Years starting with one mark the beginning of the new decade. However, the new decade did not always start well for Albanians...
1921: PROCLAMATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MIRDITA, WITH THE HELP OF SERBIA

Communism begins to spread around the world. In 1921, the Communist Party of Italy, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Spain, China is formed... The Red Army invades Georgia, while the military coup led by Reza Khan and Zia'eddin Tatabaee takes place, which in 1925 will bring the end of Qajar dynasty in Iran.

In Ireland, the war for independence continues, with attacks on British forces. The fighting ends on December 6, when the Anglo-Irish Treaty recognizes the Irish Free State which included 26 of the 32 Irish counties.
On March 12, Independence March is adopted as the official anthem of Turkey. The author of the anthem is Mehmet Akif Ersoj, an Albanian originally from Shushica and Istog in Kosovo. Among the verses that are sung in the hymn are the following:
Don't be afraid! The red flag flying in this sky does not go out
Without extinguishing the last chimney that smokes over my homeland
He is the star of my people, he will shine
He is mine, mine, only to my people
To become a sacrifice! Don't be sad my cute moon!
Smile my hero people, what is this strength and this greatness!
That the blood that was shed for you is not forgiven
Independence is the right of my people who believe in God.

The National Council of Albania, which emerges from the elections of March 5, 1921, begins its work on April 21, 1921 (later it will be called Parliament). Pandeli Evangjeli was elected chairman of the National Council, while in 1922, Eshref Frashëri. At that time, two political groups were distinguished: the People's Party headed by Fan Noli and the Progressive Party headed by Hoxhë Kadri Prishtina.

While everyone thought that Albania was avoiding internal problems, another appeared: the so-called Republic of Mirdita. Baron Nopça (Franz Nopcsa von Felso-Szilvas) had also warned that such a thing would happen. In the work "Travels in the Balkans: the memories of Baron Franc Nopça", there is talk about the Congress of Albanians in Trieste, held from February 27 to March 6, 1913, under the organization of Faik Konica and Sotir Kole, with the support of the Austro-Empire Hungarian. Nopça was also present at that congress. According to him, during the time when the London Conference was still being held, Prince Wied ascended the throne of Albania. At this time, Prenk Bibë Doda, who traveled between Vienna and Rome, also came to the fore. "I had been clear for a long time about his pro-Serb and pro-Malaysian attitude, by which he sought recognition as the prince of Mirdita. Since the beginning of the Balkan war, he joined Montenegro and later, together with Marka Gjon, during the advance of the Serbian troops against Lezha, the way was opened for their troops. After these things I was not surprised when he announced to me, treating me as his personal friend, during a celebratory dinner at Hotel Zaher [Hotel Sacher], that he intended to return to Mirdita not from Durrës, but from Belgrade. His faith went so far that he asked me to intervene next to Berhtold in this matter".
The Republic of Mirdita was proclaimed in Prizren, i.e. in Kosovo, then ruled by the Serbs, on July 17, 1921. This republic was in the interest of Serbia because it would hold the Albanian state hostage and create religious divisions. The President of the Republic of Mirdita was Marka Gjoni.
Fortunately, it was Great Britain that recognized the Albanian government in November 1921, while Prime Minister Lloyd George forced Belgrade to stop supporting Marka Gjoni. Ahmet Zogu was then sent to the region of Mirdita with a contingent of Albanian troops and irregular forces, who defeated the separatist movement and which on November 20, 1921 put an end to this republic. Marka Gjoni fled to Yugoslavia. On this occasion, the previous agreements from the Ottoman period, which gave Mirdita autonomy through indirect rule, were abrogated.

In 1921 were born: the Japanese Nobelist Yoichiro Nambu, the actors Carol Channing, Dirk Bogart and Charles Bronson, the German philosopher Hans Albert, the well-known pulmonologist from Kosovo, Ali Sokoli, the director Lec Shllaku, as well as Nexhmije Hoxha, the wife of the Albanian communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. In 1921, the famous politician Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who proclaimed himself emperor of the Central African Republic, was born, as well as the human rights activist Andrei Sakharov. Adem Demaçi (in 1991) and Ibrahim Rugova (in 1998) also won the Sakharov Prize, which is shared by the European Parliament.
In 1921, two anti-Albanian kings died - Nicholas I of Montenegro and Peter I of Serbia. The famous Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso, also died.
In 1921, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics was Albert Einstein. After this award, Einstein became synonymous with genius.

YEAR 1931: THE COLONIZATION THAT COULD NOT GET ALBANIA OUT OF KOSOVO

The world is in a fragile peace, but ready for other bigger explosions. Mao Zedong in 1931 proclaims the Chinese Soviet Republic, which survives until 1937. The Civil War in China began in 1927, ending in 1947 when Mao took power and proclaimed the People's Republic of China. Three to five million people have been killed in this civil war. Nearly 50 million more during Mao's rule - from starvation, murder and persecution.

Yes, in 1931, Joseph Stalin starts the war against religions, while giving a speech about the rapid industrialization of the USSR. This gives a blow to the "New Economic Policy" of 1921 when, in order to avoid starvation and a deep economic crisis as a result of the failure of the planned socialist economy, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returns to a certain extent to capitalism by allowing production oriented towards profit, private ownership of the production of consumer goods and the accumulation of wealth. The Communists then allowed state-owned enterprises to hand over their factories to private individuals and entrust private individuals with both the financing and the logistics of business activities. But in 1926 Stalin says that "we allowed private capital and withdrew partially to regroup our forces, and then to attack." The consequences of this "attack" are famine and terror in what Stalin called the "annihilation of the kulaks". Kulaks were the landowners who would bear the brunt of the country's industrialization. From 1932 to 1940, nearly 400 thousand kulaks were killed and another 15 million, together with their families, were deported until 1937 (many of them died from the bad conditions). Under Stalin, over 20 million inhabitants of the USSR died. Surprisingly, when Stalin started the process of industrialization in 1931, two more leaders were born who would give the last blows to the USSR: Mikhail Gorbachev, the secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the years 1985-1991, and Boris Yeltsin - the first president of Russia after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.
In 1931, the Parliament of Finland begins its work, Kemal Ataturk is re-elected president of Turkey, German Chancellor Heinrich Bruning warns of the collapse of Austria's banking system that is also keeping Germany blocked, while the gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison due to the evasion of taxes.

Actors Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones and James Dean, media magnate Rupert Murdoch, poet Alda Merini, poet Dritëro Agolli and composer Pjetër Gaci were born in 1931. The latter composed the song "Ky marak". The muse who inspired one of the most beautiful Albanian love songs, was one of the most beautiful women from Shkodra, in the 70s of the XNUMXth century. But, this "love" that resembles Goethe's "Elegy of Marienbad" - a high human value and not at all tainted by everyday banalities - reflects the Albanian culture and humanity that is being dissolved today. Pjeter Gaci has already seen the muse on the street ("When you pass by on the road with beauty / like a lily flower / stop for a moment and look / because I have a marak fairy"), while she didn't publish the song without getting her husband's permission (with whom she also never lived). To understand this feeling and the story behind the song, read a part of Stefan Çapalik's narration, from the work "Everyone goes crazy in their own way"!
"It was not released because Mr. Pjetri did not release the song to the public, without first showing it to the husband of that lady and without obtaining permission from him, even though her name was not mentioned anywhere in the song.
- I am Pjetër Gaci, - he appeared before his muse's husband one morning, - and I know who you are.
- I know who you are, - answered the gentleman.
Then Pjetri asked him only five minutes to return together to his house. He sat down at the piano and sang her the song.
- This is what I wanted to tell you, - he said, - and you are the first to hear it. I wrote this song for your wife and if you say don't take it out, I will now delete it and ask you to forgive me for my courage.
That man must have a head down party. Maybe the other one too. But no. The pause did not last long.
- I feel honored, Mr. Peter, for these words and this beautiful music that you dedicated to my friend. Thank you, - he extended his hand and went out"!
In 1931, the great scientist Thomas Edison, who had no less than 1 patents, died. Meanwhile, Serbian agents killed the historian Milan Sufflay, who was illuminating the Albanian past. The Serbs broke his head, raided his apartment and stole the manuscript "Albanian Codex", the third volume, a major work on Albanian history and culture that has not been found. Albert Einstein and Heinrich Mann (writer and brother of the famous Thomas Mann) also reacted to his murder, who publicly condemned Belgrade for this crime. Their letter was published on the front page of the popular newspaper “The New York Times”.

Meanwhile, in 1931, an unsuccessful assassination attempt was carried out in Vienna, against Ahmet Zogut, who had declared himself king of the Albanians. Historian Bernd Fischer, in his studies, counts as many as 600 rivalries of Ahmet Zog. But, only four times directly attempted to take his life, without success. The same year, in 1931, Zogu started plans for the creation of an Albanian naval fleet, buying... a cruiser!
Meanwhile, things are bad in Kosovo. The census of the population from Serbia shows that the Serbian colonization is failing, since the Albanians were still the majority (62 percent according to the Serbs). Since the colonization was not showing results, then the efforts for deportations to Turkey, as well as for the settlement of Chetniks in Kosovo, increased. Life in Kosovo was scary, like the two horror films that premiered in 1931: "Dracula" and "Frankenstein".

1941: ALBANIA DECLARES WAR ON THE USSR, THE PERIOD KNOWN AS THE "THREE DAYS OF SHIPNI" BEGINS

The world is at war. Germany dominates, but this year makes the biggest mistake: the invasion of the Soviet Union, which will later change the course of World War II, taking the world from one war to another - the Cold War. On June 28, 1941, Albania also declared war on the Soviet Union.

In 1941, Greece and Yugoslavia capitulated. The fall of the Serbian capital is so shameful that the German officer who took control of it is mentioned in almost every book on military strategy. At the beginning of April 1941, German aviation bombed the Serbian capital. The German goal was to quickly capitulate Yugoslavia, in order to conquer Greece, which was resisting the Italian army. But Belgrade had to be conquered by land, and the Serbs had destroyed the bridges. Without waiting for reinforcements, Captain Fritz Klingenberg, with six soldiers, crosses the Danube in a boat and in bad weather. On the way, he arrests many Yugoslav soldiers (up to 1) and takes their weapons and military equipment. He marches with them along "Mreti Aleksandër" boulevard and addresses the German Embassy. The mayor of Belgrade went there to sign the surrender of the city on April 300, 12. Since he had acted on his own, Klingenberg was almost taken to a military court. His reasoning was: "What's wrong, they wanted to surrender. Did I give them back the city, huh? Yugoslavia capitulates on April 18, while Greece three days later, on April 21.

