Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Saturday highlighted the country’s long struggle for statehood during a parade ceremony of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and Kosovo Police, marking the 17th anniversary of independence.
“Behind us lies a long history of resistance and struggle to achieve the creation and construction of the state of Kosovo,” Kurti said, according to KosovaPress. Addressing a crowd of citizens, he paid tribute to key figures in Kosovo’s path to independence, from Hasan Prishtina to former Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi.
Kurti described Kosovo’s statehood as one of modern Europe’s most significant stories of perseverance and progress, emphasizing that its history neither begins nor ends with any one generation. He also honored the country’s leaders at the time of independence, including former President Fatmir Sejdiu, former Speaker Jakup Krasniqi, and Thaçi, who was prime minister when Kosovo declared independence in 2008.
“The Republic of Kosovo is, above all, the result of the Kosovo Liberation Army,” Kurti said, adding that the KLA had endured severe shortages of weapons and ammunition. “There is no greater satisfaction than equipping the KSF with modern weapons,” he said, highlighting Kosovo’s recent investments in military capabilities, including anti-tank missiles, Javelins, and Bayraktar drones.
Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani also paid tribute at the graves of former President Ibrahim Rugova and activist Adem Demaçi, as well as at the Prekaz memorial complex.
Kosovo declared independence on Feb. 17, 2008, in a historic parliamentary session attended by 109 out of 120 MPs. Serbian lawmakers boycotted the session. The country has since been recognized by 117 nations, though five European Union members—Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Romania, and Spain—have yet to do so.
