The British vice-consul in Skopje, Walter Peckham, on July 9, 1912 notified the Foreign Office about the developments of the Albanian uprising against the Ottoman Empire. While Kosovo was seething with fighting, the situation in the Albanian part of today's Macedonia was still calm, but it was clear that the insurgents would soon advance on this side as well. British diplomats in Skopje were convinced that there was an agreement between the Albanian insurgents and the Macedonian committees. The vice consul emphasized that he had not been able to find any traces that would testify to this agreement, which the Albanians thought was made by Hasan Bey Prishtina.
Until the month of July, the sandjak of Peja was the main center of the uprising, while the Albanians of Gjakova had started the revolt during April and since then the guerilla fighting did not stop. Prizren was peaceful, but the inhabitants of the city and its surroundings had joined the fighters in the Gjakova region. The uprising was spreading from Mitrovica to Presheva.
Before the start of the fighting in Gjakova, the British vice-consul thought that this was the region where Hasan Bey Prishtina had not succeeded in convincing the population of this side since he had declared that the fighting would start earlier. Hasan Bey had told the vice consul that in Gjakovë, as in the whole of Kosovo, the uprising was delayed because the weapons were not provided in time and with the planned speed.
The High Gate, until April, had not worried about the situation as it thought it would be easy to control. This was the reason, as the vice consul wrote, that until then Porta "preferred that Hasan Bey saw Pristina in Junik than in the opposition in his seat of the deputy in Istanbul". However, Hasan Bey had taken advantage of the fact that the political road had been blocked by the Porta. He was now showing himself to be successful in terms of military strategy as he had managed to raise up most of Albania, which shocked Istanbul.
Porta officials had lost their sense of political wisdom and that of normal actions towards Albanians. In addition to countless threats, the Porta had issued orders that the wives and children of the leaders of the uprising be exiled because the heads of the families had come to the front of the war against the empire. Such a tactless measure surprised all the diplomats in Istanbul and angered the Albanians even more. Analyzing and criticizing this decision, the British vice-consul writes:
"If the Turks wanted to provoke a general Albanian uprising, they would not have been able to choose a better method than this."
The Porta had distributed a printed proclamation in the important cities of Albania by which it had announced that it ordered the leaders of the uprising to surrender within three days. Otherwise, their wives would be sent to exile in Anatolia and their property would be confiscated. The vice consul emphasized that these two measures had marked the moment of irreversible crisis between the Albanians and Porta. He, notifying London, and presenting the seriousness of the matter, emphasized that "the woman is so sacred for the Albanian that he does not hunt for revenge even on the most sworn enemy if he is in the presence of the woman, while touching property is considered theft which as a criminal offense in traditional Albanian law is treated as the act of murder".
However, the families of Ahmet Beu, Riza Beu and Hysni Curri from Gjakova, Jahja Beu, Sadik Efendiu and Shani Efendiu from Prizren and Mahmut Zaim from Peja, were gathered in order to be sent first to Skopje and then to Anatolia. Riza Bey's wife had appeared before the soldiers when they went to take her. Shouting and scolding the soldiers, as if they were children, she had told them that they should go fight with her husband, that war is not fought with women.
In Pristina, the inhabitants of the entire city had sworn that they would rather die than allow Xhemal Bey's wife to be taken out of the city. Considering these reactions, Porta modified the terms of the threat and postponed the execution of the decision to exile these women indefinitely. Practically, as the days passed, this decision faded to the point of cancellation. However, this was an example that showed that Porta had lost its compass and no longer had consideration for Albanians.
In the report dated July 27, the vice-consul informed London about the developments of the uprising. Sanxhak of Peja, Prizren and Pristina were on the run of the uprising. During this last week of July, the vice consul announced that the uprising had just expanded to the region of Gjilan and was expected to include the Presheva cauldron as well. In those days, Isa Bej Boletini had gone to the northernmost part of Albania, in the vicinity of Bjello Polje and Novi Pazar, to raise up the Albanians of this side.
