‘Let there be no mistake. For as long as you wish, Kosovo will be your home’.
With this one sentence – said in the center of Prishtina on June 29, 1999 – the former US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, ensured citizens of Kosovo that their country is free.
The crowd chanted ‘Nona! Nona!’ – a name Albanians used for years to identify Mrs. Albright.
In the local language, it means mother, grandmother, or it’s also a casual way of saying that something/someone is cool or great.
“And this was reflected in our extended support at the International Court of War Crimes tribunal, that justice always presumes peace. The indicted for ethnic cleansing and murder have to be held accountable and Slobodan Milosevic will have to answer for his crimes,” – said Albright during one of her speeches on the Kosovo War.
Albright became a powerful international voice for Kosovo, in its journey towards becoming a democratic state.
In 2019, on the 20th anniversary of NATO’s intervention in Kosovo, local authorities inaugurated a bronze bust in her honor.
Another important event that took place during the same year, was when Kosovo presented former State Secretary Albright with the Order of Freedom.
Albright has continually said that NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was the right thing to do “in the name of freedom”.
During her term as State Secretary, she contributed to the expansion of the NATO alliance; she focused on reducing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, while also giving a contribution to human rights initiatives and democracy across the globe.
In 2012, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civil award in the United States.
She died at the age of 84, due to an acute illness.
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