Isa Boletini

Isa Boletini (1914)

Statue in Mitrovica

Isa Boletini (* 1864 in Boletin , Ottoman Empire ; † January 23, 1916 in Podgorica , Montenegro ) was an Albanian freedom fighter and politician and one of the most important personalities of the Albanian national movement Rilindja . In the Montenegrin or Serbian literature he is also mentioned as Isa Boljetinac .

Career

Leagues of Prizren and Peja, Young Turkish Revolution

Isa Boletini was born in the village of Boletin near Zvečan . At the age of 17 he took part in the armed struggle against the Ottoman troops as a member of the League of Prizren - a political and military resistance movement that campaigned for an Albanian nation-state . From 1899 to 1900 he supported Haxhi Zeka and others in founding the League of Peja , which saw itself as the successor to the League of Prizren and which had been forcibly dissolved by the Ottoman government in 1881, and in the resistance against Ottoman rule.

From 1901 to 1902 Isa Boletini was the leader of the Albanian movement against the intervention of Serbia , Montenegro , Russia and Austria-Hungary in Albania . Therefore he was called to Istanbul , arrested and isolated from the outside world until 1906. He advocated the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, which deposed the incumbent sultan and introduced a constitution.

Albanian independence

Isa Boletini (front right) in Vlora in 1912

Boletini later turned his back on Young Turkish politics and, as leader, organized an uprising of the Albanians in his own country during the summer of 1909. In 1910 and 1912 he led rebellious Albanians in the fight against the Ottoman army . During the First Balkan War he fought against Serbian units in November 1912 as captain of the voluntary armed groups.

In the days of Albania's independence (November 28, 1912 in Vlorë ), Boletini met Ismail Qemali , whose provisional seat of government he helped defend in Vlorë. In 1913 he went to London with Ismail Qemali , where he spoke at the conference of ambassadors for the interests of his people. He protested against the efforts of France and Russia to completely divide Albania into the existing states of Serbia, Montenegro and Greece . He could not achieve the annexation of Kosovo to Albania.

During the First World War , Boletini became a guerrilla leader against the Serbian and Montenegrin troops. He wanted to support the advance of the Austro-Hungarian army , which he hoped would benefit Albania. Isa Boletini died on January 23, 1916 fighting against Montenegrin troops near Podgorica .

Appreciation

Isa Boletini is honored by the Albanians as an important national hero and freedom fighter. Larger-than-life statues of him can be found in Shkodra on Perash Square ( Sheshi Perash ) and in Mitrovica on Isa Boletini Square ( Sheshi Isa Boletini ), which is named after him . In 2004 Ibrahim Rugova declared Isa Boletini the "Hero of Kosovo".

literature

• Skënder Luarasi: Isa Boletini , Tirana 1972.
• Fatmira Musaj: Isa Boletini. 1864-1916 , Tirana 1987.
• Fehmi Rexhepi (Ed.): Isa Boletini dhe koha e tij . Pristina 1998.
• Robert Elsie : Historical Dictionary of Albania . In: European Historical Dictionaries . No. 42 . Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2004, ISBN 0-8108-4872-4 , pp. 469 f .

Web links

Commons : Isa Boletini  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Report by Karl Östreich about his visit to Boletini in 1898 (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kosova e lirë - KeL. Retrieved June 1, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Miranda Vickers: Shqiptarët - Një histori modern . Bota Shqiptare, 2008, ISBN 978-99956-11-68-2 , 3.2 Rritja e kundërshtimit ndaj xhonturqve , p. 99 (English: The Albanians - A Modern History . Translated by Xhevdet Shehu).
3. ↑ Renate Ndarurinze: Albania: With Tirana, Adriatic Coast and Albanian Alps . Trescher Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-89794-307-0 , pp. 182 ( google.de ).