Albania’s Independence: From Betrayal in Albania to Bravery in Kosovo

Kosovo’s leaders are dismantling Serbia’s influence piece by piece, undoing decades of corruption and betrayal. Will Albanians rise to defend their sovereignty in February’s elections?

Today, on Albania’s Independence Day, we celebrate the spirit of freedom and resilience that unites Albanians across borders. For our brothers and sisters in Kosovo, this day is not only a tribute to Albania’s historic liberation in 1912 but also a reflection of the ongoing struggle to preserve and strengthen sovereignty in a modern, complex world.

Twenty-five years ago, Kosovo endured one of the darkest chapters in its history: a brutal war waged by Serbia under Slobodan Milosevic, whose regime sought to ethnically cleanse the territory of its Albanian population. This genocidal campaign, supported and justified by Aleksandar Vucic, then Milosevic’s Minister of Propaganda—was part of a broader attempt to create a "Greater Serbia" at the expense of Albanians in Kosovo, Bosnians in Bosnia, and Croats in Croatia. It failed. Serbia’s genocidal ambitions were defeated, but the aftermath of the war brought new challenges for Kosovo.

For two decades after the war, Kosovo was led by a series o…