Hakif Zejnullahu

Hakif Zejnullahu was born on June 22, 1962, in the village of Lladoc, in the municipality of Podujevë. He received his primary education in his village and later attended high school in Podujevë. From a young age, he was influenced by the stories of resistance from his family and community, especially those involving Kosovo's struggle against the Serbian regime after WW2,{{cite book|last=Perica|first=Vjekoslav|title=Balkan idols: Religion and nationalism in Yugoslav states|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIoKMGRHxn4C&pg=PA43|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517429-8|pages=43–44}}{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Howard|title=Civil resistance in Kosovo|year=2000|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=9780745315690|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTW9XKUmrxsC&pg=PA12|pages=16}}{{cite book|last=Mulaj|first=Klejda|title=Politics of ethnic cleansing: nation-state building and provision of in/security in twentieth-century Balkans|year=2008|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9780739146675|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGQVdG63WPYC&pg=PA69|pages=45}}{{cite book|last=Petersen|first=Roger D.|title=Western intervention in the Balkans: The strategic use of emotion in conflict|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139503303|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKom-fspjGQC&pg=PA142|pages=142}} particularly the mass displacement of Albanians to Turkey.{{cite book|last=Qirezi|first=Arben|chapter=Settling the self-determination dispute in Kosovo|editor1-last=Mehmeti|editor1-first=Leandrit I.|editor2-last=Radeljić|editor2-first=Branislav|title=Kosovo and Serbia: Contested Options and Shared Consequences|year=2017|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=9780822981572|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWMqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|pages=50}} His village, located near the Serbian border, frequently experienced violent encounters with Serbian paramilitary forces, which shaped Hakif's early worldview.

Growing up during the time of political unrest and the push for Kosovo's liberation, Zejnullahu's formative years were marked by his involvement in political activism. By the age of 19, he was actively participating in the protests and movements that defined the political landscape of the late early 1980s. His education in national ideals was closely tied to the legacy of resistance in his community and he quickly became aligned with prominent figures in the liberation movement, including his cousin Zahir Pajaziti.

By the early 1990s, as Kosovo's oppression by the Serbian government intensified,{{cite web |last=Milosavljević |first=Olivera |title=Ogledi broj 1: U tradiciji nacionalizma ili stereotipi srpskih intelektualaca XX veka o "nama" i "drugima"|trans-title=Experiment Number One: In the Tradition of Nationalism or Stereotypes of Serbian Intellectuals of the 20th century about "Us" and "Others" |url=https://www.helsinki.org.rs/serbian/doc/Ogledi01.pdf |publisher=Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia |pages=218–219 |language=sh |date=2002}}By Nebojša Popov, Drinka Gojković, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GkBmdCwHuDsC&dq=albanophobia&pg=PA222 The road to war in Serbia: trauma and catharsis], pp. 222International Centre Against Censorship. "Forging War: The Media in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina". International Centre Against Censorship, Article 19. Avon, United Kingdom: Bath Press, May 1994. P55{{Cite journal|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1025397128633|doi=10.1023/A:1025397128633|year=2003|last1=Rogel|first1=Carole|title=Kosovo: Where It All Began|journal=International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society|volume=17|issue=1|pages=167–182|s2cid=141051220|access-date=20 June 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203551/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1025397128633|url-status=live}} Hakif became one of the early supporters and organizers of armed resistance. In 1989, he was closely associated with the formation of the "Çeta e Llapit," an armed group that sought to resist Serbian oppression through guerrilla tactics. This group laid the foundation for what would later become the Kosovo Liberation Army.{{Cite book |last=Perritt |first=Henry H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SlHqkxGk4Q8C |title=Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency |date=2010-10-01 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |page=44 |isbn=978-0-252-09213-8 |language=en}}

In 1992, Hakif attempted to travel to Albania to receive military training, but unknown circumstances delayed his involvement in direct combat.{{cite book|last=Pettifer|first=James|title=The Kosova Liberation Army: Underground War to Balkan Insurgency, 1948–2001|year=2012|publisher=Hurst|isbn=9781849041874|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ip1PAQAAMAAJ&q=Zahir+Pajaziti|pages=69}} However he remained active in supporting and organizing resistance efforts. In 1995, when the KLA was formally established, Hakif, alongside Zahir Pajaziti, was instrumental in coordinating the group's early activities. His home in Lladoc became the first base of the KLA,{{cite news|url=https://telegrafi.com/kompleksi-memorial-baza-e-pare-e-uck-se-ne-shtepine-e-heroit-hakif-zejnullahu/|language=sq|title =Kompleksi Memorial "Baza e parë e UÇK-së" në shtëpinë e heroit Hakif Zejnullahu

|work=mesazhzi| date = 31 January 2016 | access-date = 15 September 2024}} where strategic operations were planned and heavy weapons were stored.

