Xhemail Mustafa (August 23, 1953 – November 23, 2000) was a Kosovo journalist and prominent political advisor to Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo.

History

Xhemail Mustafa ( sh, Džemajil Mustafa) (born on August 23, 1953 in the village of Glamnik,

Podujevo Podujevo ( sr-Cyrl, Подујево), Podujeva, or Besiana ( sq-definite, Podujevë or ''Besianë''), is a city and municipality in Kosovo's Pristina District. According to the 2011 census, the city of Podujeva has 23,453 inhabitants, while t ...

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

) was a

political advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tele ...

of Ibrahim Rugova (Kosovo President) and a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). He was shot dead by two unknown gunman in his apartment entrance stairwell in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

on 23 November 2000.

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, "Outspoken Kosovo activist gunned down in stairwell". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' via ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', November 24, 2000: A18. From 1997 to the time of his death, Mustafa was the senior media advisor to President Rugova, following a period as the spokesperson for the Democratic League of Kosovo. Mustafa had long been an advocate of non-violent dissent. At the time of his assassination, he had recently written newspaper columns denouncing the criminal violence in Kosovo that had arisen following the 1999 cessation of hostilities in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

. Mustafa's assassination occurred a month after the Democratic League of Kosovo had won the largest share of votes in the municipal elections, resulting in the removal from office of members of three rival political parties formed from the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...

. Mustafa's assassination was the third such murder in two months, following the killings, by the same method, of a prominent Albanian architect and a prominent Albanian journalist. In 2012, it was reported that authorities were close to arresting Mustafa's assassins, who were identified as a legislative member and a police officer.Uncredited, (translation
The suspects in Mustafa killing are a deputy and a police officer
''

Bota Sot ''Bota Sot'' (English: World Today) is a daily newspaper from Kosovo, originally published by members of the Kosovo diaspora in Switzerland. History ''Bota Sot'' is published by Media Print and is owned by Xhevdet Mazrekaj, a diaspora businessman ...

'', September 10, 2012. Retrieved 2014-09-28. In Mustafa's honour, a primary school just steps from where he died bears his name.

References

1954 births 2000 deaths Politicians from Podujevo Kosovo Albanians Democratic Party of Kosovo politicians Kosovan murder victims {{Kosovo-politician-stub