With the participation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, the leader of DUI, Ali Ahmeti, the commander of the Kosovo Security Forces, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, the Mayor of the Municipality of Tetova, Bilall Kasami, Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti, the President of the Senate, Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti, as well as many other personalities from the country and the Republic of Kosovo, the University of Tetova, on April 14, 2023, through a memorial academy was honored the life and work of the former student of the study program of Pharmacy of the University of Tetova, the nation’s martyr Alban Ajeti, 24 years ago was fallen on the altar of freedom under the emblem of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti, at the opening of this academy, said that history has proven that civilized nations have been raised only through people of knowledge, people of action and true idealists and Alban is the most emblematic example of elevation through the spirit of sacrifice. “Our university has produced distinguished individuals who have contributed to the development of our nation, among them today we honor a student who gave his life fighting for the freedom and independence of Kosovo. Many Albanian students and citizens were martyred for this University and for our language: Bedri Halimi, Zejadin Zimberi, Xhemil Abduramani, Burim Hyseini, Abdylselam Emini and many others whose blood have become light, and today illuminate our path of knowledge. Therefore, by remembering these patterns of human sacrifice, by perpetuating them, in fact, we preserve them as points of orientation for our national movements. Those, who with their works have provided another form of existence, deserve more than our respect and admiration to the point of bowing. Alban belonged to the generation that once and for all changed the course of our history, he belonged to that generation that best embodied the virtues of the Albanian determined for freedom and democracy”, said the rector of UT, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti.

In the memorial academy dedicated to the martyr of the nation Alban Ajeti, by the President of the Senate of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti also made public the decision of the Senate of the University of Tetova to announce as the martyr of the nation Alban Ajeti – the Hero of the University of Tetova. “The University of Tetova is continuously dedicated to remembering and honoring the nation’s martyrs, who gave their lives for freedom and independence. At the last meeting of the Senate, the decision was made that the University of Tetova will award the title HERO OF THE UNIVERSITY to the student and martyr of the nation Alban Ajeti, for the sublime sacrifice, the special contribution to the development of education, to the cultivation of national traditions, of the language, of history, as well as the commitment to achieving national aspirations for the freedom and independence of Kosovo. Our university considers the commemoration of the martyrs as an added value by promoting the culture of honoring history and responsibility towards the nation through numerous activities: such as scientific conferences, various commemorative activities, scholarships for the children of the martyrs and so on. We have continuously tried to pursue the general objective of promoting national identity and raising awareness among students and the scientific community in general regarding the importance of martyrs in the history of the nation”, said the President of the UT Senate, Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti.

The head of information and the spokesperson of the Karadak operational area of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Ismet Sylejmani, also spoke about the life and work of the martyr Alban Ajeti. “I have the great and historic honor, that today in front of you in the great honor that the University of Tetova is paying to its student, declaring him a Hero of the University of Tetova, to reveal the biography of the student Hero of UT, of the fighter of freedom, my fellow fighter, the Hero of the Nation Alban Ajeti. Alban Ajeti was born on September 5, 1978 in neighborhood Dardania 2 (former Gavrani), Street no. 18 in Gjilan. On September 1, 1985, he started elementary school and began his education! He completed primary school at “Selami Hallaçi” and completed secondary school at “Zenel Hajdini” in Gjilan, while he continued his studies at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics-study program of Pharmacy at the University of Tetova, in Tetovo, in the academic year 1997 /1998. Alban, unlike his peers, was versatile, he had an inclination towards sports, literature, etc., and many other fields, but mostly he was into medicine, where he was registered here in Tetovo. Alban bequeathed many poems, which after the war in 2002 were published in a special collection, entitled: “Spring of Freedom”, emphasized Ismet Sylejmani.

