Mitrovica, February 20, 2023
Today marked the 34th anniversary of the Trepca miners’ strike. At the solemn ceremony, in Stanterg, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with the Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, were present.
Recalling the context and the strike of 1989, the prime minister said that with their actions the miners were protecting Kosovo from the discriminatory and oppressive policies of the rising Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic and the attempt to revoke Kosovo’s autonomy. He added that for eight days, until February 28, 1989, the eighth and ninth horizons of the Stantergu mine, about a thousand meters underground, turned into political fronts that shook the whole of Yugoslavia.
“The 1300 striking miners of Trepca, as he pointed out, were the first 1300 soldiers who started the war, which after a decade resulted in the liberation of Kosovo, although the historical context of that time was very – very complex”, declared the prime minister.
34 years since the strike, 24 years since the war and 15 years since the declaration of independence, as we remember its capacities at that time and the raising of the level of its work today, everyone’s challenge for Trepca, and especially for our government in particular, is to turn Trepça from a giant that is considered dormant, into a source of mining wealth from the underground, raising the levels of all stages of the work of this enterprise, beyond any memory or history of this underground paradise.
During the first two years of his mandate, the Prime Minister emphasized that he worked diligently to develop public enterprises, supporting them in the fight against crime and internal corruption, to overcome financial difficulties, to catch up in the market and to increase the performance and therefore to raise the results. In addition, the Government has supported Trepca with subsidies for capital investments and to face the energy crisis, 8.2 million euros in 2021 and 8.3 million euros in 2023.
And for these two years, he said that we have seen progress in Trepca.
“The new leadership of the enterprise has increased production and revenues, reduced operating expenses and established order and discipline at work. In the last two years, Trepca’s revenues have increased by 50% compared to the years 2018-2020. In 2018-2020, they were 14 to 15 million euros, now they are 21 to 22 million euros. During the past year alone, revenues from Lead and Zinc concentrate have increased by 11%, while operating expenses have decreased by 15% compared to the previous year. Thus, the losses have also decreased from 2 to 5 million euros on an annual basis that they were before, to 690 thousand euros in 2021, and only 126 thousand euros in 2022”, highlighted Prime Minister Kurti.
Prime Minister Kurti also congratulated the miners and citizens of Mitrovica on last night’s victory of the Trepca basketball club in the final of the Kosovo Basketball Cup.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Last night when I returned to Pristina at the “Adem Jashari” International Airport, the first news I received was “Trepca won”. So allow me to start by wishing the Trepca basketball club last night’s victory and the Kosovo Cup. I remember that the Trepca basketball club won exactly 30 years ago, from 1993 onwards it became champion several times even after the liberation, but last night’s victory was extraordinary and valuable for all of us, not only for Trepca itself and for Mitrovica.
Honorable Minister of Economy, Mrs. Artane Rizvanolli,
Honorable Mayor of the Municipality of Mitrovica Mr. Bedri Hamza,
Honorable Chairman of the Board of Trepca Mr. Bahri Hyseni,
Honorable members of the Assembly of the Republic, Armend Muja, Arjeta Fejza and Armend Zemaj,
Honorable Deputy Minister Agron Dobruna
Honorable Deputy Chief Mr. Enis Abdurrahmani,
Honorable miners,
Sisters and brothers,
Ladies and gentlemen,
These days, as we marked the 15th anniversary of our state, the main word of each speech was “Republic of Kosovo”. It was the headline of all our congratulations. However, the Republic of Kosovo as a state starts with “Republic of Kosovo” as a slogan. And as I was thinking of coming here among you today in Stanterg, to remember together the strike of the miners of Trepça, on its 34th anniversary, I remembered that with the word “Republic of Kosovo”, this anniversary of the miners’ strike can also be commemorated of 1989. Because the slogan “Kosova Republic”, together with the slogan “Trepca is ours” and other slogans, was written on the walls of the workers’ canteen as early as September 28, 1983, by the miners of Trepça, Xhavit Bajraktari and Shyqri Miftari.
Five years later, wanting to prevent the next steps of Serbia’s policies that were increasing the political oppression on the Albanians, towards the suppression of the autonomy of Kosovo, on the morning of November 17, 1988, the miners of Trepca gathered here in Stanterg and dressed wearing miners’ uniforms, they marched 52 kilometers on foot to Pristina, to express their opposition, and with the call “Long live the working class”. Thus, in a few years, the mining community of Mitrovica with the miners of Trepca, turned from a group of workers from whose sweat was unfairly and unequally built throughout Yugoslavia, into a professionally organized political collective, of which the disintegration of Yugoslavia itself began, which was becoming the Yugoslavia of the Milosevic regime.
