Prizren, 10 June, 2024
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, participated and was one of the main speakers of the event organized in Prizren for the 146th anniversary of the Albanian League of Prizren, which this year is being held as part of the state agenda to mark the 25th anniversary of the liberation of the country.
In his speech, he said that the Albanian League of Prizren represents the cornerstone of our efforts for independence, which was then crowned with the dates of November 28, 1912, with the proclamation of the Independence of Albania, and 96 years later, with February 17, 2008, with the declaration of Kosovo’s independence, thereby realizing a part of the League’s program, which was not completed in 1912.
“Confronted by the decisions made in the Treaties signed in Europe, representatives of territories inhabited by Albanians, gathered in Prizren and founded the Albanian League of Prizren. This pan-Albanian political and military organization, in defense of Albanian rights, defining the basic principles for an organized collective and political life in the modern era. This is the first time in history when Albanians were speaking with one voice, regardless of region and religion, expressing the basic and universal demand for self-determination and protection from fragmentation of the territories inhabited by Albanians”, said Prime Minister Kurti.
On the 25th anniversary of the liberation and the 146th anniversary of the League of Prizren, he also recalled the fact that on March 27, 1999, Serbian military forces demolished and burned the building with explosives, also destroying the statues of Abdyl Frashër and of Ymer Prizren, as another attempt by Serbia, of the dimension of cultural genocide, to erase the traces of Albanian history, mass murders and the disappearance of corpses. During the aggression of the Serbian state between February 1998 and June 1999, at least 1,800 monuments of cultural heritage were destroyed; over 3,000 archaeological and ethnographic objects and archival documentation were looted; and over 1.7 million books were burned in public libraries. According to the Hague International Tribunal, this action has been evaluated as a Crime against Humanity.
And yet, “not even the century-long oppression, looting, burning and destruction have managed to annihilate our faith and our fight for freedom”, emphasized the Prime Minister.
He called on us to continue with dedication, close cooperation for the advancement of the values of democracy, justice and equality in our countries and our states, as well as unconditional work, towards the integration together of the Western Balkan states, in the North Atlantic Alliance and in the European Union, as the best future of Albanians and the nations neighboring us.
“Let the political ideals of the Albanian League of Prizren inspire us today in our common journey towards the advancement of common interests and the political, military, economic and cultural strengthening of our states”, he said at the end of his speech.
In this event, during which an exhibition organized by the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage was shown, the heads of state, President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, Speaker of the Parliament, Glauk Konjufca, members of the government cabinet, deputies of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, leaders and other representatives of state and local institutions, and political representatives of Presheva and Bujanovc.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
Dear, Mrs. Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, President of the Republic of Kosovo,
Dear Mr. Glauk Konjufca, Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo,
Dear Deputy Prime Ministers of the Government, Besnik Bislimi, Donika Gërvalla – Schwarz and Emilija Rexhepi,
Dear Government Ministers, Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers, leaders and representatives of state and local institutions,
Dear leaders of Presheva and Bujanovc, Ardita Sinani and Nagip Arifi,
Dear attendees,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear Mr. Glauk Konjufca, Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo,
Dear Deputy Prime Ministers of the Government, Besnik Bislimi, Donika Gërvalla – Schwarz and Emilija Rexhepi,
Dear Government Ministers, Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers, leaders and representatives of state and local institutions,
Dear leaders of Presheva and Bujanovc, Ardita Sinani and Nagip Arifi,
Dear attendees,
Ladies and gentleman,
We are meeting today in ancient Prizren, to mark an important historical date, that of June 10, 1878. Here, 146 years ago, the Assembly was held with representatives from all the Albanian provinces, and the Albanian League of Prizren was founded.
We emphasize this, ancient Prizren, as a phrase because last year’s archaeological discovery, just 200 meters away from here, showed that Prizren, this most beautiful place, is eight centuries older than we suspected earlier.
The Albanian League of Prizren represents the historical event, when during the second part of the 19th century the foundations of the formation of the Albanian state were laid. Confronted by the decisions taken in the Treaties signed in Europe, representatives of the territories inhabited by Albanians, gathered in Prizren and founded the Albanian League of Prizren. This is a pan-Albanian political and military organization, in defense of Albanian rights, defining the basic principles for an organized collective and political life in the modern era.
This is the first time in history when Albanians were speaking with one voice, regardless of region or religion, expressing the fundamental and universal demand for self-determination and for the protection and preservation of territories inhabited by Albanians.
This historical event was the cornerstone of our efforts for independence, which was then crowned with the dates of November 28, 1912, with the proclamation of the Independence of Albania, and 96 years later, on February 17, 2008, with the proclamation of the independence of Kosovo, realizing in this way a part of the program of the League, which could not be completed in 1912.
This historical event was the cornerstone of our efforts for independence, which was then crowned with the dates of November 28, 1912, with the proclamation of the Independence of Albania, and 96 years later, on February 17, 2008, with the proclamation of the independence of Kosovo, realizing in this way a part of the program of the League, which could not be completed in 1912.
The Albanian League of Prizren, over the decades and over the years, has continued to inspire us in the efforts of the Albanian people for independence and state formation. And this Complex has been a meeting place and a symbol for the Albanian nation, showing the roots of the birth of the Albanian state and the historical intention for national unification.
Today, when Kosovo is marking the 25th anniversary of its liberation from the occupation and genocide of Serbia, we cannot help but remember the fact that it was the Residence of the League of Prizren, which was barbarically destroyed by the Serbian armed forces, as object of cultural heritage, as a residence of resistance, and that happened behind me and before you.
On the evening of March 27, 1999, Serbian military forces demolished and burned this building with explosives, also destroying the statues of Abdyl Frashëri and Ymer Prizreni. The efforts of the Serbian state to eradicate the evidence of Albanian history have not stopped only at mass murders and the disappearance of corpses, but have also had the dimension of cultural genocide, targeting the valuable monuments that represent the history and our national identity, the cradle of our resistance as cultural heritage objects.
During the aggression of the Serbian state between February 1998 and June 1999, at least 1,800 monuments of cultural heritage were destroyed; over 3,000 archaeological and ethnographic objects and archival documentation were looted; and over 1.7 million books were burned in public libraries. According to the Hague International Tribunal, this action has been evaluated as a Crime against Humanity.
But not even the century-long oppression, looting, burning and destruction have managed to annihilate our faith and our fight for freedom. The resistance of the Albanian League of Prizren, the Residence of the Albanian League of Prizren, like our people, has been re-raised like a phoenix that is gloriously reborn from the ashes and flies forward, both politically and culturally. The Monumental Complex of the Albanian League of Prizren continues to preserve the centuries-old Albanian history, which will be presented and carried from generation to generation, with all its wealth and diversity.
So, today the anniversary of the League of Prizren has brought us together, heads of institutions from Kosovo, from Albania, from the territories inhabited by Albanians, representatives from the countries of the region not only to honor and remember this historical event, but at the same time to appreciate the situation we find ourselves in now, the needs to overcome common challenges, and the aspirations to build our equally common future.
We must continue with dedication, the close cooperation for the advancement of the values of democracy, justice and equality in our countries and our states. We must continue working unconditionally, towards the integration together of the Western Balkan states, in the North Atlantic Alliance and in the European Union, as the best future for Albanians and the nations neighboring us.
Let the political ideals of the Albanian League of Prizren inspire us today in our common journey towards the advancement of common interests and the political, military, economic and cultural strengthening of our countries.
Thank you and congratulations!
Last modified: June 11, 2024