Res. No.
Resolution designating November 28 annually as Albanian Independence Day in the City of New York
By Council Members Farías and Aldebol
Whereas, Albania, a country in southern Europe, is located on the western side of the Balkan Peninsula on the Strait of Otranto, which connects the Adriatic and Ionian seas; and
Whereas, Albanians consider themselves descended from the Illyrians, who migrated southward from Central Europe to what is now Albania in approximately 2000 BCE; and
Whereas, Albania’s valuable strategic location on the Adriatic and Ionian seas was long sought after, and the Albanians were conquered and ruled successively by the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire; and
Whereas, Starting in the 15th century, the Ottoman Turks isolated Albania from Western civilization for more than four centuries, until Albania began to separate itself from Ottoman influence and look toward the West in the late 19th century; and
Whereas, Struggles for Albanian autonomy between the Albanian League and the Turkish army wrought further uprisings from 1909 through 1912; and
Whereas, Albanian leaders were negotiating their political and cultural autonomy within the Ottoman Empire when a group of Balkan states went to war with the Ottoman Empire in October 1912; and
Whereas, Because the warring Balkan states, who eventually defeated the Turks, intended to divide up Albanian territory among themselves, Albanian leaders gave up on trying to maintain any autonomy within the Ottoman Empire; and
Whereas, With Serbian, Montenegrin, and Greek soldiers occupying Albanian land, the head of Albania’s 83-member national assembly, Ismail Qemal, declared Albania an independent state on November 28, 1912, in the town of Vlorë; and
Whereas, Albanian independence was compromised when territory inhabited by ethnic Albanians was lost to neighboring states on all sides, including when Kosova was ceded to Serbia in 1913; and
Whereas, Nonetheless, in the Treaty of London (May 30, 1913), European powers set Albania’s boundaries with Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece and required the withdrawal of all foreign soldiers from Albania; and
Whereas, After World War I in 1919-1920, United States (U.S.) President Woodrow Wilson advocated for Albania’s independence at the Paris Peace Conference, which set the terms of the continuing peace; and
Whereas, According to Robert Enholm, Executive Director of the House of Woodrow Wilson, “President Wilson did not accept the division of Albania [in the face of demands from Italy and Greece for Albanian territory,] thanks to his principle of self-determination, and more specifically from contacts with Albanian-Americans”; and
Whereas, The U.S. and Albania established diplomatic relations on July 28, 1922, which were suspended temporarily during World War II when Albania was occupied by Italy (1939-1943) and Germany (1943-1944); and
Whereas, Albania regained its independence after World War II, though it was subsequently governed by communist leaders until the end of communism in 1991; and
Whereas, Diplomatic relations were restored between the U.S. and Albania in 1991 when Albania adopted a free and democratic multi-party parliamentary system; and
Whereas, Today, the U.S. and Albania share many cultural bonds, a commitment to democracy, mutual defense obligations as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and increasingly lucrative bilateral trade interests; and
Whereas, Having settled in New York City (NYC) since the early 1920s, Albanians are among many groups of immigrants who have come to the U.S. for economic, religious, and political reasons; and
Whereas, According to the Albanian American Society Foundation, over 100,000 New Yorkers of Albanian heritage live in NYC’s five boroughs, but especially in the Bronx and Staten Island, and contribute to the multicultural fabric that is NYC and to its business and cultural community; and
Whereas, The NYC metropolitan area is the home of the largest Albanian population in the U.S.; and
Whereas, In the Albanian capital on November 1, 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of the years of Albanian struggles to be a free nation and noted that the U.S. “stood with you for your first 100 years of independence…and will stand with you for the next 100, and the 100 after that, and the 100 after that”; and
Whereas, Secretary Clinton also praised the Albanian Americans who have contributed their talents in the U.S. as government workers, military servicemembers, “entrepreneurs and teachers, engineers and artists, religious leaders,” and the owners of “some of the best restaurants in the world”; and
Whereas, Secretary Clinton described Albanian culture as “a rich component of American life,” including in New York State where she had served as U.S. Senator; and
Whereas, On November 27, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence, stating that the “partnership between our countries has been strengthened by the close connection between our peoples, and American society has been enriched by the contributions of generations of Albanian-Americans”; and
Whereas, On November 28, 2023, Albania’s 111th Independence Day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that the “ties between our nations, based on shared values, culture, and friendship remain firm”; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York designates November 28 annually as Albanian Independence Day in the City of New York.
LS #18136
11/4/2024
RHP