Prek Cali (29 July 187225 March 1945) was an Albanian ''
bajraktar
The ''bajrak'' (pronounced or , meaning "banner" or " flag") was an Ottoman territorial unit, consisting of villages in mountainous frontier regions of the Balkans, from which military recruitment was based. It was introduced in the late 17th ...
'' ("standard-bearer") of
Vermosh
Vermosh (definite form ''Vermoshi'') is the northernmost village of Albania, located in the former Kelmend (municipality), Kelmend municipality. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. The village li ...
, part of the
Kelmendi tribe of northern Albania. He was a veteran of the Albanian rebellions and the Balkan Wars. He was killed in 1945 by the
Partisans.
Early life and rebellions
Cali was born in Vermosh, part of the Kelmendi tribe, at the time part of the
Scutari Vilayet (now northern Albania). He became the ''bajraktar'' ("flag-bearer") of Kelmendi. He participated in the Albanian revolts of 1908 and
1911
A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...
(fighting at
Deçiq) against the Ottomans. He then participated
in the Balkan Wars.
He led his tribe against Montenegrin forces.
After the fall of
Fan S. Noli
Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox A ...
's cabinet (1928), Cali came in conflict with King
Ahmet Zogu
Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's y ...
while trying to establish autonomy for the Kelmendi tribe within the state.
World War II
Plav and Gusinje
At the beginning of World War II Prek Cali had between 200
and 1,200 armed men around Vermosh under his command. His forces took control over
Plav and
Gusinje
Gusinje ( cyrl, Гусиње, ; sq, Gucia) is a small town in north-eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality.
Name
Two alternative etymologies h ...
in 1941, before Italian forces occupied it.
Cali participated in the Italian counter-offensive in August 1941, during the
Uprising in Montenegro. Italian General
Alessandro Pirzio Biroli
Alessandro Pirzio Biroli (23 July 1877 – 20 May 1962) was an Italian fencer and army General.
Biography
Biroli won a silver medal competing in the team sabre event at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
During the First World War Biroli fought in ...
reported that Albanian forces from Vermosh commanded by Cali supported
Division Venezia that advanced from
Podgorica
Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...
to insurgent-controlled
Kolašin
Kolašin (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, named af ...
and
Andrijevica
Andrijevica (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Андријевица, ) is a town and the seat of Andrijevica Municipality in eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 1,048.
History
The town of Andrijevica is a relatively ne ...
and re-occupied them despite fierce resistance. Many members of the Hasani/Hasanaj clan were sent to
Piana degli Albanesi in Italy during that time where they now form a Muslim minority.
Cooperation with Chetniks
Montenegrin Chetnik leader
Pavle Đurišić
Pavle Đurišić ( sr-cyr, Павле Ђуришић, ; 9 July 1909 – April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb regular officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army who became a Chetnik commander ('' vojvoda'') and led a significant proportion of the Chetniks ...
was transferred to Plav in 1939, after Italian occupation of Albania, and was given a task to establish and maintain intelligence network to be used in case of Axis attack on Yugoslavia. This network was not much helpful during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia but was successfully used for struggle against Communists in Montenegro and Albania. Pavle Đurišić successfully agreed on Prek Cali's support and bases for Chetniks on the territory of northern Albania, Plav and Gusinje.
According to
Rudolf Perhinek
Rudolf Perhinek (pseudonym Rade Perišin; or čiča Rade 23 June 1906 – 5 August 1982) was Yugoslav military officer with the rank of Captain in the Royal Yugoslav Army who, soon after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, joined Chetniks of Dragosl ...
, Prek Cali was politically opposed to the Muslims from Kosovo and he openly admitted that he used Cali to inspire conflicts between Catholics and Muslims in northern Albania.
[ ] Prek Cali invited Chetnik officer Marko Vučeljić to have a meeting in Vermosh, which was accepted, Vučeljić sent his brother Tomo to meet with him above Vermosh.
Chetnik captain Marko Vučeljić established Chetnik military base in Vermosh. In 1943, Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović paid Cali for his services and also delivered him some arms.
Prek Cali became a
blood brother
Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...
of Chetnik commander
Pavle Đurišić
Pavle Đurišić ( sr-cyr, Павле Ђуришић, ; 9 July 1909 – April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb regular officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army who became a Chetnik commander ('' vojvoda'') and led a significant proportion of the Chetniks ...
.
A 25 January 1943 document mentions Cali addressing Muslims in Gusinje not to attack local Serbs. In April 1944 Chetnik commanders reported to Mihailović that Prek Cali distinguished himself by supporting Chetniks, not only through providing Chetniks with accommodation in Vermosh but also through participation with a number of his men on Chetnik side in the campaign Chetniks undertook towards
Andrijevica
Andrijevica (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Андријевица, ) is a town and the seat of Andrijevica Municipality in eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 1,048.