With the capitulation of Yugoslavia and Greece, the era that will be known in Kosovo as the Three Days of Shipni begins. Kosovo and many other Albanian provinces, including Chameria, were annexed to Albania. In Kosovo, the Germans and Italians were welcomed as liberators, because the Albanians here had a problem with survival, not the balance of forces between the Axis and the Alliance. Kosovo was already an occupied, trampled and trodden land. Thus, the removal of the perpetrators (the Serbian government), which also stops the deportation and colonization programs, simply meant freedom. Well, this freedom brought many good things, among others the opening of secular schools, the new administration and the Albanian gendarmerie. Therefore, for years after the Second World War, the Albanians here said: "I saw those three days of Shipnia"!

Prime Minister of Albania until December 4 was Shefqet Vërlaci, and then Mustafa Kruja (signatory of the document of Independence of Albania). The latter, in the speech held in Peja on June 29, 1942, said:
"Like Mustafa Kruja, who did not do much for the holy land and the Vigan people of this Kosovo, but otherwise he carried in his heart with tears of blood for 30 years in a row its captivity, sufferings and salvations bloody of her sons. Although far away, I lived spiritually with you, among you. There are Albanians, my fellow Serbophiles, who have attached the black seal of treason to me because I showed sympathy for Italy, along with Hasan Pristina, Bajram Curri, Dervish Mitrovica and many other Kosovars. Yes! I don't deny it. All my sympathy, my sincere one, has been for Italy, it has been for Rome, as it continues to be so. Because it was and is a sympathy that has its roots in our boundless love for Albanian Kosovo, for Kreshnik Kosovo, for martyred Kosovo. I can't stand it and I can't with the Serbian army, Belgrade, the executioners of my Kosovar brothers... It's true that Kosovo is an Albanian, it's true that Kosovo is no longer 'southern Serbia' or 'Metohija', but it is called the Prefecture of Pristina, the Prefecture of Prizren, the Prefecture of Peja and the Albanian King, thanks to the union of our state with fascist Italy, I am still proud of my Italophile, even if those who branded this Italophile as treason do not regret it at all. For a person who has no other ambitions than the realization of an ideal, there is no greater satisfaction than to prove this ideal".

Meanwhile, Shefqet Vërlaci, in November 1941 addressed the Minister of World Affairs, Iljaz Agushi from Pristina, asking him and the commission charged under his direction to collect documentation and everything else necessary to prove the Albanianism of all areas of Kosovo, which were annexed to the Albanian territory in the summer of 1941, being put under the administration of the government of Tirana:
"The return of Kosovo to the land of Nana Shqipni has presented the need to show the whole world how these lands, freed after 30 years of Slavic slavery, are completely Albanian both from a historical and ethnic point of view. In order to achieve this goal, we have formed a Commission under the chairmanship of His Excellency Vej, according to the attached decree, which Commission will deal with the collection of all documents belonging to Kosovo, as well as any other elements that may serve to prove the Albanianism of the province in question. We believe that such work would serve to further strengthen those feelings of connection and love that every Albanian should feel for Kosovo".

The special emissary for the liberation of the Albanian territory of Kosovo, in 1941, was Qazim Mulleti. The administrator of Kosovo was Koço Tasi. He has honestly administered taxes and appointed the mayors of municipalities in Kosovo and other liberated lands, according to the best standards, putting capable and honest people in positions, not the ignorant and the ignorant! The Minister of Education in Albania was Ernest Koliqi. Koliki and Tasi in Kosovo bring 350 teachers to open a school of widespread knowledge. In Peja, on November 21, 1941, the gymnasium and the Female Work School were opened, in Prishtina the "Sami Frashëri" Normal School was established, and the schools of Prizren, Gjakova, Mitrovica, etc. started working. In 1942, the first pedagogical course was opened in Pristina. Three days ago, Shipni, the end of the Second World War found Kosovo with 278 primary schools and 11 secondary schools.

During this time, however, some parts of the border area in the north of Kosovo, including Sanjak, as well as some parts of the border with Montenegro, fell under German jurisdiction, so they were not part of Albania. The Chetnik forces of Drazha Mihalović operated in Serbia, who officially did not accept the German invasion, but who cooperated with them. These forces constantly attacked Albanian settlements. The battles against Chetnik forces in Shala and Bajgore were led by Ahmet Selaci and Mehmet Gradica. Such battles mostly did not bother the German forces, except when their interests were affected. Therefore, on October 20, 1941, a meeting was organized between the entrepreneur, patriot and intellectual - among others educated in Vienna - Xhafer Deva, from the Chetnik Kosta Peçanci. The latter, based on his first experiences with Albanians and not knowing Deva, thinks that with a play on words he could convince him to submit to his demands. But Deva's reaction horrified him. The translation of Peçanc's words about that meeting (taken from a letter sent to the Chetniks), is as follows:
"I was at the headquarters with my Chetniks, in Kurshumli, when I was called from Nish to talk to the Arnauts about the border. We went and met him there. I spoke Arnautke, the language I knew well, with the hope that with much praise we will also acquire it, as we have been able to benefit all the Arnaut leaders. With Azem (Beyt) I saw and met your father Urtak in Mitrovica, who, as a loyal Arnaut, respected our army, but also the Serbian government. Therefore, I pray to God (I use the word 'Kumim te Bogom', because the godmother is regarded as something sacred by the Serbs, an intermediary between the family and the ancestors; it is an expression used when asking someone to become a friend and protector, respected almost God for the seeker, which should not be rejected, especially by the Albanians of the faith - vj), that if he resembles him even a little, avoid Borçan and Bajgora, which have been ours for centuries'. With a smile under his spectacles, which I noticed, he calmly answered: 'I have heard a lot about your bravery from my father. Don't worry, because tomorrow I'm sending two of my calm and understanding people to Borqan, with whom you can talk - Ahmet (Selacin) and Mehmet (Gradica)'. After a few days, I realized that this little Arnaut in the future has to do with... everything Serbian up to Nis - where his ancestors come from".
Deva was an immigrant from Nishi, a rare intellectual. His calm way of communication, with culture and diplomacy, and the answer he gives about the people with whom he is "easy to get along with" - what Peçanci was looking for, but who were actually the names of the brave who informed about the war without no compromise of the Albanians for their lands - represented the most disappointing moment of the man who previously could do whatever he wanted with the Albanians. Because times were changing, not only for the good of Serbia.

But the Albanians were still easily manipulated. Thus, in 1941 one of the most tragicomic events of our history took place, which has never been talked about (at least not the truth). In the village of Tullarë on the border of Kosovo, a malicious plan is staged. Through the Serb Radovan Shakiq, the positioned German troops are told that in the village of Prapashtica (on Friday, in the mosque) Albanians and communists will gather to make plans for an attack against them. In the meantime, the message is sent to the Albanians of Prapashtica that the Serbs (errfija) will go to attack them. The Germans leave and the Albanians get ready on Lisicë hill. Fighting breaks out, killing nearly 20 German soldiers, including an officer with the rank of major. The deserted Albanians, who did not recognize the German military uniforms, thought that they saved the inhabitants, until one of them says: "Kuku, these (e) tickets of Heta have not been taken (to Hitler)”? Then there was a harsh German revenge, with numerous liquidations in Prapashtica and Keqekollë. Many residents from Nišeci and Braina were taken as prisoners of war and sent to Germany. This story, as a student, was researched by the prominent journalist of the "Rilindja" newspaper, Tahir Neziri. He even wanted to make this research the subject of his high school diploma. But, even though he was young, he gave up because there was nothing in that history that the Albanian could boast about. Later, a historian of ours (controversy) is inspired by his data, to crack it as a "revelation" that says that the first communist anti-fascist rifle in the former Yugoslavia was fired in Prapashtica of Kosovo, not by Zhikica Jovanovic Shpanaci in Bella Church of Serbia (July 7, 1941). However, after the events of 1981 in Kosovo, this book was not published either.

In 1941, three great names of world literature died: James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Rabindranath Tagore. This year rock music icons Joan Baez, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel were born; actors Faye Dunaway, Nick Nolte, Ann-Margret, Ryan O'Neal, Beau Bridges; tenor Placido Domingo; American Vice President Dick Cheney (during the administration of George W. Bush); director Bernardo Bertolucci; the dancer Abdurrahman Nokshiqi, activist Enver Hadri (who was killed in 1990, in Brussels, from the Serbian circles), the publisher and writer Nazmi Rrahmani, as well as the composer Ferdinand Deda. In 1941, the Butcher of the Balkans, the cause of the bloody wars of the 1990s in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Slobodan Milosevic, was born.
On January 13, 1941, the premiere of the film "Citizen Kane" is given, which is considered the best in the history of world cinematography. On January 20, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as president of the United States. This was his third term. In November 1941, with the help of the Yugoslavs, the Communist Party of Albania was formed.

1951: TURKISHING OF ALBANIANS IN KOSOVO AND MURDERING OF INTELLECTUALS IN ALBANIA

The Korean War continues, a war which, until its end in 1957, takes the lives of 2-3 million civilians. In 1951, King Abdullah I of Jordan was killed by a Palestinian during Friday prayers. The same year, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan, is also killed.

Greece and Turkey become members of NATO, while Libya gains independence from Italy. Shortly before his 77th birthday, Winston Churchill is re-elected prime minister of Great Britain. Meanwhile, Farooq of Egypt proclaims himself as the king of Sudan. A year later, his power is overthrown, ending the dynasty - almost 150 years of rulers of Albanian origin in Egypt - that started with Mehmet Ali Pasha.
Rockers Phil Collins, Chris Rea, Sting and Bob Geldof were born in 1951; actors Chris Cooper, Robin Williams and Michael Keaton; bass guitar legend, Jaco Pastorius. Writers Ylljet Aliçka and Dashnor Kokonozi were also born; the entrepreneur who also deals with politics, Behghet Pacolli, and the analyst Fatos Lubonja. The German Joachim Rucker was born in 1951 and was the chief administrator of Kosovo - PSSP (Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations) - in 2006. He was the first chief administrator who dared to mention the independence of Kosovo.
In 1951, the French hero of the First World War - the traitor of the Second World War, Philippe Petain, died. Also died Ali Sami Frashëri - known as Ali Sami Jen - the son of the Albanian renaissance Sami Frashëri, who is known as the founder of the Turkish Sports Club, "Galatasaray". The winner of the Nobel for Literature, Andre Paul Guillaume Gide, died, as well as the philosopher Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, whose most works were published posthumously.

