On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the demonstrations of March 1981 organized by Albanian students in the former Yugoslavia, a scientific conference was held "Demonstrations of 1981 - Signaling the World for the violation of human rights in Yugoslavia".

"Fehmi Agani" University in Gjakova in cooperation with the Kosovar-Swedish Scientific Institute organized the Conference at the National Library, which aimed to reveal the past and future events and the purpose of the 1981 protests and the echo that this event had in the world.

In this conference were revealed stories and discussions about the crimes of the Serbo-Yugoslav state against Albanians in the twentieth century.

In her introductory speech, the director of the Kosovar-Swedish Scientific Institute, Salihe Salihu, stressed that the demonstrations of 1981 were a historic event that defined and guided the necessary path for the Albanian people in preserving their national identity and seeking their rights. within Yugoslavia.

The historian Ibrahim Gashi, in this conference spoke about the influence of the student demonstrations of 1981 in shaping the political culture for an independent state. It also showed the experiences that Kosovo had gone through in those years. In his speech he mentioned some of the scholars and newspapers of that time who had written and reacted to the previous and subsequent events related to the rights of Albanians and the demonstrations of 1981.

On the 11th of March, 1981, Albanian students at the University of Prishtina staged a mass demonstration in response to the violence used to quell spontaneous student protests, demanding dignified treatment and food at the student canteen on the 4th March, 1981. .

Even on March 4 and March 11, the Yugoslav police service, after brutal interventions against the revolted students, detained a large number of Albanian students, while some were also killed.

Albanians from different regions in the former Yugoslavia gave great support to the student demonstrations, which continued on March 26 and early April 1981. They were supported by different strata of society and with different professions, where after the demands for dignity in the conditions of treatment of students and for the cessation of police violence, increased the demand for political rights of Albanians.

Regarding the conference, the exhibition "Volcano of the Republic" was opened at the National Library by the State Agency of Archives.

Conference Call