Albania Shqipëria (Albanian) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912–1914 | |||||||||||||||
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||||||||
| Anthem: Himni i Flamurit "Hymn of the Flag" | |||||||||||||||
 Map of the de jure boundaries of Albania according to theLondon Conference (1913) in white | |||||||||||||||
| Status | Unrecognized country | ||||||||||||||
| Capital | Vlora | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Albanian | ||||||||||||||
| Demonym | Albanian | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | ||||||||||||||
| Head of State | |||||||||||||||
• 1912–1914 | Ismail Qemali | ||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||
• 1912–1914 | Ismail Qemali | ||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Assembly of Vlorë | ||||||||||||||
• Upper house | Senate of Albania | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
| 28 November 1912 | |||||||||||||||
| 21 February 1914 | |||||||||||||||
| Currency | no official state currency. 25 different foreign currencies were in use[1] | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Independent Albania (Albanian:Shqipëria e Pavarur) was a parliamentary state declared inVlorë (at the time part ofOttoman Empire) on 28 November 1912 during theFirst Balkan War. Itsassembly was constituted on the same day while itsgovernment andsenate were established on 5 December 1912.
The delegation of Albania submitted a memorandum to theLondon Conference of 1913 requesting international recognition of independent Albania. At the beginning of the conference it was decided that the region of Albania would be underOttoman suzerainty but with an autonomous government. The requests by the delegation for recognition based on the ethnic rights ofAlbanians were rejected and thetreaty signed on 30 May 1913 partitioned a major part of the claimed lands betweenSerbia,Greece andMontenegro, leaving as independent territory only a central region, which was put under the protection of the Great Powers. The ambassadors of six Great Powers met again on 29 July 1913 and decided to constitute a new state, thePrincipality of Albania, as a constitutional monarchy. Finally, with theTreaty of Bucharest being signed in August 1913, this new independent state was established, leaving about 40%[2] of the ethnic Albanian population outside its borders.
The name of the state used in the text ofdeclaration of independence of Albania isShqipëria (English:Albania).[3] It is also referred to as the "independent Albania" (Albanian:Shqipëria e Mosvarme),[4] the "Albanian State"[5] (Albanian:Shteti Shqiptar) or the "independent state of Albania"[6][7] (Albanian:Shteti i pavarur shqiptar).[8]
The independent Albania established on 28 November 1912 is the first Albanian state in modern history.[9] It was aparliamentary state.[10] Some sources refer to it as theRepublic of Albania[11][12] or theAlbanian Republic.[13]
Albania became an independent state through fourconstitutional decisions of theAssembly of Vlorë made on 28 November 1912:[14]
The authority of the state was limited to the regions ofVlorë,Berat andLushnjë.[15] The claimed territory was much larger than the territory of contemporary Albania and than the territory over which theProvisional Government exercised its power. It comprised the territories ofKosovo Vilayet,Monastir Vilayet,Shkoder Vilayet andJanina Vilayet.[16] TheTreaty of London, signed on 30 May 1913, reduced the territory of Albanian state to its central regions after partitioning a significant part of territory claimed by Albania between the Balkan allies (a major part of the northern and western area was given to theSerbia andMontenegro while the southern region ofChameria became part ofGreece).[17]Kosovo was given toSerbia at the London treaty at the insistence ofRussia.[18]
During theFirst Balkan War the kingdoms of Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro aspired to incorporate the entire region into their states (completely denying the Albania's independence), so most of the captured territory was occupied by their armies. Independent Albania did however exercise control over one pocket of land which includedVlorë,Berat,Fier andLushnjë.[19]
Until September 1912, the Ottoman government intentionally kept Albanians divided within four ethnically heterogeneous vilayets to prevent Albanian national unification.[20] The reforms introduced by theYoung Turks provoked theAlbanian Revolt of 1912 which lasted from January to August 1912.[21] In January 1912,Hasan Prishtina,Albanian deputy in theOttoman parliament, publicly warned members of the parliament that the policy of the Young Turks' government would lead to a revolution in Albania.[22] The Albanian revolt was successful and until August 1912 rebels managed to gain control over wholeKosovo vilayet (includingNovi Pazar,Sjenica,Pristina and evenSkopje), a part of theScutari Vilayet (includingElbasan,Përmet andLeskovik),Konitsa inJanina Vilayet andDebar inMonastir Vilayet.[23] TheOttoman government ended the Albanian revolt on 4 September 1912 by accepting all demands related to establishing an unified autonomous system of administration and justice for Albanians within one vilayet—theAlbanian vilayet.[24][25]