In Pejë, Xhafer Tajar Bey, with the 8 battalions he still had at his disposal, tried to preserve the power that was left to the empire in this part of Albania. In his region there were several warehouses full of weapons that the insurgents had set their sights on. In Gjakovë, Mitrovica, Ferizaj and Vučitërna, the insurgents had established their power. Even some non-Albanians who were in the service of the empire joined the insurgents. The rest of the Ottoman administration and army had fled from Kosovo to take refuge in Skopje.
The British vice-consul wrote, being surprised, about the high discipline applied by the Albanian insurgents. Order and peace in these countries had not been disturbed despite the mass uprising. The streets of Pristina were as quiet as those of Skopje. Even the citizens of Pristina went to the polls and elected the new mayor after the mayor had fled. The other cities of Kosovo were the same, calm. The circulation of railway traffic, from Skopje through Pristina to Mitrovica and vice versa, worked as in the best days of the Ottoman power.
The vice-consul informed London that the uprising would soon involve the south-eastern part of Albania centered on Skopje. The Ottoman military garrison in Skopje (inside the city) numbered more than 1000 soldiers organized into three infantry and one engineering battalions. The vice consul's information indicated that the Ottoman soldiers and most of their officers had given signs that they would not fight against the Albanian insurgents whom they considered brothers because they were Muslims. According to the vice consul, even if the situation were different and the attitude of the Ottoman army was unfavorable towards the Albanians, this army would not be likely to withstand the attacks of the insurgents coming from Kosovo.
For the success of the expansion of the uprising, the vice-consul emphasized that the merits belonged to Hasan Bey Pristina. He had communicated with Hasan Beu but had not yet managed to fully learn the main purpose of the uprising. Hasan Bey Prishtina had repeated to the British diplomat that one of the goals was the dissolution of the Ottoman Parliament and the organization of new elections. The next requirement was the knowledge of the Albanian alphabet, which Porta had to do.
Hasan Bey had added that the goal of the Albanians was for the negotiations with Porta to begin and be completed as soon as possible. The number of insurgents in the Pristina region alone was considered to be between 20 and 000 armed people. Hasan Bey considered that difficulties would arise for the Albanians if things were delayed, as the problems of food for these people would arise. The work was made even more difficult when it was known that harvest time was approaching and those who should be in the fields were now busy with rifle work. If Porta was not interested in negotiations, Hasan Bey Prishtina had given signs to the vice-consul that the insurgents would have no choice but to attack Skopje.
The vice consul's information indicated that the leaders of the uprising were not unique in their attitudes and views. According to this information, Hasan Bey was in favor of negotiations with the Ottoman government, while Riza Bey was that after the capture of Skopje, he should march towards Thessaloniki, where power should be established without wasting time.
On August 14, the vice consul announced the entry of Albanian insurgents into Skopje. Since the morning of that day, thousands of armed Albanians had come to the city by train, on foot and by other means of transport. Two Ottoman battalions stood on the side of the Albanians. According to the vice consul, the number of armed and unarmed Albanians who were ready for war and who were stationed in the surrounding towns and villages reached 16.
The situation of the first two days, when Skopje fell into the hands of the Albanian insurgents, the British vice-consul describes as follows:
"During the last 48 hours, Riza Bey, Isa Boletini, Bajram Curri, Idriz Seferi have arrived in Skopje, while Jahja Aga of Prizren and Mehmet Pasha of Tetova are still in Pristina conducting negotiations. The negotiations seem to be taking place in favor of the Albanians. Valiu has been instructed for a general amnesty and I hear that the Porta has accepted all the points except the one related to the carrying of weapons".
Subsequent reports of the British vice consul, Walter Peckham, indicate that all the Albanian leaders, except for Hasan Bej of Pristina, left Skopje on August 20. The insurgents did not take the road to capture Thessaloniki, as they had planned, and as they could easily take Skopje. /Telegraph/
(This article was written exclusively for the Telegraph)
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