When it comes to Albania, a CIA report dated April 8, 1951 highlights Greece's plan to split Albania with Tito's Yugoslavia. This plan is reported by the US ambassador in Belgrade, according to which a member of the Yugoslav Politburo had told him that this Greek proposal was made to Yugoslavia at the "highest level". According to the plan, the southern part would pass to Greece, while the northern part to Yugoslavia. In 1951, the CIA classified Albania as a problem in the Eastern Mediterranean, due to its strategic location in the Adriatic. "Naval forces based on the island of Sazan and in the part of Vlora can easily control the Adriatic. For the Soviet Union, Albania represents an advanced base that, with relevant developments, can be used by the Soviet naval and air forces in the Mediterranean., the report says. The CIA reports that a total of 10 groups of agents, with 39 people, were sent to Albania in the period November 1950-October 1951, of which 13 returned to Greece, six took refuge in Yugoslavia, four were captured and convicted as spies by the authorities Albanians, nine were killed in action and seven are believed to be still operative even though they had contact with four of them in 1951. The CIA also reports on the "assassination of the Soviet ambassador", and also that Albanian agents are sending false reports.

When it comes to the "assassination of the Soviet ambassador", it should be noted that in 1951, the great Albanian intellectual, Sabiha Kasimati, was killed. Her murder shows the horror through which the intellectuals of Albania went through, under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha. She is killed with 21 others, possibly involved in the case known as the Bombing of the Soviet Embassy in Tirana. The innocent victims were shot at midnight on February 26-27 on the bank of the Erzen River, near the village of Mënik, and secretly thrown into a common pit, connected to each other with barbed wire. At midnight, the villagers heard incessant gunfire; they also heard the screams of Kasimat, until he died. At dawn they saw a horrible scene: somewhere a hand was sticking out, somewhere a leg, somewhere bloody hair. A villager from Meniku confessed: "Later, when that place began to be deforested, a tractor driver who was working there, fainted when he saw that the tractor was dragging a corpse of a woman, which he covered again". It was the body of Sabiha Kasimati - the first Albanian scientist, the daughter of doctor Abdurrahman Kasimati, who at the age of 29 received the title of doctor of sciences in the field of ichthyology. At the University of Turin in Italy, he was offered the position of assistant in Fluvial Ichthyology, but he refused and returned to his homeland. Namik Kasimati, her grandson, said: "In 1948, he worked on a scientific study on fish in Albanian waters. Enthusiastic, she went to Durrës and told her friend, Durie Hulusi: 'I am happy that I finished a study on fish that will serve not only Albania, but also other countries that border Albania'. Sabiha Kasimati knew Enver Hoxha from Korça High School. It is said that Hoxha adored the beautiful Sabiha and that he later took revenge on her rejection. But she was also brave and this is proven by the words she said to Enver Hoxha in a meeting: "I came to tell you that you are killing all the intellectuals. I want to ask you with whom you intend to build Albania, with the tinsmiths or with the shoemakers"? While Hoxha replies: "I advise you to read Marx and Lenin".

Meanwhile, in Kosovo, on the night of October 10 and 11, 1951, in an ambush by the UDB, those who are considered to be the last members of the NDSh in Kosovo (Albanian National Democratic Movement) were killed: Hasan Remniku, Mustafa Koka with his wife Rabijen (who was pregnant), as well as Agush Mehmeti with his wife, Qibrie Misin Alidema. They had exposed their dead bodies in Gjilan, "at Lama e Mielli", where they kept them for several days, in order to scare the citizens and those who would eventually dare to repeat the actions of this group.
Violence against Albanians continued in Kosovo. Due to violence, they were forced to move. Many denied their nationality: they were written as Turks, to avoid persecution. In 1951, the intellectual Fehmi Agani reacted to this last phenomenon. Meanwhile, the poet Esad Mekuli wrote the poem in 1954 "Turk Alhamdulilah", where among others are the following verses:
"... You are Turkish, you are Turkish! - they have fun
Albanian for centuries, without da,
and one day we felt:
- I am Turkish, alhamdulillah!
Yes, we are not Turks, we are not!
Never! Let our people know:
We have Albanians and the first ones.
Religion did not separate us from the nation...!"
In 1951, the foundations of the European Union were laid, after the formation of the European Carbon and Steel Community.

1961: THE BERLIN WALL, THE SPACE RACE AND THE USSR HURT BY ALBANIA

The Cold War shows its teeth. The United States of America aggravates relations with Cuba. The Americans also undertake the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. A year later, Cuba would cause one of the biggest crises of the 20th century, known for short as the Cuban Missile Crisis, after the Soviet Union attempted to send nuclear missiles to Cuba. The world has never been closer to nuclear war.

The Cold War continues with the technology race. The Soviets previously launched the first satellite into orbit. In 1961, the Venera-1 spacecraft passed by the planet Venus. Meanwhile, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th US president. Kennedy launches the Apollo Program. His goal was that by the end of the decade, the American man would set foot on the moon. And, they succeed. This was the turning point when the Americans took the lead in the space race.

In 1961, the first American commitment to the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese call America's War) begins, sending helicopters into Saigon with 400 troops. The Americans withdrew from Vietnam in 1975. This war cost the Americans nearly 60 victims. Vietnam is still a communist state today, one of only five in the world (along with China, North Korea, Cuba and Laos).
The world was therefore in a frozen conflict, between the democratic West and the dictatorial communist East. This division is best expressed with the Berlin Wall that began to be built on August 13, 1961, immediately after the communist leaders of the Eastern Bloc, during a meeting in Moscow, agreed to close the border between East and West Germany. This wall was the most infamous barrier of the Cold War. It was 155 kilometers long. Communist propaganda said that the wall was built to "protect against attacks from the West", but, in fact, the purpose was to stop the escape of unfortunate Germans suffering from communist rule to the so-called Democratic (Eastern) Germany. Few traces of this wall remain today, after its fall in 1989. Until 1989, 136 Germans were killed trying to overcome it.

In 1961, a massacre occurred in Paris against Algerian pro-independence protesters. 40-200 people are killed and another 11 are arrested on October 17, a few months before Algeria gained independence (in 1962). In June 1961, the British protectorate in Kuwait ends. Kuwait is declared an emirate. Meanwhile, in 1961 in Jerusalem, the trial, with the death penalty, against Nazi Adolf Eichmann begins and ends. In his defense he says he did what he was told. This statement has prompted the American psychologist Stanley Milgram to research the damage caused by obedience to authorities.

Meanwhile in Albania, in January, Enver Hoxha severely accuses the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia at the 1961th Congress of the Labor Party. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, at the XXII Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, held in October XNUMX, called Hoxha a deviant leftist nationalist who should be overthrown. "We are convinced that the time will come when the Albanian communists and the Albanian people will express their voice and then the Albanian leaders will answer for the damage they have done to the state, the people and the cause of socialist construction in Albania", said Khruschev. He also said that the imperialists are ready to pay 30 silver coins (the amount with which Judas betrayed Christ) to those who divide the communists. Hoxha replied to the Soviet leader in November: "The Albanian people and the Labor Party will live on grass if necessary, but they will not sell themselves for 30 silver coins." Whereas, in December, in "Voice of the People" Hoxha writes that the reason for the breakdown of relations with the Soviets was Khrushchev's revisionist policy and his anti-Marxist efforts to impose himself on other parties... "to silence our party". "On this road, we march side by side with the sister Marxist-Leninist parties and with the brotherly peoples of the socialist countries, as well as with all the revolutionary forces of the world. Our party and people will score a complete victory over the imperialist and revisionist enemies... Marxism-Leninism cannot be defeated! Socialism and communism will triumph." said Hoxha.

The USSR stops aid and armaments to Albania. 40 projects of the five-year plan remain unfinished in Albania. The education of the military is also prohibited, which is why the Albanian military forces are not updated either with means or with strategies.
The climax of the Albanian-Soviet conflict was Pasha Limani, one of the largest naval bases in Europe. At the meeting of the countries participating in the Warsaw Treaty, in March 1961 - where Albania was not invited - it was requested that the base of Vlora pass indisputably under the command of the forces of the Warsaw Treaty. But the Albanians rejected this plan. Little Albania managed to remove the Soviet soldiers from the territory and keep four of the total of 12 submarines that were there.

In December, USSR-Albania diplomatic relations were finally broken. This caused other communist countries to reduce cooperation with Albania. This was a very critical year, as the USSR made plans for the conquest of Vlora, by sea and land. However, the irritation of Soviet-American relations due to Cuba did not allow the realization of the plan in the stipulated time. From this year, Albania turns to China for help.
At the time of these developments, on June 23, 1961, "Time" magazine published the article "Albania: The Black Sheep", where, among other things, you can read: "Whatever the Red Boss of Albania is, Enver Hoxha has demonstrated that he is a brave man. Who else would dare to walk into the big international communist meeting in Moscow last November (1960) and call Nikita Khrushchev a 'revisionist' to his face?

Actors Eddie Murphy, George Clooney, Tim Roth, Michael J. Fox, Forest Whitaker, Woody Harrelson, Meg Ryan and one of the favorite actors of the great Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski, Zbigniew Zamachowski, were born in 1961. In 1961, the Princess of Wales, Diana, was born, who is the mother of the heir to the royal throne of Great Britain. In 1961, the 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, was born, the first in American history to have African blood. Obama was one of the most beloved American presidents, but he did little in American foreign policy. Not so much internally. In 1961, Halil Matoshi was born, the well-known journalist, writer and publicist from Kosovo, who with his colleagues in the weekly "Voice of Youth", contributed to the breaking of censorship in Kosovo in the early 1990s.

