The book “Conversation with Fadil Vata 1989” by author Hajdin Abazi has been promoted. The work is divided into 12 chapters and contains 355 pages, focusing on the figure of activist Fadil Vata and the political developments that preceded the decisive period of 1989. Through conversations, the book brings memories, analyses, and testimonies about the political circumstances of that time, focusing on the role of Fadil Vata and his fellow activists.
Author Hajdin Abazi said that the decision to write the book came after a long personal dilemma, but that he felt a moral obligation to document the conversations he had held with Fadil Vata and Afrim Zhiti.
“For several years, perhaps two decades, I have struggled with myself over whether or not to write these memories. I was not sure whether I would succeed, but what encouraged me was that I was the only one who had the opportunity during those days to be with them and discuss those major changes, therefore I had a moral obligation. Nowhere in the book have I denied our ideological views… The conversations were mainly with Fadil Vata and Afrim Zhiti. What I often hear being said is that they were leaders of Kosovo, but no, they were leaders of Albanians in former Yugoslavia. They were facing major demands, and in the book I have left some things with three dots because I did not have the ability to include everything,” Abazi said.
Professor and former MP Enver Hoxhaj said that Fadil Vata’s name is closely linked to the end of one era and the beginning of another for Albanians in Kosovo, describing him as one of the most important ideologists and visionaries of that time.
Meanwhile, Fadil Vata’s close fellow activist Ibrahim Shala said that the book presents a unique approach, as the narrative is built through conversations between the main figures and focuses on January and February 1989.
Fadil Vata was one of the well-known activists of the Albanian national cause in Kosovo and one of the figures who left a mark on the illegal political movement of the 1980s. He was involved in organizing and leading the political resistance of Albanians in former Yugoslavia, advocating for national rights and the aspiration for freedom and equality.