“Here’s what King Zog did for Albania and why should he be honored and commemorated even in the state ceremony…”?/ Reflections of the former deputy and head of the Legality Party

By Ekrem Spahiu*

– HONOR FOR KING BIRD – STATE OBLIGATION –

(On the occasion of the 127th anniversary of his birth)

Memorie.al / After Ismail Qemali, who has the unique historical merit of breaking Albania from the Ottoman yoke and declaring it free and independent, the first long-term statesman, who framed Albania in Europe, is Ahmet Zogu, even in the most critical period of the world, that between the two world wars. It is a fact that the history of the Albanian state of that time is also the history of Ahmet Zogu, because it is his work and contribution.

Therefore, honoring Ahmet Zogu is a legitimate honor for the Albanian state. It is absolutely legitimate to honor the great act of declaring independence, but it is equally legitimate to honor the fact that Ahmet Zogu represented the province of Mati in the Assembly of Vlora and, in defense of the newly proclaimed independence of the country, organized and engaged his forces against the Serbian-Montenegrin forces in Kakarriq, putting his life on the altar of sacrifice for the freedom of the Motherland.

It is legitimate to honor the Congress of Lushnja. But it is equally legitimate to honor the fact that Ahmet Zogu, apart from being one of the main protagonists for calling and organizing that congress, he was also entrusted with the task of securing it, even choosing him in the government, in the delicate task for the time, that of the Minister of the Interior.

With this legitimate authority, he opened the way for the government to leave that congress to move and install in Tirana, as well as to put under control, in the name of that government, the entire territory of the country.

It is legitimate to determine the right place in history and protocol for all the prime ministers of the country. From here, it is imperative to also honor Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, who governed the country for the longest time in those turbulent years after the First World War.

It is legitimate to honor the achievements of any time that has been of Albanian national interest. And for this reason, the Albanian state has an official obligation to honor the fact that the Albanian Kingdom was the most consolidated Albanian state that oriented all the structures and institutions of government according to the best Western models. Rarely in the history of Albania, did he call upon the best legal, economic, military and diplomatic expertise of Western countries?

The Basic Statute, the civil code, the commercial code, the criminal code, the code of civil procedure, etc., drawn up under this expertise, marked the complete separation from the legislation of the Ottoman period and oriented the development of Albania in terms of democratic potentials.

The ministers, deputies and ambassadors of the time of the Albanian Kingdom were chosen from the most knowledgeable people of the country, who put their skills at the service of the state and citizens, as required by their social status and their education. On these bases, the state administration was created, whose official documentation remains the standard of legal correctness even today.

With the experience and authority created, the control of the territory was strengthened to such a degree that, in all times afterwards, the fact that a single gendarme kept order and peace in a certain area is remembered with nostalgia. With the best Western expertise, the National Army was raised, with all the comparative European structures, which was given unparalleled support, allocating a budget for the primary.

Property and cadastre were consecrated as basic elements of law. Freedom of expression and press was guaranteed. In that period, all kinds of opposition newspapers were published, in which there was no blasphemy and no one was punished for writing against the government or even the King himself.

Road infrastructure and numerous bridges were built from scratch. It was at that time that the Albanian capital took shape, with the main buildings, which even today constitute the passport of its urban identity. The state at the time of King Zog made the Albanian proud: with the policies followed, he was guaranteed free movement, with a passport worthy of presenting his identity in any country in the world.

Albanian money, the famous Napoleon, was one of the strongest currencies of the time. National education was massiveized, giving priority to the education of the young generation with a national spirit. The rights of minorities to education in their own language were respected, as in no other neighboring country.

The Albanian kingdom guaranteed by law the freedom of religious beliefs. With a determined and unrepeatable move, Ahmet Zogu created all the conditions for the proclamation of the Autocephaly of the Albanian Orthodox Church. Already in 1925, he had guaranteed the establishment in Albania of the World Bektashi Chief Justice.

No one can deny these values ​​in the state history of Albania.

Then the state must be serious with itself so that, in the official ceremonial of Albania, the commemoration of the historical and vital events related to the Albanian Kingdom is also included. It is an obligation to the rare Albanian statesman, Ahmet Zogut. Memorie.al

*former Member of Parliament & Chairman of the Legality Movement Party