Ymer Ujkan Neziri. Translation: Petrit Latifi February 15, 2016.
Anniversary: Sylë Mehmeti, prominent patriot of Rugova (1913-1990)
Sylë Mehmeti, one of the most famous personalities of Rugova, from the National Renaissance onwards, was born in 1913 in Shtupeq të Madh, in the Kuklecaj neighborhood, a settlement attested about 700 years ago. Shortly before his birth, in October 1912, Kosovo was attacked and Rugova was also occupied by Montenegro, this famous province of Kelmend in the Albanian Alps.
After the fall of Kolashin and Berane and the fighting of the Rugovas in Çakorr and Mokna, helped by other fighters, nearly nine thousand (Cana 1997:101), the last stand against General Janko Vukotić took place in Shtupeq, Sylë’s birthplace, at the end of October 1912. There were also bloody battles there, where 50 martyrs lost their lives (Harapi 2004:37), for whom, near Sylë Mehmeti’s house, a commemorative plaque was erected in 2012 on the 100th anniversary of their heroic fall.
Serbian and Montenegrin atrocites against the Albanians of Rugova in 1912
After the Rugova province, Peja and its surroundings fell, on October 30, and four days later, Gjakova. Terror began against the Albanians. About four thousand inhabitants of the Dukagjini Plain were shot. (Krasniqi 1985:97-98).
Serbian and Montenegrin soldiers tortured women: the cutting of the stomachs of pregnant women, the rape of women in front of men, the roasting of men’s eyes on the door of a hot stove, the squeezing of the head with a vice, the smearing of hands with kerosene and burning alive (Harapi 2004:81-86).
The Kuklecaj and Sylë Mehmeti also suffered badly. Several prominent men of this Nikçi brotherhood were shot. His grandfather, Zekë Ibra, was also shot, along with twelve others. From 1912 onwards, they did the same in the neighboring province of Rugova, in Plavë and Guci, by order of King Nikola of Montenegro, who for half a century maintained a hostile attitude and occupied many provinces of Albania, from Tivar and Malësiae Madhe, to Plavë and Pazar, with the permission of the Great Powers, in which, due to the assimilation process, today only a minority of the population speaks Albanian.
Albanian leaders Mehmet Shabi and Bekë Hyseni at the Battle of Shtupeq in 1919
After the end of World War I, in the autumn of 1918, Montenegro and Serbia again attacked the Albanian regions and Rugova. And Rugova, as always, resisted again with weapons in hand, for several months, until February 1919. History also knows the Second Battle of Shtupeq, in February 1919, with about a thousand insurgents, where the bajratari Mehmet Shabi and his assistant Bekë Hyseni, of the Bajrak of Shtupeq i Vogël, also fell martyrs. (Neziri 1997:177-182).
Sylë Mehmeti, as well as his younger generation, who were lucky and escaped alive, experienced the war severely, especially the massacre of February 16, 1919, at Hani i Isuf in Shtupeq i Madh. There, many old people, women and children were killed and burned by the army of Montenegro and Serbia. The return of these invaders cost the Rugova region a lot.
About 500 martyrs and martyrs fell, while their houses were looted and burned. Of these, only from the two Shtupeqes there were about 200 (Neziri 2004:9). The Kuklecajs also fared badly, as they had many killed. Plava and Gucia also suffered very badly. The Albanians hoped for help from the United States of America, which they had from Wilson to Clinton and still have today.
A heavy blow for Syla and Rugova was the forcible settlement of Slavic settlers in his birthplace. Rugova was deported in February 1919 and moved for several years, partly to the Dukagjin Plain and most fled to the Gjakova Highlands and other areas. Dan Bardhoshi from the village of Graboc, near Peja, a well-known patriotic family, sheltered Syla’s family for about a year and a half. Later, his family settled in the village of Cërrcë, now the Municipality of Burimit (Istog), and then, after about three years, they returned to Shupeq.
Sylë completed his primary education in his hometown. He was determined for the national cause from an early age. His family had also witnessed the National Revival and the famous Battle of Nokšić, in 1979, for the defense of Plav and Guci from the invasion of Montenegro, according to the decision of the Berlin Congress.
Between the two world wars, Sylë Mehmeti had great respect for the two Rugova leaders of national resistance and national unity, Ker Sadria from Stakaj and Sali Rama from Bogët, as well as for Jashar Haxhësë Drelaj, who became synonymous with the freedom fighter, in 1921, fighting with an army and defending the honor of the family and the honor of Rugova. In the 1930s, in the Dukagjini Plain, Rexhep Sokoli and Selman Kadria also became famous, who in Sylë’s generation strengthened the patriotic feeling of national resistance against Yugoslav slavery.
Sylë Mehmeti in World War II
During World War II, Syla actively acted in the defense of the border with Montenegro. In April 1941, when the First Yugoslavia fell, he was We formed 6 armed groups, combat units of 100 fighters each, to protect the Rugova border from attacks by the Chetniks and the Montenegrin partisans. The general commander was Zhukë Haxhia of Stakaj, nephew of the well-known Çelë Shaban of the Albanian League of Prizren, while Rizë Zymeri of Koshutani, from the family of the famous Zhuj Selman, was the political commander.
Sylë Mehmeti was assigned to the fifth group, commanded by Haxhë Mustafa, his cousin. In Mokna, Syla was wounded. He also participated in the well-known Battle of Pazar i Ri.