The success of the Albanian revolt sent a strong signal to the neighbouring countries that theOttoman Empire was weak.[26] Besides, theKingdom of Serbia opposed the plan for anAlbanian vilayet, preferring a partition of the European territory of theOttoman Empire among the fourBalkan allies.[27] In the meantime it was agreed that the conquered territory was to have the status of acondominium.[28]
Albanian leaders, includingFaik Konitza andFan Noli, organized a large meeting on 7 October 1912 inBoston. They decided that Albanians should "unite fully with the Ottoman government against the enemies of the Empire" because "if Turkey is defeated, the Balkan states would shred Albania."[29] That decision was risky, because if the Ottomans were defeated, Albanian participation in the Balkan war on the Ottoman side would serve as justification for the Balkan allies to partition Albania as an Ottoman province.[30] Albanians who were mobilized in the Ottoman army fought for their country rather than for the Ottoman Empire.[31]
During theFirst Balkan War the combined armies of theBalkan allies overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success. They occupied almost all the remaining European territories of the Ottoman Empire including the territory of theAlbanian Vilayet.[32]
At the beginning of November 1912, Albanian leaders appealed to EmperorFranz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, explaining the difficult situation in their country because parts of the four vilayets were also claimed by theBalkan League who were present on the disputed lands.[33]Austria-Hungary andItaly strongly opposed the arrival of Serbian army on theAdriatic Sea because they perceived it as a threat to their domination of the Adriatic and feared that a Serbian Adriatic port could become aRussian base.[34]Ismail Kemal, who had been an Albanian deputy in the Ottoman parliament, secured the support ofAustria-Hungary for the autonomy of Albania within the Ottoman Empire, but not for its independence.[35]
Ismail Kemal invited the representatives of all parts of Albanian Vilayet to attend theAll-Albanian Congress[36][37] held inVlorë on November 28, 1912.[38] At the beginning of the session, Kemal referred to the threatened Albanian rights gained during the Albanian revolts in the previous four years, and explained to the participants of the congress that they should do whatever was necessary to save Albania.[39] After his speech they began by checking the documents[40] because it was decided that eachkaza of Albanian Vilayet would be counted as one vote, regardless of the number of its delegates.[41] Participants of this congress are regarded as Founding Fathers of Albania.
The first notification about the proclaimed independence was sent to the command of Serbian Army in Ohrid.[42] On 29 November 1912, the army of the Kingdom of Serbia capturedDurrës without any resistance and establishedDurrës County with four districts (Serbian:срез): Durrës,Lezha,Elbasan andTirana.[43][44] New Serbian authorities were faced with big difficulties in governing a new county because all secluded army garrisons with small number of soldiers were destroyed in a couple of days.[45] Although some tribal chieftains proposed to organize an armed resistance against troops of Serbia in the occupied parts of Albania, the provisional government of the Independent Albania decided to avoid unnecessary casualties and concluded agreement (besa) to maintain harmony in occupied territory.[46]
Theinternational relations of Albania began to function on astate level after it was proclaimed independent and the first diplomatic efforts of its government were requests for theinternational recognition of the Albanian state.[47] In December 1912, a delegation ofAlbania submitted a memorandum to theLondon Conference of 1913 insisting on the ethnic rights ofAlbanians and requested an international recognition of the independent Albania composed ofKosovo, westernMacedonia includingSkopje andBitola and the whole territory ofEpirus up toArta.[48]
About 120 notable politicians and intellectuals from Albania attended theAlbanian Congress of Trieste from 27 February to 6 March 1913 and requested from theGreat Powers a recognition of the political and economical independence of Albania.[49][50]Isa Boletini and Ismail Kemal travelled to London in March 1913 to obtain Britain's support for their new country.[51] On March 6Ioannina was captured by forces of theKingdom of Greece.[52] In March 1913 a group of 130 (or 200) soldiers of the Kingdom of Serbia were killed near Prizren by Albanian irregulars in act of revenge for repression of Serbian army.[53]
In April 1913 the army of the Kingdom of Serbia retreated from Durrës but remained in other parts of Albania. On the other hand,Kingdom of Montenegro managed to captureShkodër on 23 April 1913 after six months ofsiege. However, when the war was over, the Great Powers did not award the city to the Kingdom of Montenegro, which was compelled to evacuate it in May 1913.
