Written by Petrit Latifi. Facts taken from relative Gani Geci here.

“Today, January 6, 1945, it has been 80 years since my grandfather, Halil Bajraktari, was betrayed by the partisans Fadil Hoxha and Ali Shukrija.
On January 6, in the center of Skenderaj, two civilians approached my grandfather Halil and said: Bajraktar is inviting you for a coffee, Ali Shukrija and Fadil Hoxha.

The grandfather thinks a little and talks with two cousins ​​who had gone to Skenderaj to observe the situation and finally decides to go to the commune where he had been invited.

At the entrance to the commune, 4-5 people fall on his back and hand him over to the Serbian prosecutor Ali Shukri. Upon entering the office, Ali Shukrija tells him where are you Halil Bajraktari, the ballist of Drenica, where Xhafer Deva was and together with his grandfather, they shot 25 people from Drenica.

After this act, the Shaban Polluzha Brigade refused Fadil Hoxha’s orders to be sent to the Srem front. Learning about the betrayal in Drenica, they returned and began the war against Fadil Hoxha’s and Tito’s partisans. During these battles, many men from our family were killed: grandfather Halili, Miftari, Rexha, Cena, Hasani and Hajdini, leaving behind only the women.

It is important to note that, in addition to the Serbian brigades, brigades from Albania, led by Ramiz Alia and Enver Hoxha, also participated in the suppression of the Kosovar resistance. After the war, Hashim Polari goes to Fadil Hoxha’s grave and says: “Honorable Fadil, we have continued the war where you and your comrades left off.”

Gani Geci writes:

“… From the documents recently published in the Albanian archives, it appears that the Kosovar nationalists were initially pursued and declared traitors by the communists of Albania through the 5th Brigade of Ramiz Ali and then executed by the Chetnik-partisans. The document that I possess is precisely from the 5th Brigade of Ramiz Ali. This document is dated December 9, 1944 and declares 29 Albanian anti-communist patriots traitors.

Meanwhile, in January and February 1945, hundreds and thousands of Albanian nationalists were shot by Chetnik-Partisan brigades. This period, from 1944 to 1949, remains one of the darkest periods in our history, when the sacrifices and ideals of Albanian nationalists were betrayed by communist leaders.

After reading and analyzing this document, my separation from the betrayal of the Enverists-Titists and their leftist successors is final. They, linked to the communist doctrine of Russia, through the Communist Party of Albania and that of Yugoslavia, later produced organizations such as OMLK, LPRK, LPK, PDK and LVV, which I see as a continuation of this traitorous mentality.”

The Massacre of January 6, 1945 in Skenderaj: The Betrayal of Halil Bajraktar and the Consequences in Drenica.”