As a member of the KLA, Zejnullahu was known for his organizational skills. He handpicked young men from Llap and Pristina to join the fight for Kosovo's freedom. Throughout the mid-1990s, he was heavily involved in planning and executing military operations against Serbian forces, and he financed much of the KLA's activities through his own resources.

Hakif was also known for his deep bond with his cousin Zahir Pajaziti, with whom he organized many protests and demonstrations. Together, they strategized numerous successful KLA operations. Hakif's logistical support was vital to the early actions of the KLA, including the smuggling of arms from Albania and the safe transport of KLA fighters.{{cite news|url=https://www.mesazhi.com/27-vjet-nga-renia-heroike-e-zahir-pajaziti-hakif-zejnullahu-dhe-edmond-hoxhes/|language=sq|title =27 vjet nga rënia heroike e Zahir Pajaziti, Hakif Zejnullahu dhe Edmond Hoxhës

|work=telegrafi| date = 31 January 2024 | access-date = 15 September 2024}}

On January 31, 1997, Hakif Zejnullahu was killed in an ambush by Serbian police forces in the village of Pestovë, Vushtrri, alongside Zahir Pajaziti and Edmond Hoxha.{{cite book|last=Pettifer|first=James|title=Kosova Express: A Journey in Wartime|year=2005|publisher=C. Hurst & Co|isbn=9781850657491|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5A9_wOXa8kC&q=Pajaziti|pages=51}}{{cite thesis|last=Kuperman|first=Alan J|date=2002|title=Tragic Challenges and the Moral Hazard of Humanitarian Intervention: How and why Ethnic Groups Provoke Genocidal Retaliation|type=PhD|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|pages=317–318|hdl=1721.1/36342}} The three were returning from a mission when their vehicle, a green Lada, was attacked. Despite the immediate discovery of their bodies, the car in which they were ambushed was not found until after the end of the war. Zejnullahu was buried on the next day in his home village of Lladoc.

In recognition of his sacrifice, the President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga posthumously awarded him and his fellow fighter Edmond Hoxha with the "Hero of Kosovo" decoration in 2013, the highest honor bestowed by the state. In 2023, on the 26th anniversary of the deaths, they were remembered by the current President of Kosovo and Prime Minister of Kosovo.{{cite web|url=https://president-ksgov.net/sr/predsednica-26-godina-od-kada-su-glasnici-slobode-zahir-pajaziti-hakif-zejnullahu-i-edmond-hoxha-otisli-u-vecnost//|language =sr|title =Predsednica: 26 godina od kada su glasnici slobode Zahir Pajaziti, Hakif Zejnullahu i Edmond Hoxha otišli u večnost|work=PREDSEDNICA REPUBLIKE KOSOVO| date = 31 January 2023 | access-date = 15 September 2024}}

Zejnullahu's name is honored in several ways across Kosovo. The Kosovo Security Force garrison near Lupç, a sports hall in Podujevë,{{cite web|url=https://indeksonline.net/realizohet-zotimi-i-bulliqit-renovohet-palestra-e-sporteve-hakif-zejnullahu/?amp_markup=1|language=sq|title =Realizohet zotimi i Bulliqit, renovohet palestra e sporteve "Hakif Zejnullahu"|work=indeksonline| date = 26 September 2016 | access-date = 15 September 2024}} and several streets in cities like Pristina and Vushtrri are named after him.{{cite news|url=https://www.ekonomia.info/sq/telekomunikacion/rruga-prishtine-mitrovice-me-emrin-zahir-pajaziti-hakif-zejnullahu-e-edmond-hoxha|language=sq|title =Rruga Prishtinë-Mitrovicë me emrin Zahir Pajaziti, Hakif Zejnullahu e Edmond Hoxha|work=ekonomia.info| access-date = 15 September 2024}}

Additionally, a monument has been erected at the site of his death in Pestovë to honor him, Zahir Pajaziti and Edmond Hoxha. His childhood home in Lladoc has been turned into a memorial complex and the car, in which they were killed, displayed in the courtyard of his house, has become a symbol and a tribute of his life and sacrifice.{{cite web|url=https://prishtinainsight.com/26671-2-mag/|title =Bullet-holed Lada Remains Symbol of Kosovo Resistance|work=prishtina insight| date = 31 January 2023 | access-date = 15 September 2024}}

• Zahir Pajaziti

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Category:1971 births

Category:1997 deaths

Category:Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers

Category:Kosovo Albanians

Category:20th-century Albanian military personnel

Category:Albanian nationalists in Kosovo

Category:Guerrillas killed in action

Category:People from Podujevë