History
The town of Andrijevica is a relatively ne ...
, sometimes with
Vulnetari
The Vulnetari ("volunteers") were a volunteer militia of Albanians from Kosovo set up in 1941 by Italian forces after the successful invasion of Yugoslavia. They served as an auxiliary force for civilian control and protection of villages.
Some ...
from Plav and Gusinje.
At the end of 1944 Prek Cali was a member of delegation sent by Đurišić to discuss with the
Albanian fascist government over the safe retreat of Chetniks to Greece through Albania. When Mark Gjon appointed Prek Cali part of the Albanian delegation,
Ljubomir Vuksanović
Ljubomir "Ljubo" Vuksanović was a Montenegrin lawyer who was the chairman of the National Administrative Council ( sr, Народна управа, german: Nationaler Verwaltungsausschuss) established by Germany in October 1943 in the German occu ...
jokingly remarked "take him from us, that is the best guarantee that all will go well".
Death
By the end of the war, the main military and political force of the country, the Albanian Communist Partisans, concentrated towards the north of Albania in order to destroy the anti-Communist forces and to eliminate their rivals. They met an open resistance in
Nikaj-Mërtur
Nikaj-Mërtur is a region of the Gjakova Highlands of Northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribes of Mërturi and Nikaj. The region of Nikaj-Mërtur is located in the south-east of the Albanian Alps, borderin ...
(now in
Tropojë District
Tropojë District () was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 28,154 in 2001, and an area of . It was in the north of the country, and its capital ...
),
Dukagjin and
Kelmend, whose chieftains were openly anti-Communists. On 15 January 1945, a battle between the 1st Brigade Partisans (supported later by the 23rd and 24th brigades plus Yugoslav Partisan forces) and anti-Communist forces was fought at the
Tamara Bridge. The Partisans had 52 losses. About 150 Kelmendi people were killed. Their leader Prek Cali was surrounded in a cave in
Vukël
Vukël (definite form: Vukli) is a settlement in the former Kelmend municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Malësi e Madhe
Malësi e Madhe () is a municipality in ...
for a week, after which he surrendered. He was executed by the Communists on the feast day of
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...
.
Legacy
After
fall of communism in Albania
The fall of Communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the Soviet Union, started in December 1990 with student demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, although protests started in January that year in other cities like Shkodra ...
, Prëk Cali was decorated and honored with the Medal "Martyr of Democracy" in 1993 by President of Albania
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian conservative politician and former cardiologist who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013.
He is also the current chairman of t ...
. Seven years later, in 2010, then-current President of Albania
Bujar Nishani
Bujar Nishani (; 29 September 1966 – 28 May 2022) was an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2012 to 24 July 2017.
Nishani was the youngest person to have been chosen as president of Albania, taking office at t ...
honored him with Order "Honor of Nation". In 2000 the monument of Prek Cali was set put in
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
.
Controversy
Mehdi Frashëri
Mehdi bey Frashëri (28 February 1872 – 25 May 1963) was an Albanian intellectual and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Albania in the 1930s and as Chairman of the Provisional Administration Committee in the Albanian puppet governme ...
, the Prime Minister of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
's
Quisling
''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for ''traitor''. The word ori ...
government under
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, believed that after Cali's death, Albanian and Yugoslav communists disseminated stories about Prëk Cali being a fascist, enemy of Albania, and secret supporter of Chetniks. Frashëri believed such accounts were untrue because Cali and his whole family fought together with the Kelmendi tribe against 800 Serbian partisans, and in August 1912 protected the northern borders of Albania.
Luigj Martini also believes that the claims of cooperation between Chetniks and Cali is Albanian-Yugoslavian communist propaganda.
Literature
Mihailo Lalić
Mihailo Lalić ( sr-cyr, Михаило Лалић, ; 7 October 1914 – 30 December 1992) was a Montenegrin and Serbian writer.
Biography
He was born in Trepča (Andrijevica municipality) village in north-eastern Montenegro in 1914. His most im ...
(1914–1992) mentioned Cali in his short story ''Posljednje brdo'' (1967)
and novel ''Pramen Tame'' (1979),
and included him in his collection of memoirs.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cali, Prek
1878 births
1945 deaths
People from Malësi e Madhe
People from Scutari vilayet
Albanian Roman Catholics
Activists of the Albanian National Awakening
Albanian anti-communists
19th-century Albanian people
20th-century Albanian people
Albanian people executed by the communist regime
People killed by Yugoslav Partisans