In May 1913, delegates of Albania in London requested a British sovereign and considered offering the Albanian throne toAubrey Herbert.[54]
The Great Powers did not fulfil the requests for recognition of Albania.[55] At the beginning of theLondon conference in December 1912 the ambassadors of all six Great Powers rejected the plan for establishing an independent Albania.[56] Instead, they decided that Albania would be underOttoman suzerainty but with an autonomous government.[57] After it became obvious that Ottoman Empire would lose all ofMacedonia and its territorial connection with Albania, the Great Powers realized they had to change their decision.[58]
TheTreaty of London, signed on 30 May 1913, partitioned significant part of territory claimed by Albania, regardless its ethnic composition, between the Balkan allies reducing the territory of Albania to its central regions.[59]
In September 1913 independent Albania secretly supported and helpedOhrid–Debar Uprising because Ismail Qemali thought that independent Albania was too weak to openly confront the Kingdom of Serbia.[60] Qemali ordered a simultaneous attack of the Albanian forces led by Isa Boletini andBajram Curri to the region ofPrizren.[61]Peshkopi was captured on 20 September 1913.[62] LocalAlbanians andBulgarians expelled theSerbian army and officials, creating a front line 15 km east of Ohrid. A local administration was set up in Ohrid.[63] TheSerbian Army of 100,000 regulars suppressed the uprising in several days. Thousands were killed, and tens of thousands of local inhabitants fled forBulgaria andAlbania to save their lives. According to the Report by the International Commission of theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace the number of Albanians who took refuge was 25,000.[64]
On 16 October 1913,Essad Pasha Toptani—who also had been an Albanian deputy in theOttoman parliament—established theRepublic of Central Albania with its administrative centre inDurrës.[65] Toptani's state was also short-lived and unrecognised, with its territory bounded by riversMat in the North andShkumbin in the South. It further partitioned already truncated territory of Albania. Toptani contested the status of the provisional government and denied that Kemal's government was legitimate, emphasizing that it was"the personal creation of a number of men."[66][67] In July 1913 Ismail Kemal attempted to calm Toptani by appointing him Minister of Interior, but with no avail.[68] Toptani was also, like Kemal little earlier, forced by Great Powers to step away on 1 February 1914.[69]
At the beginning of the session Ismail Kemal emphasized that the only way to prevent division of the territory of Albania between theBalkan allies was to establish it as independent state, separated fromOttoman Empire.[70] Kemal's proposal was unanimously accepted and it was decided to sign thedeclaration of independence of Albania in the name of the constitutedAssembly of Vlorë (Albanian:Kuvendi i Vlorës) which members were representatives of all the regions of Albania.[71] By thedeclaration of Albanian independence the Assembly of Vlorë rejected the autonomy granted by theOttoman Empire to theAlbanian Vilayet, projected a couple of months earlier.[72] Theconsensus was made for the complete independence.[73]
In Vlora, on the 15th/28th of November 1328/1912.
Following the speech made by the President, Ismail Kemal Bey, in which he spoke of the great perils facing Albania today, the delegates have all decided unanimously that Albania, as of today, should be on her own, free and independent.[74]
The sitting was then suspended and members of newly constituted National Assembly went to the house of Ismail Kemal who raised the flag ofSkanderbeg on the balcony of his house, in front of the gathered people.[75]
The establishment of the government was postponed for the fourth session of the Assembly of Vlorë, held on 4 December 1912, until representatives of all regions of Albania arrived to Vlore.[76] During that session members of the assembly established theProvisional Government of Albania.[77] It was a government that consisted of ten members, led by Ismail Kemal, until his resignation on 22 January 1914.[78] Assembly established theSenate (Albanian:Pleqësi) with advisory role to the government, consisted of 18 members of Assembly.[79]
Ismail Kemal was appointed as the firstprime minister of independent Albania.[80] On the same session held on 4 December 1912 the assembly appointed the other members of the government:[81]
A week after the independent Albania was proclaimed, its first Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs was established withLef Nosi as its minister. Independent Albania took over the Ottoman post offices and placed significant efforts to make the Albanian postal service identifiable.[82] Post offices of the independent Albania used the Ottoman postal seals until the end of April and the beginning of May 1913, when they were replaced by the postal seals of Albania with the name of the place in the upper part of the seal and the name of the state, Albania (Shqipenie), in the bottom part.[83] On 5 May 1913 the first postage stamps of Albania were put into circulation. On 7 July 1913 Albania submitted an official request to theUniversal Postal Union (UPU) for membership.[84] The request was rejected, and Albania would become a member of UPU only in 1922.[85]
After Albania achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, its legal system continued to function under the Ottoman Civil Code (Mejelle) for some time.[86]
Since 28 November 1912 until 1926 the Albanian government did not mint any currency. Transactions occurred in gold and silver coins of other countries, whereas the officialunit of account was the franc of theLatin Monetary Union.[87]
Until 1912, the education system in Albania depended on religious institutions. Muslims attendedOttoman schools, the Orthodox population attended Greek or Armenian schools, Catholics attended Italian or Austrian schools, whereas in the districts near Slavic states, the population attended Serbian or Bulgarian schools.[88] When Albania was declared independent in 1912 its government took measures to close foreign schools and to open Albanian ones.[89] From 1912 to 1914, there was not much opportunity and time for progress of national education, because of the political instability and the breakout ofWorld War I.[90] The first laic school was opened in Shkoder in 1913.
