The Congress of Lushnja and the two delegates from Pogradec

By Bardhyl Musai / Today marks the 104th anniversary of the opening of the Congress of Lushnja. Much has been written, and will be written, about this important event in our national history, but I will focus on an interview with Gjoka Ndinka (Gusho), which is kept at the Congress House Museum.

The people of Pogradec were united and wanted their freedom; they wanted a government of our own. When the letter came from Lushnja saying that delegates were needed, a great crowd gathered and they chose me and Shaban Blloshmi as delegates to go to the Congress. When we set off I gave a speech and left together with 5 or 6 men who were guarding me. We stopped in Bërzeshta and slept at Shaban Blloshmi's house. The next day we set off and slept in Elbasan at the house of Aqif Pasha. The day after, we left for Lushnja. We passed through Dumre, and as we went through the villages people came out and shouted: "Long live Aqif Pasha!" When we entered Lushnja we were escorted by 134 armed men on horseback.
In Lushnja the people welcomed us with great honours; flags had been raised on all four sides, and all of us delegates had been assigned to houses, in very good conditions.

AT THE CONGRESS

The delegates held elections, appointing Aqif Pasha as chairman and Sotir Peci as vice-chairman. The Congress hall had a platform with a large flag, where Aqif Pasha and Sotir Peci sat. The delegates sat on school benches, and small flags had been placed around.
At the opening of the Congress, one of the delegates gave the first address. That day the delegates from Shkodra were not there, as they had not been allowed to come. From Elbasan only Dr Filip Papajani came, but two delegates were needed. We sent a letter to Shefqet Vërlaci and he sent us another delegate, who arrived a few days later.
At the entrance door of the Congress stood Vasil Tromara, who let no one in without the decree.

THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT AND THE GOVERNING BODIES

It was argued that there should be neither a republic nor a monarchy, but that a four-member commission should be created, and once the General Assembly was established, it would have the right to decide the form of government. Eshref Frashëri rose and proposed a four-member commission that would make up the High Council. It was decided to create a senate of 37 members, with two senators from each region.
It was decided that Pogradec should have a Christian senator and they proposed me, but I declined and left the matter to Sotir Peci, who appointed someone else from Korça as senator for Pogradec.

SETTING OFF FOR POGRADEC AFTER THE PROCEEDINGS

The people of Lushnja saw us off with applause. We went to Elbasan; we were carrying the telegrams and had to send them via Yugoslavia, since we could not send them via Italy. When we reached Elbasan, the Italians were at the Haxhi Beqar bridge and we were afraid they would stop us and take our documents. So after Elbasan we crossed a high mountain, going on foot with Shaban Blloshmi as far as the village of Dardha. We slept there that night, the next day we went to Bërzeshta, and on the third day we arrived in Pogradec.
The people of Pogradec gave us a wonderful welcome, with songs and dances; the schools came out to meet us with applause. There we gave speeches and told them what we had done at the Congress of Lushnja. We told them about the Secret Treaty that the Great Powers had made. We had rejected it, and it still makes me weep when I remember it. We brought down the Durrës government. With another comrade, Koçi Tushi, we went to Saint Naum to send the telegrams to the London and Paris newspapers.

My note

For some time now the name and photograph of Shaban Blloshmi have been falsified and replaced with someone else's, as in a publication by K. D., who, although he has access to the archives, did not refer to them but justifies himself by saying he relied on "memoirs". To call yourself a historian and justify yourself in this way is worse than childish.
Shaban Blloshmi's participation in the Congress is now clearly documented at the House Museum; all that remains is to replace the photograph as well. In the original minutes of the Congress, held in the Sotir Peci collection at the State Archives, page 14, the name Sh. Blloshmi can be clearly read. The press of the time also clearly stated that Shaban Blloshmi was a delegate. The interview with Gjokë Gusho confirms it.
I thank the researcher Ilir Ikonomi, who confirmed this for me again by sending me the collection of the newspaper "Dielli" in Boston, which wrote about this event and listed the name of Shaban Blloshmi in its issue of 31 March 1920.
To falsify history is morally and professionally reprehensible, but to replace him with the man who organised the murder of Shaban Blloshmi nine years later, on the day he was going to pay, with his own money, the workers building the Bërzeshta boarding school so that the children of the area could be educated, is shameful and criminal.
Shaban Blloshmi has now taken his rightful place in this historic event, and next year, on the 105th anniversary of the Congress, the photograph and all the information, including on the internet, will bear this name, finally leaving him in peace where his remains lie./CNA 21 JANUARY 2024