National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo

National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo
Leader	Avni Klinaku, Bahri Fazliu
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Prishtina
Ideology	Nationalism Marxism-Leninism
Political position	Left-wing nationalism
European affiliation	None
International affiliation	None
Colours	Red, Black

The National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo (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.

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 on February 1978 by Metush Krasniqi, Jusuf Gërvalla dhe Sabri Novosella. 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 in May 7, 1998 somewhere in the former border between Albania and Yugoslavian Federation. He would later receive the title "Hero of Kosovo" (Albanian: "Hero i Kosovës").

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.

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, and Movement for Unification (Albanian: Lëvizja për Bashkim, LB) of Avni Klinaku, until on May 2011 when two parties merged in one, going on with the Movement for Unification name.

See also

• Albanian Nationalism
• Albanians in Kosovo
• Kosovo War
• List of Kosovo Albanians
• List of political parties in Kosovo
• Movement for Unification
• People's Movement of Kosovo
• Alliance for the Future of Kosovo
• Ahtisaari Plan

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, but 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 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent state by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.