In 1961, the famous actor Gary Cooper, the psychoanalyst and the founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Ernest Hemingway, and Ahmet Zogu died. In 1961, the former Albanian Minister of Culture, the intellectual and patriot Akile Tasi - the brother of Koço Tasi - also died in Burrel Prison. Akile during the Second World War, during those three years, Shipni, together with Gjergj Bubani, led the newspaper "Bashkimi i kombit" where Mitrush Kuteli's "Kosovo Poem" was published.
In February 1961, The Beatles perform in London. The legend … was born!
In 1961, the Technical High School was opened in Mitrovica, which was financially supported by "Trepça". The Technical High School in Mitrovica was founded by the decision of the Executive Council of Kosovo no. 2671 dated May 10, 1961, the official gazette of Kosovo no. 25/61. In the first year, 42 regular and 32 correspondence students were enrolled. The first students (department engineers) graduated in June 1963. In this school, the father of the author of this article, a veteran of education in Kosovo, Sokol Shala, taught the subject of chemistry.

YEAR 1971: THE BREAKING OF TABOOS IN KOSOVO

This year we had a little more reason to be happy. Things in Kosovo, perhaps for the first time during the former Yugoslavia, were beginning to normalize. Schools and faculties were working, and pedagogues from Albania often lectured in them. But Kosovar intellectuals also went to Albania. Yes, yes... Even when they returned, they shared their experiences with the readers. Kosovars read them attentively and enjoyed themselves. Albania was the most ideal country in the world, the most developed economically and militarily. Anyone who did not think so was "an extended hand of the Yugoslav secret services".
In the world, in the cinemas of Kosovo, and even in other parts of the former Yugoslavia, feature films from Albania were broadcast, such as: "Commissar of Light", "Guerrilla Unit", "The Eighth in Bronze", "Death on Death", "Old Wounds", "Debate"...
"We will be together soon", we thought then.

The main events of 1971, in the world, are: the legalization of long hair in the USSR; USA bans cigarette ads on radio and television; Charles Manson is found guilty of the case known as the "Tate Murders" (according to the actress Sharon Tate, who was the wife of the famous Polish director, Roman Polanski, and who is killed in the house with four other guests); General Idi Amin takes power in Uganda; Rolls Royce goes bankrupt... Meanwhile, the famous Japanese poet and writer, Yukio Mishima, violently climbs onto the balcony of a military barracks where he demands obedience from the soldiers gathered below him. It attacks the state and constitutional order supported by the US, berates the soldiers for their submission and challenges them to restore the emperor to his pre-war position – as living lord and national leader. Mishima took a step back and said: "I don't think they heard me." Then he knelt down and … did harakiri!
In 1971, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Bangladesh (East Pakistan) declared their independence. The Pakistani Army reacts to the independence of Bangladesh, causing what is known as the Bangladesh Genocide with 200-300 thousand victims.
In 1971, in Belfast, Led Zeppelin performed the song for the first time "Stairway to Heaven"; Pink Floyd shoots the iconic film “Live at Pompeii” – the concert at the Pompeii Amphitheater with no one in the audience; while, in Montre near Lake Geneva, a casino burns during the Frank Zappas concert, an event that will inspire the Deep Purple group for the song "Smoke on the Water".

In Kosovo, education and creation of new cadres was one of the main preoccupations. For example, in a text of "Voice of Youth" it was written: "Prilepi needs a school. The children of this village now attend the Rastavica Primary School, which is not far away, but the road to the school is dangerous. Students have to cross the road to school through the asphalt Deçan-Gjakové". That's right, then Albanians didn't have many cars, but they thought about asphalt and students. Abnormal for today's normality, isn't it?
The problems with the university were almost the same as they are today. In a survey with students, Mehmet Emini p. eg, says: "What success is expected if we live in a dormitory like this old one"? In a time distance of 50 years we would be able to say: We don't know! But, we knew that from now on we will drink "Peja" beer more often!

That year we definitely tried to break the taboos. Sex has been talked about without shame or fear (perhaps why few understood the word sex at that time). "Voice of Youth" had the column: "Sex in life". Fantasy! ... There, among other things, you could also read these titles: "The source of sexual conflicts" and "Smoking - danger to sexual life". Then, there was another column called: "For women, but men should also read it", where it was written and talked about tired legs, stained socks, vest etc.
Wow, what "development"! ... We entered Europe (we thought so too).
At that time, there was also talk about the emancipation of women (unfortunately, this "emancipation" will continue for the next 50 years). But then the emancipation of women was better understood than today. An article by "Zeri" had this title: "Women's economic independence, a condition for full equality".
1972 thousand unemployed were waiting for the New Year 31. Meanwhile, the "political scientists" were gripped by the dilemma: "Youth and self-government (Are we indifferent)"?

In the world the most heard were: Carol King, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, T-Rex, Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, etc. Meanwhile, in Kosovo: Shahindere Bërlajolli, Liliana Çavolli, Ismet Peja, Sadete Musliu, Sabri Fejzullahu, Shyqrije Spahiu, Idriz Dhomi, Belkize Tuli, Shaban Gjekaj, Dueti Ejupi and Vanja Stoilkovic and "who pronounced words better than some Albanians" (well, this was the time of "fraternity-union").
In 1971, rock legend Jim Morrison and jazz legend Louis Armstrong died. In the same year, the composer Igor Stravinsky and the famous designer Coco Chanel also died.
In 1971, the violinist Shkëlzen Doli and the boxer Luan Krasniqi, the 23rd Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Pierre James Trudeau, the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as the activist and head of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, were born. In 1971, Hafez al-Assadi took power in Syria. His son, in order to preserve this power of his father, proved that he is a terrorist, since he mercilessly fought the civilians (the Civil War in Syria that started 40 years later caused nearly 600 thousand victims). In 1971, the Iraqi terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was born, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - ISIS (until his assassination in 2019), who fought Assad's successor with the same brutality against civilians.
Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Because of his communist views, he previously wrote the poem "Albania", beginning with these verses: "I have never been / in Albania / in that harsh and loving land / in that mountainous / of shepherds". Meanwhile, a British report called Tirana the darkest city in the world; simpler and more tedious; soulless city.
In 1971, the creative entrepreneur was born, the man who 50 years later will have the epithet of the richest man in the world - Elon Musk.

YEAR 1981: REPUBLIC, CONSTITUTION, HERE'S HATTER, HERE'S WAR

Primaryists still gave the "pioneer's word of honor", citizens were waiting for the Relay to pass through their town and everyone declared that they were determined on "Tito's path". But, in fact, on the eve of the New Year 19812, many people predicted the end of the former Yugoslavia. This was also the beginning of the end of stale calendars from factories and apple and grape harvest events.

The main events in the world in 1981 are: Australian magnate Rupert Murdock buys the daily "London Times"; slavery is abolished in Mauritania; American President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were injured in two assassination attempts; Prince Charles marries Diana Spencer (the wedding is broadcast live on many world television channels); "Solidarity" Polish holds the first Congress in Gdansk; Mao Zedong's widow, Jiang Qing, is sentenced to death (sentence commuted to life imprisonment); François Mitterrand is the first socialist president of the Fifth Republic of France; the president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman, is killed, as well as that of Egypt, Anwar Sadat (his place will be taken by Hosni Mubarak).
In 1981, the DeLorean car goes on sale, a commercial failure but an iconic car thanks to the movies "Back to the Future"; the video game "Donkey Kong" is launched, which together with "Mario" makes Nintendo one of the most successful companies in the world; and, for musicians, the revolutionary synthesizer, E-Mu Emulator, is on sale.
In 1981, many well-known actors of today were born: Elijah Wood, Justin Timberlake, Tom Hiddleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jessica Alba, Rami Malek, Natalie Portman, Chris Evans... Meanwhile, music legends die - Bill Haley and Bob Marley; actress Natalie Wood, as well as Adolf Hitler's close associate, Albert Speer. In 1981, the Croatian intellectual Miroslav Kërlezha, the main ideologist of neo-Albanianism, Branko Merxhani, and the composer from Arbër, Shime Deshpali, also died.

The main events in Kosovo were related to ... the Albanian demonstrations - one of the biggest events in the history of Kosovo that mark the beginning of the dominance of Serbian politics in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the beginning of the suppression of the autonomy of Kosovo and the Constitution of the year 1974 that advanced the political and social statute of the Albanians, but also the beginning of the end of this federation and the Yugoslav communist state. The exact course of the events of March 1981 is dominated by many "mysteries", however the final result is that they will strengthen Albanian nationalism and their demand for a republic and independence.
The demonstrations first broke out in the Student Center in Pristina, on the evening of Wednesday, March 11, 1981, when the dishes "with beans" were broken. As a pretext, the reasonable dissatisfaction of the students with the conditions of food and housing.
That day, the football match between Pristina and Partizan Belgrade was held in the Stadium of Pristina, so the citizens did not know what was happening, thinking that the demonstrators were football fans. Pajazit Nushi - then vice-president of the Executive Council of Kosovo - tried to talk to the demonstrators, but in vain. The crowd is joined by Ali Lajçi who gives a speech that "ignites" the participants even more.

This protest - which began in the Student Canteen - was planned on the night of March 10, 1981, in room 312 of the Student Dormitory. The conversation about a reaction for better conditions for learning, housing and food for students continues in room 310. There were: Kadri Kryeziu, Ramadan Gashi, Bedri Deliu, Murat Musliu, Jonuz Jonuzi and Gani Koci.
The March 11 demonstrations lasted until the early hours of the morning, when they were interrupted by the intervention of the Militia forces.
In the demonstrations of other days (March 25 and 26, 1981), Albanian political illegals, such as the group of Mehmet Hajrizi and Hydajet Hysen (Marxist-Leninist Organization of Kosovo - OMLK), were involved. Thus, on March 25, there were again student gatherings in Pristina. while in Prizren, primary and secondary school students are organized. There will be arrests in both these cities.
At that time, the magazines of the illegal press in exile, which were read by students, such as: "Liria", "Lajmtari i lirisi", "Bashkimi" and others, gave encouragement at that time. Also, the illegal groups, which were quite organized, printed tracts that they distributed almost all over Kosovo.

On March 26, 1981, the day when the Youth Relay arrived in Pristina (an organization honoring the figure of Tito, his birthday and the Youth Day of the former Yugoslavia), students took to the streets and squares. There were students among them. This day follows the brutal reaction of the special forces of the Militia, in the Student Center, where they beat many young men and women in the dormitories. This means that on April 1, the demonstrations will have a universal character and that the student revolt will spread throughout Kosovo. On April 1 and 2, 1981, demonstrations - apart from Prishtina - were also held in Podujevë, Vushtrri, Viti, Lipjan, Ferizaj, Mitrovica, Gjakovë, Gjilan, Prizren, etc.
On April 2, 1981, students Naser Hajrizi and Asllan Pireva, who were organizers of the students of the Electrotechnical High School, were killed in Pristina. Both of them were members of the illegal organization (OMLK). After their fall, the Secretariat's bodies continued to mistreat their family members with so-called "information talks".

