Let me first thank the Kosovo Philharmonic for this wonderful mini-concert at the beginning of this Session and also thank the President of the Republic of Albania Mr. Bajram Begaj for honoring us with his presence.
Mr. President,
Mr. Speaker of the Assembly Mr. Konjufca,
Mr. Prime Minister Kurti,
Honourable Deputy Prime Ministers, Government Cabinet Ministers,
Honourable MPs, representatives of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo,
Honourable Ambassadors,
Representatives of security institutions,
Dearly beloved citizens of the Republic!
I am honored that today, on the fifteenth birthday of our Republic, I can address you from the floor of the Assembly of the Republic, the institution that carries the weight of plural and democratic life in our country.
Therefore, bearing in mind this sublime act of declaring the independent state of Kosovo, allow me to congratulate every citizen of our country for the contribution to the establishment of our common state; let’s remember the unparalleled sacrifice and unprecedented resistance of generations, which preceded the realization of the dream for freedom and democracy; let us remember the leader of our statehood, the historic president of Kosovo, dr. Ibrahim Rugova, who gained the respect of the entire democratic world; let us remember our sons and daughters who, lined up in the Kosovo Liberation Army sacrificed their lives in defense of the country, the historic commander of this army Adem Jashari, who led the resistance for freedom; to remember the representatives of the independent institutions of Kosovo which during these 15 years contributed to the building of democratic life in the country but also to the overall peace, let us also remember the contribution of our soldiers and police, including the soldiers of the KSF who, as we are celebrating today the 15th anniversary of our state, they are fighting to save lives under the ruins of buildings collapsed by the tragic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria a few days ago.
But, today we also remember and thank our friends, our allies, whom we have rightly called saviors and friends of freedom, who were with us at all times, when we were oppressed and fought for freedom, when we liberated and started the democratic life in the free land, in the free and dear country of ours. They are here also today, reliable and stable partners, with whom we are building our future together, as reliable and interactive partners.
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Dear citizens of our country!
In these 15 years, Kosovo has developed and strengthened as a new state; it has demonstrated democratic culture in the organization of its political life and the functioning of institutions, it has built and developed its state capacities and created a solid basis for further functioning. Our institutions are getting stronger day by day. This is a great achievement of our citizens.
Challenges, of course, have been present, but we have overcome them with wisdom, by remaining dedicated to a genuine state and stable partnership with our allies.
These challenges have sometimes caused us to clash internally because our views have been different, as is implicit in democratic societies. But, anyway, they have made us even stronger. They have proven our ability to remain resilient against them and to further develop our democratic life.
These challenges are present even today, when Kosovo, thanks to its early determination, is trying to further strengthen its international position towards the country’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures.
Of course, Kosovo cannot be an isolated island against the challenges and threats that have challenged our entire continent and the democratic world. But, it cannot ignore the security threats to it, which come as a result of efforts to undermine our statehood.
To this day, destructive forces try to undermine our statehood. They try to exert their influence, using the effort to break our historical unity over major issues. But we must not allow our society to become polarized in the face of such challenges. Facing Serbia, we must and will be as one. As always, we must reflect prudence, empathise and cooperate against these challenges.
The further strengthening of the state of Kosovo is everyone’s mission: of the institutions, of the entire political spectrum, and every citizen, without distinction, just as our freedom and independence of Kosovo was a dream and mission of many generations before us.
Therefore, despite the differences in views, ideas, and political platforms, the political spectrum of the country will remain united against all those who try to undermine our state or hinder its progress. As we have always been united whenever the major interest of our country has called for it.
The battle for international empowerment, membership in international organizations, and the path towards Euro-Atlantic integration, requires full cooperation with amicable and allied countries, very important historically to every major process that Kosovo has gone through.
As we crowned freedom with their help, we also hope to complete the process of integration into the European family and NATO membership with their aid. We are strongly on the side of our allies, so it is imperative that the countries of the Western Balkans that are democratic join NATO and the EU as soon as possible, as a preventive measure against the political, military and economic aggression of Russia and its proxies in the region. The dialogue process with Serbia has an epilogue, an epilogue that each of us has said, an epilogue that President Biden reconfirmed in his letter addressed to me as President of the country yesterday, and that is mutual recognition. Our territorial integrity, constitutionality, legal order and sovereignty are non-negotiable.
Honourable members of parliament!
Anniversaries like this one are a good opportunity to reflect on our long and painful but proud journey as well as the opportunity to, by working for ti each and every day, further develop our democratic life and strengthen our state for which so much has been sacrificed. Therefore, let’s work together tirelessly to develop and strengthen our state, the Republic of Kosovo. The more others work to undermine our state, the stronger will be our unity to strengthen and advance it, because our Republic is eternal.
God bless the Republic of Kosovo!
God bless its friends!
God bless our citizens!