A group of fighters fromKosovo led byIsa Boletini were the first nucleus of thearmed forces of Albania[91] established on 4 December 1912.[92] TheOttoman forces backed the government of Independent Albania until the beginning of 1913, although the Ottomans did not recognize its independence.[46]
Law enforcement forces (gendarmerie andAlbanian Police) of the independent Albania were established on 13 January 1913.[93] About 70 former Ottoman officers were engaged as officers of the law enforcement units of the independent Albania. The first director of the Albanian Police wasHalim Jakova-Gostivari, whereas the first commanders of the gendarmerie wereAlem Tragjasi,Hysni Toska,Sali Vranishti, andHajredin Hekali. The Albanian Police uniforms was colored in gray and green, and the collars were red and black.[94]
The economy of Albania after it became independent state in 1912 was based on primitiveagriculture andlivestock, with no significant industry, and little international trade.[95] Starting in 1912, Albania began activities aimed at implementing an agrarian reform, which would transfer ownership of thearable land from the big landowners to the peasants.[96]
TheTreaties of London andBucharest dealt with the final territorial adjustments arising out of the conclusion of theBalkan Wars.[97] After the London treaty has been signed the ambassadors of six Great Powers decided to constitute a new state,Albania, as hereditary principality.[98][99]
Point 1. Albania is constituted as an autonomous, sovereign and hereditary principality by right of primogeniture, guaranteed by the six Powers. The sovereign will be designated by the six Powers.[100]
— Decision of the ambassadors of the six Great Powers made on 29 July 1913 during 54th meeting of theConference of the Ambassadors
TheGreat Powers refused to recognize theProvisional Government of Albania and, instead, organized theInternational Commission of Control (ICC) to take care of the administration of the newly established principality until the arrival of the new monarch.[101][102] The firstlaw enforcement agency of the new principality was theInternational Gendarmerie.
The treaty of Bucharest, signed on 10 August 1913, established internationally recognized Albania as an independent state.[103] The creation of Albanian state in 1913[104] after theBalkan Wars was their only political result.[105]
A plot by theYoung Turk government and led byBekir Fikri to restore Ottoman control over Albania through the installment of an Ottoman-Albanian officerAhmed Izzet Pasha as monarch was uncovered by the Serbs and reported to the ICC.[106][107][108] Ismail Kemal supported the plot for military assistance againstSerbia andGreece.[109][106][110] The ICC allowed their Dutch officers serving as the Albanian Gendarmerie to declare a state of emergency and stop the plot.[107][109][108] They raided Vlorë on 7–8 January 1914, discovering more than 200 Ottoman troops and arrested Fikri.[107][106][111] During Fikri's trial the plot emerged and an ICC military court under Colonel Willem de Veer condemned him to death[111] and later commuted to life imprisonment,[107] while Kemal and his cabinet resigned.[109] After Kemal left the country, turmoil ensured throughout Albania.[112]
After a display of independence of Kemal's government, the Great Powers were angered and the International Commission of Control forced Kemal to step aside and leave Albania.[113]
In 1914, after a gradual assumption of the administration of the country, theInternational Commission of Control prepared a draft of the constitution (Albanian:Statuti Organik) with 216 articles. It was a basis for establishment of theNational Assembly with power of legislation in Albania, which was designed as a hereditary constitutional monarchy.[114] According to the constitution, the new principality would have, with few exceptions, the same administrative organization as during theOttoman Empire suzerainty.[115] It would be partitioned on seven administrative districts, each of which would choose three representatives for the national assembly by direct suffrage. The prince would nominate ten representatives and the heads of the all three religions (Islam,Orthodox andCatholic) would be also representatives in the national assembly, which would have four-year terms. TheCouncil of Ministres, with executive powers, would be appointed by the prince.[116] After monarchical form of government has been installed by theInternational Commission of Control in 1914 the political system of Albania became a monarchy.[117]
The biggest group ofAlbanians who were left outside of the new state were Albanians fromKosovo, the cradle of the 19th century Albanian nationalism.[118]Nazi Germany andFascist Italy exploited the discontent of the Albanians about the inaccurate ethnic borders.[119]
Since Albania was declared independent on November 28, 1912,[120] every 28 November is commemorated by all Albanians (wherever they live in the world) as theirIndependence Day.[121] In theRepublic of Albania, the day is celebrated as apublic holiday. In theRepublic of Kosovo, the day has been an official public holiday since a 2011 decision of Prime MinisterHashim Thaçi's cabinet.[122]
Theproceedings of the conference dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Albania's independence organized in November 1982 by theAcademy of Sciences of Albania were entitled "National forces against imperialist dictate in the organization of the Albanian State, 1912-1914: Report".[123] In 1992 the Academy of Sciences of Albania organized aconference dedicated to 80th anniversary of independent Albania and published a document titled: "The organization of government, judicial system and military of Albania (1912-1914)".[124] Year 2012 is a year of thecentennial of the Independence of Albania.[125] The opening day of theyear-long celebration was on 17 January 2012 during a solemn ceremony held at theParliament of Albania and attended by Albanian representatives from theRepublic of Kosovo,Macedonia,Montenegro,Preševo andBujanovac, who were joined that day like they were 100 years ago.[126]
TheMinistry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports announced on 22 December 2011 the "International Competition for the accomplishment in sculpture of the monumental work dedicated to the “100 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Albanian State: 28 November 1912 – 28 November 2012”".[127]
Propozimet e kryetarit u aprovuan njëzëri e me entusiazëm nga delegatët, te cilët nënshkruan dokumentin historik ku thuhej: „ . . . Shqipëria me sot te bahet ne vehte, e lire ee mosvarme."
