Abaz Kupi
Abaz Kupi | |
|---|---|
 Abaz Kupi | |
| Founder of theLegalitetimovement | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 August 1892 Akçahisar,Ottoman Empire TodayKrujë,Albania |
| Died | 17 January 1976(aged 83) New York City,United States |
| Political party | Legaliteti |
| Children | Petrit Kupi |
| Occupation | SoldierPolitician |
Abaz Kupi(6 August 1892 – 17 January 1976) orAbas Kupi.He was also known asBazi i Canës.He was an Albanian military officer.
Kupi was born inKrujë.[1]He served as commander of the gendarmerie of the town of Kruja, and later of the town ofDurrës.As aroyalist,he created theLegality Movementin Albania, which promoted the return to the throne ofZog of Albania.During theCold WarKupi was a member of theFree Albania National Committee,which intended to overthrow thecommunist regime in Albaniaand to return the monarchy.
He was later awarded the Military Order of Bravery (Brave Class).[2]
Early life
[edit]Born on 6 August 1892, in the Varosh neighbourhood of Akçahisar, theOttoman Empire(nowKrujë,Albania).[1]Between 1913 and 1918 he entered the service ofEssad Pasha Toptani.In 1922 he took part in the coup d'état ofElez Isufithat attackedTiranato overthrow the government, but the rebels were defeated by CaptainPrenk Perviziand their soldiers who had come to the aid ofAhmet Zog,who was then Minister for the Interior. British Ambassador Hayres persuaded Elez Isufi to return toDibra.
During therevolution of 1924,Abaz Kupi remained neutral and, when Ahmet Zogu returned, his friend Prenk Pervizi introduced him to Zogu, who made him head of the gendarmerie of Kruja with the rank of captain.
During theItalian invasion of Albaniain 1939, Kupi had the rank of major and was based inDurrës.However, he was not able to organize the defence of the city and had to flee before he was captured by the Italians. With the Italian invasion complete, Kupi moved toTurkey,where he remained until there was a new opportunity to fight the Italians. His family was deported to the south of Italy.[3]
World War II activity
[edit]DuringWorld War IIthe British forces were looking into possibilities of creating an antifascistresistance in Albania.At the time the possible candidates for this role in Albania wereMuharrem Bajraktari,Prenk Pervizi,Hysni Dema,Fiqri Dine,Gjon Markagjoni,Myslym PezaandMustafa Gjinishi(a communist). Abaz Kupi departed Turkey and wanted to go to Albania with the intention of leading the resistance.[4]The Yugoslav government was against such an action, but when aGerman attack on Yugoslaviabecame imminent it gave the green light.
In April 1941, a small group led by Abaz Kupi,Xhemal Herri,Gani Kryeziuand Mustafa Gjinishi, with the support of Muharrem Bajraktari, entered Albania from the Yugoslav frontier. Because of limited supplies and a lack of coordination, the expedition was trapped in the mountainous regions of northern Albania and failed to meet its objectives. In 1943 Captain Xhemal Herri, chief of secret services for King Zog, was killed by Abaz Kupi in Kruja in unclear circumstances. This crime was seen as a great shame and indelible stain for Kupi.[5]
Abaz Kupi collaborated with the communists and was elected a member of the General Council of theNational Liberation Movement(known asLANÇ). Kupi participated with the communists in the 1943Mukje Conferenceorganized by theBalli Kombëtar(National Front). Soon after the conference, he was forced to leave the communists (National Liberation Front) and created theLegality Movement,which wanted to see the return of KingZogto Albania. Apart from some sporadic fighting in September 1943 in Krujë (while he was still with the communists), Kupi's forces did not attack German troops, although pressed to do so by the British mission, which was working with them. The British mission was protected by General Prenk Pervizi, one of the most important nationalist leaders and head of the Albanian army. When the Albanian communists' First Storm Division attacked in northern Albania from August to October 1944, the British mission left Albania. Anti-communist leaders fled to the mountains as agreed with the Allies. But Kupi left Albania by ship and was captured by the Italians and put in prison inAncona.[6]
Postwar activities
[edit]After his arrival in Italy, Kupi was liberated by Allied troops from Ancona prison and then placed in a refugee camp. Meanwhile, the communists had taken over in Albania, pushing several important nationalists, Zogist and anti-communist leaders and supporters into exile, including Muharrem Bajraktari, Fiqri Dine, Prenk Pervizi, Zef Pali, Abaz Kupi, Abaz Ermenji and Salih Myftija (who was then followed by his son, Dr. Fuad Myftija, who went on to become Secretary General of the Legality Party in New York).[7]
In 1949, the Albanians formed the "Free Albania "National CommitteeinPariswithMidhat Frashërias its president. Kupi participated in this committee along with other important Albanians andU.S. State Departmentrepresentatives.[8]
Kupi arrived inNew York Cityon 14 September 1949 as a member of theNational Committee for Free Europe[9](along with his son Petrit Kupi[10]who served as his French translator)[11]in support of the earlyCIA's abortive Operation Valuable Fiend, the agency's first paramilitary strike against theIron Curtain.
