhere in the former border between Albania and Yugoslavian Federation.[5] He would later receive the title "Hero of Kosovo" (Albanian: "Hero i Kosovës").[6]

Political Party

The LKCK was initially part of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, despite the latter's centre-right political position. At the legislative elections held on 24 October 2004, the party boycotted the elections. As one of the most radical political organizations in Kosovo, the party opposed the Ahtisaari plan and the current presence of the United Nations and European Union in the region, advocating total independence for Kosovo. The party, together with a number of its former leaders, is blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Treasury.[7]

Aftermath

LKCK would later transform into Movement for Integration and Unification, (Albanian: Lëvizja për Integrim dhe Bashkim, LIB), with Smajl Latifi as a leader followed by Fadil Fazliu after his resignation,[8] and Movement for Unification (Albanian: Lëvizja për Bashkim, LB) of Avni Klinaku, until in May 2011 when two parties merged in one, going on with the Movement for Unification name.[9]

See also

Notes
a.   ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 98 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition.

References
  1. LKÇK-ja u margjinalizua nga profiterët e luftës (NMKL was marginalized by war profiteers) (in Albanian), Telegrafi.com, 2013-02-21
  2. Krasniqi, Sadik (16 February 2008), RRUGËT E SAKRIFICËS TË POPULLIT SHQIPTAR QË SHPIEN DREJT ÇLIRIMIT TË KOSOVËS (Pathways of sacrifice of Albanian people leading to the liberation of Kosovo) (in Albanian), Albaniapress.com, retrieved 2013-08-24
  3. Lëvizja Kombëtare Shqiptare në Kosovë dhe viset tjera të etnikumit shqiptar 1945 - 1999 (Albanian National Movement in Kosovo and other areas of Albanian ethnicity 1945 - 1999) (in Albanian), dervina.com, 2008-04-27
  4. Historical Dictionary of Kosova (First Edition) (1 ed.). Scarecrow Press Inc. 2004. p. 127. ISBN 0810853094.
  5. Në 10-vjetorin e rënies përkujtohet dëshmori Bahri Fazliu (Commemorated martyr Bahri Fazliu On the 10th anniversary of the fall ) (in Albanian), Kosovapress, 7 May 2008
  6. Dekorohen personalitete që kontribuuan për Kosovën (Personalities who contributed to Kosovo get decorated) (in Albanian), Gazeta Express, 16 February 2013, retrieved 25 August 2013
  7. Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkanss (PDF), US Department of the Treasury - Office of Foreign Assets Control, June 27, 2001
  8. Lëvizja për Integrim dhe Bashkim mbetet pa kryetar (LIB remains without a leader) (in Albanian), InfoArkiv, August 10, 2010
  9. Bashkohen LB dhe LIB (MU and MIU join in one) (in Albanian), albeu.com, 2011-05-23
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