The Mukje Conference was held on 1–3 August 1943 in Mukaj (near Krujë in Central Albania). There was signed the Mukje agreement, a treaty between the nationalist

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 move ...

and the National Liberation Movement representatives. The aim was to generate a platform on how to regulate the

Albanian resistance In Albania, World War II began with its invasion by Italy in April 1939. Fascist Italy set up Albania as its protectorate or puppet state. The resistance was largely carried out by Communist groups against the Italian (until 1943) and then Germ ...

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 opposing ...

and how to prepare for the future of Ethnic Albanian state. The National Liberation Movement included the Communists and Legaliteti of Abaz Kupi, 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 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 Greater Albania is an irredentist and nationalist concept that seeks to unify the lands that many Albanians consider to form their national homeland. It is based on claims on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in th ...

, 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, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania and Mustafa Gjinishi. Balli Kombëtar was represented by Skënder Muço,

Hysni Lepenica Hysni is an Albanian masculine given name and may refer to: * Hysni Curri (died 1925), Kosovar-Albanian military figure and revolutionary *Hysni Kapo (1915–1979), Albanian military commander and politician *Hysni Krasniqi Hysni Krasniqi (bor ...

, Mit’hat Frashëri, and Hasan Dosti (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
/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. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

with a potential of future border disputes which could jeopardize relations between Albania and Yugoslavia, it was considered

counterrevolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, whose delegate

Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo Svetozar (Cyrillic script: Светозар) is a Slavic origin given name and may refer to: * Svetozar Boroević (1856–1920), Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal * Svetozar Čiplić (born 1965), Serbian politician * Svetozar Đanić (1917–1941), S ...

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". After failure of the agreement, Balli Kombëtar chose to openly collaborate with the Germans after the

capitulation of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Briga ...

, 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

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References

{{Reflist 1943 in Albania Albania in World War II 1943 conferences