Culture

"NEVER SAY NEVER" universalizes Demachi's statement about freedom and equality

"Never say never", the famous statement of Adem Demaç in a television studio in Belgrade in 1998, since Tuesday has been transformed into a work of art at the southern entrance-exit of the capital, precisely in the square that also bears his name. It is sung as a universal call for freedom and equality, it turns into a tribute not only to Demač. "We thought it was a work dedicated to all political prisoners. Demaçi fought for the independence and freedom that we enjoy today", said Alban Muja, author of the work

Adem Demaçi is often cited when the resistance of Kosovo Albanians against the former Yugoslavia and Serbia is mentioned. The young writer who would become a symbol of opposition to the Yugoslav regime, spent almost three decades of his life in prison. He was one of the idealists who did not see freedom as something that not only Albanians should have, but also Serbs and all other societies.

In one of the televised debates, he would have to face the Serbian politician Vuk Drashkovic, deputy prime minister of the former Yugoslavia and minister of foreign affairs of what was the Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

"Dear colleague, never say never in politics", he would address Drashkovic in 1998 in Belgrade. The most meaningful part of his sentence, "Never say never" has since Tuesday been transformed into a work of art at the southern entrance-exit of the capital, precisely in the square that also bears the name of Adem Demaç, who died in 2018.

Conceived as a work of art for public space, "NEVER SAY NEVER" by artist Alban Muja stands vertically in "Adem Demaçi" square.

At the inauguration of the work, its author, Alban Muja, said that Demaç's expression was an inspiration that comes from an Albanian politician and dissident, whose contribution is known by everyone.

"We thought it was a work dedicated to all political prisoners. Demaçi fought for the independence and freedom that we enjoy today", said Muja. According to him, as a work of art, "NEVER SAY NEVER" is not only intended to remember the past in Kosovo, but to emphasize the fight for justice.

"'NEVER SAY NEVER' is also a call not to give up justice, freedom and independence. Justice for an oppressed people and the fight for freedom and equality must be fundamental and the work will be a monument that proclaims this and will be a true call for such a thing", he explained the concept on which it was made work. In "NEVER SAY NEVER", according to him, everyone can find themselves in calls and appeals to possible problems or even orders to never surrender to legal demands, for equal rights, for a better life .

"'NEVER SAY NEVER' is a new work in the public space in Pristina, which will remember the past and the sacrifice of our people for freedom and global calls for equality", he clarified the project supported by the Municipality of Pristina and as find out KOHA, capture the amount of about 20 thousand euros. The work is dedicated to political prisoners in the 80s and 90s in Kosovo and to all those who worked and sacrificed for freedom.

The Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Çeku, said that the inauguration is related to two issues. He mentioned the undeniable contribution of Demaç and other political prisoners.

"Today we are adding one more point in Pristina to memorialize all that activity and national resistance that was led by Demaçi and others", Minister Çeku said. He added that, also, a work of art is being added to Pristina in public spaces. And, according to him, such projects should continue.

The mayor of Pristina, Përparim Rama, has said that the famous statement of Adem Demaçi said in Belgrade, when very few people would have the courage to speak freely for the Albanians in the former Yugoslavia, has been immortalized.

"He said this with heart and soul among Belgrade and this should be taken as a starting point, because we must believe that we can achieve the goals of the citizens. It is a word that raises self-confidence, self-confidence in our youth, our people, a word that mentions or reminds all those political prisoners who believed that yes, we can be free and equal", said President Rama .

Demaç's expression will be a permanent work in one of Pristina's highly frequented public spaces. Beyond the message related to the context of the time and circumstances when it was said, "NEVER SAY NEVER" - 12 meters high and one meter wide, made of concrete - also comes as a universal message for freedom and justice.

It was in that place that there was an initiative to place a statue of Demaç. In July 2019, three days after it was announced that the foundation stone would be laid, the Office of the then-resigning Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, canceled the procedures for the statue. The government had also determined the model of the statue without completing the procedures. It was announced that the sept would be inaugurated on November 28. But the "procurement activity" was canceled in the competition where seven proposals or "economic operators" applied. The jury had evaluated with 61.60 points the proposal with identification number 6669, whose author was the sculptor Gëzim Muriqi. In the ceremony, this floated through the projector that was presented as the model from which the statue of the outstanding activity would be sculpted, even though the financial assessment had not yet been made, which was the last step. A week later, during the ceremony, the son of the event, Albanian Demaçi, on behalf of the family, expressed his dissatisfaction with the choice of the ideological model for the next September.

"Before thanking the Prime Minister and all the political structures and collaborators, I wanted to express as a public concern that we as a family have not agreed that this model of the statue should be an ideological model for the statue. We think that there are much better solutions in the project for the statue of Baca Adem", said Albanian Demaçi.

And this dissatisfaction seems to have been decisive for the Prime Minister's Office to cancel the competition. On Tuesday, Demaç's family members were not seen at the inauguration of Alban Muja's work.

Adem Demaçi, born in 1936, died in July last year. The writer would experience three prison sentences, staying in the prisons of the former Yugoslavia for 28 years. His stances against Yugoslav politics and pro-unification with Albania had made him internationally known as a man who fought for freedom. For this, in 1991, he would receive the "Sakharov" award for freedom of thought from the European Parliament.