Congress of Dibra, the only Nationwide and Purely Albanian Congress (The Second Congress, July 23-29, 1909)

Abstract

In the ongoing efforts of the Renaissance, the issue of the native language was never disregarded since the craftsmen and merchants and the commoners paid due attention.
In 1901, the renowned “Drita” newspaper in Sofia wrote: “Today, in Dibër e Madhe, in Dibër e Vogël, Mat, Reka and the Highlands there are many honest elders who strive for the preservation of the Albanian language. The young and the old today call out: With our mother tongue we preserve the nation, with schooling we better the nation.”
The Congress of Dibra summoned on July 24, 1909. The reception and welcoming of the delegates “were magnificiently organized by the Dibrans. A militia consisting of 500 boys dressed in the national outfit saluted the delegates. The flag-bearer of this army was Riza Beg Mazbegu, a tall, well-built man satisfying the curiosity of whoever missed the Illyrians. Around the flag there were twenty valiant men dressed in snowwhite, followed by thirty men dressed in black and red embroidered outfit, behind them forty young men were lined dressed in silver and golden plated vests, and black and red silk ornamented their garments shining in the sun’s rays with golden and brilliant colors.”
The Congress of Dibra assembled at the beginning of the 20th century took important decisions since the demands for autonomy were paramount. The organization of this congress enriched the patriotic and national biography of Dibra e Madhe. “Representatives of the five vilayets were summoned in one place; every one thinking how to better serve the homeland In the ongoing efforts of the Renaissance, the issue of the native language was never disregarded since the craftsmen and merchants and the commoners paid due attention.
In 1901, the renowned “Drita” newspaper in Sofia wrote: “Today, in Dibër e Madhe, in Dibër e Vogël, Mat, Reka and the Highlands there are many honest elders who strive for the preservation of the Albanian language. The young and the old today call out: With our mother tongue we preserve the nation, with schooling we better the nation.”
The Congress of Dibra summoned on July 24, 1909. The reception and welcoming of the delegates “were magnificiently organized by the Dibrans. A militia consisting of 500 boys dressed in the national outfit saluted the delegates. The flag-bearer of this army was Riza Beg Mazbegu, a tall, well-built man satisfying the curiosity of whoever missed the Illyrians. Around the flag there were twenty valiant men dressed in snowwhite, followed by thirty men dressed in black and red embroidered outfit, behind them forty young men were lined dressed in silver and golden plated vests, and black and red silk ornamented their garments shining in the sun’s rays with golden and brilliant colors.”
The Congress of Dibra assembled at the beginning of the 20th century took important decisions since the demands for autonomy were paramount. The organization of this congress enriched the patriotic and national biography of Dibra e Madhe. “Representatives of the five vilayets were summoned in one place; every one thinking how to better serve the homeland assembled at the beginning of the 20th century took important decisions since the demands for autonomy were paramount. The organization of this congress enriched the patriotic and national biography of Dibra e Madhe. The proceedings of the Congress of Dibra and its political demands were widely covered in the patriotic press within the country and abroad.
The Congress was also covered in Lumo Skëndo’s “Lirija” journal, where Abdyl Ypit’s speech was presented at a conference organized by this Member of Parliament. It wrote:
“Undoubtedly, the Congress of Dibra is the first national meeting in Albania, the first meeting where the entire Albania was summoned to meet to solve the necessities of the whole country. Until now, meetings and assemblies have not rarely assembled in Albania for anything important, the highlanders and landlords have got together to see how to solve the matters. However, the Congress of Dibra, where more than 300 delegates of various backgrounds participated: geg, tosk, Muslim, Christian, Orthodox, Catholic, muezzins, priests, shahs coming from every corner of Albania, was the first to summon the whole country. I do not mean to make a long story of the Congress; we hope the minutes will soon be finalized so that everyone can have a look at them. The Congress became a great victory for the country and for the nation because the decisions matched our needs. The greatest victory is that the assembly revealed the Albanians’ wish to live a wise and vocalized life and that the Congress did not only consider present needs, but future ones, too.”