Haxhi Qamili (Qamil Zyber Xhameta), the main leader of the Uprising of Central Albania of 1914-1915, was hanged in Durrës. He was born in the village of Sharre (Tirana) in 1876. During the First Balkan War (1912-1913), Haxhi Qamili participated in the “Erzeni” reserve battalion and fought under Turkish command to defend Shkodra from the aggression of Montenegro. During the second phase of the uprising against the government of Prince Vilhelm Vidi, he rallied with the slogans “We want the father, we want the Turkish language, we want the Turkish flag.” He was in charge of the burning of Esad Toptani’s palaces in November 1914. The uprising he led, with its anti-national slogans, severely damaged state structures, endangered Albania’s independence, and was used as a pretext for the aggression of the armed forces of Serbia against Albania in June 1915. After the suppression of the uprising, he was captured by Serbian forces, sentenced to death by a trial organized by Esad Toptani, and hanged in Durrës. (In the photo: Haxhi Qamili before the execution in Durrës.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2139.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haxhi_Qamili
Graphic processing: AHCF
