In a tribute to the 27th anniversary of student protests against Slobodan Milosevic’s regime, the University of Prishtina marked its first-ever National Student Day.
Mihane Salihu Bala was one of the tens of thousands of students who took to the streets in protest 27 years ago to demand a return to their educational premises.
Kosovo Albanians were expelled from their faculties in 1991, and one year later, lessons in the Albanian language were banned. By 1997, the students had endured a difficult six years, forced to hold their lectures in less than ideal conditions in Prishtina’s private houses as Kosovo struggled to keep its education system afloat.
An Albanian student (white shirt) fights with a Serbian plain clothed policeman during a demonstration in Prishtina, 01 October 1997. Photo: EPA/Srdjan Suki
On the 27th anniversary of the students’ protest, Salihu Bala, now a civil society activist, has a lot to reflect on.
“When I look at photos, I notice there were fewer girls at the forefront of the protests, although they were equally involved in organising and present in the ranks of the students,” Salihu Bala said.
“27 years later, students have many opportunities ahead of them,” she added, contemplating how Kosovo’s education system has changed since she was a student.
University of Prishtina professors and students of October 1997 joined current students on Tuesday to commemorate the protest with the country’s first National Student Day.
University of Prishtina Professors and Students gather in Prishtina on 01.10.2024 to mark ‘Student National Day’ as a commemoration of 1997 protests: Photo/BIRN
University of Prishtina Vice-Rector Avni Hajdari said that October 1 will be celebrated as Student Day in Kosovo going forward.
“This day is also special for the professors and a reminder of the contribution that students made to the state-building of Kosovo,” he said in his speech.
At the end of the ceremony, members of the 1997 Protest Council were honoured for their contribution to the University of Prishtina.
In 1992, after the Yugoslav authorities banned lessons in Albanian, Kosovo Albanian students and teachers boycotted Serbia’s state education system by creating a parallel system in private homes and abandoned buildings.
In September 1996, under the mediation of Saint Egidio Community, Serbia’s President Slobodan Milosevic and Kosovo’s President Ibrahim Rugova reached an agreement allowing Albanian students to use proper school buildings.
A riot police fires a salvo of tear gas at Albanian students during their demonstration in Prishtina, 01 October 1997. Photo: EPA/Srdjan Suki
Failure to implement the agreement sparked outrage that led to the October 1, 1997 demonstration demanding access to the university’s facilities, which was organised by the Independent Student Union of the University of Prishtina.
The students in 1997 had planned to march from Prishtina’s Velania neighbourhood toward the city centre and attempt to enter the university premises, but they were stopped by the police, who arrested the leaders of the Independent Student Union. The protest and the student’s unjust arrest, are seen as a key moment in the Kosovo Albanians’ struggle against Belgrade’s rule.
Another agreement signed in March 1998 provided partial return of Albanian students to public premises.
Arsim Ademi, Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Education, stated that this day is historically significant because “it was a revival after several years of silence and inspired us to continue the struggle for the country’s freedom.”
A general view showing the riot police chasing Albanian students who earlier marched in a demonstration in Prishtina, 01 October 1997. Photo: EPA/Srdjan Suki
Blerta Zeqiraj, the President of the University of Prishtina Student Parliament, noted that “the suppression of Kosovo’s autonomy created deep insecurities, especially in higher education.”
“It was a time when students showed that their rights were a necessity,” Zeqiraj said.