Muharrem Bajraktari

Muharrem Nezir Bajraktari
Nickname(s) Lord of Lumë[1]
Born (1896-05-15)May 15, 1896
Ujmisht, Ottoman Empire
Died January 21, 1989(1989-01-21) (aged 92)
Brussels, Belgium
Rank Colonel
Battles/wars World War II

Muharrem Bajraktari (15 May 1896 — 21 January 1989) was an Albanian Muslim tribal leader of Luma in northern Albania, and a political and military figure during World War II.[2]

Family and early life

His father was Nezir Bajraktari, and he had a brother, Bajram. He emigrated to Yugoslavia.

Pre-WWII Muslim landowners supporter

In December 1924 Bajraktari supported a leader of the Muslim landowner's party Ahmet Muhtar Bej Zogolli (later renamed to Zog) when he returned to Albania from exile and led a successful coup seizing absolute power in the country. As a reward Bajraktari was appointed commander of the north-east gendarmerie forces.[3] He was later appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Gendarmerie. In 1926 Bajraktari led gendarmes who, together with fighters from Dibra and Mat, punished rebellious highlander Catholic clans Shala and Shoshi.[4] Bajraktari was dismissed from his commanding position in the gendarmerie because he refused to cooperate with the British-Inspector General.[5] In 1936 Bajraktari had a disagreement with Zog, left Albania and went to Yugoslavia where he met with Draža Mihailović in the summer of 1936.[6]

World War II

At the beginning of the war Bajraktar was one of the leaders of the first Axis resistance actions in Albania.[5][7] Until the end of 1941 Bajraktari led large bands whose number and membership continually grew.[8]

Following the British strategy of establishing a Balkan Union, Draža Mihailović, a leader of the Yugoslav royalist resistance movement, established cooperation with Bajraktari and his forces in Albania.[9][10] Mihailović already knew Bajraktari from the period when he lived in Yugoslavia for several years before World War II as a political emigrant.[11][12] It is possible that the British S.O.E. worked through him.[13] According to one report he was opposed to the Kosovo Defense Committee and their methods and had good relations with Prenk Cali.[14] Frequent meetings between Bajraktari's and Mihailovic's men were organized at the beginning of January.[15]

Together with other elements of Balli Kombetar, Bajraktari controlled the area south of the Pukë-Kukes line at the end of World War II and secured the retreat of the German army in autumn 1944.[16]