After World War II, Zhuka was the mayor of Rugova, but briefly, and then Syla became mayor in his place and tried to protect the Rugova province from new massacres by partisan brigades and the government, after the shooting of seven men in the Nilaj neighborhood of Shtupeq i Vogël. Syla served as the mayor of the municipality, but also worked secretly in the resistance movement and in the NDSH. Syla was also the chairman of the NDSH Sub-branch Committee. He also participated in the NDSH Assembly in the village of Nakëll, near Peja, and was among its main organizers.
At the head of the NDSH Committee in Rugova
Imer Berisha, from the head of the NDSH, who operated in Peja, according to Isuf Dashaj, met with Syla Mehmeti in March 1947 and presented him with the material of the NDSH CC. Syla took over the formation of the Sub-branch, and the formation was carried out on May 17, 1947. Syla was elected chairman of the Rugova Sub-branch Committee, which included 43 Rugova members. (Mehmetaj 2016:176, 259).
The sub-branch was also tasked with mobilizing the population, if necessary. The goal: unification with Albania. Syla swore that if he went to prison, he would take responsibility. During the investigation, he did not tell his friends. His resistance became a legend. It is still remembered today.
In Yugoslav prisons from March 1950
Syla was imprisoned in Peja, in March 1950. At that time, many activists of the national cause from Rugova and Peja and the surrounding area, from the following professions, were also imprisoned: clerks, teachers and imams, farmers and workers and craftsmen. Sylë was tried in September 1950, at the District Court in Prishtina, for “activity against the people and the state”, he was sentenced to eight years, and together with him were sentenced Kurtesh Basha, Rifat Nushi, Ramë Hajredini, Gani Kastrati, Sylë Shala, Salih Kelmendi, BekëTafili, Ali Gashi, Sali Hasani, Fatmir Goranci, Mehdi Kryeziu, Sami Peja, Brahim Meta, Musë Gjuka, Faik Basha, Ramë Maloku. (Keçmezi-Basha 2009:148-149).
He served his sentence in Niš Prison, with long investigations, severe torture and isolation. According to Zymer Sylë Mehmeti, they even tried to kill him, and in July 1952, they even sent a telegram to his family that Sylë Mehmeti had died. After two months in the hospital, he regained his life, but the investigations and torture did not stop him. They also stopped his visits for three years, and in 1955 they brought him to the brink of death again.
For 6 years in Niš, he had only three visits. (Mehmetaj 2016:197). After eight years, Syla was released, but he was re-imprisoned in December 1958, considering him incorrigible. He spent another two years in Goli Otok, in the notorious prison, without visits, and according to Istref Zeneli and Cufë Sokoli, he served his sentence there together with the well-known patriots: Zhukë Haxhia, Sali Rama, Haxhë Keri, Bajram Haxhia, Bajram Rama, Rexhep Taku, Arif Reku, Azem Jakupi, Ali Hysi, Cenë Ujkani, Selim Rrustemi, Ramiz Rexha, Adem Arifi, Arif Ramadani, Nezir Hoti, Isuf Dellova, Zenel Kabashi, Zekë Bajraktarietj. (Mehmetaj 2016:240,304).
Syla in prison became synonymous with the man who preserved human and national dignity. His resistance was extraordinary. He was so invincible that he became an example of how human and national dignity is preserved.
Sylë Mehmeti after prison
Even after prison, Sylë Mehmeti is considered a symbol of resistance in Rugova, Peja and the Dukagjini Plain. He was a patriotic figure of the 1968 generation of Isa Demaj, the 1981 generation of Ali Lajçi and the generation of the 1997-1999 war. His entire family participated in this war. In the 136th brigade “Rugova” he had two sons, Zymer and Mehmet, and two grandsons, Ilir and Arban.
The other two sons, Brahimi and Rexhepi, who were killed near Kukës by as yet unknown killers in August 1999, also helped the war from exile. Brahimi, a member of the 1981 generation and a political prisoner, also participated in the War of Koshare and was declared a martyr for his distinguished contribution to this war.
Patriot Sylë Mehmeti died on February 4, 1990 and was buried in Peja with great honors. The anniversary of his death was commemorated this year in Peja, on February 4, by the Association of Political Prisoners of Kosovo. The “Istref Begolli” hall was packed. From his generation of political prisoners, the well-known patriot and university professor Hajrullah Gorani, activists of the generations of ’59, ’68, ’81 and of the KLA generation, was also present.
At this memorial academy, led by the well-known activist Fetnete Ramosaj, Hydajet Hyseni, president of the Association, Gazmend Muhaxheri, mayor, prof. dr. Lush Culaj, reviewer, and Shefqet Kelmendi, collaborator, spoke. The monograph on Sylë was also inaugurated.
Mehmeti, by author Faton Mehmeti, a documentary film by Fatos M. Lajçi was shown and a photo exhibition was opened. For Sylë Mehmeti, in the fall of 2015, the Organizing Council of the celebration of his anniversary sent a proposal to our state Presidencies in Tirana and Prishtina, for his decoration for patriotic activities, with the justification that Sylë Mehmeti is among the most prominent men of Kosovo in the second half of the 20th century.
Reference
Sent to Diellin by Shaqir Salihu
Balkan Academia 