Wednesday, 17 January 2018
ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT XHAFERI AT THE SOLEMN ACADEMY ON THE OCCASION OF THE 550TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF GJERGJ KASTRIOT SKANDERBEG
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Colleagues and Members of Parliament,
Distinguished Media,
Distinguished Guests
"I am a friend of virtue, not of fate", this is a quote from Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg's letter addressed to the Neapolitan king Ferdinand. I quote this saying of the Great Skanderbeg because in essence it reflects precisely his character and his system of values that pervades his whole life. As is known, on this day, 550 years ago, at the age of 62 died of malaria at Lezha. On this occasion, with today's Solemn Academy and the promotion of the postage stamp with the face of Skanderbeg begin the various manifestations in the Republic of Macedonia that are dedicated to the great Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg. Such manifestations and similar will also take place in the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Kosovo. Namely, this year is dedicated to the great Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg who in essence is the founder of the Albanian feudal state. At the same time, given the historical situations at that time, he is the ultimate defender before the Ottoman conquest in Europe.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If historical facts associated with Gjergj Kastriot are considered only superficially, regardless that he is an Albanian feudal, his ideas, his commitments, and certainly his struggle for freedom and military victories against the Ottoman army, they have many elements of what today for all of us is an ideal and strategic determination, and this is united Europe. Namely, he was firmly committed to the union of all Balkan principalities, but in cooperation with others, such as Dubrovnik, Venice and Naples in defense of the Balkans, and therefore of Europe, before the entry of the Ottoman army. These historical facts have been confirmed by numerous scientific researches and related scientific works by a number of names with the authority of historical science of almost all European countries. Also, characteristic of Skanderbeg's personality and work is the fact that he has been the inspiration for numerous literary works, paintings and works of art. 
Allow me to underline that the character of Skanderbeg finds place in the works of Vivaldi, then in the works of the great English poet Lord Gordon Byron, famous French painters Delacroix, Montaigne and many others. Just to remind you of the data that in Rome, for a long time now there is a monument of Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg which once again confirms his historical role and contribution to what we call today a united Europe. I also want to mention the great European thinker and philosopher Voltaire who has written, quoted: "Had the Greek Emperors acted like Scanderbeg, the empire of the East might still have been preserved".
Distinguished friends,
The character and work of Gjergj Kastriot - Skanderbeg is also closely related to all of us who today live in the Republic of Macedonia, namely, to the century-old aspirations and the struggle of the Albanian and Macedonian people for freedom and independence. Let's not forget that the great Macedonian poet, Grigor Prlicev, has written a poem in the Greek language called Skanderbeg, which in 1961 has been adapted and published in the Macedonian language. Skanderbeg, also finds place in the collections of Kuzman Sapkarov, and in the Collection of folk songs of the Miladinov brothers, published in 1861 in Zagreb.
Respectively, as the great contemporary Macedonian poet, essayist, historian and academic Gane Todorovski has said, "Skanderbeg is a positive hero in the historical Macedonian memory . Therefore, today, when at a regional level, as well as in each single country, we are facing various challenges, if you want misunderstandings as well, precisely the memory of Skanderbeg and his historical and civilization heritage should unite us.
Again, going back to the great Gane Todorovski who in his exposé on the occasion of the 600 anniversary of the birth of Skanderbeg at MASA, for him will state, quoted: "The great Skanderbeg, the eternal Skanderbeg, is God's eye that maintains peace in the Balkans". 
And the responsibility of all of us who live here in the Balkans is to upgrade that peace, to spread it, and all of us to be incorporated in the united Europe. And that will be the true expression of our respect, and also of the way of showing our virtue towards the character and work of Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg.
Thank you for your attention!