After the Kosovo Provincial Committee did not respond to the demands of the miners, on February 20, 1989, around 1:00 p.m., the miners of the fourth shift did not leave the mine at all, entering a hunger strike. They were joined by the miners of the other three shifts, and thus about 1,300 miners of Trepca went on strike articulating 10 demands, among which the eighth was: “that the fate of Albanians in Kosovo and Yugoslavia be reviewed in the United Nations”. So this is the call of the miners on behalf of all Albanians to internationalize the issue of Kosovo, where apartheid was starting from Serbia.
So basically the miners were protecting Kosovo from the discriminatory and oppressive policies of the rising Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic and the attempt to revoke Kosovo’s autonomy.
For the next eight days, until February 28, 1989, the eighth and ninth horizons of the Stanterg Ore pit, located about a thousand meters underground, turned into political fronts shaking the whole of Yugoslavia.
Raised on the forced principle of “Brotherhood-Union” and unjustly dominated to the point of exploitation by Serbia, that edifice called Yugoslavia, had just started on the irreversible path of its destruction. The 1300 striking miners of Trepça were the first 1300 soldiers who started the war which after a decade resulted in the liberation of Kosovo, although the historical context of that time was very, very complex.
Despite the fact that the miners were deceived and their demands were not met, the strike of the miners of Trepca produced its effects beyond the expectations of the time. Before they left the eighth horizon, the last appeal of the miners had been a call to end the fratricide and reconcile their blood. On March 1, 1989, the first day after the strike, Serbian authorities closed the mine and arrested 15 people who were jailed for 14 months. Three weeks later, on March 23, 1989, Kosovo’s autonomy was abolished, and in the following months, thousands of Albanians left their jobs. The era of apartheid and segregation had begun to continue until the liberation of 1999, which was liberation by the Kosovo Liberation Army, supported by NATO against the occupation and invasion of Serbia.
Now 34 years have passed since the strike, 24 years since the war and 15 years since the declaration of independence. Soon it will be two years since this new government of ours took the task to protect the property of the people, to bring justice to the country and to pave the way for the development of well-being.
For two years we worked diligently with everything we could and knew. We are particularly engaged with public enterprises. We have supported them to fight crime and internal corruption, to overcome financial difficulties, to catch up in the market and to increase performance and thus raise results. For these two years, we have seen progress in Trepça. The new leadership of the enterprise has increased production and revenues, reduced operating expenses and established order and discipline at work.
In the last two years, Trepca’s revenues have increased by 50% compared to the years 2018-2020. In 2018-2020, they were 14 to 15 million euros, now they are 21 to 22 million euros.
During the past year alone, revenues from Lead and Zinc concentrate have increased by 11%, while operating expenses have decreased by 15% compared to the previous year. Thus, the losses have also decreased from 2 to 5 million euros on an annual basis that they were earlier, to 690 thousand euros in 2021, and only 126 thousand euros in 2022.
Trepca has also increased its income from other sources. During the past year, it became the main supplier of the Regional Water Supply Companies with Aluminum Sulfate, increasing the revenue from the sale of this product by 152%. Whereas, since November 2021, Trepca realizes additional income for itself and at the same time serves the country’s economy through the public Customs Terminal, which offers services at lower rates for the private sector.
As a government, we have supported Trepca with subsidies for capital investments and to face the energy crisis, 8.2 million euros in 2021 and 8.3 million euros in 2023. But we still have work ahead together — for Trepca and for the Kosovo miner.
This year is the time for investments in new technology, which increases production efficiency, raises the operational and financial performance of the enterprise, improves working conditions and opens new jobs. Investments that haven’t been made in nearly half a century — new manufacturing machinery and flotation — will happen within our government.
As we remember the 1989 strike of the miners of Trepca, 34 years later, remembering its capacities at that time and raising the level of its work today, everyone’s challenge for Trepca, and especially for our government in particular, is to turn Trepça from a giant that is considered dormant, into a source of mining wealth from the underground, raising the levels of all stages of the work of this enterprise, beyond any memory or history of this underground paradise.
Our land and underground are our common destiny, and miners are at the center of our history, but also of our present and future. So, Happy Miner’s Day and good luck!
Thank you!
Last modified: February 22, 2023