The Greçë Memorandum () or the Red Book () was a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

with twelve requests for the establishment of an autonomous Albanian province within the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The Memorandum was jointly written by Ismail Kemal and

Luigj Gurakuqi Luigj Gurakuqi (19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925), also called Louis Gurakuchi, was an Albanians, Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honored with the People's Hero of Albania ...

Requests

The leaders of the

Albanian Revolt of 1911 The Malissori uprising or the Albanian revolt of 1911 was one of many Albanians, Albanian revolts in the Ottoman Empire and lasted from 24 March 1911 until 4 August 1911 in the region of Malësia (also spelled Malissori). Background The main ...

organized a meeting at the location of Greçë near

Selcë Selcë 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 Shkodër County, in n ...

village in Kelmend. Today, this location is a natural and cultural monument of

Shkodër County Shkodër County () is a county in northwestern Albania, with the capital in Shkodër. The county spans and had a total population of 154,479 people as of the 2023 census. The county borders on the counties of Lezhë, Kukës and the country of M ...

listed as "Ahu i Gerçës". Ismail Kemal joined them and together they draw up the memorandum, sometimes referred to as the "Red Book" because of the color of its covers, which addressed their requests both to

and Europe (in particular to the Great Britain). This memorandum was signed by 22 Albanian chieftains, four from each tribe of Hoti, Gruda and Shkreli, five from Kastrati, three from Kelmend and two from Shalë. Requests in the memorandum included: * General

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

for all participants in the revolt * Demand for recognition of the Albanian ethnicity * Election of the deputies of Albanian ethnicity for the

Ottoman Parliament The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

according to the proportional system *

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

in schools * Governor and other appointed high officials have to know Albanian language and all other positions in the administration have to be reserved only for people of Albanian ethnicity * Men who are ethnic Albanians to serve army only in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

during peacetime * Confiscated arms to be returned * All Albanian property damaged by Ottoman troops to be compensated The Memorandum was submitted to the representatives of Great Powers in Cetinje, Montenegro. It was drafted by Qemali as a reply to amnesty offered by Ottoman military commander Shefqet Turgut Pasha on 18 June.

Afterwards

Although the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

tried to minimize the effects of the Memorandum by treating it as a local initiative of the

Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia (, ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision of the Malësi e Madhe ...

region, it gave the Albanian struggle for independence a strong boost. Leaders such as Namik Delvina, Muharrem Rushiti, Musa Demi, Spiro Bellkameni and Qamil Panariti and their chetas strengthened the pressure on the Ottoman authorities to accept requests of the Memorandum. In a July 17 meeting held in a monastery in

Cepo Çepo is a municipal administrative units, formerly known as communes in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Gjirokastër. The municipal unit administrative cen ...

, delegates from all

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

s of

Janina Vilayet The Vilayet of Janina, Yanya or Ioannina () was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, established in 1867. In the late 19th century, it reportedly had an area of .

declared that they will fully support the Greçë Memorandum. They sent a letter to the Sultan, there they appealed for the implementation of the Memorandum and the treatment of the Albanian people as a whole. This countered with the aim of the Sublime Porte to treat the Memorandum as a local issue of Malësia. After the letter was sent, the secret committee of Janina organized a number of new armed acts. They planned a culminating action on July 23, in the anniversary of the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

but failed. Later, some other efforts failed, and the Memorandum of Greçë gradually lost its importance. The coming events and situation in 1912 enabled Albanians to better organize their efforts, and consequently to successfully declare the independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire.

References

Sources

* * Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire 1911 in the Ottoman Empire 1911 in Albania Albania–Montenegro relations 1911 in Montenegro 1911 documents {{Albania-poli-stub

Requests

Afterwards

See also

References

Sources