By Ilirjan Gjika
Memorie.al / One of the most important events within the framework of the National Renaissance and which led directly to the declaration of Albania’s independence is also the Assembly of Sinja. Its importance in our regional history lies in the fact that among the 49 participants who represented the liberation committees and patriotic companies of Southern Albania, five patriots from the province of Roskovec also took part. Meanwhile, in order to shed light on this great event of our history, we are making a brief overview of the political and military situation of the time. Thus, in the autumn of 1911, the Kingdom of Italy broke the Ottoman Empire and annexed Libya, which until then had been part of it.
“In these conditions, when the territorial principle of the Ottoman Empire was no longer respected,” emphasized Ismail Qemali, “the Balkan states too would not remain quiet. Thus, when a new Balkan war was appearing on the ‘horizon,’ which could lead to a fragmentation of Albania, the Albanian deputies of the Turkish parliament in Istanbul decided to take advantage of Turkey’s difficult situation to force it to finally recognize Albania’s autonomy as well” (Academy of Sciences, History of Albania, Vol. II, pp. 264-265).
In the conditions of parliamentary war, on January 11, 1912, Hasan Prishtina threatened the Turkish government with a general uprising in case it did not recognize Albania’s independence. In parliament, the group of Albanian deputies supported, against the Young Turk government, the opposition party “Freedom and Accord,” which, in opposition to the governing majority, envisaged the administrative decentralization of the national provinces of the Ottoman Empire (Ibid., p. 466).
Faced with this opposition, the Young Turks, on January 18, 1912, dissolved the parliament and decided to call new elections in the spring, with the aim of securing a parliamentary majority through them. In these conditions, the deputies and a series of Albanian political personalities gathered in Istanbul to decide on future political and military actions. The secret meeting of Istanbul decided that Hasan Prishtina should go to Kosovo, which was the most active hotbed of the Albanian Movement, to organize the new uprising.
Meanwhile, Ismail Qemali would travel to Europe to secure political support, funding, and weapons for the general uprising that began in April 1912 in the Highlands of Gjakova and spread to Kosovo and northern Albania. On May 21, 1912, gathered at the Assembly of Junik, the insurgents declared their program, where demands such as: the establishment of an Albanian administration, the use of Albanian as the official language and of the national flag, aimed at Albania’s autonomy within the framework of the Ottoman Empire (Ibid., p. 469).
The Assembly of Junik, with its program, influenced the expansion of the uprising also in central and southern Albania during the summer of 1912. The Albanian uprising led inevitably to the overthrow of the Young Turks from power. On July 17, the government of Prime Minister Said Pasha was forced to resign (Ibid., p. 475).
While a few days later, on July 22, the new government led by Ahmet Myftar Pasha was formed by the opposition headed by the “Freedom and Accord” Party. It ordered the cessation of military actions in Albania and sent a government commission to Kosovo to talk with the insurgents. Meanwhile, Ismail Qemali and Luigj Gurakuqi, who were abroad on a diplomatic mission, decided to return to Albania urgently, to be closer to the political events (Ibid., p. 476).
In these conditions, when the Albanian-Turkish talks that would consist of the problem of autonomy were expected to begin, the patriotic circles of northern, central, and southern Albania hastened to authorize Hasan Prishtina to represent these regions in the Albanian-Turkish talks and to present there the 12-point program that demanded Albania’s autonomy (Ibid., p. 478). The talks began on August 2, 1912, in Prishtina, between Hasan Prishtina and the representative of the new Turkish government, Marshal Ibrahim Pasha.
Hasan Prishtina presented before the Turkish commission the demands of the program of Albania’s autonomy. These demands were not accepted by the Turkish side, except for that of the dissolution of the Parliament. On August 5, putting pressure on the Ottoman Empire, the insurgents under the leadership of Hasan Prishtina marched toward Ferizaj, where they also learned the news of the dissolution of the Parliament by the Sultan.
During the following days, Hasan Prishtina was informed about the mandate given by the national committees of Southern Albania (Ibid., p. 478). Thus it became possible to represent all Albanians on the problem of autonomy in the upcoming Albanian-Turkish talks.
But what was the event that made this mandate possible? Without a doubt, it was the Assembly of Sinja. Precisely on July 23, 1912, the leaders of the insurgent committees of Southern Albania gathered in Sinja, south of Mount Shpirag, and drafted an autonomist memorandum also of 12 points, which was similar to the “Red Book,” or, as it was otherwise called, the “Memorandum of Greçë” of 1911 (Ibid., p. 477).
Sinja was chosen precisely for its geographical position as a connecting point of the provinces of the Sanjak of Berat (Vehxhi Buharaja, The Assembly of Sinja and its memorandum. “Bashkimi” newspaper. Tirana, July 23, 1972). To present the “Memorandum of Sinja,” the insurgents of the 49 fighting companies that took part in this assembly descended to Fier, which they liberated from Ottoman forces.
From the telegraph office of this city, they notified the cities of Albania and the Turkish Prime Minister of the decisions of this memorandum. They also authorized Hasan Prishtina to represent them in the talks with the Ottoman commission, which had already begun in Prishtina and would later continue in Skopje.
Among the signatures of the participants appear also the names of the notables of the province of Roskovec, distinguished people with reputation among the populace. Such were Hysni Toska from Luar, the distinguished commander of one of the patriotic companies that fought for Albania’s freedom and later a distinguished personality of the period of consolidation of the Albanian state.
Other participants were also Dervish Mino Toro from Kurjan, the person who, on September 18, 1913, opened the first Albanian school in Kurjan, as well as Kodhel Toska from Luar, and Jani Nako and Kosta Prifti from Marinza.
Later, from the history of Albania, the development of the subsequent events of the general uprising of 1912 is known. What is important for us is the “illumination” of the contribution of the representatives of Roskovec in this major event and with weight precisely at the end of our national renaissance. / Memorie.al