Kupi continued his anti-communist activities until he died in New York City in January 1976.
Honours and awards
[edit]- Grand Cordon ofOrder of Skanderbeg(1975)[12]
- Brave of Military Order of Bravery (Urdhni i Trimnis)[12]
- "Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu" Decoration(2014)[13]
References
[edit]- ^abPearson, Owen (2006).Albania as Dictatorship and Democracy: From Isolation to the Kosovo War, 1946-1998.London: The Centre for Albanian Studies. p. 633.ISBN1-84511-105-2.
- ^"Albanian Royal Family - Royal Decorations and Warrents".Albanianroyalcourt.al. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-18.Retrieved2013-12-24.
- ^Undercover, the Men and Women of the Special Operations Executive Author Patrick Howarth Edition illustrated Publisher Routledge, 1980ISBN0-7100-0573-3,ISBN978-0-7100-0573-1p. 60
- ^Pearson 2006, p.5
- ^Nikoll Melyshi,Ngjarje Historike(Historical Facts), Detroit, 1976.
- ^Undercover, the Men and Women of the Special Operations Executive Author Patrick Howarth Edition illustrated Publisher Routledge, 1980ISBN0-7100-0573-3,ISBN978-0-7100-0573-1p. 67-68
- ^Pearson 2007 p.349
- ^"FRUS: Foreign relations of the United States, 1949. Eastern Europe; the Soviet Union: Albania".Digicoll.library.wisc.edu.Retrieved2013-12-24.
- ^Lulushi, Albert (2014-06-03).Operation Valuable Fiend: The CIA's First Paramilitary Strike Against the Iron Curtain.Skyhorse Publishing.ISBN978-1628723229.
- ^"Ndërroi jetë Petrit Kupi, varrimi në Shqipëri".Gazetta 55.2009-03-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2017-12-08.Retrieved2017-12-07.
- ^Lulushi, Albert (2014-06-03).Operation Valuable Fiend: The CIA's First Paramilitary Strike Against the Iron Curtain.Skyhorse Publishing.ISBN9781628723946.
- ^ab"Albanian Royal Family - Royal Decorations and Warrents".albanianroyalcourt.al.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-18.Retrieved2020-03-26.
- ^"Dekorata" Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu "".Presidenti i Republikës së Shqipërisë(in Albanian).Retrieved2020-03-26.
Sources
[edit]- Pearson, Owen (2006).Albania in Occupation and War: From Fascism to Communism 1940-1945.I.B. Tauris.ISBN1-84511-104-4.
- Pearson, Owen (2007).Albania as dictatorship and democracy: from isolation to the Kosovo War, 1946-1998.I.B. Tauris.ISBN978-1-84511-105-2.
- Amery Julian: "The sons of the Eagle", London, 1946
- Hidri Pjeter: "Gjeneral Prenk Pervizi", Toena, Tirana, 2002.
- Pervizi Lek: Im Ate Gjeneral Pervizi, Dorian, Bruxelles, 2014.
- Patrice Najbor, Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa Maison Royale (5 volumes), JePublie, Paris, 2008, (ISBN978-2-9532382-0-4).
- Patrice Najbor, la dynastye des Zogu, Textes & Prétextes, Paris, 2002
External links
[edit]- Maison royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue française
- Famille royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue anglaise
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
