Written by Valdon Bytyci. Translated by Petrit Latifi.

In the centuries-old and glorious struggle of the Albanian people, sculpted figures of bravery stand like Mount Olympus, shining in the Pantheon of sacrifice for freedom. These national figures will be preserved in historical memory as evidence of sublimation but also as examples of cultivating patriotism and endurance for centuries and generations to come.

Examples of inspiration are everywhere in Kosovo. In every city, village, neighborhood, personalities with a special historical contribution are honored with the naming of streets, squares, schools and various institutions, as an appreciation for the names of unforgettable patriots. One of these great and unforgettable Albanian men is Kasum (Cakë) Bytyçi, from the village of Arllat, Drenas commune.

The wise warrior who fired the shots of honor at the ‘Kroi i Nocit’[1]. And thus, he has made a place for himself alongside other patriots, who will forever remain in the popular memory.

Biography

Kasum Cakë Bytyçi was born in 1905, coming into existence after the death of his father, Kasum. Who had served his homeland all his life by fighting against the Serbian-Montenegrin Chetniks. Even today, a mountain valley that separates Arllat and Tërpeza is called ‘Lugu i Kasumit’ in honor of his work. His mother Zelihe Gashi, in order to protect her son, kept him with her family in Kjevë, until he grew up.

According to custom, the child is baptized with the name of his father. His mother, for many reasons, but above all out of fear of the enemy, will call him Cakë, a pseudonym that will remain as his eternal name. Caka, raised and educated in the bosom of the elderly family of Ramadan Shabani of Kjevë, from childhood is molded with wisdom, prudence and a high awareness of how to fight for liberation from the Serbian-Montenegrin invaders.

Activity against the migration of Albanians to Turkey

From a young age, he began his activity within the ‘Drita’ Society. Which was led by the Renaissance man, Rexhep (Tryeza) Krasniqi, an enlightened imam of the Albanian language, culture and being. Caka was a member of the group formed by the ‘Drita’ Society, which had the task of opposing the migration of Albanians according to the Turkish-Yugoslav Convention of 1938, as well as fighting against the colonization of the country by Serbian and Montenegrin settlers (Naseleniks)[2]. This group consisted of the most famous men of that area and who nevertheless had strong Albanian convictions. Also, another episode was the confrontation with the Serbian-Montenegrin settlers who had entered the mountain of ‘Bria e Karva-sarisë’ and were barbarically cutting wood[3]. The mountain was the property of the Mosque-Endowment. Caka, since he had the authority legitimized by the leader, went running, forcibly stopping the Naselani from cutting down the mountain. Which for the villagers was considered sacred.

The murder of Dušan Vuksanović

Since 1930, the Municipality and the Militia Station had been operating in Arllat, where 9 villages in the vicinity gravitated. Kasum Cakë Bytyçi, also notable for his organizational affinities and sharp mind, managed to be elected municipal councilor, together with three of his fellow villagers, Vesel Sylë Bytyçi, Avdullah Bajram Bytyçi and Halit Hajdin Bujupi, they were among the 17 elected municipal councilors.[4]

One day, accompanied by a convoy of about 30 Chetnik soldiers, the Militia Station in Arllat was ‘visited’ by an army commander from Rahovec, a Montenegrin newcomer. He held the honorary rank of Major General from the Yugoslav Monarchy – Dušan Vuksanović, (some researchers think that his surname may have also been Vuković) who commanded his Serbian-Montenegrin nationalist-extremist unit, who were popularly known as ‘Chetniks’.

At the Station he finds Caka and immediately addresses the Station Commander with complete anger and contempt: “What is keeping this (read: Caka) here?” The Commander tells him that he is a Municipal Councilor and that he had come officially to discuss the situation in the village. He insists with threats and despotism: “Get this bandit out of here or I’ll kill him like a…!”

Dušan knew Caka, since he had had an argument with him earlier regarding the damage to Caka’s property and the cutting down of the forest to the point of devastation, in the village’s mountains. Moreover, he also knew the story of his father’s murder by the Serbs-Montenegrins and for this reason, it seemed that he felt the danger from Caka.[5]

Caka revolted and from there he began the resistance but, with the mediation of the commander of the Militia and the postman, Tafil Miftari who shot there, Caka left the Station. From there he understood that the security institutions of the Yugoslav state had panicked. The incident experienced at the Militia Station infuriated Caka, but at the same time it increased his prudence to act quickly and wisely.

