Kurti: Change politics, not repeat London Conference that broke up Albanians

He writes that today when it comes to the painful “compromising”, the story of Albanians cannot be forgotten.

Not to repeat situations like the London Conference, Kurti has said Albanians must change policymaking, with their past in mind.

Kurti's complete scripture:

Not to repeat conferences like London

Today, when we read through the media how high rulers are dealing with “painful compromise”, we cannot fail to recall our history. 105 years ago, on July 29, 1913, the Ambassador Conference was concluded in London. During that conference, major powers were agreed to divide the Balkan part of the Ottoman Empire between Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro, while simultaneously setting out Albania's borders, leaving out half of the land inhabited by Albanians and about 40% of the Albanian population.

Great Britain's foreign affairs secretary, Liberal Edward Grey, who conducted the works of the London Conference when reporting to the British Parliament, indicated he was aware that anyone who would see the borders in the future would be critical of them. He concluded the report on Albania by saying: “should remember that in making this agreement, the key importance was maintaining understanding among the Great Powers themselves, and if the agreement on Albania achieves this, then it has done the most important work in the interest of peace in Europe”. With such unbearable ease, he justified the maim of Albania and the long-standing calvar where Albanians were entering, only to achieve peace in Europe. Ironically, same E. Grey, a year later, reported to the British Parliament that “drites were being extinguished” and that World War I was beginning. Peace Without Justice Is Not Possible!

The London Treaty, signed on 30 May 1913, sums up the results of the Ambassador Conference in London, which met in December 1912 to address the issue of Albania that had declared independence a few days earlier, as well as to divide territories occupied by the winners of the first Balkan War. This conference was called “peace”, however, before it had already ended the Second Balkan War, and shortly after its end, World War I began.

Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro had gained their independence long ago, and had built state, diplomatic and military capacities. They were helped by Russia, France, and Britain. While Albanians were very late, hoping for a sick and future empire, such as the Ottoman one. When Albania declared independence, four majority villas of the Albanian population were represented in that declaration, but most of this territory was already occupied by the Balkan forces. The aim of these forces was to take over the capitals of villas, so that the new Albanian state would remain without economic and infrastructure centres. Thus, Greece invaded Janina; Shkodra, Montenegro; Skopje, Serbia; The monasteries, Bulgaria and Serbia; and Thessaloniki, where there were also large Albanian populations, Bulgaria and Greece.

At the London conference, Albanians were not represented. Of the great powers, Austro-Hungary had expressed its interest in not allowing the Serb expansion in the Adriatic, and Italy had also expressed its interests on the eastern Adriatic coast. This made it possible, at least on the Adriatic coast, to the Drini Valley of Montenegro, to accept a curtailed Albanian state. Of the capitals of the villas, only one was returned to this country, Shkodra, also cut off from its economic boundaries.

The major historical delays and political inability to find common language in the best of the nation, nearly left Albanians without a state, and finally left them with half the territory they were the overwhelming majority. History does not forgive, and the order of Albanian politicians after their success and personal power in the empire left their homeland to poverty and mercy. The people have been up to the situation, because ordinary Albanians have struggled to preserve their own lands, even during the 20th century, even during the beginning of that XX, but their representatives have been ordinary, point five, paid by different powers, and always unsatisfying towards relief intellectuals. This division of Albanian authorities from the people, along with their contempt for moral national intelligence, continued to be characteristic of our political and social organisation.

At this 105th anniversary of the London Conference, it is time to change this problematic feature of our policymaking. A policy that is attentive to the current and historical needs of our people, a policy of collaborating with moral national intellectuals, not to face decisions like those of the London Conference in the future, where our countries share and tear them apart without any consideration.