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Osmani and foreign diplomats pay homage at the grave of former president Rugova

Osmani and foreign diplomats pay homage at the grave of former president Rugova

On the 19th anniversary of the death of Kosovo's first president, Ibrahim Rugova, the current president, Vjosa Osmani, and foreign diplomats in Kosovo paid homage and honors at Rugova's grave, in the Velania neighborhood in Pristina.

Among the participants in this ceremony were the Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy, ​​Anu Prattipati, the EU Ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, the Head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Giovanni Pietro Barbano, and other foreign ambassadors.

Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, called Rugova "the founding father of our state" after saying he had made "an extraordinary contribution to building the strong foundations of our state."

"President Rugova not only united all citizens of Kosovo around the cause of freedom, independence and democracy, but at the same time he also became the voice of Kosovo in the world by building important alliances that we needed the most in those difficult times," said Osmani.

She praised Rugova for his vision, which she said now serves as a guide and example not only for Kosovo's state leaders, but for leaders everywhere in the world.

Rugova served as the first president of Kosovo and was the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) party and is known for his role in the peaceful movement for Kosovo's independence from Serbia during the 1990s.

Under Rugova's leadership, the LDK, in cooperation with other Albanian political forces in Kosovo, declared Kosovo a Republic on July 2, 1990, and on September 7 of the same year, it approved its Constitution.

In pre-war Kosovo, he was elected President of the Republic of Kosovo in presidential elections, which were not internationally recognized, which were held on May 24, 1992 and March 22, 1998.

Later, Rugova also won the two internationally recognized general election contests in post-war Kosovo.

On August 27, 2005, Rugova traveled to the military hospital at the US base in Landstuhl, Germany, and remained there until September 3 for medical treatment. Two days later, on September 5, 2005, Kosovo President Ibrahim announced that he was suffering from lung cancer.

He died on January 21, 2006, at the age of 62./ REL

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2025-02-15 13:01:41