Prishtina, 29 May 2026
Dear Gagica family,
Honorable Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Albin Kurti,
Dear friends, associates, and companions of Mr. Gagica,
Dear citizens of the Republic of Kosovo,
We have gathered here today, deeply saddened, but also immensely proud, to honor a man who did far more for Kosovo, for its freedom and independence, than most citizens of our country can imagine or know.
But those of us gathered in this hall knew this much earlier. I, too, knew very well who Hafiz Gagica was when, after years in Albania, I returned to the place where my father had been killed.
My mother, who is also here today, and I myself remember how often Hafiz visited my father and how much he appreciated and supported him as a young patriot, wise and courageous. We also remember how deeply he and the entire organization were shaken by the assassination of my father, Uncle Bardhosh, and Kadri Zeka, and how proudly he carried the title of being a student of Jusuf Gërvalla.
Sometimes, when time and circumstances demand it, history is written even by people who until then had lived entirely ordinary lives.
Hafiz Gagica was such a man.
He was a devoted husband to Emine, a loving father to Dardana and Zarife, and part of our diaspora from a very young age. In the German company where he worked, he was respected and held a very good position.
But when the situation in Kosovo under Serbian repression became increasingly grave, he gave up that position and devoted himself entirely to the struggle for the freedom and independence of Kosovo, as chairman of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) for Germany and chairman of the LDK Collegium for the Diaspora, covering Europe, America, and even Australia.
During the 1990s, Hafiz Gagica played an important role in the protection and liberation of the Republic of Kosovo, in building and strengthening the parallel system during the repression exercised by Serbia, and in representing a strong and unquestionable Albanian voice for Kosovo in Germany and beyond.
For this commitment, he gave up his job in Germany in order to dedicate himself fully to political activity, becoming without hesitation the main bearer of diaspora activities during the 1990s. In Germany, throughout Europe and beyond, he assumed a key role as the link between Prishtina and our international partners.
Hafiz Gagica was the pillar of diaspora organization. He was an initiator, visionary, organizer, and always the person to whom concerned Albanians turned, because they saw in him the legitimate representative of Dr. Rugova in the diaspora.
During the 1990s, for President Rugova as well as for other responsible representatives of the Republic of Kosovo, the office in Stuttgart effectively served as the second political center alongside Prishtina, and under Hafiz Gagica’s leadership it became a central point for logistics, coordination, political contacts, and numerous other activities. A large number of President Rugova’s trips and those of other delegations to Germany, Switzerland, other European countries, and the United States of America were organized from this center in Stuttgart under his leadership.
Dr. Rugova could not travel abroad every week. Hafiz Gagica was the connecting link. In Stuttgart, where we had our main headquarters in Germany, Hafiz, our close friend Sali Çekaj, and others represented the second powerful arm of Kosovo — the diaspora.
He also played a decisive role in organizing and securing funding for the parallel system of the Republic of Kosovo, especially in the fields of healthcare, education, and food supply. During this extremely difficult period, hundreds of thousands of Albanians benefited from vital support thanks to the sustainable organization and personal commitment of Hafiz Gagica, as well as many other activists in the diaspora. Living witnesses to all of this are here in the hall today — I saw Hamdi Gërvalla here among us.
In Germany, he initiated and institutionalized intensive contacts for Kosovo with the Bundestag, the federal government, and the major media outlets in the largest country of the European Union and NATO’s most important European partner.
Hafiz was not a loud man, but he was an extraordinarily effective organizer and one of the central figures of the Republic of Kosovo under Serbian repression. With him and people like him, the Republic of Kosovo was placed on the political map of the world.
Together with our historic President Dr. Rugova and many others, he created the foundation of trust that made it possible for the democratic world to stop merely watching while the Serbian regime brutally exercised violence against civilians, families, and the freedom of Kosovo.
He was also one of the initiators of the large demonstrations organized by Albanians in Germany and across Europe, where tens of thousands of compatriots, together with local friends, gathered to make Kosovo’s voice heard in political processes in Germany and on the international stage. The largest demonstration ever organized by a non-German organization in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany was our rally after the massacres in Prekaz in 1998 in Bonn, attended by more than 100,000 participants, clearly and powerfully demanding freedom for Kosovo and an end to Serbian oppression.
As early as 1991, Hafiz Gagica contributed to organizing the training of the first military groups in Albania. Distinguished figures and heroes of Kosovo, such as Adem Jashari, Zahir Pajaziti, and Sali Çekaj, were among those who participated in these preparations for the defense of Kosovo, which laid the foundations of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
During 1998–1999, Hafiz Gagica, using all of his contacts and opportunities, co-organized broad political, logistical, military, and financial support for the defense of Kosovo.
Many of you present here remember the major 1991 campaign to raise funds for Kosovo’s self-defense.
Figures such as Hafiz Gagica are inseparable from the struggle for Kosovo’s freedom and independence. Hundreds of thousands of Albanians in Germany and Kosovo are witnesses to this.
Without any doubt, he was one of the fundamental pillars of the independent Republic of Kosovo. As his deputy and close companion for many years, I can testify that he fought for our Kosovo not only with heart and soul, but also with wisdom and political prudence.
Hafiz always gave, and after Kosovo was liberated, he never asked for anything in return, thus embodying the example of an extraordinary patriot.
His work and his contribution to Kosovo’s independence, freedom, and democracy will remain eternal.
Glory to Hafiz and to all those who contributed to our country!