“In the newspaper ‘The New Turk’, it was said that the director of the Ottoman National Bank, Sir Ernest Cassel, had to offer Ismail Qemali 100,000 pounds as a bribe, so that he would receive…”/ The unknown side of the old man of Vlora

From Dr. HASAN BELLO

Memorie.al / The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 had rekindled hope among the various peoples of the empire. The promises made by the Young Turks had also won over the Albanians. However, the proclamation of the Constitution and the opening of the second Ottoman Parliament, instead of advancing reforms to improve the economic situation, turned into an arena of political warfare. This rabble – as Syrja Bey Vlora rightly calls the Young Turks – who in Istanbul and Albania had taken the reins of government into their incapable hands, tried to justify the government, which they considered their own property. With an implacable hatred, they consecrated their power to strip the Albanians of their sincere feelings and of the means of resistance they possessed.

The worsening of Albanian-Young Turk relations, as a result of a series of uprisings that had broken out in the Albanian provinces in the years 1909-1911, had created a climate of mistrust between both sides. In the overwhelming majority of the Steering Committee of the “Union and Progress” Party, the impression existed that behind every request and proposal of Albanian deputies for reforms lay the desire for independence.

This had led some of them to leave the Young Turk party and align themselves with the liberals, at the head of who now stood the Albanian deputy, Ismail Bey Vlora.

The Young Turks made every effort to reduce the influence he had in parliament, and especially in Albania. For this, they did not spare even slander.

One day when Ismail Qemali was reading the newspaper “Le Jeune Turc” (“The Young Turk”), he noticed an article according to which the Director of the Ottoman National Bank, Sir Ernest Cassel, who at that moment was in Egypt, was facing difficulties in obtaining a loan, and it had been told to him that: “to achieve his goal, nothing else was needed except to offer Ismail Qemali a bribe of £100,000, and everything would be resolved.”

According to Ismail Qemali, this staging had a political background, since he had no need for it, because on the Administrative Council of the Bank were the Minister of Finance and many other members of the “Union and Progress” Party.

Immediately he turned to the newspaper’s editorial office to seek an explanation, and then went to parliament, where, referring to the article, he declared that there could not be a person so foolish and vile as the one who concocted such tales.

While he was speaking, the Young Turk deputy who had been the author of this slander stood up and declared:

– “It was I who gave that article.”

– “Then you are the vile one,” replied Ismail Qemali.

After the Young Turk deputy returned the insult, Ismail Qemali, heated with anger, grabbed him and threw him to the ground. The intervention of other deputies caused them to be quickly separated and the Young Turk deputy to leave the hall.

“I,” writes Ismail Qemali years later, “felt ashamed that I had not controlled myself in a moment of indignation, and that I had thrown a punch at my age, but the majority of my friends applauded my gesture, saying that Dr. Ismit had received only what he deserved.”

The first physical confrontation in parliament was the prologue to an incident that marked the final separation of the Albanians from the Young Turks. Thus, in a parliamentary session where the concession for the construction of the Baghdad railway was being discussed, the influential leaders of the Young Turks began granting concessions to various states, in accordance with their own political and economic interests.

This was opposed by Ismail Qemali, who in his memoirs writes: “My battle against the drafting of the law was logical, economic, and patriotic, but all the members of the government, starting with the Grand Vizier, as well as all the representatives of the Committee in parliament, threw themselves furiously against the opposition.”

When Ismail Qemali objected to the arguments of one of his colleagues and rejected some slanderous statements published by the Young Turk newspaper “Tanin,” supposedly that he had taken a percentage regarding this stance, the situation got out of control.

The Grand Vizier and the ministers rushed at him, grabbing him by the arms and clothes, furiously demanding what he had meant to say. He replied that if the director of the newspaper “Tanin,” who was present with others in the hall, had thrown such accusations against him, then he also had the right to defend himself by throwing accusations back.

In this tense situation, suddenly a Young Turk deputy, Dervish Bey, approached Ismail Qemali from behind and struck him on the head. This act aroused the indignation of the Albanian deputies.

Hasan Prishtina addressed the Young Turk deputies with the words: “Gentlemen, know well that this event will bring many evils.” The session was interrupted and the Albanian deputies left. That same evening, as a sign of remorse, the Young Turk deputy went to Ismail Qemali to apologize, but the latter did not accept it and refused to let the incident pass so simply.

Frightened by the escalation of the situation, a delegation of Young Turk deputies led by Talat Pasha set out for the hotel where Ismail Qemali was staying. On behalf of the assembly, he apologized and accompanied Ismail Qemali to his room.

Although the incident was resolved, it created great dissatisfaction among the Albanians. The newspaper “Zgjimi i Shqipërisë” noted on March 7, 1911, that: “when a deputy is beaten, an entire nation is beaten, and thus the blow to Mr. Qemal Bey left no Albanian heart unpoisoned and reopened old wounds.”

On March 16, a meeting of Albanian patriots was held in Ioannina, at which it was decided that, on the occasion of the above event, a telegram should be sent to the president of the parliament as a form of protest. In this telegram, among other things, it was written:

“Although neither the patriotism nor the many virtues that distinguish our deputy Ismail Qemal Bey are touched by this low attack, we beg you to inform the Chamber of Deputies that this event has greatly saddened us and, as a slap given to the nation, it has produced an indelible impression. Punishment for such an insult is necessary not only as satisfaction for the person of Ismail Qemal Bey, but for the entire nation.”

This telegram was sent to almost all the press of Istanbul, to the deputies and to the Albanian clubs, with the call to protest against this act of the Young Turk government and in favor of Ismail Qemali.

While the newspaper of the Albanian colony in Cairo, “Shkreptima,and “called this action of the Young Turk deputy” dynamite thrown into the midst of Albania.” “The slap,” it continued, “did not hit Ismail Qemali, but all Albanians.”

As can also be seen from the press of the time, the above incident aroused a nationalist spirit, which had an extremely negative influence on the rapid disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. In a situation where the Balkan states had begun preparations for creating an alliance, the Young Turks saw the Albanians, as Ismail Qemali rightly puts it, as the “Medusa head of nationalism.” / Memorie.al