Ali Aliu (22 June 1924 – 25 April 2010) was a Kosovo Albanian 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 , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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 (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) or the Kuvendi, is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly elected by the peo ...

, 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 Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

and Albanian National Unification. At his burial, on 26 April 2010, the

Kosovo Police The Kosovo Police (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Policia e'' ''Kosovës'') is the national police, policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo. It was established in 1999 and took its current form with the 2008 police law. It consists of five dep ...

, under orders from international EULEX police, tried to arrest

Albin Kurti Albin Kurti (; born 24March 1975) is a Kosovo Albanians, Kosovo Albanian politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Kosovo since 2021, having previously held the office from February to June 2020. He came to prominence in 1997 as the vi ...

, activist of Lëvizja

Vetëvendosje Vetëvendosje (, , LVV or VV) is a Left-wing politics, left-leaning Democratic socialism, democratic socialist List of political parties in Kosovo, political party in Kosovo. It is a member of the Progressive Alliance, and an observer in the Par ...

(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 Kosovan prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia Albanian nationalists in Kosovo Yugoslav Albanians