TIRANA, Nov. 25 – Albania will celebrate on November 28 and 29 the country’s 98 anniversary of independence and 66th liberation year with a series of cultural events in many cities.
Vlora, the southern Albanian city, where independence was declared on November 28, 1912, will host several activities to mark this day which gave an end to almost 500 years under Ottoman rule.
Celebrations in Vlora will kick off on Sunday at the “Sheshi i Flamurit” square where independence leader Ismail Qemali hoisted Albania’s current national flag 98 years ago. A concert by the children’s cultural center will be held later in the evening. Events will continue on Monday with some live performances at the local sports palace brining together some of the country’s best folk and pop singers.
Activities preceding this major celebration in Vlora include the Iso-polyphony festival which is being held at the Petro Marko theatre from November 25 to 26. Folk iso-polyphony, a southern Albanian tradition, is recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Meanwhile, Tirana will celebrate the event with a big concert by the country’s Folk Ensemble, showcasing some of the best traditional songs and dances as well musical performances.
The cities of Durres, Shkodra Pogradec, Elbasan have also programmed different cultural events for this year’s celebrations.
Although the country’s main two political forces, the ruling Democrats and the opposition Socialists are divided on the country’s real liberation day, with the former celebrating it on November 28 and the latter on November 29, both of them are national holidays.
White Night in Tirana
For the sixth year in a row, Tirana Municipality will organize the White Night celebrations commemorating the country’s liberation from the Nazi occupation. Different events including City Band performances, entertainment for children, open-air song concerts and sports events, (Rally Albania and a moto-racing) will be held until Monday midnight.
Citizens from all over the country come to Tirana to join celebrations which continue until the early hours of November 30, packing the capital’s streets, some of which are not open to traffic.
Independence & Liberation
Independence leader Ismail Qemali, returned to Albania with Austro-Hungarian support and, at the head of a swiftly-convened national assembly, declared Albanian independence in the town of Vlora on 28 November 1912. The declaration was more theoretical than practical because Vlora was the only town in the whole country under the delegates’ control―yet it proved to be effective in the vacuum of power, says Robert Elsie, a renowned Albanian studies specialist.
Though Albanian independence was recognized de facto on 17 December 1912 at the London Conference of Ambassadors, it was not until 29 July 1913, after the second Balkan War and the solving of the delicate problem of Shkodra, that the international community agreed to recognize Albania as a neutral, sovereign and hereditary principality.
Meanwhile, the country’s liberation came between November 28 to 29 1944 when the defeated German army left Albania. Soon after the liberation, the communists which claimed success in the resistance towards fascist Italy and Nazi Germany during World War II, seized control and remained in power for 46 years until 1990 in a harsh dictatorship.