After the war, Bajraktari, together with Fiqri Dine, worked for the Albanian Committee in Paris.[17] He was an executive member of the NCFA (National Committee for a Free Albania).[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lewis, I. M. (1968). History and Social Anthropology. Tavistock publication limited. p. 287. The quadrumvirate consisted of Muharrem Bajraktar, Lord of Lume (see Amery, 1948, pp. 37, 142-144, 307-308); Fikri Dine, one of the more influential chiefs of Diber (ibid., pp. 13, 162, 296, 321); Xhemal Herri, whose patrimony was Zali i
  2. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2010), Historical dictionary of Albania, Lanham: Scarecrow Press, p. 28, ISBN 978-0-8108-7380-3, OCLC 454375231, Bajraktari, Muharrem (15 May 1896–21 January 1989). Political figure and guerrilla fighter. Colonel Muharrem Bajraktari, a tribal leader from Ujmisht in the northeastern district of Kukës,
  3. ↑ Studia Albanica. L'Institut. 2003. p. 76. He rewarded the chieftains who assisted his coup with gendarmerie commands: Muharrem Bajraktari in the north-east,...
  4. ↑ Jason Tomes (26 September 2003). King Zog: self made monarch of Albania. Sutton. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7509-3077-2. Mati naturally supported Legality, as did various chiefs-cum- gendarmerie veterans, such as Xhemal Herri, Fiqri Dine, and Muharrem Bajraktari (who had conspired against Zog in the early 1930s).
  5. 1 2 Sir John Linton Myres; Harold St. John Loyd Winterbotham; F. Longland (1945). Albania. Naval Intelligence Division. p. 194. Retrieved 9 January 2014. Among the earlier leaders were Muharrem Bajraktari, former Commandant of Gendarmerie,...
  6. ↑ Barker, Elisabeth (1976). British policy in South-East Europe in the Second World War. Barnes & Noble Books. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-06-490301-1. Retrieved 12 January 2014. ... Muharrem Bajraktar, a former gendarmerie officer who after quarreling with Zog had gone to Yugoslavia in 1936. There were reports during the summer that he had joined Mihajlovic;l3 and in September Djonovic, the Yugoslav government
  7. ↑ Brelvi, Mahmud (1950). The Muslim Neighbours of Pakistan. Ripon Print. Press. p. 224. Retrieved 12 January 2014. ...large guerrilla bands were led by Colonel Muharrem Bayraktari, a former gendarmerie officer, who had established relations with the Serbian Chetniks.
  8. ↑ Dept, Royal Institute of International Affairs. Information (1943). Information Notes. p. 49. Retrieved 12 January 2014. By the beginning of 1942 there existed large bands led by Colonel Muharrem Bayraktari, a former gendarmerie officer, who was reported to have established relations with the Serbian Chetniks. The bands grew in number and membership
  9. ↑ Matić, Milan B.; Vesović, Milan (1995). Ravnogorska ideja u štampi i propagandi četničkog pokreta u Srbiji 1941-1944. ISI. p. 36. У вези стварања Балканске уније, Д. Михаиловић је настојао да се преко Радослава Ђурића повеже и са „националистима албанске државе које води пуковник Мухарем Барјактари", обећавајући да ће му „пружити сву .
  10. ↑ Avramov, Smilja (1995). Genocide in Yugoslavia. BIGZ. p. 178. Retrieved 12 January 2014. When Draza Mihailovic's movement was included in British strategy, he was told to establish links with Albanian Col. Muharem Bajraktar
  11. ↑ Božović, Branislav (1991). Surova vremena na Kosovu i Metohiji: kvislinzi i kolaboracija u drugom svetskom ratu. Institut za savremenu istoriju. p. 292. Мухарем Бајрактари је, пре рата, неколико година живео у Југославији као политички емигрант. Зато се Дража Михаиловић, у намери да услостави везе са албанским формацијама, оријентисао према њему
  12. ↑ Shankland, David (2004). Archaeology, anthropology, and heritage in the Balkans and Anatolia: the life and times of F.W. Hasluck, 1878-1920. Isis Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-975-428-280-1. Retrieved 12 January 2014. ...leaders believed active, among them Muharrem Bajraktar, a northern Albanian chieftain reputed to be in occasional touch with General Draca Mihailovic, the Chetnik leader in southern Serbia; six hundred gold sovereigns were also sent.
  13. ↑ Barker, Elisabeth (1976). British policy in South-East Europe in the Second World War. Barnes & Noble Books. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-06-490301-1. Retrieved 12 January 2014. ...S.O.E. therefore had good reason to try to build up its contacts. One idea at this time seems to be to work through Col. Muharrem Bajraktar,...
  14. ↑ Marović, Miodrag (1 January 1995). Balkanski Džoker: Albanija i Albanci : istorijska hronika nastajanja i razvoja albanskog pitanja. Kulturni centar. p. 339. Po tom izvještaju Barjaktari se suprotstavlja KOMITETU KOSOVA i njegovim metodima rada, a slaže se sa Prenk Caljom
  15. ↑ Marović, Miodrag (1 January 1995). Balkanski Džoker: Albanija i Albanci : istorijska hronika nastajanja i razvoja albanskog pitanja. Kulturni centar. p. 339. Početkom januara dolazi do sastanaka Dražinih i Muharemovih ljudi...
  16. ↑ Jürgen Fischer, Bernd (1999). Albania at war, 1939-1945. Pardue. p. 233. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  17. ↑ Miranda Vickers (1999). The Albanians: A Modern History. I.B.Tauris. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-86064-541-9. Retrieved 9 January 2014. Fikri Dine and Muharrem Bajraktari were also mentioned as other members of this 'group of spies'. It appears, however, that the latter two were in fact not working for the Yugoslavs but for the Albanian Committee (formed by exiled BK and ...
  18. ↑ ACEN (Organization). ACEN Publication [English Issues Only]. p. 196. Retrieved 9 January 2014. List of Delegates NATIONAL DELEGATIONS Albania Muharem Bajraktari, Colonel, executive member of National Committee for a Free Albania.
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