While the leader of DUI, Ali Ahmeti in his speech dedicated to the sacrifice and contribution of the martyr Alban Ajeti said that the martyrs who fell for freedom should always be remembered, just as Alban will always be remembered, for his mission to see the free Arbërore land. Therefore, be strong Alban’s father and you brother, because we have Alban as a hero, because we have Alban here, in the land of Arbër, in the land of freedom. Albani also says in his poem “Don’t cry for me”, so we should all remember him with pride”, underlined, in his speech among other things, the leader of the DUI, Ali Ahmeti.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, with his presence honored the Academy dedicated to Alban Ajeti. He said, in front of those present in the auditorium of the University of Tetova, that the itineraries of the roads followed by the martyrs, build the map of the nation’s freedom, must be recorded and marked with precision. “It is precisely these signs that ask us to commemorate a martyr from Gjilan to come from Pristina, here in Tetovo. Along the roads of freedom, martyrs are often both road pavers and guides. It is our duty then to keep the paths opened by the martyrs of freedom always open, for which it is necessary that those paths to be trodden and the places where they lead, they must be visited from time to time and as often as possible. There are many ways to follow the paths taken by heroes and martyrs, from learning their ideals to following those ideals. In the case of the martyr Alban Ajeti, we can orient ourselves to his work and life through Alban’s own words, as articulated and arranged in his poetry, which he considered important enough to preserve to secrecy. Just as three months after the liberation of Kosovo, a hidden poem by Albani about his mother was discovered, in the first verse of which Albani asked his mother Fazlije not to cry because he had died. There are more than forty of his poems that have been saved, through which the world of thoughts and feelings of the author, Alban Ajeti, can be understood, especially during the war, as if today we are gathered here in Tetovo to remember the work of Alban Ajeti, the student of the University of Tetova, the chronicler poet from Gjilan and the martyr of the KLA. However, Alban did not manage to finish his studies in Pharmacy and did not manage to get a degree from the University of Tetova, because time required him to exchange the status of a student for that of a freedom fighter. Precisely while fighting for the freedom of Kosovo, he received the diploma of the martyr of the nation, which no university in the world can issue and which Alban received under the emblem of the KLA. It is precisely this difference that makes history and what has gathered us here to remember Alban and his friends. Of course, it is no coincidence that this University of yours and ours, where Alban came, was built with many sacrifices and the blood of martyrs”, emphasized the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

The decision of the Senate of the University of Tetova to declare the martyr of the Nation Alban Ajeti the HERO OF THE UNIVERSITY, to his father, Sheqir Ajeti, was bestowed by the President of the Senate, Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti. Also, it was bestowed the Monograph of the University along with the logo and flag of the University of Tetova, as well as the portrait of the first and historical Rector, Prof. Dr. Fadil Sulejmani, as well as the painting with the portrait of the martyr Alban Ajeti.

On behalf of the family of the martyr Alban Ajeti, spoke his brother, Petrit Ajeti,  who expressed his gratitude to all those who were present in the auditorium, and in particular to the University of Tetova, for the high honors they gave to life and the work of Alban Ajeti. “The struggle for the freedom of Kosovo, Alban and the other martyrs was accomplished in the form of a war legacy, by the other freedom fighters that carried the war to the goal of freedom. But Alban had two other concerns. Initially, he had the concern to complete his studies at the Military Academy in Tirana, since the impossibility was replaced by the concern to complete his pharmacy studies here in Tetovo. The war called him and he returned from Tetovo to mobilize in the KLA, in whose battles, he was martyred for freedom. Thus, Alban’s former concern to complete the Military Academy in Tirana, I tried to accomplish it myself, when I finished my studies precisely at the Military Academy in Tirana, in 2003. Meanwhile, his concern to complete his pharmacy studies at the University of Tetova, is best fulfilled by you here today, by remembering the former student of this university, who was martyred 24 years ago. For all this, allow me too humbly, on behalf of the Ajeti family and on my own behalf, to express my gratitude and the highest considerations”, declared Petrit Ajeti, the brother of the martyr Alban Ajeti.

At the end of this academy, as a sign of gratitude  for the respect they have shown the University of Tetova, as well as to the today’s event, the Rector of UT, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti, together with the President of the Senate, Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti, to the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, the Director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Petrit Ajeti, the General Director of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, and the activist of the national issue, Ismet Sylejmani, bestowed the portrait of the first and historical Rector, Prof. Dr. Fadil Sulejmani, together with the Monograph of the University, as well as scientific journals dedicated to important personalities of Albanian history and culture.