56 years since the 1968 demonstrations in Prizren for the Republic of Kosovo

On 6 October 1968, massive demonstrations began in the city of Prizren, the largest in Kosovo since the Second World War.

The demonstrations began near the building of the Albanian League of Prizren and later spread to Suhareka on 8 October and to Peja on 19 October. They openly expressed the Albanians’ demand for the proclamation of Kosovo as a Republic and the right to self-determination.

The events took place in a climate of Albanian cultural and national awakening. An important role in this process was played by the Pristina Language Consultation, held on 22–23 April 1968, where the issue of unifying the Albanian literary language was addressed. This atmosphere was also influenced by the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the death of Gjergj Kastrioti-Skanderbeg, as well as by the wave of student movements that swept Europe during 1968.

The demonstrations openly expressed the political and national demands of the Albanians of Kosovo.

Faced with them, the Yugoslav authorities undertook repressive measures, while the developments that followed contributed to the advancement of Kosovo’s political status and to the founding of the University of Pristina in 1969.

Although the demand for the Republic of Kosovo was not realised, the demonstrations of 1968 remained a turning point in the political, national and educational history of the Albanians of Kosovo.