Prishtina, 2 July 2026
Today, the Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with the Acting President, Albulena Haxhiu, and the Acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, welcomed delegates, namely members of the Assembly of Kosovo from the legislative term that adopted the Constitutional Declaration of 2 July 1990.
In his opening remarks, Acting Prime Minister Kurti stated that the Constitutional Declaration was an expression of freedom, but also of equality; it was an expression of the will of the people against discrimination and underrepresentation. Referring also to the Constitution of 7 September adopted in Kaçanik, he emphasized that “these two political acts, which complemented one another, constituted both declaratory political proclamations and normative legal proclamations of Kosovo as a republic, reflecting a long-standing and nationwide political will that until then had circulated widely, but only as a slogan.”
“On 2 July 1990, the legitimate political will of the Albanians triumphed over Serbia’s violence, oppression and political discrimination against them. The Republic of Kosovo, proclaimed in 1990, was the first Republic of Kosovo, which proved to be a republic of resistance—first through peaceful resistance and later through the liberation war,” said the Prime Minister.
Addressing the delegates present, Acting Prime Minister Kurti said that the gathering marking the 36th anniversary of the Declaration was both an expression of gratitude and appreciation for their contribution and an effort to cultivate an institutional tradition of recognizing the values, contributions and history.
Full speech by Acting Prime Minister Kurti:
Dear delegates, members of the Assembly of Kosovo from the legislative term that adopted the Constitutional Declaration of 2 July 1990,
Dear Acting President of the Republic, Ms Albulena Haxhiu,
Dear Acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Ms Donika Gërvalla,
It is a great honor for me, this morning, on 2 July 2026, in my capacity as Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, to welcome you all here today.
Thank you for making the effort and travelling here to commemorate the Constitutional Declaration of 2 July 1990.
Thirty-six years ago today, under extraordinary circumstances, you and other delegates—some of whom have since passed away and others who unfortunately could not join us today—adopted a constitutional declaration proclaiming Kosovo an equal constituent unit within Yugoslavia. The Constitutional Declaration was therefore an expression not only of freedom but also of equality; it was an expression of the people’s will against discrimination and underrepresentation.
Two months later, on 7 September 1990, the majority of these delegates managed to attend a secretly organized session at the House of Culture in Kaçanik, where the Constitution of Kosovo was adopted and Kosovo was proclaimed a republic.
These two political acts, which complemented one another, constituted both declaratory political proclamations and normative legal proclamations of Kosovo as a republic, embodying a long-standing and nationwide political will that until then had circulated widely, but only as a slogan.
The Declaration of 2 July 1990 in Prishtina, followed by the Constitution of 7 September in Kaçanik, came one and a half years after Yugoslavia, dominated by Serbia under Milošević, had abolished Kosovo’s autonomy as a constituent unit within the Yugoslav federation.
Those of us who are older all remember the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, when Serbia steadily tightened the noose around the neck of the Albanians—not only in Kosovo—by stripping them of their autonomous status, excluding them from the administration, public institutions and workplaces; expelling Albanians from factories and the university; and closing thousands of secondary schools, and in some places even primary schools. None of these measures were isolated actions; they formed part of a broader plan to establish an apartheid system in Kosovo, where the way the state treated its citizens depended on their ethnic background. During those years, in pursuit of the creation of a Greater Serbia, the Serbian state initiated four wars in Yugoslavia: in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
On 2 July 1990, the legitimate political will of the Albanians triumphed over Serbia’s violence, oppression and political discrimination.
The Republic of Kosovo proclaimed in 1990 was the first Republic of Kosovo, which proved to be a republic of resistance—initially through peaceful resistance and subsequently through the liberation war.
It is interesting that the Declaration contains two concepts that deserve the attention of researchers today and in the future: political self-determination and the principles of authentic democracy. These two significant concepts contained in the Constitutional Declaration represent valuable notions for further study by professors and students of political theory, political science, international relations, law and academia in general.
A twelve-minute session held in the courtyard of the Assembly of Kosovo on 2 July 1990 paved the way for a Republic of Kosovo that was finally liberated from Serbia in June 1999.
Formally, it was recognized in advance only by the Republic of Albania. In reality, however, it was recognized and sustained by its own citizens, who contributed massively to building its institutions through nationwide solidarity and an unparalleled civil resistance movement in Europe’s modern political history.
Eighteen years after the Republic proclaimed in 1990, on 17 February 2008, 109 duly elected deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo, as representatives of the people, declared Kosovo to be an independent, sovereign and democratic republic—the state that we continue to build together every day as a developed and prosperous country on its path towards the European Union and NATO.
Without the first Republic of Kosovo—the one proclaimed in 1990 and sustained throughout the following decade—we would not have achieved the Republic of Kosovo as the independent state proclaimed in 2008, which today serves as the institutional home of our political existence.
We belong to a generation of politicians that is fully aware that nothing began with us, and nothing will end with us. There has always been someone before us who paved the way, worked, devoted themselves and made sacrifices so that we could continue that journey.
None of us is responsible for the condition in which we found Kosovo, our people, our nation or the world as a whole. Yet each of us bears responsibility—according to our office, our knowledge, our abilities and our opportunities—to leave a better, fairer and more suitable legacy to the next generation than the one our own generation inherited.
That is precisely why we have convened this gathering today: to express our gratitude and appreciation for everything you have done, which has enabled us to move forward more easily and more quickly than would otherwise have been possible without your commitment and sacrifice.
The modern political history of Kosovo is composed of successive layers of historical legacy, within which you have left your contributions as representatives of the people of this country.
This gathering is therefore both an expression of gratitude to your generation of politicians and an effort to cultivate an institutional tradition of recognizing the values, contributions and history of your generation.
Every year on 2 July, as we commemorate the events of 1990, we learn new facts and details about that session, the circumstances in which it was held and the broader context of the time.
Today, having gathered with the protagonists of that historic moment, I hope we will have an open and meaningful discussion as we reflect on the events of 1990 and honor that important chapter of one of the most decisive periods in our recent history.
Therefore, dear former members of the Assembly of Kosovo, the floor is yours to share your recollections of the events that led to the Declaration of 2 July and those that followed it.
I wish you fruitful discussions today, and I wish each and every one of you good health and every success in the future.