To avenge his father, and thus escape from the barbaric acts that Dushan and his Chetnik unit were planning to commit against the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. Add to this that he felt the weight of being the elected (representative) of the people in the Municipality of Arllat and on top of this, he felt the duty to protect them in under any circumstances.

Dušan Vuksanović had publicly declared that he would burn and destroy the surrounding villages, starting with Arlat, Llapushnik, all the neighboring villages and continuing towards Kamaran and other villages to wreak havoc on the inhabitants.[1] A month earlier, during the harvest, the Chetnik Dušan, among other things, had killed Brahim Murtez Gashi from the village of Llapushnik, who was resisting in defense of his property (field).

Caka was becoming even more convinced that someone had to come out and stop the advance of the Chetnik of Drazha Mihajlović. He was convinced that the time had come to ambush the enemy Dušan! But how?! He only had one hand grenade, which was not enough. Therefore, he immediately took the necessary actions to find a weapon (rifle). He had heard in those days that Alush (Lush) Rama from the village of Tërpezë had fled the army.

Caka ran to him. Lushi was also a brave and seasoned man with national values, with whom Caka had previously done patriotic activities. Lushi had fled the army with a friend and when Caka arrived at his house, he found them lying in the room, exhausted from the journey. Caka immediately told him about what had happened at the Militia Station with Dušan Vuksanović and about his plan to kill and capture Albanians together with the Chetnik soldiers he had in command.

Lushi and his friend listened with curiosity and without hesitation wanted to join Caka on this journey to freedom. But, Lushi’s friend was very sick and could not move, so he decided to willingly give his rifle to Caka. It should be noted that Lushi’s army comrade was from the Gjakova district and belonged to the Catholic denomination.

These elements are mentioned as a form of identification since we have not managed to identify by name and surname this man who was found at a decisive moment and who is undoubtedly a factual contributor to the action that Caka and his friends were planning.

Time did not wait, the decisive moment had come. Caka gets up together with Lushi and they leave the room. As soon as he leaves, Caka rushes to the house of Tal Bajram Bytyçi from Tërpeza, a cousin of his from the tribe. Tali was a man of his word and loyalty. Upon seeing Caka, Tali understands and immediately takes the rifle out of the fireplace to join the Kaçaks.

The families of Tali and Lushi were at enmity with each other. Therefore, Caka, during their lightning march to ambush, asks them to stop and in a meadow, in the ‘Dry Meadow’, the two brave men forgive each other all their grudges, because they had realized that the path they had set out on was beyond them. The three brave men were getting ready to make the history of an era, and with this to define the course of events for generations.

On the way to ambush, they meet Rexhe Abaz Gashi, who asks them to wait until he gets his rifle home. The brave men waited, but not time. Therefore, at their suggestion, it was left for Rexhe Abazi to help them from the flanks. The three teams ambushed a place called Karanoc (Kroi i Nocit). Positioned on a mountain hill like warriors of the weather, they waited for the executioner Dushan Vuksanovic to once and for all crush him to the ground. The Chetniks, numbering about 30 armed men, were joined by other Naseljeniks and militia, led by the Chetnik leader Dušan, who was walking a few meters ahead of his platoon. The Chetnik gang had begun their terror against the local residents. They had stopped to drink raki at the Tahir Bujupi Inn, and then they had begun their rampage by breaking and mistreating, beating and torturing anyone they encountered on the road. The villagers along the road had holed up in their houses and were waiting with the proven fear of when they would enter their homes as well.[5]

The Chetnik paramilitaries were walking along the road in a line to continue to the village of Llapushnik. Dušan Vuksanović was leading with arrogance, dressed in Chetnik clothes, as if he wanted to scare even more with his appearance as a military-voivode the inhabitants who were half-heartedly watching his march, as if they were cholera! And for a moment, while he and his Chetnik retinue were marching to the ‘Lug i Karanoci’, the rifles of the brave men were aimed as one at his chest. The flashes of rifles like lightning hit the body of the ‘Lord’…..The brave men shoot again as if to put an eternal end to him and the bloody Serbian-Montenegrin regime.