During the demonstrations, the demonstrators carried banners with social and economic slogans. But there were also political ones. The main slogans, which often conflicted with each other, were: those of an economic nature - "Someone in the armchair, someone without bread", "Until when in the basement", "We are looking for better conditions", "Trepça works, Belgrade" builds”; political ones - "Republic, Constitution, here's to hate, here's to war", "We are Albanians, not Yugoslavs", "Kosova of Kosovars", "We love our fellow prisoners", "Long live Adem Demaçi", "Long live the brotherhood of the Albanian people" ", "Union of Albanian lands"; and those of Albania's Enverist ideology: "Long live Marxism-Leninism", "Down with revisionism", "No talks with the red bourgeoisie", "Long live the working class" and "Long live Enver Hoxha".
Since in these demonstrations Albanian nationalism takes on an ideological character - that is, the solution of national problems was also seen through the communist utopia (which was normal for those circumstances, since hopes depended on Albania, as it was) - there were accusations from Yugoslav state leaders that they were organized from the services of Albania.

The first qualifications of the then Provincial Committee of the Communist League of Kosovo for the March 11 demonstrations were that they have the character of a social revolt. But, in the meeting of March 28, 1981, the demonstrations of March 11 and 26 were described as "hostile". Meanwhile, on April 2, at the joint meeting of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the Communist League of Serbia and the Presidency of the Republic of Serbia, the demonstrations were described as "destructive" that "are aimed at destabilizing the constitutional system", "undermining brotherhood- unification" and "the overthrow of the political system". A day later, on April 3, 1981, at the joint meeting of the Presidency of the Federal Executive Council and the Presidency of the Central Committee of the Communist League of Yugoslavia, the demonstrations were described as "irredentist", "nationalist" and even "counter-revolutionary".

After that, the mass arrests of the organizers and active participants begin, their trial and sentence with up to 20 years in prison. Also, from these demonstrations, the process of ideopolitical differentiation starts in all structures and levels of Albanian social, political and intellectual life.
Regarding these demonstrations and slogans, the British ambassador in Belgrade, Sir E. Bolland, has drawn up a report on their effect on the political system of Yugoslavia. He does not have good words for these demonstrations because the slogans showed the Marxist-Leninist demand for a more ferocious communism than the one in the RSFJ. He even praises the state's intervention in Kosovo, calling it cautious and moderate. The ambassador is in defense of the integrity of the SFRY, mainly because this country implemented "a liberal communism and was not under the influence of Soviet (Russian) communism." However, according to researcher Daut Dauti, he does not deny the political rights of Albanians in Yugoslavia.
"According to any logical criteria, Kosovo, within its current borders, should have equal status in Yugoslavia as the republics of Montenegro, Slovenia and Macedonia, since its population is as large and as ethnically homogeneous as any republic. other. But, the Yugoslav leadership persistently refuses to surrender to this logic for reasons of internal politics and the issue of security". it says in his report. "Someone, somewhere must let go: it is a problem for which Yugoslavia must decide what to do. In the past, Yugoslavia has succeeded after every outburst of nationalism in Kosovo as it calmed the situation by offering constitutional concessions, which, cumulatively, have virtually given Kosovo the status of a republic.
Finally, without giving too many judgments, it would be good to know the opinion of the Italian student Demetrio Delifera, who was in Pristina at the time of these demonstrations for studies on Albanian culture. In the newspaper "Espresso" of Italy, he will publish parts of his diary. His description from a neutral, best breaks down whether Kosovo Albanians were in good or bad condition in 1981.
"The right to study for Kosovar students is still much more limited than what is given to other universities in the country. Public services in Pristina are of the lowest level. Although lessons are also taught in Albanian, there are no books in this language. To secure them from Tirana, when possible, a high surcharge must be paid. The other point that pushed the students to demonstrate was the low standard of living and unemployment (80 percent of graduates do not find work, many of them have emigrated to Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Sweden)". he wrote. "No Yugoslav who was not in Pristina could imagine from the official data the coldness and determination of the Police units brought by plane from Belgrade. However, not even the residents of Pristina really know what happened on the evening of March 26. It took five days for it to spread in the city, at first surprise, then hatred for the policemen and those who sent them. Also, there is growing concern for the many arrested citizens who are in danger of never getting out of prison, as happened in 1968", wrote, among other things, this Italian who testifies - as the most famous singer of that time had said in ex-Yugoslavia, Zana Nimani - that the Albanians "certainly had some reason" for the demonstrations!

In 1981, in this difficult year, Kosovo's magazines and newspapers published pictures of Berlin and the wall that separated the two sides of the city. But the Albanian-Albanian wall was much bigger and more vicious than the Berlin one. Articles were also published about the suffering of blacks in America, and we were the blacks of Europe.
In Kosovo, women's emancipation, sex and problems with schools were still being talked about and written about, especially at the university, which had turned into a pretty big "problem" after the Albanian student demonstrations. Therefore, it was appealed to "general mobilization, for the preservation and strengthening of unity among all our nations and nationalities". Sanije Hyseni, the girl who handed over the baton to Tito for the last time, said in an article: "Youth does not allow jeopardizing the fruits of the revolution." While others: "Telegrams arrive from all parts of Kosovo: The demonstrations are strongly condemned", "We have a historic responsibility to make it impossible - the further action of the enemy." And, blah, blah, more blah...
In 1981, it is said that the prime minister of Albania, Mehmet Shehu, committed suicide. According to some theories, it is said that between Enver and Mehmet, from March 1981, there was a controversy about Kosovo, which has reached the limits of conflict. This was said by Ali Çeno, Shehu's bodyguard, who was present. "Around March or the beginning of April 1981, Enveri and Mehmeti had just left the KQ building. They stood in front of the party house, arguing with each other so loudly that their words could be heard not only by us officers of the escort groups, but even further away. Mehmeti turned to Enver: 'Today let's announce the general mobilization and start the tanks towards the North, on the border with Yugoslavia. We here cannot sit idly by when people are being killed there. A general mobilization would attract the attention of the West and the Kosovo problem would be easier to solve. If the need arises, we can start the war. We have no more expectations. After these words, Enveri answered you in that high tone: 'No, we can never do this. We cannot destroy in one day what we have built for forty years'…”, Ceno said.
But the most reliable truth is that dictators in old age become distrustful of everyone, even their closest friends and associates.
New Year 1981 was heavy and full of pain. Many Albanians were killed, thousands more were arrested and mistreated. Reactions were published in the media "Voices of the people" in Tirana, which "disinformed about the causes of hostile demonstrations in Kosovo". This is the time when people went to prison even for the word "eho" (E-nver HO-xha).
"It didn't take us long", the Albanians said then, who after the 1974 constitution had begun to enjoy a little freedom and progress.

The most popular films in the world were: "Chariot's of Fire", "Neighbors", "An American Werewolf in London", "On Golden Pond" ... and in Kosovo, TV projects and films were still being talked about and written about: "Three people cross the mountain ", "Fidani", "White Footprints", "Era and Lisi"...
The world trembled under the rhythm of Human League, Queen, 45 Starsound, Elkie Brooks, Foreigner, Journey, Styx, Stevie Nicks, Duran Duran... Meanwhile, Kosovo under the rhythms of: Irfan Blakçor, Arian Kerli, Gazmend Pallaska, Bedri Islamit, Valentina Saraqini, Hilmi Obërtinca, Shaban Kelmendi, Fontana, Trixi, Iliri, Aida, Rokmasa, TNT, etc.
In the rock of Kosovo and throughout Kosovo, a "new wave" entered!

1991: YUGOSLAVIA AT WAR, PIECES TOWARDS A UNITED EUROPE!

Toto Cutugno won the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb with the song "Insieme: 1992". With this song he sings about European integration. "Give me your hand, so we can fly, because Europe is not far away. This Italian song is for you. Together, let's unite, unite Europe", this song somehow says. Albanians believed in the number 1992, because it symbolized a united Europe, while a united Europe should not allow violation and abuse of human rights. Then, the Cold War came to an end, Kosovo was declared a Republic, and people came and went from Albania. So Europe had to wake up, think about all the inhabitants of the continent. But he was sleeping! Thus, Albanians in 1991 suffered and ... continued to hope!

The main events that marked the world in 1991 are: Iraq is defeated in the six-month war with NATO in the Persian Gulf; the Russian coup in the USSR against Mikhail Gorbachev fails; Indonesian troops massacre the civilian population in East Timor; in South Africa the terrible era of apartheid comes to an end; Germany moves the capital from Bonn to Berlin... and the USSR disintegrates, leaving 15 independent states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
So communism is over. In the magazine "Rolling Stone" an article is published stating that "communism has bowed, because no one wanted to wear Bulgarian shoes...". But, this bending unfortunately also took many victims with it. Especially in former Yugoslavia, which began to disintegrate in 1991 when Croatia and Slovenia declared independence. After 10 days of fighting in Slovenia, the People's Army of Yugoslavia withdraws from this country. But things do not go so easily in Croatia, where after the so-called "balvan-revolucija" (blocking the roads with logs) in 1990 and after the declaration of the so-called Serbian Republic of Krajina, fighting began in Vukovar, and the medieval city was surrounded and bombed. of Dubrovnik that was under the protection of UNESCO since 1979. Serbian Bozhidar Vuçurević - a former truck driver who became a politician and soldier and who had a hand in the bombing that is condemned by the whole normal world - said that "when they enter Dubrovnik, they will make it an even older and more beautiful city". Terrible! The so-called Yugoslav forces that were under the dictates of Serbia also bombed the office of the Croatian president, Franjo Tudjman. Yes, in 1991 there were mass demonstrations against Slobodan Milosevic's regime in Serbia, but those demonstrations were violently extinguished, sending tanks into the streets and killing at least two civilians.

