by Damir Dibra

This decision by the Ottoman Council of Ministers (Meclis-i Vükelâ, MV. 171/53) reveals the official response Istanbul sent to the Military Command of Ioannina on the eve of the Vlora assembly. When asked by Esat Pasha of Ioannina whether Ismail Qemali and the other delegates traveling from Durrës to Vlora should be stopped, the Ottoman cabinet decided decisively: no obstacles were to be placed in their way.

Observing the rapid advance of the Balkan armies, the Ottoman government viewed the creation of an autonomous Albanian administration as the only way to prevent the complete partitioning of Albanian lands by neighboring states.

Source

“حاضرین نامه ذوات فامله اساسی.” N.d. Manuscript/document. Private collection. 1912. Meclis-i Vükelâ, MV. 171/53.