On April 2, 1769, Mehmet Pashë Bushati fought a battle in Zadrima to strengthen his pashalak (administrative division during Ottoman times). This battle proved that the Bushat family of Shkodra, who created a powerful pashalak and only formally dependent from the Porte, for many essential reasons could not unite the Albanian forces as Skanderbeg did and as their intention was.

On April 2, 1872, Andrea Dara, Arbëresh folklorist and linguist in Italy, father of the well-known poet Gavril Dara Jr. passed away. Andrea Dara is the author of an Albanian grammar, a work on the customs and traditions of the Arbëresh villages, a bilingual Italian-Albanian dictionary and a volume of folk songs of the Arbëresh people of Sicily.

On April 2, 1910, the proceedings of the second Congress of Manastir were opened. The Congress once again raised the demands relative to issues of education and culture in the Albanian territory.

On April 2, 1932, People’s Artist Margarita Xhepa was born in Lushnja. She took first place in one of the artistic speech contests on Radio Tirana and was nominated to the State Variety Ensemble. While in 1950 she was presented on the stage of the People’s Theatre. After a rich biography of roles on stage and screen, in 1997 Margarita Xhepa was honored by the American Biographical Institute with the high honor title “Golden Disc”.

On April 2, 1939, Benito Mussolini presented King Zogu I with a draft treaty according to which he requested that Italian troops land in the four main ports of Albania. As a counterproposal, Zog I demanded the conclusion of a military convention preventing the invasion of the country. Dissatisfied, the fascist leaders of Rome presented the Albanian government with an ultimatum that predicted the aggression of April 7.

April 2, 1981 – Demonstrations exploded in Kosova, then an Autonomous Region, with the request “Republic of Kosova”. The students were joined by a large part of the Albanian citizens of Kosova.

On April 2, 1991, an anti-communist civil protest took place in Shkoder. On that day, Arben Broci, Bujar Bishanaku, Besnik Ceka, Nazmi Kryeziu became martyrs of the collapsing regime. April 2, 1991, entered Albanian history as the day that would mark the end of the communist regime in Albania.

On April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul II passed away in the Vatican at the age of 85. He was elected to the throne of Saint Peter on October 16, 1978. On April 25, 1993, John Paul II was the first Pope to visit Albania and he was in company of Mother Teresa, blessing the long-awaited dream of the Albanians.

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