From this well, some soldiers/Chetniks were also wounded and the others were holed up in the houses of the Serbian-Montenegrin settlers while the majority were holed up in the Inn of Tahir Bujupi. The brave men from the mountain call Rexhe Abazi, telling him where they are hiding and how many they are. After their surrender, as always according to ancient tradition, the Albanians do not kill those who surrender.

The patriotic act done in Karanoc paid off! Turning into a call and hope for self-organization in self-defense against the centuries-old enemy and his Chetnik units, like those during the War of ’98-’99. It is worth noting that, when the brave men came down from the mountain and the people had flocked to see what exactly had happened, they had told Caka to take the rifle of the murdered Dushan!? He had replied that ‘I did not kill to plunder!’ This shows his character as a pure Trojan warrior.

Participation in the Battle of Kolashin

The developments of the time made Caka even more active in trying to organize the defense from the barbarities of the Serbo-Montenegrin army that had invaded Albanian spaces. In the cold January of 1943, when Qazim Bajraktari of Astrazup[6] and other patriots such as Qazim Bllaca, Shaban Polluzha, Alush Smajli[7] and many others, issued a call for the mobilization of an army of volunteers to protect the innocent Albanian population in their lands in the Sandzak-Pazar të Ri, Peshterr, Bihor and Koloshin. Kasum Cakë Bytyçi was among the first to respond to this call. Although those who were in need, such as Caka himself, were exempt from this volunteer call. Caka, without any suspicion, with 16 of his fellow villagers[8] was placed on the front line in the Kolashin Mountains, alongside the army of the leader of the Sandzak, Aqif Blyta. To protect the local population from the horrific massacres and to prevent Drazha Mihajlovic’s Chetniks from crossing the Ibar River and entering Kosovo. In this war, three of Caka’s comrades were killed and a fighter from Arlat was wounded.[1]

Torture during the ‘Action of Arms’

After the end of World War II, the ‘New Yugoslavia’ was created. And, as if to buy a false peace, the new government issued a series of laws, including the Amnesty Law[9]. In this way, many nationalists seemed to ‘take a breath’ for a moment! But, apparently, they had only changed their uniforms and not their goals! The fascist-communist government was unleashed with all its iron gear and through its own people (hafije) against certain individuals who posed a threat to them. Therefore, persecutions, lynchings, constant escorts, stigmatizations and other forms of exclusion-‘expulsion’ of certain families began. Among them was the family of Cakë Kasumi. Which remained in total isolation for three years! Without daring to enter or leave, to take or give, no one with this family. The Yugoslav regime considered it irredentist! Moreover, if it were not for a close neighbor-Nebih Delia, who risked himself and his family to provide bread and survival for the Cakë family.

The notorious security services, the OZN and the UDB, undertook a campaign of persecution against all those individuals who resisted the regime. They were cruelly tortured at the Militia Station and in the Arllat Primary School. This violence exceeded all limits, especially in the action of collecting weapons, during which a volcano of anti-Albanian hatred erupted. The tortures used by the militia and security agents were inhumane, analogous to those of the time of the Inquisition. These tortures were planned and strictly supervised by the executioner Aleksandër Ranković, Minister of the Interior, of the time. Who intended to strictly implement the elaborates of the Serbian Academy for the expulsion of Albanians from their lands.

Among those pursued and tortured was undoubtedly the patriot Cakë Kasum Bytyçi, towards whom the communist government has a special hatred. Caka belonged to the Albanian National Democratic Movement (NDSh)[10]. They had tortured Caka so much that from the school building, where he had been tortured so severely, to his house, for about 5 km, he had walked barefoot. Not trying to straighten up from the pain that the Yugoslav agents had caused him.

In a poem, the figure of Cakë Kasumi is exalted in the face of the plague, which the veteran poet of education (Rushit A. Gashi)[8] describes with deep sensitivity:

“…A plague moves like the wind,

In every village, in every city,

Knocks on the doors of every house,

Looks for weapons, looks for cartridges.”

Another very significant verse follows that reflects the figure of the brave Cakë Kasumi, who is considered indifferent to the plague, to the extent that the Albanian militia, the famous executioner, Muharrem Topanica, loses his temper and threatens the crowd with all his hatred, spotting the true brave:

“Topanica with hot blood

Addresses the crowd of people:

-Where are you, Cakë Kasumi

Who throws piss up at me?!”