In October 1991, a referendum was held in which the Albanian people of Kosovo declared Kosovo a sovereign and independent state. This state is accepted only by Albania. Likewise, the campaign for the reconciliation of blood continues in Kosovo, under the leadership of the activity, patriot and outstanding intellectual Anton Çetta. On June 28, 1991, the Assembly of Serbia imposed violent measures on the University of Pristina. On August 21, 1991, the Helsinki group in Vienna issued a statement stating that Albanian education in Kosovo no longer exists and that it has been destroyed by Serbia. Almost all the employees in the public sector were fired from their jobs, as well as the media in the Albanian language were closed. 1992 unemployed are waiting for the New Year 147 in Kosovo. Several hundreds of thousands more were added to this number later. Albanians take the world in their eyes again...
In 1991, all political taboos were broken in Kosovo, especially from "Voice of youth". in "the voice" reports, articles and interviews from Albania were published, there was talk about the process of Prizren, Paraqin and hundreds of other processes that Albanians had experienced at their expense, they talked about Albania, about "Newsweek"-un, who predicted the union of Kosovo with Albania, for Dardan - the "currency" of Kosovo... Then, Albanian ethnic maps were published, it was written about poisonings, the removal of schoolgirls from school, the murders of Albanian soldiers and civilians and about many other things which when one remembers them today, one's body shudders... "the voice" for the Serbian regime, it was a "hostile" magazine, therefore its editors and journalists were punished with imprisonment. "the voice" was targeted, as if the whole of Kosovo...
Things were so bad that, again, we were just waiting for the days "when it will crack" (even blacker than other parts of former Yugoslavia cracked).

In 1991, the leader of the Kosovo Albanians, Ibrahim Rugova, started the diplomatic correspondence of Kosovo. In the letter of December 6, 1991 that was sent to the British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd, Rugova writes in the capacity of the chairman of the Coordinating Council of the political parties of Kosovo, but also on behalf of the Assembly and the Government of Kosovo. Rugova thanks the decision of the European Economic Community for sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro. However, he complains that since these measures will harm the people of Kosovo the most (more than 90 percent Albanians), he points out that Kosovo needs help. According to the researcher Daut Dauti, on December 12, 1991, the British Embassy in Belgrade requested instructions from the Foreign Office in London on how to deal with the letter of Ibrahim Rugova, who is described here as a state claimant (the French diplomatic expression 'soi-disant' is used ' which ie the so-called or the self-appointed). "It should be answered or not? If the answer is returned, he would actually be recognized as the president together with the state bodies of Kosovo. This should not happen. Therefore, the Foreign Office suggests that Rugova should not be ignored entirely. But an answer must be returned in some form to let him know that the letter has reached its destination. Dauti said.

The most popular films in the world were: "Beauty and the Beast", "Cape Fear", "Own Private Idaho", "Boys 'N' the Hood", "New Jack City", "Raise the Red Lantern", "The Silence Of The Lambs" ... While Kosovars recalled their last film project, "Guardians of the Mist", and they even believed that it is a good and courageous film. From 1991, the kitch and shunt virus began to invade Kosovo.
The world went "crazy" from the music of: Simply Red, REM, Nirvana, Michael Bolton, Michael Jackson, etc. Whereas, the Kosovars after Shaqir Cervadik, Shkurte Fejza, Ilir Shaqiri, Remzije Osmani, Shyhreta Behluli and all the others who sang and "taunted" the Albanians with patriotic songs. The "golden years of Kosovar rock" came to an end. 403, Babylon, Birth, Selection 039, The Beginning of the End, Bankrupt, Dardan Shkreli, Grafos, Footprints, Oasis, Manifesto, etc. etc. etc. they were just memories. Many of them were "killed" abroad, mostly in England.
This time too, Kosovo Albanians were frustrated and afraid; and this time they said: I wish you will be fine!

Meanwhile, in the last communist state in Europe, in Albania, everything seems to be falling apart. President Ramiza Alia dissolved the government of Prime Minister Adil Çarçani. Fatos Nano becomes Prime Minister. In 1991, multi-party elections were held where the Labor Party won, which in the same year disbanded and "transformed" into the Socialist Party. Ylli Bufi and later Vilson Ahmeti are appointed as the new Prime Minister. In 1991, the State Security was dissolved and the National Intelligence Service was formed. Albania repairs relations with many Western countries, while hundreds of thousands of Albanians seek asylum in Italy and Greece. The American Secretary, James Baker, visits Albania. America, after many years, is still the greatest hope for this country.
Singer Ed Sheeran was born in 1991. Meanwhile, two great musicians die: Miles Davis and Freddie Mercury. In 1991, the King of Norway, Olav B, actors Michael Landon and Lee Remick, as well as the famous children's writer, Theodor Seuss Geisel (known for short as Dr. Seuss, whose works have sold over 600 million copies) also died. . In 1991, the composer, conductor and ethnomusicologist Lorenc Antoni, the writer Petro Marko, the singer Qamili i Vogël, as well as the sculptor Janaq Paço (author of the Skanderbeg monument in Krujë, whose copy is in Pristina) also died. Meanwhile, the great sportswoman, world judo champion and Olympic gold medal winner, Majlinda Kelmendi, was born.
Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web, launches the first web page - info.cern.ch.

2001: FAR FAR WAR

What are the events that marked Albanians and the world in 2001?
The year 2001 is a year of great developments, everywhere in the world. In 2001, Apple launched the iTunes platform, Mac OS X as the next generation of its operating system, and the iPod product. In 2001, Wikipedia was also launched.
Tony Blair wins another mandate to govern with Great Britain, while George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd American president. Blair was one of the most deserving people for the liberation of Kosovo, while Bush is the president who first - before his visit to Albania in 2007 - warned that he would recognize Kosovo's independence.

But Bush's presidency has been plagued by many problems since the first year of his administration.
On September 11, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon took place, leaving 2 victims. Nine days later, Bush announced the War on Terror targeting extremist groups, led by al-Qaeda. The war also involved the countries that support these groups. Thus, on October 977, the Afghanistan War begins. On November 7, the Americans enter Kabul, while on December 14, the new Afghan government is formed under the leadership of Hamid Karzai.
Americans will withdraw from Afghanistan 20 years later. After their departure, the Taliban will take power again. The country plunges back into chaos.

In 2001, actor Anthony Quinn and musician George Harrison died. In 2001, the translator and diplomat Jusuf Vrioni, the actor Vangjush Furxhi, one of the first anchors in Kosovo, Drita Reka-Gërmizaj, as well as the former communist leader of Kosovo, Fadil Hoxha, passed away.
In 2001, the execution of the musical work began "Neither Slow nor Possible" by the composer John Cage, in the organ located in the church of St. Borcard in Halberstadt, Germany. The work lasts "only" 639 years and, if things go well, it ends "quickly" - in the year 2640.

Meanwhile, in the Presheva Valley, the war "ends" with the signing of the Consul Agreement, on May 21, 2001, with the mediation of representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations Organization (UNO) and the European Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE). ). The agreement called for the gradual entry of the Yugoslav Army into the Ground Security Zone, and at the same time the demilitarization and disbandment of the Liberation Army of Presheva, Medveja and Bujanovac (UÇPMB). However, the fighting continues until the 24th, when the Serbian Army enters Presevo. On that occasion, the commander Ridvan Qazimi - "Lleshi" was killed. Many Albanian fighters surrendered to KFOR, among them one of the leaders of the UÇPMB, Shefket Musliu (to later win amnesty from the government of the so-called Yugoslavia). Two years after the dissolution of the UÇPMB, Albanians participated for the first time - after many years - in local elections in Serbia. However, their situation in the Presheva Valley has not improved at all in these 20 years. "Why the Albanians of the Presheva Valley, respectively those who live in Serbia, cannot freely, publicly and officially use their national symbol, this symbol which essentially represents a part of their identity", said the Albanian deputy in the Assembly of Serbia, Shaip Kamberi, according to whom the government in Serbia in 2021 is no different from the government of Slobodan Milosevic. "Presheva, Bujanoc and Medvegja are today the exemplary region of discrimination. The old methods of discrimination have been replaced by contemporary 'invisible' forms of oppression. The region remains under 'legitimate' military-police siege, with deep under-representation in state institutions and with a 'justified' lack of investments".
When it comes to Milosevic, on April 2, 2001 he surrendered to the special forces of the Serbian Police. On June 28, they take him to The Hague. Unfortunately, he died without a verdict for the monstrous crimes caused by his regime, for which he was nicknamed the Butcher of the Balkans.

In 2001, the war escalated in North Macedonia, which started on January 22, 2001 by the troops of the National Liberation Army (KLA). The war ends on August 13 with the Ohrid Agreement. This agreement has not yet been properly implemented, especially in the points that coincide with non-discrimination and fair representation, with education and the use of languages as well as expression of identity. Although the aspirations of the Albanians were not realized, their situation in North Macedonia is better than in the Presheva Valley. In 2001, the Democratic Union for Integration party was formed from the ranks of the KLA of Macedonia. Ali Ahmeti is elected chairman.

On July 8, in the general elections in Albania, the Socialist Party (SP) won 54.9 percent of the votes. The Democratic Party of Albania boycotts the Parliament session scheduled for September 3. Meanwhile, the rifts between Fatos Nano and Ilir Meta begin. In 2001, Albania and Yugoslavia re-established the diplomatic relations severed - due to the Kosovo War - in 1999.
In Kosovo, the New Year 2002 will be "celebrated" mostly by the unemployed. According to statistics, 64 percent of the population of Kosovo is unemployed. This in other words means: bad then!
Parliamentary elections were also held in Kosovo. Kosovo was again in the "headline" of the world's media. Journalists and observers came to follow the election process. All of them expected more, but we disappointed them again. Interestingly, very little has changed from last year. Everyone is surprised by the normality of Kosovo! The Democratic League of Kosovo wins the first post-war parliamentary elections. In the inability to elect the president, a broad coalition is formed. Ibrahim Rugova was elected President of Kosovo, while Bajram Rexhepi was elected Prime Minister.