Shteti i projektuar nga Konferenca e Ambasadorëve në Londër, më 1913, si: "Principata e Shqipërisë" me shtrirjen vetëm në një pjesë të Bregdetit shqiptar, ... të më pak se një e treta e tokave të shtetit "Shqipëria e Mosvarme" e shpallur në Vlorë, më 28 nëntor 1912 (State designed by the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1913, as: "The Principality of Albania" ... is less than a third of the territory of "Independent Albania" declared in Vlora, on November 28, 1912)
The Proclamation of the Independent State of Albania, 1912[permanent dead link]
In November 1912 the independent state of Albania was proclaimed at Vlore
Shteti i pavarur shqiptar në vitet 1912-1914 [Independent state of Albania in the years 1912-1914]
The first Albanian state in modern history emerged in 1912.
... the first independent Albanian state was conceived as a parliamentary state.... the High Council ... was elected by the Assembly...Thus, the first Albanian state can be seen as a parliamentary state and not as a monarchy.
the declaration of Republic of Albania in 1912
... policy of seeking autonomy within it was no longer practical. The Albanian leaders therefore turned to one off seeking complete independence and in November 1912 proclaimed the Republic of Albania
... the Albanian Republic was proclaimed in 1912)...
Albanian state started its independent life through four important constitutional decisions that we already know: 1. Albania must become independent and free 2. ... under a temporary government 3. A group of Wise Men have to be elected for supporting and controlling the government 4. A Commission has to be sent to Europe in order to represent the Albanian issue in front of the great Kingdoms
The contested authority of Qemal's government was limited to a triangle of territory between Vlore, Berat and Lushnje
The Albanian state at this time was larger than its counterpart today and comprised territories belonging to the former Turkish provinces (vilayets) of Shkoder,... Skopje,...Bitola,... and Janina...
... the Conference nevertheless awarded the Balkan allies large areas of Albanian-claimed territory... A major part of northern and western Albania went to Serbia and Montenegro, while Greece received the large southern region of Chameria, leaving the Albanian state reduced to the central regions ...
Kosovo was included in the independent Albania in 1912, but was given to the Serbs under the 1913 Treaty of London at Russia's insistence.
The provisional government of Ismail Kemal held power only in Vlore Berat, Fier and Lushnje
Ottoman government, although purposely keeping Albanians administratively divided into separate, ethnically non-homogeneous vilayets, in order to prevent any unification and national development...
It was provoked by the laws passed by the new regime that claimed to loyally implement the old fiscal policy on the extremely impoverished population, impose new heavy taxes upon people, forcefully recruit Albanians for the Turkish army, continue the process of the entire population disarmament, extend its absolute power all over Albania, even over those regions that had always enjoyed certain privileges.
At a parliamentary session in January 1912, ... Albanian deputy Hasan Prishtina warned that the reactionary policy of the Young Turks' government was going to lead to a revolution in Albania.
... ustanici su uspeli da ... ovladaju celim kosovskim vilajetom do polovine avgusta 1912, što znači da su tada imali u svojim rukama Prištinu, Novi Pazar, Sjenicu pa čak i Skoplje... U srednjoj i južnoj Albaniji ustanici su držali Permet, Leskoviku, Konicu, Elbasan, a u Makedoniji Debar...
Therefore, with only final point being ignored, on September 4, 1912 the government accepted proposals and the Albanian revolt was over
At the same time the rebellion sent strong signal to Kosovo neighbors that the Ottoman Empire was weak.
The Servians hastened to oppose the plan of a "Greater Albania" by their plan for partition of Turkey in Europe among the Balkan States into four spheres of influence.