The ‘Flag’ Lunch

The Golgotha of suffering for the Albanians had gone so deep that the beginnings of a oblivion about the apparent Albanian identity had begun to take place. Therefore, seeing this as a threat to identity, the Albanian intelligence coordinated with the mother state, introduced national flags into Kosovo. Which would necessarily have to be distributed throughout the country, so that people would see and firmly fix the flag with the two proud eagles. One such, in the early 1960s, was brought to Caka by his nephew Haxhi Gashi from Kiev. Caka, out of enthusiasm, had organized a lunch inviting all his fellow villagers to the Flag, which proudly waved on top of a giant pole[5].

Demands for a democratic and independent state

The psycho-physical torture against Caka and all the colossus of the Albanian resistance were extraordinary, until 1966. When it was seen that submission was impossible, even dangerous for the existence of ‘Titist Yugoslavia’. Which even after the protests of ’68 changed course towards the Albanians of Kosovo. By allowing them the right to language, education, the opening of the University of Prishtina and the free use of the flag and national symbols – as socio-cultural-political rights guaranteed by international conventions.

This was a rebirth for all of Kosovo and for all those men of ideals who had begun to pave the long and full path of sacrifice for the creation of independent institutions, which in miniature constituted the dream of the Republic and the Union.

In the following years, great changes began in Europe. The Berlin Wall fell and with this a new wind was blowing. Albanians, as always, were the first to seek democracy, development, prosperity, pluralism and integration into the civilized world. Therefore, they organized themselves by expressing their will in the 1991 Referendum[8] for the Independence of Kosovo. This showed a political maturity of the Albanian people of Kosovo. Caka had the privilege of voting in this Referendum, expressing his will with his vote, which he had always expressed with deeds for the nation and homeland. He also voted in the parliamentary and presidential elections of May 24, 1992. So, he formalized the Republic of Kosovo. Which, after a bloody sacrifice, we confirmed once again on February 17, 2008.

Elder of the Chamber

Cakë Kasumi was also active as an elder in the men’s chambers, reconciling conflicts and atoning for blood feuds. He worked together with many bright minds of his generation, such as Hel Bujupi, Bajram Bujupi, Liman Latif Bytyçi, Halit Bujupi, Shaban Emin – Gashi, Haxhi Gashi – Fana, Musli Misin – Morina, Asllan Sali Bujupi, etc.

Cakë Kasum Bytyçi never stopped acting for his ideal! Until his last breath, when he closed his eyes, on October 7, 1992. He, being alone, left an army of descendants. Who came into being from his three sons and three daughters.

Artistic creations for the People’s Tribune – Cakë Kasum Bytyçi

Epic verses were also composed and patriotic songs were also sung for Cakë Kasum. One such was written by the epic poet Isa Breçani, who through Homeric verse describes in detail the course of action in the murder of Dušan Vuksanović.

References

Bibliography *Bujupi, Naim. ‘101 years of Serbian genocide, after the wars’. Trend, Prishtinë, 2013.

*Gashi, Sinan. ‘Arllati’. Rozafa, Prishtina 2022

*Gashi, Sinan. ‘Islam Gashi-my father, your teacher’. Sh.K Anton Pashku, Prishtina 2009

*Kadishani, Jetish. ‘Hamit Bislimi Zogaj (1918-1945)’. Sh.B. Drenusha, Prishtina 2011

• Kadishani, Jetish. ‘Alush Smajli-Qerrataja (1899-1946)’. NLB Shkumbini, Prishtina 2001
• Kadishani, Jetish. ‘Qazim Bajraktari-Prijës i Bajrakut të Astrazupi’. Vatra, Prishtina 2001

*Krasniqi, Salih. ‘Rexhep (Tryeza) Krasniqi-Monograph’. Rilindja, Prishtina 2000

*Thaçi V, Hamdi. ‘Drenica-Epicenter of the Albanian National Democratic Movement’. Trend, Prishtina 2016

*Zogaj, Skënder. ‘CHRISTMAS OF GLORY IN THE KROI OF NOCIT’. (On the 25th anniversary of the death of the fighter Cakë Kasum Bytyçi (1905-1992).

*Confessions from relatives and fellow villagers about the life and work of Cakë Kasum Bytyçi.