The Young Turk Period, 1908-1918 - PSI424

288 The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808-1975
But Ottomanism, as it was developed in the Young Turk period, meant essentially
cooperation in a united empire, not the kind of autonomy that the Albanian nationalists
wanted. The Young Turks did not hamper the activities of the Albanian nationalist
clubs at first, but they also established in Albania, as elsewhere in the
empire, their own party headquarters, which in advocating Ottomanism campaigned
against the nationalists. In reaction, the latter renewed demands for autonomy,
development of the Albanian language, and appointment of Albanians to
key positions in the province. Ismail Kemal Vlora came to Istanbul as parliamentary
deputy for Berat and acted as their principal voice in the capital. The
participation of Albanian soldiers in the 1909 counterrevolution and Ismail Kemal's
cooperation with the Liberal Union contributed to the misunderstanding. The
Young Turks assumed that all the Albanian Muslims supported the central government
against the Christians, but the issues were complex. Many Muslims supported
the nationalists, putting their Albanian identity above all else, while many
Christians, especially the Gheg tribes of the north, opposed them because they
feared losing their traditional privileges in an autonomous Albania.
The Albanian revolt, when it finally came in the winter and spring of 1910, was
as much a campaign against the new efforts at efficiency and centralization as it
was a national movement. The new census and tax regulations struck especially
at mountaineers who had long treasured their independence and avoided conscription.
The laws against vagabonds and national societies struck Albania in
particular because of its traditional armed bands, which had dominated the mountains
for centuries. These laws transformed general resentment against government
controls into open support of the nationalists. The harshness of Mahmut
§evket's suppression of the initial revolts won new supporters for the nationalists.
Montenegro began to support the rebels, not only shielding and arming Albanian
refugees but also pleading their case in Europe, demanding that the sultan give a
general amnesty, compensate for all confiscated weapons and property, and that
all municipal and district chiefs in the province be Albanians. During the winter
of 1911, the trouble mounted, and the nationalists demanded the limitation of
Albanian tax revenues to expenditures in Albania. The revolt was begun by the
Catholic Albanians, but thousands of Muslims soon joined in the demand for "liberty,
justice, and autonomy." In June 1911 the sultan himself visited Kosova to
calm the situation, signing a decree of amnesty and introducing many concessions,
including Albanian schools, military service to be performed only in the province,
suspension of all conscription and taxes for two years, and the use of officials conversant
in Albanian. But while these measures calmed the north, the revolt in the
south intensified, with a national Albanian committee formed at Vlora demanding
union of the provinces of Isjcodra, Kosova, Monastir, and Janina into a single Albanian
province governed by its own Parliament and administration and with its
own army (May IS, 1911). The government finally gave in to most of the demands
(August 1911), but the solution again proved temporary. By this time Ismail
Kemal and his associates were convinced that they could secure far more than
autonomy as a result of the Ottoman-Italian war in Tripoli and the promises of
assistance from the latter as well as from Montenegro. By June 1912 Albania was
again in open revolt, with the rebels now demanding a united Albania, fully autonomous,
administered by and for Albanians.