In a few weeks the territories of Turkey in Europe .. by the Balkan allies....in their hands as condominium
"Shoqëria e Zezë për Shpëtim". Faik Konitza, Fan Noli e të tjerë nuk besonin se do të thyhej Turqia prej Ballkanikëvet dhe nuk kishin shpresë për Shqipërinë tek mprojtja e Austrisë. Prandaj në një mbledhje të madhe që mbajti Federata Vatra, në Boston, më 7 të Tetorit, udhëheqësit e kolonisë nuk shihnin tjetër mënyrë shpëtimi veçse duke u pështetur tek Turqia. Të gjithë të pranishmit u habitën kur dëgjuan prej krerëvet të tyre se interesi dhe detyra e Shqiptarëvet ishte që "të bashkohëshin plotësisht me qeverinë otomane kundër armiqve të Perandorisë". Sepse "po të thyhej Turqia, shtetet ballkanikë do t'a coptonin Shqipërinë."
..Ky mendim ishte i urtë nga njëra anë, por paraqiste rreziqe nga ana tjetër: sikur të thyhej Turqia, siç u thye, Shqiptarët do të pësonin fatin e saj, ose të paktën do t'iu jepnin shtetevet ballkanikë një arësye më shumë përpara fuqivet të mëdha për t'a copëtuar Shqipërinë si një krahinë turke..
...Natyrisht, Turqia i mobilizoi Shqiptarët, por këta luftuan më fort për të mprojtur vendin e tyre kundër fqinjëvet,...
...Balkan armies occupied Albanian territory...
appealed to the austrian emperor ... difficult situation of their country as parts of the four vilayets were under the occupation of Balkan allies
The arrival of Serbian army on the Adriatic aroused strong diplomatic opposition from Austria-Hungary and Italy. They perceived the Serbs as a threat to their domination of the Adriatic Sea. In addition they feared that a Serbian Adriatic port could become a Russian base.
Kemal.. spoke with Habsburg foreign minister, Leopold von Berchtold, ... secured Habsburg support, but for Albanian autonomy rather than independence...
from all parts of the country to Valona, where a national congress was to be held
Ismail Kemal Bey convened the Albanian Independence Congress
...November 15th-28th, 1912...
..Ismail Kemal bey... took the floor and explained... that they all must strive to do what is necessary to save Albania from the great perils it is now facing.... they began by checking the documents...
...Albanians had ... uprisings that had taken ... in particular over the last four years, to preserve their rights and customs ... all the steps needed to appease and satisfy the Albanians
.. The issue of voting was then brought to the fore and, after much discussion, it was decided that each region (kaza) should have only one vote, irrespective of the number of delegates it had.....
На освојеном подручју су одмах успостављене грађанске власти и албанска територија је Де Факто анектирана Србији : 29. новембра је основан драчки округ са четири среза (Драч, Љеш, Елбасан, Тирана)....On conquered territory of Albania was established civil government and territory of Albania was de facto annexed by Serbia: On November 29 was established Durrës County with four srez (Durrës, Lezha, Elbasan, and Tirana)
Potom, 29. novembra 1912. formiran je Drački okrug u okviru kojeg su srezovi - Drač, Tirana, Elbasan i Lješ. ... On November 29, 1912 the Durrës County was established and in it there were established the following districts - Durres, Tirana, Elbasan and Lezhe
Srpska vlast u Albaniji počela je vremenom da se suočava s velikim teškoćama. Mir stanovništva morao je da bude izdašno plaćan. Delovanje austrougarskih agenata i begova odanih sultanu činilo je ionako loše puteve nesigurnim. Tokom nekoliko dana uništene su usamljene stanice, koje su branili malobrojni srpski vojnici..
After the proclamation of independence on 28 November 1912 and the establishment of the national government, the international relations of Albania began to be instrumentalized in a state form. The first diplomatic acts of the government were efforts for its recognition and the recognition of the Albanian state... European diplomacy did not regard the government of Vlora as an important element of the Albanian state... The legitimate requests of the new Albanian state were not taken in consideration.
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help)Albanska delegacija je konferenciji u Londonu u decembru dostavila memorandum u kome se insistira na etničkim pravima. Ta Velika Albanija bi zahvatala Metohiju, Kosovo, zapadnu Makedoniju sa Skopljem i Bitoljem, na jugu čitav Epir do Arte. .... Delegation of Albania submitted to the London conference in December a memo in which they insist on the rights of ethnic Albanians. That Great Albania would encompass Kosovo, western Macedonia with Skopje and Bitola, and on the south the whole Epirus up to Arta.
Congress of Trieste which was organized by his friend and rival Faik bey Konitza
In March 1913, Boletini accompanied Ismail Qemal bey Vlora to London to seek British support for the new country.
...the fall of Yanya on March 6...
за освету због репресивних мера српске војске марта 1913 масакрирали су на спавању око 130 (или 200) војника једне чете
By May 1913...The Albanian delegates wished for a British sovereign and Ismail Kemal Vlora took the opportunity to ask Aubrey Herbert how he would respond if offered the throne
The provisional Government applied urgently for international recognition. There was no official response from Great Powers.
