TIRANA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Albanian leaders paid tribute to national heroes at the National Martyrs Cemetery here on Sunday to commemorate Martyrs' Day observed every year on May 5.
Albanian President Ilir Meta and Prime Minister Edi Rama laid wreaths to "Mother Albania" statue in honor to the martyrs who gave their lives for Albania's liberation during the Second World War.
Albanian Defense Minister Olta Xhacka, Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj and other senior officials also attended the commemoration ceremony.
Following the ceremony, Meta said that this is a special day to all Albanian people, it is the day commemorating Qemal Stafa and all the young man and women who made the sublime sacrifice to put Albania on the right side.
Martyrs' Day in Albania commemorates Stafa, a founding member of the Albanian Communist Party who was killed on May 5, 1942, in a house at the outskirts of Tirana by Italian fascist forces that occupied Albania during the Second World War.
It also commemorates those who gave their lives for Albania's liberation, especially the 28,000 people that perished during the Second World War.
Meta also called for reflection through political dialogue as the only way towards the future.
