22 years of freedom, Kosovo still has no day of liberation: June 12th Required to Be an Official Festival

The law on official holidays, June 12, is known as a memorial day, not even known as a day of liberation, but as a day of peace.

Historian Frasher Demaj says the official holiday calendar should be added to this day, which, he says, opened to Kosovo a new perspective, freedom of country and the opportunity to build the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo in peace.

“Since June 12th is the date when NATO troops were introduced, when KLA troops have moved from their positions, moved from towns and villages, I think it should be the official holiday of Kosovo's liberation. And, beyond that logic, I think it should also be the holiday of the state of Kosovo and be the day off. Because we need to consider some facts, it's a few days and dates marked that need to be marked, but not fired, so it's a business day. And there are several important dates that are closely related to the overall developments in Kosovo, which beyond the logic of the note as the date, should be specific days and social holidays”, he says.

He says Kosovo is likely to remove some marked, resting, but not so important to the people and the state of Kosovo, and to be replaced with dates that are important in the calendar of historical and political developments.

Historian Demaj speaks of the course of 1999 and the most important events that culminated in Kosovo's liberation.

“Should be named 24 March, the start of NATO bombings and the targets of the so-called RFJ consisting of Serbia-Montenegro. After 72 days Serbia was forced to surrender, as a result of the surrender an agreement between NATO troops and Serbian troops, on June 9th 1999, which has remained as the Kumanovo Agreement in history. Then, after 9th, Serbian troops still find themselves in Kosovo. On the 11th, they come in from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Russian troops and position themselves at the Slatina Airport, which practically introduces Russian troops, the Kumanovo Agreement and the gradual arrival of NATO troops the next day, provoked a conflict of international proportions because Russia, with the introduction of its troops, was provoking the main global military force, such as NATO. So it was very dangerous this”, he says.

In this interview for Kosova Prees, Demaj also talks about Serbia's malicious ambitions over Kosovo, which have not stopped today, 22 years after the liberation.

He says Serbia in its political focus has always had three main goals: not allowing Kosovo's secession, so as not to allow Kosovo to function as a normal state and third, the idea that in the name of preserving cultural monuments could accomplish some of its goals.

Here, Demaj stands at the religious ceremony organised Thursday by the Serbian Orthodox Church, liturgy, which says it aims to serve as bait to destabilise Kosovo.

It appeals to Kosovo institutions, the opposition, but to civil society and citizens not to fall into the trap of malicious provocations of Serbia.

Serbia's “is more interested in provoking the situation in Kosovo... In the face of this situation, there must be wise answers. I am very convinced that Kosovo institutions, but Kosovo society will know this time to respond to this provocation. On this provocation, Serbia claims to present Albanians as Islamic fundamentalists in the civilised world, especially in the Christian world, which in fact this presentation except that it is propaganda, there is no truth. Because those who know the Albanian race know that more tolerant than Albanians in a religious sense are almost no people in the world”, he says.

Kosovo under the Law for Official Holidays has 11 official holidays. They are the new year, January 1st and 2nd, the Independence Day of the Republic of Kosovo, February 17th, Day of the Constitution of Kosovo, April 9th, International Labour Day, 1st, Europe Day, 9th May, Bajrami the Great, Day 1st, Bayram Minor, Day 1st, Catholic Christmas, December 25th, Orthodox Christmas, January 7th, Catholic Easter, Easter Monday and Orthodox Easter, Easter Moon.