The committee of Union and Progress and Albanian issue (1908-1913)

In this study, the issues such as the Albanian and Albanian issue in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, the relations between the Unionists and the Albanians, the Albanian origin dignitaries in the Empire and their place, position and importance in the state, the commonalities or differences of opinion between the Unionists and the Albanians will be discussed; thus, the topic will be assessed from political, administrative, social and bureaucratic aspects. As it is known, after the Young Turk movement in 1908, Sultan Abdulhamid II declared the constitutional monarchy. After the re-declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, which is also known as the 10th of July Revolution in recent history, important developments took place between the Ottoman Empire and the Albanians, as well as with other regions and elements. In the early days when the principles of freedom, equality and fraternity were widely used, the main objective was the Union of Anasır, but some demands that went beyond its purpose began to shake the political and social balance of the center and the provinces more effectively. It is known that Ottoman dignitaries of Albanian origin also played an important role in the establishment of the Young Turk movement and its and activities in the declaration of the Second Constitutional Monarchy in 1908. However, the close cooperation process between the Albanians and the Committee of Union and Progress took a variable and cyclical shape depending on the developments. This short cooperation process showed itself in the clubs that Albanians formed within the framework of their constitutional rights, the newspapers they published and the schools they opened. During the period between the 31 March Incident and the Balkan War process, four uprisings took place in Albania. With the start of the First Balkan War, a new page in history was opened for the Albanian nation. It has been understood that the Ottoman Empire, the lands where Albanians lived were lost one by one and could not hold on in the Balkans for a short term. In this dramatic situation for the fate of Albania, Albanians had no choice but to declare Independence and liberate their homeland from the Balkan states. In this way, the Vlorë parliament, led by İsmail Kemal Bey, declared the independence of Albania on 28 November 1912. According to the 3rd article of the peace treaty signed by the Warring States Conference in London on May 30, 1913, the Ottoman Empire and other Balkan States left the demarcation of Albania's borders and the resolution of all other affairs to six great states. As a result of the ongoing negotiations in London, the Sufera Conference announced its final decision on Albania on 29 July 1913. According to this, it has been decided that Albania will be considered an independent state since this date and it will be neutral under the control and guarantee of six states. In this study, Union and Progress and Albanian Issue (1908-1913) was examined in the light of Ottoman and Albanian sources.