The chief administrator of Kosovo in 2001 was the Danish Hans Haekkerup. 20 years later, another Haekkerup will be mentioned: Hans' nephew, Nick, as Denmark's Minister of Justice behind the deal with Kosovo to lease 300 prison cells.
In Kosovo, the constitutional framework is approved, new generations of policemen graduate, beauty contests are organized, song and music festivals are held, commercials are shot and many albums are recorded... Everything seemed to be going as normal, but Kosovo's image and future are beginning to be endangered. , this also due to the fact that the West had no vision for the future of the Balkans,
The status of women and their emancipation is still a current topic. However, as in 2000, this emancipation is seen with the inclusion of women in the statistical 30 percent and by organizing seminars: "Women and the economy", "women and politics", "women and journalism" ...
The university is still plagued by reform problems. They are only talked about and nothing is done. Even, a professor, explaining why he is against the reforms, had said: "In the West, professors have a salary of 7-8 thousand marks, in ours 3-4 hundred marks, while here a kilogram of peppers costs as much as in Germany... not even more expensive!?"! This year, three new faculties were opened at the University, which started and are continuing their work with great problems. The author of this text in 2001 called these faculties "Recycle Bin". Perhaps rightly so!

The most watched films in the world were: "Tomcats", "Mummy II", "Harry Potter", "The Ring", "America's Sweethearrs" ... While in Kosovo, all the "film" projects of Adem Mikullovci.
The world heard these names: Eminem, Britney Spears, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguillera, Jennifer Lopez, Robbie Williams... While Kosovo BB Poqin, Arta Bajramin, Etno Angels, Faton Macula, Donika Gashi, Beka, Adelina Ismaili, etc.
In Kosovo, the euro is spoken and written about as good news.

2011: THE YEAR OF UNREST

In Kosovo, the New Year 2011 begins with the problems of the extraordinary parliamentary elections of December 12, 2010, elections that were carried out with many manipulations and with many complaints of the participating entities. With the January 23 re-voting in Mitrovica, the Central Election Commission announced the winner of Hashim Thaçi's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which secured 34 seats in the Assembly. PDK was followed by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 27 seats, then Albin Kurti's Vetëvendosja with 14, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) with 12, the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) with nine seats, while the minorities had 20 seats. reserved by the Constitution.
LDK did not want to be in coalition with PDK, so the Government is formed through the coalition of PDK with AKR and some small minority parties. Hashim Thaçi is appointed prime minister, Jakup Krasniqi, speaker of parliament, and Behgjet Pacolli (head of AKR) president, after many, many difficulties.

The vote for the president and the Government was boycotted by the opposition. Pacolli's appointment is contested especially by LDK. The Constitutional Court, which a year ago overthrew President Fatmir Sejdiu due to constitutional violations, makes the decision that Pacolli was not elected in accordance with constitutional norms and acts. Pacolli resigns, with the intention of running again. But, in vain. The solution is found with the mediation of the American ambassador, Christopher Dell, who takes the role of mediator and gathers Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, Behxhet Pacollin and the leader of the opposition, Isa Mustafa, in a meeting. The negotiations end with the April 7 agreement. Kosovo issues a consensual candidate for the post of president - Atifete Jahjaga, a senior official of the Kosovo Police. Thaçi, Mustafa and Pacolli also agreed on the constitutional changes for the electoral reform. But, this has not happened until today.

In 2011, Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri was appointed as coordinator in the process of negotiations with Serbia. The opposition in the Parliament of Kosovo later collects 40 signatures for an extraordinary session, to request the termination of these negotiations, with the claim that the agreements with Serbia are damaging the citizenship and that they are infringing on the sovereignty of Kosovo.
"We have to prepare better, because it was a very quick entry into the dialogue - as it happened on the part of the Government of Kosovo. What we have insisted and we insist is to clarify the issues on which the talks with Serbia will take place and the issues on which it is not possible to talk at all, such as the territorial integrity and territorial integrity of the country, the borders of the country, the constitutional organization", Mustafa had stated. Meanwhile, Albin Kurti of Vetëvendosje said: "In Brussels, it is clearly being negotiated for internal issues of Kosovo". For Kurti and his party, Bajram Rexhepi - Minister of the Interior at the time - says that they need a talisman.

However, negotiations began. In 2011, Pristina and Belgrade reached the first agreements on freedom of movement, on the books of Amza and on the recognition of school and university diplomas.
In March, EULEX filed an indictment for war crimes against nine former members of the KLA, among whom was the deputy and vice-president of the PDK, Fatmir Limaj. But the most sensational event in Kosovo, in 2011, happened on July 20, when Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and his deputies, Behxhet Pacolli and Mimoza Kusari-Lila, announced the decision to impose reciprocity measures against Serbia, since the latter did not allowed the circulation of Kosovo's goods through its territory. Five days later, Thaçi dismisses the Chief of Police of Kosovo without giving any additional justification and starts the police expedition in the north of the country to take points 1 and 31 on the border with Serbia (which were under the control of EULEX and which are not functioning such as customs). The special units reached one point, while from the other they were forced to return due to the resistance of the local Serbs. As a result, a member of the Special Police, Enver Zymberi, lost his life from a well set up to prevent the landing of the police at the customs points. President Jahjaga immediately reacted, declaring Zymberi the hero of Kosovo. That taking the customs points was not an easy task, this is also proven on July 27 when some Serbs set fire to Customs Point 1. From this day, KFOR takes the situation under control as the northern roads are filled with barricades, preventing traffic - in this area - for the institutions of Kosovo, and not even for EULEX. August passed with negotiations between KFOR, local Serbian representatives and representatives of the Government of Serbia for the removal of the barricades, but they did not bring an agreement. Thus, KFOR starts the landing with helicopters of customs officers and border police of Kosovo, at Points 1 and 31. In an effort to unblock the situation in the north, the parties in Brussels agree to reach an agreement on Integrated Border Management. This agreement was described by Prime Minister Thaçi as recognition of Kosovo's borders by Serbia.

When we are at the end of 2011, it should be noted that in December 2010, Thaçi had promised that after fifteen months citizens will move without visas, even in the United States of America. But the saga of liberalization is still not known when it will end.
In 2011, 12 countries recognized the independence of Kosovo. While throughout the time, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Behgjet Pacolli, and the Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, have been pushed like children as to who is deserving of these recognitions.
The director of the Riinvest Institute, Lumir Abdixhiku - who ten years later will lead the LDK - has said that the coming year 2012 will be a very difficult year for the economy of Kosovo. Meanwhile, Thaçi said that "2012 will be the year of the European Kosovo agenda".
According to the results of the 2011 census, the number of inhabitants of Kosovo is 1, excluding the municipalities of Leposaviq, Zubin Potok, Zvecan and the northern part of Mitrovica.

Even in Albania, the year 2011 begins with problems between the ruling Democratic Party (PD) and the opposition Socialist Party (SP). "We cannot prevent the people from taking their destiny into their own hands", said the socialist chairman, Edi Rama. Meanwhile, Lulzim Basha from DP, as Minister of the Interior, answered: "Anyone who breaks the law will face the full force of the law." Albania faces protests. The participants of the Socialist Party protest, on January 21, reach the Prime Minister's Office. They intend to get inside, which is why the clashes start. The police retreat for a moment, while the Guard who used firearms line up in the yard. Four people were killed and several others were injured. "I accuse Lulzim Basha as the man who must answer before the law for abuse of office resulting in the murder of three people". said Rama. To calm the situation, the United States and the European Union send their representatives to Tirana several times.
Another scandal in Albania was the video of the conversation between Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta and Dritan Prifti - Minister of Economy at the time, both members of the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI). In the conversation, the percentages or figures of 700 euros that, according to the priest, were offered to him in exchange for a hydropower plant license are mentioned. Meta reacts with laughter to this video, saying that it is blackmail and that the figure represents the damage caused to the company by the denial of the license. Prime Minister Sali Berisha expresses the same, saying: "Dilettantically rigged and rigged material." Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office starts investigations. Meta is accused of active corruption and abuse of office. Two foreign experts are engaged for investigations, according to whom the video was not manipulated. However, this assessment, as the strong point of the Prosecution, will be overturned.

The year 2011 is the year of the so-called Arab Spring. In early January, the group Anonymous launches DoS attacks against the websites of the governments of Syria, Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya and Jordan. On January 14, the Tunisian government falls after a month of violent protests. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali - after 23 years in power - escapes to Saudi Arabia. On February 11, the revolution in Egypt begins, which was followed by mass protests in different parts of the country, which brought about a change of power in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak is arrested with his two sons. On February 15, what will be known as the First Libyan Civil War begins. Meanwhile, on March 6, the Civil War in Syria. The Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is overthrown from power in August of the same year, when the rebels enter Tripoli. He will find death in the city of Sirte. The National Transitional Council takes control of the country. Gaddafi ruled for 42 years in Libya, since 1969. The Civil War in Libya caused nearly 200 thousand victims. But, in Syria, the rule of Bashar al-Assad continues, whose mania for power caused massive destruction in almost the entire country, 600 thousand victims and six million refugees.

In 2011, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake – which then triggered a tsunami – struck eastern Japan, killing 15 people and displacing nearly 840 others. The tsunami also caused the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster - the second largest nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. 154 people were evacuated from Fukushima.

After the arrest of Goran Haxhic in April, on May 26 the head of the Serbian Army in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ratko Mladic, was arrested, who in 2017 - by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) - was found guilty of committing war crimes. , for crimes against humanity and for genocide.
On July 22, extremist Anders Behring Breivik kills eight people with an explosion in Oslo, then another 69 on the island of Utoya. He said that he was inspired by the Serbs for these crimes. In his "manifesto", Breivik states that he wanted to become like the Serbs who fought the NATO bombings in 1999, which war according to him was a "crusade". In this "manifesto" he mentions the word "Kosovo" 143 times, while "Serb" 341 times. The Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who killed at least 49 Muslims in two mosques in New Zealand, on March 15, 2018, was also inspired by the Serbs.
On May 1, 2011, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, declares that Osama bin Laden - leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda - has been killed during an action by the US Army in Pakistan. His body is thrown into the sea.
In December, the United Nations officially declares the end of the war in Iraq, while South Sudan "replaces" Kosovo as the youngest country in the world.

No one worth mentioning is born in 2011. But this year, many famous names die: the famous actress Elizabeth Taylor, the singer Amy Winehouse and the boxer Joseph William Frazier. In 2011, the communist leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, also dies. For this death, the whole people wept (from grief) to the point of hysteria. 10 years later, to mark this "loss", North Korea announced another 11 days of mourning during which residents had to refrain from drinking alcohol, shopping and even laughing.

