Sali Butka | |
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| Born | Sali Tahir Aliçka 1857 (1857) |
| Died | 24 October 1938(1938-10-24) (aged 80–81)[1] Ersekë, Albania |
| Known for | Guerilla against invaders in World War I; delegate of theCongress of Lushnjë; 1916 raid ofMoscopole |
| Children | Safet Butka, Gani Butka and Iljaz Butka |
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Sali Butka (1852 – 24 October 1938), was anAlbanian nationalist figure, revolutionarykachak,poet, and one of the delegates of the city ofKorçë to theAlbanian National Congress ofLushnjë.[2][3] He was a well-known leader of an armedçeta band of Albanian fighters during the early 1900's.
Butka was born in the village ofButkë in theKolonjë District to one of the branches of the prominent AlbanianFrashëri family.[4][5] He was aBektashi Muslim.[6] He belonged to a generation of villagers who became literate in the Albanian language and subsequently joined guerrilla bands via the literary efforts of the Albanian intelligentsia.[6] On the initiative ofBajo Topulli, theSecret Committee for the Liberation of Albania was founded in the city ofManastir in November 1905; Sali Butka was one of the co-founders of the committee, and he aided in the creation of the committee's branches in preparation for an armed uprising againstOttoman occupation. In December 1905, Bajo Topulli would visit Sali in the village of Butkë and form the first Albaniançeta of the Secret Committee, signifying the beginning of the Albanian armed uprising.[7]
Butka subsequently became the commander of various Albanian irregular bands (also known asçeta), and in 1906, he initiated armed guerrilla operations throughout southern Albania against theOttoman Empire and the rule ofSultan Abdul Hamid II[8] Butka had taught himself how to read and write in Albanian. Throughout the course of his guerrilla activities, he would compose revolutionary poems that combined naturalistic texts with nationalist themes, often in the form of folk poetry. He viewed his literary contributions as feeding an Albanian national consciousness.[9][6] His poems would be turned into songs, which appealed to the illiterate members of Albanian society.[6]
Sali Butka participated in a large meeting on the Albanian alphabet in the city ofKorçë in 1910, alongside 2,500 fellow Albanians fromKolonjë; additionally, Butka was one of the leading Albanian figures who protested against theSublime Porte and the use ofArabic letters for theAlbanian alphabet. In early 1911, the Revolutionary Committee was created in Kolonjë with Sali Butka at the head, alongside his brother Myftar and his son Gani.[10]
Fellow revolutionary fighterSpiro Bellkameni would return from exile in March 1911 to the village of Butkë and spend time with Sali's band; Sali would eventually organise the formation of an armed band under Spiro's command, of which Sali's brother Myftar and his son Gani were also members.[10] In May 1912, prior to theAlbanian Declaration of Independence, Sali Butka participated in theKuvend (traditional Albanian assembly) ofPeja to discuss the new planned uprising against the Ottoman Turks. After he returned fromKosovo, Sali Butka, together withTajar Tetova, organised a large meeting in the village ofFrashër with the main leaders of Albanian revolutionary bands in southern Albania. On the way to the meeting, Sali's band was ambushed by Ottoman forces in the gorge of Rrungaja, and his second son, Iljaz, was killed and declared amartyr of Albania. Sali was then at the head of the Albanian revolutionary forces in the region and first liberatedErsekë from Ottoman forces, followed byKorçë in August 1912.[10]
After theAlbanian Declaration of Independence on the 28th of November 1912, Sali Butka was primarily concerned with organising the defence of the new Albanian state from the attacks of theGreek army andGreek irregulars who were operating in southern Albania.Ismail Qemali, who was at that time thePrime Minister of Albania, took note of Butka's efforts in defending the southern Albanian regions and supporting the government ofVlorë. Qemali invited him to Vlorë, and the government subsequently tasked Butka with defending Vlora from the Ottoman Turk forces of Xhavit Pasha. When theFrench forces that had occupiedKorçë and the surrounding regions supported the demands ofEleftherios Venizelos and the Greeks for the partition of southern Albania, Sali Butka, accompanied byThemistokli Gërmenji led 1,500 men towards Korçë and surrounded the city. These Albanian bands had previously burnedMoscopole in reaction to the Greek administration and threatened that Korcë would share the same fate. Meanwhile, the Venizelos Movement of National Defence was unable to dispatch reinforcements to the region, and French General Sarrail strategically demanded the withdrawal of the local Greek garrison.[11] Butka, Gërmenji and the Albanians sent their demands to the French, which ultimately culminated in the creation of the pro-AlbanianAutonomous Province of Korçë; the French eventually reneged on the Albanians, arrested and executed Gërmenji in late 1917 and sought to hand Korçë over to the Greeks. In response, Sali Butka gathered a force of 20,000, surrounded Korçë yet again and sent the French forces an ultimatum. Korçë was once again handed over to the Albanians and the borders of the Albanian state were confirmed by theInternational Boundary Commission.[12]
He was a prominent guerrilla figure during theBalkan Wars (1912–1913) andWorld War I (1914–1918). During theBalkan Campaign of World War I, several warrior groups of AlbanianTosks andGhegs supported with their activity the armed operations of theCentral Powers in the region.[13]
Butka's band invaded in 1916 theAromanian-inhabited town ofMoscopole, once a prosperous metropolis in the 18th century, and led to its destruction. According to testimonies, he authorized the public execution of the Aromanian priest there. The razing of the town forced many of its inhabitants to flee, with many migrating to nearby Greek-occupied territories in southern Albania and some going toKorçë. This was done in response to the French army's desire to accept Venizelos' demands for the partition of southern Albania.[3]
In 1920 he became one of the delegates of the city of Korçë to theCongress of Lushnjë.[3]
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