Petrit Latifi
In 1913, Franciscan father Marlasten gave a statement about the Serbian oppression of the Albanians.
Cited:
“About the situation in Albania. The Albanian Franciscan Father Marlaskey, who is now back in Vienna, made the following statement:
An evil era has dawned for Albania. A wave of excitement has swept the entire country; our brothers in New Serbia have taken up the fight against the new tyrants, and they will not lay down their arms until they have won! There is no compromise, no way out; the truly Albanian territories assigned to Serbia and Montenegro through the ambassadorial reunion must belong entirely to Albania. Win or die; no power in the world, no machine guns, no Creudot cannons will be able to defeat us.
The liberation movement, which is now asserting itself with such force in New Serbia, dates back to 4 to 5 months; even then, the Albanian border tribes had decided not to tolerate Serbian warfare under any circumstances. The Serbian government, for its part, took measures against the new Serbian citizens that were entirely unworthy of any state, even Serbia.
With fire and sword, with gallows and daggers, the new citizens were instilled with love for Serbia—that is, an attempt was made to instill it in them. And the Albanians endured all these misdeeds with dogged fury and, in the meantime, prepared themselves for liberation. The immediate impetus for the open revolt was the Serbian government’s order to close the markets of Prizren, Pejë, and Gjakova to the mountain dwellers of New Albania.
Poor Malissor, who lives high up on the mountain, needs 6-7 hours to get from his kulla to Gjakova. This resource has been blocked from him: now, to obtain the most basic provisions for himself and his family, he must go to Shkodër; that’s a three-day journey.
The sad prospect of being condemned to death by starvation, the campaign of extermination that Serbia has inaugurated against us, has placed weapons in the hands of the Albanians. And only fury will wrest these weapons from them. For the Albanian, life means very little: if he cannot live as a free man, he prefers death.
In New Serbia, where our brothers are now fighting a life-and-death struggle, there will never be peace. Even if the Serbian government succeeds in controlling the current revolt through a bloodbath, other revolutions will arise in four to six months. Serbia will never make the Albanian provinces a country in which it can be happy.
From Belgrade, tendentious news is broadcast throughout the world, only to later make the bloody measures of the Serbs appear justified; but this maneuver is too clumsy not to be immediately seen through. The Belgrade press reports of foreign influences, of Bulgarian and Austrian officers, even of 100,000 Austrian soldiers dressed as Albanians and supposed to fight with the rebels.
Such figments of the imagination do not even deserve to be denied. From Belgrade, it is also claimed that the Albanian provisional government is “coping out” and supporting the rebels. This, too, is untrue. However, should Serbia continue its policy against the Albanians, the provisional government will naturally take care of its brothers and provide them with all possible assistance.
In the fight against Serbia, the Albanians need no helpers; they only have ammunition and machine guns. If they have such weapons, then the war will end well for us. Weapons and ammunition alone are what we need. Albania’s enemy claims that many Albanians are hostile to these liberation struggles. This is an infamous lie. All of Albania, from north to south, stands united as one to throw off foreign rule.
No Albanian, of whatever religion or tribe, will ever serve under a foreign yoke. What we further need, at least to assess the internal situation of the country, consolidate, is the immediate solution of the princes.
Europe is taking its time in this regard for a long time, far too long. The powers that have given us their particular help should certainly do everything in their power to ensure that the princely question, a question of the greatest, indeed the greatest, importance for Albanese, is finally settled. The solution to the princely question would also put an end to the conflicts between individual members of the provisional government.
It is claimed that Vienna and Roma agreed on the candidacy of Prince Wid. If the news turns out to be true, it will be a disaster for Albania; Prince Wid is a Protestant; but a Protestant will never have the necessary prestige among us; even the Muslims are opting for a Catholic prince.
The Albanian leader Koniga Bey will advocate for the appointment of a Catholic prince in the new Albanian magazine “Stella Matutina” (published by the Franciscans), which will appear for the first time on October 4th. For my part, I cannot understand how Austria, Hungary, and Italy found themselves abroad, when there are enough old families of princely blood with the signature for the Albanian throne, especially in the Danube Monarchy and on the Apennine Peninsula.”
Reference
Balkan Academia 