The plan for independent Albanian state was rejected by the ambassadors of England, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and Italy at their conference on 17 December 1912 in London.
Na početku Londonske konferencije odlučeno je da je Albanija autonomna sa svojom upravom i priznavanjem sultana Turske kao vrhovnog sizerena.... At the beginning of the conference it was decided that Albania should be autonomous with its own government but under Ottoman suzerainty.
The representatives first decided that an autonomous Albania under continued Ottoman rule would be organized...This decision had to be changed in the spring of 1913, when it became obvious that the Ottoman Empire would lose all of Macedonia and thus its territorial connection with Albania.
... the Conference nevertheless awarded the Balkan allies large areas of Albanian-claimed territory... leaving the Albanian state reduced to the central regions ...
Највећи оружани упад изведен је крајем септембра 1913 у западну Македонију и област око Призрена... Исмаил Кемал је наложио избеглим арбанашким првацима, Бајраму Цуру, Иси Бољетинцу,... да са својим људима нападне српске области
On 16 October 1913, ... Toptani set up a rival government based in Durrës, called the Republic of Central Albania.
The self-proclaimed provisional government of Ismail Qemal in Vlorë did not receive the general approval of the public and different forces from within the country (e.g. by Esad Pacha Toptani) contested the provisional government's status
governments ... in Vlora under the presidency of Ismail Kemal Bey ... was the personal creation of a number of men
The political leadership of Albania was divided. Ismail Kemal had attempted to appease the ambitious landowner and soldier Essad Pasha Toptani by appointing him Minister of Interior in July 1913, but Essad proved uncooperative...
.. four countries in the Balkans ...agreed to divide the Empire up among themselves, including Albania...only road to salvation was to separate Albania from Turkey...According to Ismail Kemal Bey, the most urgent measures that the Albanian nation must take today are these: that Albania be independent...
... Assembly of Vlora...its members were representatives of all regions of Albania
Proclamation of Albanian independence by an assembly at Valona which rejected the grant of autonomy made by Turkish government
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)consensus of the congress was for complete independence
TEXT:in Vlora, on the 15th/28th of November 1328/1912.Following the speech made by the President, Ismail Kemal Bey, in which he spoke of the great perils facing Albania today, the delegates have all decided unanimously that Albania, as of today, should be on her own, free and independent.
The setting up of the government was postponed until the fourth hearing of the Assembly of Vlora, in order to give time to other delegates from all regions of Albania to arrive.
Erst auf seiner funften sitzung am 4. Dezember 1912 komplettierte der Nationalcongreß die provisorische Regierung, die folgende Zusammensetzung hatte:
... a provisional government, consisting of ten members and led by Vlora, was formed on 4 December.
From its own members congress elected a senate (Pleqësi), composed of 18 members, which assumed advisory role to the government.
the Ministry of Post Telegraph Telephone, and the minister was the notable intellectual patriot Lef Nosi. The government of that time took in administration all the post offices inherited from the Ottoman Empire and did rapid efforts for the identification of Albanian postal service.
posle proglasa nezavisnosti upotrebljavane i starim turskim žigovima poništavane marke i dopisnice... i posle ... poništavane albanskim prstenastim zigovima, koji nose u gornjem delu prstena ime mesta a u donjem ime zemlje — „Shqipenie". Zamena turskih zigova novim albanskim zigovima izvrsena je pri kraju aprila i pocetkom maja 1913.
on July 7, 1913, presented the official demand to be recruited in Universal Postal Union and International Union of Telecommunication, entrance which was performed in 1922...
Albania ... Date of entry into the UPU:01-03-1922
... Albania...In 1912, having achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire, it continued for some time under the Turkish Civil Code (Mejelle)...
Until 1926 Albania had no currency of her own. Gold and silver coins of other countries were used as medium of exchange, while the franc of the Latin Monetary Union served as the official unit of account....during turbulent period 1912—1925
education in Albania, until 1912, had varied according to religion: the Moslems attended the Ottoman schools; the Orthodox, the Greek schools, and, in the districts adjacent to the Slavs, the Serbian or Bulgarian schools; the Catholics attended the Italian or Austrian schools....
After the Proclamation of Independence and the creation of the Government of Vlora in 1912, measures were taken for the closing of foreign schools and opening Albanian ones.
Since World War I broke out shortly after Albania declared her independence in November 1912, there was a little time for progress in national education
A significant fact is that the Kosovar fighters, headed by the legendary hero Isa Boletini, set out on a long voyage to Vlora and created there the first nucleus of the new Albanian army under the command of the Provisional Government.
