Martyrs’ Day is an important historical date for Albanians, as the Martyrs of the Nation are commemorated. After the Declaration of Independence in 1912 and until 1945, the Albanian state did not create a legal status for the nation’s martyrs. the first efforts to honor the fallen martyrs on the battlefields began. After the Liberation, on August 28, 1945, the leadership of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist Council approved Law No. 109 “On the compensation of the families of martyrs and invalids of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War”. This law sanctioned the treatment of the families of patriots who had fought and fallen for the homeland even before the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War, during the National Renaissance, in the wars for independence, thus marking the first attempt for an integral law for the martyrs of the nation. In the 60s, the status of the martyr was further elaborated and expanded, specifying the term “martyr of the nation”. This law also includes the Cemeteries of the Martyrs of the Nation, which were built in all the centers of the country’s districts. The Cemetery of the Martyrs of the Nation was also built in Tirana with the “Mother Albania” monument. In 1992-1993, with the change of the political system, the status of the nation’s martyr also underwent changes. After the approval of the Law no. 8607 in 2000, Law no. 109/2018 “On the status of the martyr of the nation”, which includes the martyrs of all historical periods, even those who fell in the years 1997-1999 in Albania and in the Liberation War of Kosovo. On May 5, National Martyrs’ Day, there are many names from all periods are remembered with gratitude, not only for their enduring values and the contribution they made for the liberation of the country for a better future, but also for all those who sacrificed their lives for freedom, democracy, human rights and the dignity of every Albanian. (In the photo: View from the Cemetery of Martyrs, in Tirana,)
Text: https://ata.gov.al/2020/05/05/5-maji-dita-e-deshmoreve-te-atdheut/
Photo: © Albanian telegraphic agency
Graphic processing: AHCF
