Author of "Serbs and Albanians Through Centuries" dies

Author of "Serbs and Albanians Through Centuries" dies

Imami was the author of the capital work, "Serbs and Albanians Through Centuries," which, Matic said, offers an opportunity to everyone to learn more about relations between Serb and Albanians from when they first crossed paths, to today.

"It can be said that 'Serbs and Albanians Through Centuries' has been Petrit's life work, but also the life work of all of us who are trying to get to know each other, to learn more about relations between Serbs and Albanians from the moment they met for the first time to this day. Petrit wrote each of these books without keeping silent about anything, without self-censorship, complementing his text from various sources, trying to present the factography from each, without imposing conclusions," said Matic.

Like Bekim Fehmi, Petrit Imami intimately suffered from the clashes and the wrongs committed over the last decades, this doing of evil was eating him from the inside, he added. "At the same time, Petrit was passionately producing a work that will, with its content, objectivity, comprehensiveness, competence, be the basis on which it is possible and necessary to build relations between two peoples on a rich heritage - as if he constantly wanted to prove that we are not as bad as people as we ourselves create an image of ourselves through violence and hatred."

Maticć said that the heritage of Petrit Imami, his archives, manuscripts, the completed and unfinished works are our common heritage. "Both Serbs and Albanians should use this legacy in the best possible way in an effort to fulfill the noble efforts that Petrit has invested in our relations. Therefore, as soon as possible an institution should be created that will make all the essential works and materials that came from Petrita Imami's pen, available as soon as possible, in the most efficient way," he concluded.