President of the Republic, Ilir Meta has awarded the title "Knight of the Order of Skanderbeg" to Qani Sadiku, whom he describes as one of the heroic and inflexible resistance against the communist dictatorship.

Among other things, Meta emphasizes on social media that as Head of State, he has the honour and the obligation to elevate in the pantheon of history the whole layer of former political persecuted by the monist regime.

“I awarded with the title "Knight of the Order of Skanderbeg", Mr. Qani Sadiku, one of the heroic and indomitable men who made resistance against the communist dictatorship. This was a sign of appreciation for the invincible spirit and sacrifice in defence of the ideal of Albanians for freedom, democracy, a fair state and life with dignity; for the contribution as an activist and social leader in the protection of the rights of the former political persecuted in Albania.

As Head of State I have the honour and at the same time the obligation to elevate in the pantheon of history the whole layer of former political persecuted by the monist regime that took their lives and dragged them into a terrible ordeal of suffering in prisons, internments, slave labour and denial of human rights and dignity.

Albanian society, despite the positive steps of the past years, still has a lot to do for the healing and spiritual and financial re-evaluation of the representatives of this layer. The new generation of freedom should not and will not allow the rebirth of the metastases of dictatorship, even if they appear as elements of authoritarianism and the deformation of democracy.

Albanians will never accept a return to dictatorship!” Meta writes.