On February 26, 1935, the well-known Albanian cinematographer Saim Kokona, “Merited Artist”, was born. Operator and director of photography in more than 30 feature movies and documentaries. He finished his higher studies in the Czech Republic as a cameraman in 1960. He worked until 1991, when he retired, in the cinema studio “New Albania” as a cameraman, standing out for his artistic intuition, the way of filming, the angles of view, the composition of the frame, which go deep into the spiritual world of the actor.

On February 26, 1936, Adem Demaçi, activist for the national issue, was born in Prishtina. For his political commitment, Adem Demaçi suffered 28 consecutive years in the prisons of Yugoslavia. After he was released, he continued his political activity. Adem Demaçi is called the Mandela of Europe. From 1990 to 1995, he headed the Council for Human Rights and Freedoms. In 1991, he was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament. During the period 1998-1999, in the meetings in Rambouillet about the future of Kosovo, he was the political spokesperson of the KLA.

On February 26, 1951, 22 Albanian intellectuals were executed by the communist regime under the pretext of a bomb explosion in the Soviet embassy in Tirana on February 21. The dictatorship staged the so-called bomb to justify a new wave of terror that it undertook against the personalities known for their patriotism, anti-communism and their formation in the most developed Western countries.

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