Ali Aliu (22 June 1924 – 25 April 2010) was a

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

writer, economist, teacher, politician and political prisoner who spent more than 10 years in prison for speaking out against the treatment of the ethnic Albanians in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

as well as for fighting for Albanian national unification. He was known as a man of resistance throughout his entire life. Aliu died on 25 April 2010.

Early life and activism

Aliu was an activist in the Second World War from 1941 onwards. As a member of the anti-fascist movement, he worked in Albania and in Kosovo. After the Second World War, he continued his activism in liberation movements in Kosovo against the Yugoslav regime, aiming to separate Albanian territories occupied by Yugoslavia and to unite them with the mother state of Albania. He was arrested three times and spent ten years in Yugoslav prisons.

Aliu in postwar Kosovo

Ali Aliu is the father of activist and member of the

Assembly of Kosovo The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Kuvendi i Republikës së Kosovës; sr, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly electe ...

, Liburn Aliu, who is also a founding member of Vetëvendosje! (Movement for Self-Determination). He was known as "Baca Ali" (Uncle Ali) by Albanians and a role model and ideological inspiration to many Albanian anti-fascists and activists for self-determination and Albanian National Unification. At his burial, on 26 April 2010, the

Kosovo Police The Kosovo Police ( sq, Policia e Kosovës, sr-Cyrl, Полиција Косова, sr-Latn, Policija Kosova) is the national policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo. History A Kosovo Police Service was created in 1999 in the aftermath o ...

, under orders from international EULEX police, tried to arrest

Albin Kurti Albin Kurti (; born 24 March 1975) is a Kosovar Albanian politician and activist, serving as the Prime Minister of Kosovo since 22 March 2021, having previously served in that role between February and June 2020. He came to prominence in 1997 a ...

, activist of Lëvizja

Vetëvendosje Lëvizja Vetëvendosje (, en, Self-determination Movement; LVV) is a centre-left to left-wing political party in Kosovo. It is orientated towards principles of social democracy, populism, and Albanian nationalism. Vetëvendosje was founded in ...

(Movement for Self-Determination in Kosovo). The people participating in the burial resisted the police and did not allow them to arrest Albin Kurti. Kurti had been at the burial in order to pay his respects and hold a speech on the role of Baca Ali in shaping Albanian resistance.Newsletter from the Movement for SELF-DETERMINATION!
, retrieved on 2013-06-26

Notes and references

References: {{DEFAULTSORT:Aliu, Ali 1924 births 2010 deaths People from Preševo Albanians in Serbia Kosovan politicians Albanian rights activists Kosovan prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia Albanian nationalists in Kosovo Yugoslav Albanians