In 2001, the famous Argentinian writer (of Arbere origin), Ernesto Sabato, also died. Sabato once said: "My mother has always lived with the nostalgia of her ancestors. She always spoke Albanian with her brother. Even today I remember some Albanian words related to bread, house...". In Kosovo and Albania die: the writer and politician Sabri Godo; playwright Teki Dervishi; theater researcher and critic, Adriatik Kallulli; Ahmet Zogu's only son, Leka I; the communist politician of Kosovo, Bahri Oruçi; as well as the communist leader of Albania after the death of Enver Hoxha, Ramiz Alia.
In 2011, two friends of Kosovo died: the playwright, dissident and first president of democratic Czechoslovakia (later the first president of the Czech Republic), Nobel Peace Prize laureate and hero of the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel, as well as Otto von Habsburg – the heir to the imperial throne of Austria. In 2011, the co-founder of the giant Apple, one of the most meritorious for technological development in the world in recent decades, Steve Jobs, also dies.

YEAR 2021: GOOD, BAD, GOOD, BAD...

The year 2021 begins with a sensational event in the most powerful country in the world - the USA. On January 6, hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to protest the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. The protesters were spurred on by Republican Trump who claimed the vote was rigged. Violence in the Capitol left four dead. More than 700 people were accused of participating in the riots. But on January 20, Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.

In 2021 there was unrest in Myanmar and Ethiopia. There are also great tensions between Ukraine and Russia, since the Russians have sent 90 troops near the border line with the neighboring country. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received 95.1 percent of the vote in presidential elections held in May, for a fourth seven-year term. His victory was expected given what happened to his rivals in the last 10 years. But the most sensational event had to do with the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. After this departure, for a few days, the Taliban, who were overthrown in 2001, regained power. The country again plunges into chaos. Therefore, many Afghans use Kabul Airport or the borders to leave the country. Some of them found shelter in Kosovo and Albania.

After many years, 2021 marks the end of the political career of two politicians: Benyamin Netanyahu in Israel and Angela Merkel in Germany. Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina (United Right) party, was sworn in as Israel's new prime minister, ending Netanyahu's 12-year rule. But this change of power did not bring peace as Hamas militants fired volleys of rockets into Jerusalem in response to clashes - which erupted at the Al-Aqsa mosque - between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police forces. The Israeli response follows with heavy bombing that caused many casualties among Palestinian civilians. Meanwhile, in Germany that faced many floods, the social democrat Olaf Scholz became the country's new chancellor, ending 16 uninterrupted years of Merkel's rule. On September 14, in her position as chancellor, Merkel made a visit to Albania, where she met several leaders of the Balkan countries.

On August 9, 2021, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sounds the alarm by releasing a report that says humanity is responsible for global warming and that drastic changes must occur if we want to limit the damage.
As mass vaccination starts everywhere in the world in 2021, two versions of the coronavirus appear: Delta and Omicron, which forced countries around the world not to change the control measures. Mask wearing, distancing, vaccination, closures and movement restriction schedules still remain in effect. However, vaccination has reduced hospitalization and death rates.
Another important event is related to Elon Musk's company SpaceX that sent 143 satellites into space in January. More and more rich people are paying attention to space exploration. In addition to Musk, the main private companies working in this direction are Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which are trying to reduce the costs of space flights.

The year 2021 is characterized by several Albanian tragedies: On July 25, ten citizens of Kosovo lost their lives and over 30 others were injured as a result of an accident that occurred in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. The bus had left from Germany to Kosovo. On September 9, the modular hospital in Tetovo, where patients affected by the coronavirus were treated, caught fire. In this tragedy, 14 people lost their lives and dozens more were injured. On November 23, another passenger bus with North Macedonian license plates, returning from Istanbul to Skopje, catches fire west of Sofia, Bulgaria. In this case, 46 people lost their lives, including 12 children. Seven others were injured. Three days later, a bus driver and two high school students lost their lives in the village of Gllogjan in the Municipality of Deçan, as a result of the shooting.

North Macedonia fails in its efforts to join the European Union. Bulgaria maintains that North Macedonia has not fulfilled its part of the friendship treaty, which they agreed to in 2017. As is known, Bulgaria disputes the Macedonian language and the ethnic background of some personalities from the historical past. The Bulgarian side emphasizes that "the Macedonian language did not exist until August 2, 1944 and that the formation of the Macedonian nation is a project of Belgrade during the period between the two world wars".
On January 21, the Assembly of North Macedonia voted on the draft law on the census of the population, economy and housing, a law that enabled the country to implement the census after 19 years. On September 5, registration began, which lasted until September 30. On this occasion, 1 inhabitants, 832 households and 696 dwellings were registered (excluding 568 self-registered citizens in the diaspora).
On November 11, the opposition in the Assembly of North Macedonia had to vote on the opposition's initiative of no confidence in the government, but it failed because there was not enough quorum, that is, there were not 61 out of a total of 120 deputies. On December 23, the Assembly of North Macedonia confirmed the resignation of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his government, who resigned from the post of Prime Minister and the post of head of the ruling party, the Social Democratic League of Macedonia (LSDM), after unfavorable results in local elections.

On April 25, parliamentary elections were held in Albania. The Socialist Party (SP) led by Prime Minister Edi Rama won the third governing mandate. The ruling party won 74 seats out of 140 deputies in the Assembly of Albania. The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Albania (PD) won 59 mandates, the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) won four mandates and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) won three mandates. On September 10, Lindita Nikolla from the SP was elected the new Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania. Meanwhile, eight days later, the new government of Albania, headed by Edi Rama, is sworn in.
On May 19, the American Embassy in Albania announced the decision of the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to declare the former prime minister of Albania, Sali Berisha, as an ineligible person to enter the United States. Briefly, the reasoning was this: Corrupt actions and undermining of democracy in Albania! After this decision, the chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), Lulzim Basha, decided to exclude Berisha from the parliamentary group of this party, a decision that caused new clashes within the DP. Berisha intends to take the helm of the DP again.
On July 29, at the Regional Economic Forum held in Skopje, after the signing of several agreements between the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, that of Albania, Edi Rama, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the initiative called "mini-Schengen ” was officially named “Open Balkan”. On December 20, a protest was held in Tirana against the visit of Serbian President Vucic and against the "Open Balkans" initiative. The protest was called by Sali Berisha. A day later, the next meeting of this initiative, which is opposed by Kosovo, was held. Several agreements were signed, regarding the conditions for free access to the labor market, for the interconnection of schemes for the electronic identification of citizens of the Western Balkans...
Many cooperation agreements and protocols were also signed on November 26, in Elbasan, where the seventh joint meeting between the Government of Albania and the Government of Kosovo was held. As always, the implementation of these agreements remains a big question mark.

The main event of the beginning of 20021 for Kosovo was the agreement on full diplomatic relations with Israel. Israel officially recognized Kosovo's independence.
The year 2021 was the year of elections in Kosovo. The Vetëvendosje movement is the first party in the history of Kosovo that won over 50 percent of the votes in the Parliamentary elections. After the victory, Albin Kurti was elected prime minister of the country, while Vjosa Osmani was elected president. Kurti previously stated that the dialogue with Serbia is not his priority, but the fight against corruption and economic development. However, the topic of dialogue will be inevitable. Kurti met Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on June 16, in Brussels. But this meeting did not bring results. Their second meeting on July 19 did not bring results either.
After the poor result in the general elections, in 2021 LDK elects Lumir Abdixik as president, while PDK elects Memli Krasniq
In September, Kurti was determined to reciprocate Serbia's license plates, which caused tensions. Local Serbs again blocked the roads, while Belgrade reacted by expressing military readiness near the border with Kosovo. On September 27, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, paid an official visit to Kosovo. Speaking about the tensions created in the north of the country, Rama said that justice is on the side of Kosovo. Kosovo and Serbia agreed, on September 29, for the removal of the barricades by the Serbs, for the removal of special police units and for NATO forces to secure the border crossings for two weeks, until a working group finds a permanent solution for the use of license plates. In the meantime, an agreement was reached to cover, in a reciprocal manner, with sticky papers during the Kosovo-Serbia entrances and exits, the parts of the license plates with the state symbols.

During 2021, the Kurti government has decided not to advance the project for the connection with the gas pipeline that passes through North Macedonia, this project proposed by the Americans, on the grounds that the project was not considered financially favorable and that it has a high investment risk. This decision has been criticized by the opposition. Meanwhile, in December the country entered into a crisis of electricity supply.
On October 17, local elections were held in 38 municipalities of Kosovo. These elections were not favorable for the ruling VV. The Democratic League of Kosovo managed to restore the governance of the capital. Vetëvendosje also lost in the country's second largest city, Prizren. In these elections Vetëvendosje won only four municipalities (Gjilan, Podujevë, Kamenica, Shtime); PDK in eight municipalities (Prizren, Mitrovica, Ferizaj, Drenas, Skenderaj, Hani i Elezit, Vushtrri, Kaçanik); LDK also in eight municipalities (Pristina, Pejë, Lipjan, Istog, Viti, Fushë Kosovë, Dragash, Junik); AAK in five (Gjakovë, Suharekë, Klinë, Rahovec, Deçan). The Social Democratic Initiative wins in Malishevë and Xhafer Gashi in Obiliq.

The year 2021 was the year of Kosovo judo. Distria Krasniqi won the gold medal in the category up to 48 kilograms at the "Tokyo 2020" Olympic Games; Majlinda Kelmendi (-52 kg) and Nora Gjakova (-57 kg) won the bronze. On April 16, the Kosovar team won two medals at the European Judo Championship in Lisbon, Portugal. Distria Krasniqi and Nora Gjakova triumph again. Akil Gjakova also shines in Lisbon, as European champion in the category up to 73 kilograms. Meanwhile, on December 6, the golden Olympic judo champion, Majlinda Kelmendi, officially ended her career as an active athlete to continue as a coach alongside her coach Driton Kuka.
Another important news is that the film "Woke up" won three awards at the prestigious Film Festival - "Sundance". Blerta Basholli's film entered the close competition for the Oscar award in the category of Best Foreign Film.
On December 17, the Assembly of Kosovo approved the 2022 budget of two billion and 748 million euros. Meanwhile, on December 20, Kosovo signed an agreement to lease the Detention Center in Gjilan, which has a capacity for 300 prisoners, to Denmark. The agreement is expected to be implemented from 2023 and will last 10 years during which Kosovo is expected to earn 210 million euros.
It will be... well! /Telegraph/
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