In Sheshëz near Oroshi (Mirditë), Dedë Gjo Luli, the popular leader of the Mbishkodra Highlands and a fighter of the Albanian National Movement, Hero of the People, was killed. He was born in Traboin of Hoti (today in Montenegro), in 1840. He distinguished himself in the struggle for national liberation and for the preservation of the territorial integrity of the homeland. He participated in the resistance organized by the Albanian League of Prizren, for the defense of Hoti and Gruda (1880), which, based on the decisions of the Congress of Berlin, had to be handed over to Montenegro. In the last years of the 19th century, Dedë Gjo Luli became active again in the movement for the autonomy of Albania, as he participated in the meeting of representatives of the population of Shkodra, which decided to join the League of Peja (1899). His abilities as an organizer, as a military leader and as a popular leader were especially shown during the anti-Ottoman Uprising of 1911. Under his leadership, the highlanders of Hoti, Gruda and Kelmendi achieved important successes against the Ottoman forces and forced the Young Turk government to enter into negotiations with them. In cooperation with the patriotic circles, in the Memorandum of Greece (1911) they submitted the request for the territorial-administrative autonomy of the whole of Albania. Dedë Gjo Luli remained loyal until the end of the war for the creation of the Albanian national state. Even after the Declaration of Independence (1912), due to the situation created by the Balkan wars and the unjust decisions of the Conference of Ambassadors in London (1913), Dedë Gjo Luli had to continue the fight for the defense of the country and national unity. In 1915, the Serbian-Montenegro forces, with the help of Essadist collaborators, treacherously captured him and killed him in Sheshëz near Oroshi (Mirdite). (In the photo: Dede Gjo Luli)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1570-1571.
Graphic processing: AHCF
