Written by Rexhep Dedushaj in 2014. Translated by Petrit Latifi
Since Montenegro’s occupation of Albanian territories (1880-1913), it has done everything to cleanse the ethnic Albanian element from these Pelasgian-Illyrian lands. This was achieved through ruthless genocide, mass killings, forced assimilation of Albanians into Slavs, large-scale displacement, and continuous individual and state terror (!).
In the strategy of the Slavic chauvinist offensive aimed at eradicating all traces of Albanian identity, the Albanian National Flag and Albanian Schools were the primary targets. These were not permitted until 1941 during the “Era of Albania.” For those four years, Albanian schools operated, and the National Flag flew across all Albanian ethnic territories occupied by Montenegro.
Following the brutal genocidal massacres at the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1945 (when over 800 people were killed in Plav-Gusinje alone), a “calm” dominated by Ranković’s terror ensued (Read the head UDBA officer R. Serdanović’s book: “Vruca granica,” Andrijevica, 2003). During this time, the few remaining Albanian nationalists were eliminated, such as Çung Tahir Dedushaj and his nephew Isuf Zymerin, Zymer Haxhia Kukaj, Cufe S. Gjonbalaj, Rrustem Thaçi, and others. The National Flag was banned, and Albanian schools established during the “Era of Albania” (1941-1944) were closed.
After the fall of the Slavic executioner Ranković, Albanian youth educated in Kosovo initiated a mild “Renaissance” of national identity.
By chance, Hasan M. Vuçetaj came to lead the municipality of Plav and, with the support of Albanian youth, introduced some unexpected positive changes:
- Albanians were allowed to remove the Slavic suffix “-vić” from their surnames. (“In Kosovo, they call me ‘Viq(tele)’!” vented student Idriz Isa Gjonbalaj during a meeting in Vuthaj attended by Montenegro’s leader Millatović).
- Albanian schools were reopened, including new ones in Vishnjevë and Hot.
- Following the Yugoslav Federation’s permission for the Albanian National Flag on October 6, 1968 (correcting a technical error in my previous article), the flag was brought to Vuthaj during those same days. (See my article: “How We Raised Our National Flag in Vuthaj” in the monograph “Çung Tahiri i Vuthajve,” Peja, 2013).
In November of that year, Kosovo was engulfed in the 1968 Demonstrations, whose spirit also resonated in the territories occupied by Montenegro, particularly in Ulcinj, Tuz, Gusinje, etc. Idriz I. Gjonbalaj carried the flag and a photograph of Skanderbeg from Peja to Plav, crossing Qafa e Diellit on foot, and displayed them in Plav’s hotel, where the police were prevented from seizing them by Idriz and his comrades. Only the municipal leader Vuçetaj convinced him to remove the items and accompany him to his office.
On November 28, 1968, the same flag flew proudly in the home of the proven patriot Ajshe Gjonbalaj in Vuthaj and in the house of the village leader Çelë Sh. Hasangjekaj in Martinaj.
However, at the same time, the Montenegrins began their war against the Albanian National Flag. From the shop “Emin Duraku” in Plav, they stole the flag from the display window. During a gathering to condemn Kosovo’s demonstrations, Zeqir Halil Balidemaj stood up and stated: “We have no business with the demonstrations in Kosovo or Belgrade, but we must condemn those here. Who stole the Albanian Flag from the shop in Plav??” This shifted the direction of the meeting.
During those days, in Murinë, Montenegrins confiscated a flag from wedding guests traveling from Deçan to Vuthaj to collect a bride. This emboldened the Montenegrins, who became more aggressive.
In January or February of 1969, during a harsh winter, Vuthaj residents traveled by horse-drawn sleds to Arzhanica to bring home a bride. Around 40-50 Montenegrins gathered in Murinë, vowing not to allow the Albanian Flag to pass. When they stopped the wedding procession and tried to seize the flag, young Rexhep B. Gjonbalaj pulled out two Italian bombs, held one in his teeth, and removed the cap of the other, ready to throw it into the Montenegrin crowd. The Montenegrins fled in panic. At that moment, municipal leader Hasan Vuçetaj arrived with some police officers and defused the situation.
This brave act ensured that the Vuthaj residents returned safely from Arzhanica without further conflict. It frightened the Montenegrins, and until 1981, they refrained from such actions against ethnic Albanians.
Following the 1981 demonstrations, the “vampires” awoke and resumed their fight against the Albanian National Flag, ultimately banning it completely.
In 1983, during the harsh communist crackdown, dozens of Plav high school students were imprisoned and falsely accused of planning to raise the Albanian Flag for May 1st celebrations. They received harsh sentences:
- Sadri A. Ahmetaj: 5.5 years in prison
- Naim Selimaj: 5 years
- Tahir S. Prelvukaj: 4.5 years
- Burim U. Ahmetaj and Sadri Xh. Mehaj: 3 years each
- Musa Selimaj: 2 years
(Read R. Dedushaj: “The Region of Plav-Gusinje Through the Centuries,” Monograph. New York, 1993).
In Montenegro, the use of the Albanian National Flag remained entirely forbidden until the fall of communism.
During the Independence Referendum for Montenegro’s separation from Serbia (Serbia-Montenegro Union), Albanians supported the formation of the new Montenegrin state under the promise of “European democracy.”
And what happened? The vampires led by Đukanović resurrected. Despite the Constitution allowing minority flags, Đukanović’s government banned the Albanian National Flag through new laws.
Meanwhile, our countries—Albania and Kosovo—freely permit the use of King Nikola’s Montenegrin flag, even where there are no Montenegrins. Yet Albanians are denied their rights in their ancestral lands…
Reference
Balkan Academia 