Ridvan Qazimi (4 April 1964 – 24 May 2001) was one of the early commanders and founders of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB). During the war, he was known by his nom de guerre as Kommandant Lleshi. During the 1999–2001 insurgency in the Preševo Valley, he was the third-highest ranked commander of the UÇPMB and commanded the 112th Brigade.

Biography

Qazimi was born on 4 April 1964 in Bujanovac.{{Cite web |date= |title=Razmena vatre došla mu glave |url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2001/05/26/srpski/X01052501.shtml |access-date=2020-08-22 |website=arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs}} He graduated from the mechanical engineering school in Pristina,{{Cite web|title=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)|url=https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/srbija/3063524-usli-smo-u-ozloglaseno-selo-rodni-kraj-teroriste-uoci-dana-kapetana-lesija-kada-smo-pitali-albance-za-njega-dobili-smo-jasan-odgovor-na-srpskom-foto|access-date=2020-08-22|website=Telegraf.rs|language=sr}} 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 =

Along with Shefket Musliu, Muhamet Xhemajli and Mustafa Shaqiri, he founded and commanded the UÇPMB which began training in the Ground Safety Zone (GSZ).{{cite book |author1=Yonah Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_94vCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 |title=NATO: From Regional to Global Security Provider |author2=Richard Prosen |date=15 August 2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-4985-0369-3 |pages=93–}}{{cite journal |last1=Corson |first1=Mark W. |last2=Turregano |first2=Clemson G. |date=2002 |title=Spaces of unintended consequences: The Ground Safety Zone in Kosovo |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:GEJO.0000007205.16802.d7 |journal=Springer |volume=57 |pages=273–282}} The group began attacking Serbian civilians and police, with the goal of joining Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac into Kosovo, which escalated into an insurgency.{{cite book |author1=Rafael Reuveny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LkeKIYW0sXkC&pg=PA185 |title=Coping with Terrorism: Origins, Escalation, Counterstrategies, and Responses |author2=William R. Thompson |date=5 November 2010 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-1-4384-3313-4 |pages=185–}}

Qazimi was the head of the negotiating delegation of the UÇPMB in all peace talks, and was one of the commanders who advocated for negotiations and peaceful ways of solving problematic situations.{{Cite web|last=Jugpress|first=Postavio|date=2019-05-25|title=Obeleženo 18 godina od pogibije komandanta Lešija|url=https://jugpress.com/obelezeno-18-godina-od-pogibije-komandanta-lesija/|access-date=2020-08-22|website=JUGPRESS|language=bs-BA}}File:GSZ.png

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.

Death

As part of an agreement by NATO, the VJ were allowed to enter the GSZ via Operation Return.{{Cite web |date=6 February 2001 |title=Serbia offers talks with rebels |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1156685.stm |website=BBC}}{{Cite web |date=2001-06-01 |title=Ground Safety Zone (GSZ): Time out for rebel strong hold - Serbia {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/serbia/ground-safety-zone-gsz-time-out-rebel-strong-hold |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Kožul |first=Dejan |date=16 August 2021 |title=THE FORGOTTEN VALLEY |url=https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/the-forgotten-valley/?adlt=strict&toWww=1&redig=2E30612541B14F62B61F97665E9B029F |website=Kosovo 2.0}}{{Cite web |title=PA-X: Peace Agreements Database |url=https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/1430#:~:text=This%20agreement%20provides%20for%20the,Medveda%20and%20Bujanovac%20(UCPMB). |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=www.peaceagreements.org}} According to the agreement, the VJ was to enter the rest of the GSZ by 31 May 2001. 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.{{Cite web |date=2009-12-29 |title=Serbia: IDPs still seeking housing solutions and documentation to access their rights |url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4b45add62.pdf |website=refworld.org}}

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.{{Cite web |last= |title=Albanci Preševa i Bujanovca slave komandanta Lešija |url=https://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/albanci-preseva-i-bujanovca-slave-komandanta-lesija/4dxf3c6 |access-date=2020-08-22 |website=Blic.rs |language=sr}} 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,{{cite web |date=26 February 2004 |title=Covic to stay at Kosovo Coordination Centre |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/old_archive-article.php?yyyy=2004&mm=02&dd=26&nav_category=12&nav_id=27154 |website=B92.net}} expressed regret over this event, which he repeated several times later.

Legacy

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. 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.{{Cite web |last= |title=Танјуг: Ридван Ћазими - "Командант Леши" - добио музеј у Великом Трновцу |url=http://www.nspm.rs/hronika/ridvan-cazimi-komandant-lesi-dobio-muzej-u-velikom-trnovcu.html?alphabet=c#yvComment72865 |access-date=2020-08-22 |website=Нова српска политичка мисао |language=sr-rs}}

References

Category:1964 births

Category:People from Bujanovac

Category:2001 deaths

Category:Albanian nationalists

Category:Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers

Category:Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac soldiers

Category:Deaths by firearm in Serbia

Category:Guerrillas killed in action