Authored by Petrit Latifi
Lush Prela was the bajraktar (tribal leader) of the Shala tribe in the 1920s. The following article discusses his contributions for the Albanian people. For his heroism, he was killed by the Serbian secret service in 1925, or in 1928 according to Albanian sources.
Lush Prela, a bajraktar, was born in the village of Pecaj in Shala in 1858. He supported the Dukagjin Movement against Ahmet Zog in 1926 led by Ndok Gjeloshi and Vas Kiri, which ended with serious consequences for Dukagjin. Lush Prela, as a supporter of this Movement and as an opponent of Zog’s regime, left Albania with his entire family in 1926 and settled in Peja, Yugoslavia.
The authorities in Plav and Guci collected weapons from the population, in order to find Lush Prela unarmed. In the summer of 1928, one night without eating, Smail Gali and his agents went to Lush Prela’s house and knocked on the door. Lush Prela said: Who is knocking on my door? Who is knocking on my door? Smail Gali said: Ferit Caku has taken us somewhere to tie us up and somewhere to kill us. Lush Prela: We have the Karadak krajli on our necks who took away our faith and Sylah’s honor as a chimney sweep. The door opens and they arrest Lush Prela and the two boys. That night they take them and take them to an unknown place and shoot them in the most cruel way.
Photo of Lush Prela
Lush Prela photographed by Kel Marubi (third from the left, wearing Albanian costume). Here Lush Prela is seend surrendering his arms. Sitting down is Captain Mark Raka, receiving the weapons.
The two main characters of the photograph are Captain Mark Raka, the officer in the center of the photo, seated receiving the weapon, and the chief of the Shala tribe or the Shala bajkatari, who in 1922 was Lush Prela, the old man in highland clothing who hands over the weapon.
The Shala bajkatar, Lush Prela, was the grandson of Mark Lula, representative of the Dukagjini Shala in the Albanian League of Prizren, prominent in the wars for the country’s independence.
In April 1913, Lush Prela raised the national flag in Shala. Lush Prela took an active part in the preparation and signing of a protest that was sent to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, which showed determination to defend the Albanian lands to the death.
He was killed by the Serbian secret services in the Albanian lands in Montenegro in the autumn of 1925, together with his two sons “. One of the laments on their death was so sorrowful and so beautiful that it was sung as a song on various occasions for a long time afterwards.
Why was Lush Prela killed?
According to the newspaper “Bashkimit kombëtar”, from Vienna, the article claims that Lush Prela was killed Peja along side his sons Marku and Deda by two agents on September 3, 1928. The article also claims they were killed in accordance with the will of Ahmet Zog.
References
https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/dokumentet-si-i-eliminoi-br-ahmet-zogu-rivalet-ne-qeveri
Balkan Academia 