Mirash Gjelaj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(February 2008)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2008)

Mirash Gjelaj is a famous Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighter from the Malesia e Madhe region. He is known by his nickname Amerikani ("American") because he was born and raised in the United States.

He was a member of the KLA in Kosovo, the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UCPMB), and the National Liberation Army (NLA) in the Republic of Macedonia. Gjelaj is also known as one of the main leaders to organize the Albanian population and to create KLA/NLA in Montenegro, in their struggle for their civil rights.

He is well known and loved by the Albanians of Kosovo, Preševo, and Macedonia^{[citation needed]}. It is because he is from the USA and took part in all three wars. Gjelaj was also a fighter of the famous KLA commander Tahir Sinani. He is widely believed to have been part of the ZKZ counter intelligence units during the Kosovo conflict.

Mirash Gjelaj also worked for the U.S. Army as a translator for a couple of months. He was arrested by the English KFOR in Kosovo for his hostile actions against the British forces. He was continuously harassed by the KFOR forces after the war in Macedonia and eventually forced to leave Kosovo by January 2002, with being accused and suspicious of having ties with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), but was later released with the pressure of the state department for "lack of evidence".