![Mukje Conference 1943, Albania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Mukje_Conference_1943%2C_Albania.jpg)
The Mukje Conference was held on 1–3 August 1943 in
Mukaj (near
Krujë
Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana.
Kruj ...
in Central Albania). There was signed the Mukje agreement, a treaty between the nationalist
Balli Kombëtar and the
National Liberation Movement representatives. The aim was to generate a platform on how to regulate the
Albanian resistance in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and how to prepare for the future of
Ethnic Albanian state. The National Liberation Movement included the Communists and
Legaliteti
The Legaliteti ( sq, Lëvizja Legaliteti; en, Legality Movement) were an Albanians, Albanian royalist and Monarchy, pro-monarchy faction founded in
1941. It was led by Abaz Kupi.
Ideology
The Legaliteti sought the return of King Zog, who had ...
of
Abaz Kupi
Abaz Kupi (6 August 1892 – 17 January 1976) or Abas Kupi. He was also known as Bazi i Canës. He was an Albanian military officer.
Kupi was born in Krujë. He served as commander of the gendarmerie of the town of Kruja, and later of the tow ...
, as well as smaller local nationalist leaders. The conference was intermediated by the British emissaries with the idea of unifying the Albanian political spectrum against the Fascists, similar to
AVNOJ
The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...
in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.
The agreement established a ''Committee of National Salvation'' which should take the lead over the Albanian resistance movement. The movement would take into consideration the Albanian national cause, making possible the creation of a
Greater Albania, with the annexation of Albanian populated areas to a post-war Albanian state. On the part of the National Liberation Movement, the delegation was led by
Ymer Dishnica
Ymer Dishnica (21 February 1912 – 22 September 1998) was an Albanian politician and physician. He served as Minister of Health from 1944 to 1946 and as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1947.Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
of the
Central Committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
of the
Communist Party of Albania and
Mustafa Gjinishi
Mustafa Gjinishi (15 January 1912 – 23 August 1944) was an Albanian communist from Peqin, central Albania. He was known for having opposed Enver Hoxha and the Italian invasion of Albania.
Mustafa Gjinishi was a known fighting for Albanian pr ...
. Balli Kombëtar was represented by
Skënder Muço
Skënder Muço (1904–1944) was an Albanian lawyer and leader of Balli Kombëtar, one of the most important resistance organizations in Albania during World War II. Along with Musine Kokalari Muço founded the first social democratic party of Al ...
,
Hysni Lepenica,
Mit’hat Frashëri, and
Hasan Dosti
Hasan Dosti (1895January 29, 1991) was an Albanian jurist and politician. Being a staunch Albanian nationalist, Dosti was considered by the Albanian communists to be one of their greatest enemies.
Biography
Early life
Hasan Dosti was born in ...
(head of delegation) between others. A dispute arose concerning the status of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. Whereas the National Front proposed to fight for the integration of Kosova into Albania, the Communist representatives objected fiercely. The agreement holds twelve signatures from each side.
[Agreement Facsimile](_blank)
/ref>
Since the agreement included strong notes of nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
with a potential of future border disputes which could jeopardize relations between Albania and Yugoslavia, it was considered counterrevolutionary by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
, whose delegate Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo exerted considerable influence over the Albanian communists. Consequently, the agreement was formally denounced several days later in a meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania in Labinot, repeated during the second Conference of the National Liberation Movement still in Labinot one month later. The agreement would be criticized as "a betrayal of the people and revolution" and "against the fundamental principles of the Conference of Pezë
The National Liberation Movement ( sq, Lëvizja Nacional-Çlirimtare; or ''Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare'' (LANÇ)), also translated as National Liberation Front, was an Albanian communist resistance organization that fought in World ...
".
After failure of the agreement, Balli Kombëtar chose to openly collaborate with the Germans after the capitulation of Italy, while the Communist Party of Albania continued to fight alongside the Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
. Legaliteti would continue fighting against the fascist armies, but the distance between them and the Communists would get larger and larger. The communists would consider them counterrevolutionary by the end of the war.
The communists' history in the following decades would criticize the agreement and its protagonists (including Dishnica and Gjinishi), and consider it a trap from the Balli side.
Sources
*
*
References
{{Reflist
1943 in Albania
Albania in World War II
1943 conferences