Gjeneral brigade Agim Lala, pasi bëri një retrospektivë të shkurtër përsa i përket Forcave të Armatosura që nga krijimi i tyre në 4 Dhjetor të vitit 1912 (Brigadier General Agim Lala, after making a brief retrospective of the terms of the Armed Forces since their creation on December 4, 1912)
Pak javë pasi ishte shpallur shteti shqiptar nga Kuvendi i Vlorës, më 13 janar 1913, qeveria e Ismail Qemalit vendosi krijimin e forcave të rendit. Qeveria ngarkoi për të kryer detyrat e një xhandarmërie ... Funksione administrative i kryente policia...
Xhandarmëria caktoi edhe uniformën e rregullt të saj gri-jeshil, jakën kuq e zi, kësulën pa strehë dhe gradat në pjesën e përparshme të jakës...
When Albania became independent in 1912, its chief components were primitive agriculture and livestock raising. There was no significant industry and little inter-regional or foreign trade
During independence (1912—44), Albania began pursuing agrarian reforms. These reforms, which aimed to transfer land ownership to peasants, brought about little change, however, as most land remained with the original landowners
Treaty of London consisted simply of cession by the Sultan to the Great Powers of all Ottoman territory in Europe except... It was the Treaty of Bucharest, 13 August 1913, which provided the definitive settlement after the Second Balkan War
With the Peace of London, the Great European powers, in the redistributing the land taken from Turks among the Balkan states, decided to create a new state, Albania.
In July 1913 the Powers signed a protocol establishing Albania as an 'autonomous, sovereign, hereditary principality' under their guarantee. They set up a commission to establish the frontiers of the new state.
This decision, reached at the fifty-fourth meeting of the conference on 29 July 1913,..1. Albania is constituted as an autonomous, sovereign and hereditary principality by right of primogeniture, guaranteed by the six Powers. The sovereign will be designated by the six Powers.
Despite the fact that a provisional government under Kemal was in existence, the powers refused to recognize it. Instead they established International Control Commission
The Great Powers... established "International Commission of Control as an interim administration until the new monarch arrived.
The Threaty of Bucharest of August 1913 ... established independent Albania.
... at the time of the creation of Albanian state (1913)
While the creation of Albania was the only political result of the Balkan wars...
The Powers were angered by this display of independence by Kemal's government, ... as a result, the International Commission forced Kemal to step aside. Kemal subsequently left Albania ...
International Commission prepared a draft constitution. It provided for the establishment of national assembly,...composed of three representatives from...seven administrative districts... chosen by direct suffrage,... heads of three churches and ten nominees of the prince. .... a four year... ministers ..appointed by the prince
The Ottoman administrative organization, with few exceptions, remained basically unchanged.
A Constitution (Statuti Organik) for the new State, consisting of 216 articles, was elaborated in 1914 by the International Commission. Albania was designated as a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The power of legislation was entrusted to a National Assembly, while the executive power was vested in the Council of Ministers, who were to be appointed by the Prince and accountable to him only.
...The Albanian state later became a monarchy. Until the installation of the monarchy,...
When Albania's state boundaries were delineated... in 1913, many Albanians were left outside of the new state. The largest group of unredeemed could be found in Kosova, which had served as cradle of Albanian nationalism in the nineteenth century...
Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany....exploited Albanian dissatisfaction with the country's ethnically imprecise frontiers
All Albanians, wherever they are located in the world, joyously commemorate November 28 as Albanian Independence Day (Dita e Flamurit), for it was on that day in 1912 in Albanian seacoast town of Vlora, that the venerable Albanian patriot, Ismail Qemali, first raised Albanian red-and-black double headed eagle flag and proclaimed Albanian independence...
Kosovo legislation does not include 28 November on the list of official holidays, however under a special decision of the Government PM Hashim Thaci,...today has been announced a holiday.
Il a présenté une communication sur « L'organisation administrative, judiciaire et militaire de l'Albanie (1912-1914) » au colloque 80 ans d'indépendance albanaise, organisé par l'Académie des Sciences de ce pays en novembre 1992.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The year 2012, dear Albanians, is the most beautiful historic year. The 100th anniversary of the Independence of Albania
The Albanian Parliament opened with a solemn ceremony the 100th year of Albania's independence. January 17th was chosen as the opening day for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of independence, since it is the day when the Albanian National hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu died, who symbolizes the unification of all Albanians...Representatives from Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Presheva and Bujanovci were present in the Albanian Parliament, without partial distinctions, together, as six centuries ago and as 100 years ago,.
Today, on 23.12.2011, in reliance on the Order of the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports No 289, dated 22.12.2011 on "Announcement of competition for the accomplishment in sculpture the monumental work dedicated to the "100 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Albanian State: 28 November 1912 – 28 November 2012".
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