{"id":13568,"date":"2006-10-06T23:13:00","date_gmt":"2006-10-06T23:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/?p=13568"},"modified":"2026-01-22T23:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:28:19","slug":"otto-von-habsburg-europe-without-kosovo-is-not-a-true-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/otto-von-habsburg-europe-without-kosovo-is-not-a-true-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Otto von Habsburg: \u201cEurope Without Kosovo Is Not a True Europe\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 6, 2006, Radio Kosova.<\/strong>Otto von Habsburg, representative of the Austrian royal family, attended the official inauguration of what is now known as Habsburg Square in the municipality of De\u00e7an, marking a historic moment in Kosovo\u2013Austrian relations. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply touched by this gesture. Yet, being fully aware of the friendship between our two peoples, this honor feels natural,\u201d Otto von Habsburg stated during the inauguration ceremony in De\u00e7an.<\/p>\n

At the age of 94, Otto von Habsburg emphasized that his long life allows him to look far back into history and better understand the roots of his convictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of my age, I often return to the past and realize that my impressions are not accidental. They stem from the good relations with the Albanian people and the respect I inherited from my ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continued Support for Kosovo<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Otto von Habsburg reaffirmed his unwavering support for Kosovo, stating clearly that Kosovo is an integral part of Europe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Europe without Kosovo is not a true Europe. We belong to each other, and I sincerely hope that Kosovo will soon take its rightful place in Europe, with all the dignity of its independence. As long as there is even a spark of life in me, you can count on my support.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the oldest active political figures in Europe at the time, Habsburg expressed strong belief in local governance, noting that municipalities play a crucial role in bringing societies closer to European values.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we are created to support one another. Walking through this city, I found myself comparing it to the best municipalities in Austria. The people I met felt like my compatriots.\u201d<\/p>\n

De\u00e7an: A City of History and Courage<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mayor Nazmi Selmanaj briefed Otto von Habsburg on the history of De\u00e7an, describing it as a small city with a distinct identity\u2014over 80 percent destroyed during the last war in Kosovo, marked by great human loss, yet standing proud and resilient.<\/p>\n

During the ceremony, Otto von Habsburg unveiled the commemorative plaque at Habsburg Square, visibly moved by the honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means an extraordinary amount to me. De\u00e7an is a land that has produced heroes\u2014a land that has earned its achievements. From the moment I arrived, I felt that we are one: in humanity and in courage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commemorations and Visits<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Otto von Habsburg began his visit to De\u00e7an by laying wreaths at the memorial of national heroes Luan Haradinaj and Sali \u00c7eku. He also visited the De\u00e7an Monastery, and paid homage at the Martyrs\u2019 Cemetery in Gllogjan.<\/p>\n

Ajetw Beqiraj, Radio Kosova<\/p>\n

____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

This article is an original journalistic work first broadcast on Radio Kosova\u00a0 (October 6, 2006)<\/strong> and later adapted for digital publication.<\/p>\n

Any reproduction, redistribution, translation, or use of this material\u2014whether in full or in part\u2014without prior written permission from the author is strictly prohibited, except for brief quotations with proper attribution.Unauthorized use may result in legal action. \u00a9 2006\u20132026 Ajet\u00eb Shaban Beqiraj. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 6, 2006, Radio Kosova.Otto von Habsburg, representative of the Austrian royal family, attended the official inauguration of what is now known as Habsburg Square in the municipality of De\u00e7an, marking a historic moment in Kosovo\u2013Austrian relations.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"slim_seo":{"description":"Otto von Habsburg, representative of the Austrian royal family, attended the official inauguration of what is now known as Habsburg Square.marking a historic moment in Kosovo\u2013Austrian relations.","title":"Otto von Habsburg: \u201cEurope Without Kosovo Is Not a True Europe\u201d - Ajet\u00ebBeqiraj.org"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1901],"tags":[1965,274,1966,1964,1963,1962,120],"class_list":["post-13568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-media-english","tag-austria-kosovo-relations","tag-decan","tag-european-integration-of-kosovo","tag-habsburg-square","tag-kosovo-and-europe","tag-otto-von-habsburg","tag-radio-kosova"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13568"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13573,"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13568\/revisions\/13573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajetebeqiraj.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}