Sulë Hotla (born Sulejman Asip Sulejmani; 1875 – 11 October 1947), was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

rebel,

VMRO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

member and a military leader of

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front''), known as Balli, was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The movem ...

, who led the Karadak-Gollak Uprising against Yugoslav and Macedonian Partisans in the Kumanovo Karadak region.

Biography

Early years

Sulë Hotla was born in 1875, in the village of

Otlja Otlja ( mk, Отља, sq, Hotël) is a village in the Municipalities of North Macedonia, municipality of Lipkovo Municipality, Lipkovo, North Macedonia. Demographics According to the statistics of Bulgarians, Bulgarian ethnographer Vasil Kanchov ...

in the Kaza of Kumanovo of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

First Balkan War

During the First Balkan War, Hotla fought alongside

Idriz Seferi Idriz Seferi (14 March 1847 – 25 March 1927) was an Albanian leader and guerrilla fighter (rebel). A member of the League of Prizren and League of Peja, he was the right-hand man of Isa Boletini, with whom he organized the 1910 Uprising against ...

in his Uprising in Karadak and in the

Battle of Kumanovo The Battle of Kumanovo ( sr, / , tr, Kumanova Muharebesi), on 23–24 October 1912, was a major battle of the First Balkan War. It was an important Serbian victory over the Ottoman army in the Kosovo Vilayet, shortly after the outbreak of ...

against Serbian forces.

World War I

In 1916, during the Bulgarian occupation of Kumanovo during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he joined the

detachment, led by Krastyo Lazarov, to protect the Albanian population from Serbian Chetnik formations.

Yugoslavia (1922–1941)

After the end of the war,

Vardar Macedonia Vardar Macedonia ( Macedonian and sr, Вардарска Македонија, ''Vardarska Makedonija'') was the name given to the territory of the Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) roughly corresponding to t ...

was returned to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and in 1922 Hotla again became a

Kachak Kachaks ( sq, kaçak, sr, качаци / ''kačaci'') is a term used for the Albanian bandits active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albanian ...

for about half a year in Karadak, until he was caught by the authorities and imprisoned in Kumanovo. After his release from prison in 1927, he was elected mayor of Matejče municipality, which includes most of the villages of the Kumanovo Karadak, from there remained in office until the defeat of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

in the April War in 1941.

Bulgarian rule (1941–1944)

During the Bulgarian rule in Macedonia, the Bulgarian authorities appointed him as the chief of the police department in Matejce. Again, under the leadership of Krastjo Lazarov, Hotla with other volunteers from Karadak helped the Bulgarians, fight the communist serb partisans in the area. Sulë Hotla together with Mullah Dula from Otlja maintained relations with other Ballist leaders in Karadak,

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 ...

and

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 ...

, such as Xhem Gostivari, Mefail Zayazi, Mullah Idriz Gjilani. In 1944 He joined the Karadak-Gollak Uprising of Mullah Idriz Gjilani. He also worked closely with the military forces of the

Second League of Prizren The Second League of Prizren was an organisation founded by Albanian officials in Kosovo in September 1943 to campaign for the ethnic unification of Albanians in Albania. From 1918, Kosovo was integrated into the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslav ...

, led by

Xhafer Deva Xhafer Deva (21 February 1904 – 25 May 1978) was a Kosovo Albanian politician during World War II. A notable local politician in Kosovo and in Axis-occupied Albania, he took charge of German-occupied Mitrovica and worked with the Germans ...

In Communist Yugoslavia (1944–1947)

After the withdrawal of the Bulgarian units from

on September 7, 1944, Hotla took control over most of Karadak, raised the Albanian flag and proclaimed it a Free Zone. A large meeting of Albanian nationalist leaders was held in Sharr, which was attended by Hotla, as well as Xhem Gostivari, Gajur Derala, Mullah Idriz Gjilani and others. At the meeting, it was decided to create a volunteer army for the defense of Albanian lands. Xhem Gostivari was elected commander of the

forces in Sharr, while Hotla was appointed as the commander in Karadak. During the Kumanovo Operation Hotla's units took part in the battles for

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

. From September to mid-November, the Albanian forces, numbering about 3,600 soldiers, managed to repel all military attacks of the 16th and 17th brigades of the Kumanovo Partisan Division. In the second half of November and December 1944, the communist units managed to push the Ballist Forces out of Karadak. Sulë Hotla was captured by the Yugoslav secret service, while trying to cross into Greece. He was executed on 11 October 1947. All his properties in Otlja, Lopate and Nikushtak were confiscated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasa, Xhem 1875 births 1947 deaths Hotla, Sulë Hotla, Sulë Hotla, Sulë Hotla, Sulë Hotla, Sulë Hotla, Sulë Hotla, Sulë Executed Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany