In Geneva (Switzerland), the first issue of the newspaper “Liria Kombëtare” (1925–1935) was published, a bi-weekly political, economic, social, and literary newspaper, the organ of Albanian emigrants who were members of the National Liberation Committee. It was published in Albanian and French. It continued with several interruptions until issue number 179. The newspaper “Liria Kombëtare” became a tribune of democratic and liberal thought for Albanian emigrants in the fight against the regime of Ahmet Zogu and the threat of Italian fascism to Albania. The information, news, and various analytical articles of the newspaper “Liria Kombëtare” represent a rich documentary source for the main political, economic, and social events in Albania in the decade 1925–1935. The newspaper depicted the serious economic situation of the country, gradually exposed the risk of agreements between Ahmet Zogu’s government and fascist Italy, and warned of the fascist occupation of Albania. The salvation of Albania and the Albanian people, according to “Liria Kombëtare,” lay in the struggle to overthrow the existing regime and replace it with a regime of liberal democracy, following the example of Western European states and the United States of America. (In the photo: Front page of the newspaper “National Freedom”, 1926.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1529.
Photo: © Kadiu A., personal archive.
Graphic processing: AHCF
