Twenty-nine years after the historic October 1, 1997 student protest at the University of Prishtina, the streets of the capital are once again set to host a major demonstration on the same date.
This time, the issue is different. The protest, organized by the civic platform “Liria Ka Emër” under the slogan “Not in My Name,” is being held in opposition to the verdict issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi.
The organizers say, however, that the choice of October 1 is deliberate, linking the 2026 demonstration to one of the most significant student protests in Kosovo’s modern history.
What happened on October 1, 1997?
On October 1, 1997, thousands of Albanian students took to the streets of Prishtina in a peaceful demonstration demanding access to the buildings of the University of Prishtina and the right to education.
At the time, Kosovo was under the rule of Slobodan Milošević, while Kosovo Albanians had been largely excluded from public institutions, including the education system.
The University of Prishtina was operating within a parallel Albanian-language education system. Students and professors held classes in private homes and improvised facilities after being denied normal access to university buildings.
The protest was organized by the Independent Students’ Union of the University of Prishtina, with Ejup Statovci serving as rector.
The demonstration began peacefully but was forcibly dispersed by Serbian police. Human Rights Watch documented the use of violence against protesters, including the beating of students.
Images of police violence against Albanian students and professors became among the most prominent visual records of the repression faced by Kosovo Albanians in the late 1990s.
A protest that went beyond the university
Although the immediate demand was the return of Albanian students and professors to university buildings, the October 1 demonstration carried a broader political and social significance.
After years of peaceful resistance and the operation of parallel institutions, the mass mobilization of students marked a new stage in public activism in Kosovo.
The protest became one of the best-known moments of the Albanian student movement of the 1990s and preceded a period of escalating political tensions and conflict in Kosovo.
October 1, 2026: A new protest, a different context
On October 1, 2026, citizens are again being called to gather in Prishtina, 29 years after the student demonstrations.
The context and demands are fundamentally different.
The “Liria Ka Emër” platform has announced a protest beginning at 4:00 p.m. in Skënderbeu Square, following the September 16 verdict of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers against four former KLA leaders.
Thaçi and Krasniqi were sentenced to 25 years in prison each, Veseli to 18 years and Selimi to 13 years. The verdicts are subject to appeal.
Organizers have explicitly connected the date of the new protest to the events of 1997.
“October 1 was not chosen by chance,” Ismail Tasholli of the “Liria Ka Emër” platform said, recalling the student protest and describing the upcoming gathering as a call for justice.
Former lawmaker Eliza Hoxha has also pointed to the historical significance of the date, recalling October 1, 1997 as a peaceful student demonstration that became an important symbol of civic resistance.
From student protest to “Not in My Name”
The two protests are separated by nearly three decades and emerged from very different circumstances.
In 1997, students marched to demand access to their university and the right to education in the Albanian language.
In 2026, citizens are being called to protest against the Hague verdict and to express support for the four former KLA leaders.
For the organizers, however, the connection lies in the symbolism of October 1: a date associated with public mobilization, protest and resistance in Prishtina.
The 2026 demonstration is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. in Skënderbeu Square.
