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Serbia
“imprisoned us [Albanians] and fought against us,” Demaci said
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PRISTINA,
Kosovo, November 11 (News Agencies) – Now political representative of
the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought forces of former Serbian
president and war crimes suspect Slobodan Milosevic, long-time freedom
fighter Adem Demaci feels he has fully assumed defense of his people,
after 28 years spent in Yugoslav prisons.
Often
described as "the Mandela of the Balkans," Demaci has
"sacrificed" himself for a big cause, something he never
regrets.
Demaci,
67 – who gladly accepted such a nickname, after South African leader
Nelson Mandela, incarcerated for 27 years during apartheid South Africa
– smiles whenever he remembers his long time behind bars, marred with
unfathomable suffering.
"This
is the same smile that left my entourage flabbergasted when a sentence
was pronounced. Yes, I felt satisfaction. The world, I was sure, would
become interested in Kosovo. I became a symbol," Demaci told Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
His
first sentence was issued in 1958: three years in prison for
"hostile propaganda" towards the regime of former Yugoslav
communist leader Josip Broz Tito.
In
1964, another sentence: this time, 15 years of imprisonment for forming
the first political force able to "gather most of the people,"
the Revolutionary Movement for the Union of the Albanians.
"Even
then, an armed struggle was not excluded," the long-time fighter
told AFP.
The
sentence was reduced to 10 years, but Demaci was again arrested October
6, 1975, just 15 months after he left prison. In January 1976, he was
again sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment.
"This
time, the charges were groundless. But, for the authorities, I
represented a threat. They wanted to neutralize me," Demaci
explained.
Demaci
has suffered torture, cold, all the pangs of life in a cell. But he
never felt doubt or discouragement, he said.
"I
think of my life as a mission. I have managed to overcome the misery of
daily life," he insisted.
But
the most painful memory is that of being held with common law criminals
and mentally ill people.
"All
in all, I spent only one year with other political opponents [of the
regime]. The goal of the authorities was to break me. My guards kept
repeating: 'You will leave your bones here'," he said.
To
avoid such an environment, Demaci, faced with "provocations,"
sometimes made his jailors keep him in complete isolation.
"For
five years, I lived like this. I felt good! Nobody annoyed me. I sank
deep in my thoughts, with my memories, my imagination. I felt
free!" he slowly explained.
In
1990, he returned to life outside the prison. But his combative energy
was still intact. Eight years later, he became the political
representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), whose fighters were
fighting troops of then president Slobodan Milosevic.
Serbia
"imprisoned us [Albanians] and fought against us," Demaci
said.
"Such
an attitude allowed the Albanians here to forge their conscience for
freedom," he added.
Demaci
studied literature in Belgrade, and has so far published numerous books,
including poetry. In 1991, the international community praised his
incessant struggle for freedom with the Andrei Sakharov prize.
In
future, Demaci does not exclude possible high-ranking functions, like
being president of an independent Kosovo, if he is really given the
means to influence "the destiny of the country."
Demaci
considers that "Serbia has lost its moral right to run
Kosovo," but he promises a return of the Serbs who have fled their
homes in the province.
"I
do not feel any hate towards them," he insisted.
Nowadays
in Pristina, Demaci heads a "committee for tolerance and
coexistence" of different ethnic groups.
"The
prison can make you insane, but to me, it has brought wisdom,"
Demaci said.
