The Legality Movement () were 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 ...

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

and pro-monarchy faction founded in 1941. It was led by Abaz Kupi.

Ideology

The Legaliteti sought the return of King Zog, who had fled the country on the eve of the Italian invasion. The Legaliteti consisted of supporters from mostly the northern mountain tribes, particularly the Mati region. The Legaliteti were

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

. Despite being nationalistic, the Legaliteti were against the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front'') was an Albanian nationalist, Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra a ...

as the Balli Kombëtar were the

social democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

and pro-republic while the Legaliteti were

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and royalists. The Balli Kombëtar were also accused by the Legaliteti because they supported the German occupation.But in the end of Albanian Resistance war they formed an alliance with them against

LANÇ The National Liberation Movement (; or ''Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare'' (LANÇ)), also translated as National Liberation Front, was an Albanians, Albanian communist resistance organization that fought in World War II. It was created ...

History

The negative action of the

Albanian Communists The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...

on the

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

issue alienated a significant number of its adherents from that border region. Following November 1943, Abaz Kupi, until the Mukje Agreement, was a member of the Central Council of the NLM, withdrew with others to form the Legaliteti. Kupi was a respected

Gheg Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...

chieftain who had commanded King Zog's troops in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

when the Italians invaded Albania. In the early 1940s, three new political factions emerged within Albania after the Italians were defeated: the Albanian Communists,

(National Front), and Legaliteti (Legality). After the outbreak of the Albanian civil war, the communists reached in Tirana in 1944. The communist 5th Brigade fought against the Legality Movement's headquarters at Tujan Pass. Abaz Kupi withdrew to avoid further civil war, informing King Zog of the bloodshed. In Mat, partisans clashed with Legality forces, including a battle in Fushë-Aliaj on July 9, where 21 partisans were killed. This was one of their few engagements. The

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

originally supported the Legaliteti. Being the smallest faction with no significant influence in Albania, the Allies broke aid with the Legaliteti and aided the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

, who in turn backed the Albanian communists. In 1945, the Albanian communists assumed control over Albania at the

end of World War II in Europe The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet Union, Soviet t ...

. Most Legaliteti members were executed or had escaped to the west.

Legacy

The monarchist

Legality Movement Party The Legality Movement Party (, abbr. PLL) is a monarchist political party in Albania led by Shpetim Axhami. It supports the restoration of the Albanian monarchy under the House of Zogu, with the house's current head Prince Leka crowned as kin ...

takes its name from the group.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Official website of the Albanian Royal CourtSite Officiel de la Maison Royale d'Albanie
1941 establishments in Albania 1945 disestablishments in Albania Albanian militant groups Albanian monarchists Political parties established in 1941 Political parties disestablished in 1945 Albania in World War II Anti-communist organizations in Albania Albanian Resistance Monarchism in Albania Zog I

Ideology

History

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links