Suhareke, 25 May, 2024
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, participated today in the commemorative meeting organized in honor of the activist and political prisoner, and activity, Afrim Morina, who died yesterday, on the eve of his 73rd birthday.
In this commemorative meeting together with Prime Minister Kurti were the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari and the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, MPs Gani Krasniqi, Enver Dugolli and Salih Zyba and the Deputy Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi, who were welcomed by the Mayor of Suhareka, Bali Muharremaj, as well as family members and friends of Afrim Morin.
“This year, on June 12, it will be exactly 25 years since the liberation of our country from occupying, invading Serbia. And this day came 25 years ago thanks to the commitment of people like Afrimi and the generation to which he belongs. As early as 17 years old, Afrim Morina was among the organizers of the high school and normal students of Suhareka, in the demonstrations of 1968. During his early youth, he co-founded several literary groups, which at that time were not only artistic but also patriotic and political”, said Prime Minister Kurti.
He recalled that Afrim Morina was convicted and imprisoned by the Belgrade regime four times: on April 2, 1974, on May 26, 1981, on May 9, 1990, and on December 16, 1991, spending a total of six and a half years in prison, only because of his political activity, from illegal organizations to the political entity, the Party of Albanian National Unity – UNIKOMB, as its deputy chairman, at the time when its chairman was Professor Ukshin Hoti.
Commemorating his figure as an intellectual and fair man, the prime minister emphasized that a life like Afrim Morina’s, spent with literary and political activities, with political imprisonment and intellectual commitment, made Afrim a man of many thoughts and who had a lot to say, to give, and as a result one of the most engaged political activists of his generation of political prisoners.
“Afrim Morina led the humane as well as politically and nationally very useful campaign in Suhareka for the reconciliation of blood and conflicts in 1991. For a while, he was also the vice president of the Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms. From the years of his early youth and until the time of the war in Kosovo, Afrim Morina was active in several illegal organizations of the time, such as the Revolutionary Movement for the Union of Albanians (LRBSH), the People’s Movement for the Republic of Kosovo (LPRK) and the Front of National Resistance and Unity (FRBK)”, said Prime Minister Kurti.
During this meeting, which was held in the spaces of the “Hajdin Berisha” City Library, Prime Minister Kurti also honored Afrim’s written intellectual work. In 2015, he had published his complete work with the summary title “The Ark of Memories” which includes a total of 18 works of poetry, drama, novels, journalism, political philosophy and memoirs.
After the commemorative meeting, Prime Minister Kurti, accompanied by government cabinet ministers, members of the Assembly and activists and collaborators, participated in the burial ceremony of the deceased, Afrim Morina, in the village of Reshtan in Suhareka.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
Dear Morina family,
The Honorable Mayor of Suhareka Municipality, Bali Muharremaj,
The Honorable Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic, Enver Hoxhaj,
Dear Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari,
Dear members of the Assembly of the Republic, Gani Krasniqi and Salih Zyba,
Dear leaders and representatives of state and municipal institutions,
Collaborators and friends of Afrim Morin, I see a lot here, from Sokol baca of Sherif Konjufca, of Ismet Gashi, of Haki and Myrvete Kosumi, of Agim Sylejmani and so on.
I am glad to find you and to see you united here in Suhareka, as I joined you today, because whenever a community of people come together, a spontaneous and beneficial synergy develops between them and for all. Even in cases like this when we are gathered for something painful, even the pain and boredom itself become more bearable when we are together and take on a kind of awakening for all of us.
In the wake of our obligations to those who have resisted and tried for the freedom of our homeland, we the living have two last obligations to them. The first obligation and the penultimate among others, is to honor him personally and remember his work individually when he is no longer among us; and our second and last but most enduring obligation is to preserve and maintain the ideals of those people during our further journey and to walk guided by them.
That is why we are here today in Suharekë, to honor the work and the very life of Afrim Morina, the activist and political prisoner, who left us yesterday, a few days before he turned 73 years old. Afrim Morina was born in 1951, on a date that, on the day he would turn 48 years old, that date would be the day of the liberation of Kosovo, so Afrim was born on June 12. This year, on June 12, it will be exactly 25 years since the liberation of our country from occupying, invading Serbia. And this day came 25 years ago thanks to the commitment of people like Afrimi and the generation to which he belongs. As early as 17 years old, Afrim Morina was among the organizers of the high school and normal students of Suhareka, in the demonstrations of 1968. During his early youth, he co-founded several literary groups, which at that time were not only artistic but also patriotic and political.
Afrim Morina led the humane as well as politically and nationally very useful campaign in Suhareka for the reconciliation of blood and conflicts in 1991. For a while, he was also the vice president of the Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms. From the years of his early youth and until the time of the war in Kosovo, Afrim Morina was active in several illegal organizations of the time, such as the Revolutionary Movement for the Union of Albanians (LRBSH), the People’s Movement for the Republic of Kosovo (LPRK) and the Front of Resistance and National Union (FRBK).
For his political activity, Afrim Morina was convicted and imprisoned by the Belgrade regime four times: on April 2, 1974, on May 26, 1981, on May 9, 1990, and on December 16, 1991, spending a total of six and a half years in prison. Political activists who have been politically imprisoned like Afrim Morina, many of whom are still here today, know that the time spent in prison for political beliefs is time that generally seals the profile of political ideas and political activism. This is what happened with Afrim Morina, who transferred the political activity from illegal organizations to the political entity, the Party of Albanian National Unity – UNIKOMB, as its deputy chairman, when its chairman was Professor Ukshin Hoti, to whom ten days ago we marked 25 – the anniversary of the disappearance after release from Dubrava prison.
A life like this of Afrim Morina, spent with literary and political activities, with political imprisonment and intellectual commitment, made Afrim a man of many thoughts and who had a lot to say and give. I have many meetings, and therefore also memories with Afrim Morina because he did not leave a protest or demonstration that was called without participating, a demonstration or protest where the people were called and he did not leave a meeting or gathering without participating, a meeting or gathering where he was called separately.
Afrim Morina is one of those activists who comes to work and to meetings, to battles and confrontations and never finds another job. He never comes up with any other commitment that would make him say I’m sorry, I apologize or something similar. The rest of us have been able to apologize to Afrim Morina, but he has never had a reason to apologize to any of us, because he has been at the forefront of his duty at all times in front of everyone. And in these meetings with him, he was always pleasant and loving, but I have to say that it was often a little difficult and sometimes even shocking, because Afrim Morina always told the truth bluntly, and never justice.
Therefore, we who are here today and many others who knew him owe a lot to him for authenticity as a way of life and behavior, not only as an approach to action and thought.
But Afrim Morina has not only left us the memories of meetings with him, of the work and activities he has done. In 2015, he published his complete written work, in which, under the summary title “The Ark of Memories”, a total of 18 works of poetry, drama, novels, journalism, political philosophy and memoirs were arranged. Thus, from his intellectual and political profile, Afrim Morina turns out to be one of the most fully engaged political activists of his generation of political prisoners.
By honoring the work of Afrim Morina and remembering him together with the events of his life on the day of our farewell to him, we honor not only Afrim but his entire generation of political prisoners and what they represent.
Honors and gratitude to the work and legacy of Afrim Morina’s political commitment, among his friends of activism, resistance and the ideal for Kosovo’s freedom and national unity.
Condolences to the Morina family, condolences to all of you who have joined in honoring the life and work of Afrim Morina!
Glory, and thank you!
Last modified: May 27, 2024