The “Congress of Lipovica (Blinaja)” was organized, a congress of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement, held in the village of Lipovica (Blinaja) in Lipjan. It was convened at the request of the leaders of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement: Ajet Gërguri, Gjon Serreçi, Azem Morana, Qemajl Skënderi, etc. Out of a total of about 230 invited delegates, around 150 delegates had arrived at the Congress, representing over 30,000 members of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement. Some of the delegates had arrived in Blinaja on July 24th. The proceedings of the Congress were opened by Ilmi Zariqi, who, on behalf of a group of delegates in the presidium, proposed Ajet Gërguri, Gjon Serreçi, and Hasan Bilalli, while Ukë Plakiqi was proposed as the rapporteur. In the first session of the Congress, according to the agenda approved by all the delegates, three reports were read. The first report, which was a report on the situation in the occupied Albanian territories, was presented by Ajet Gërguri; Gjon Serreçi spoke about the role and importance of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement, while Arif Shala discussed the importance of the Drenica War under the leadership of Shaban Polluzha and Mehmet Gradica. Then, the delegates presented the conditions and difficulties they faced on the ground. In the second session, the Congress approved two resolutions: the first resolution called on the United States of America and Great Britain to implement the decisions of the Bujan Conference, while the second resolution called for the creation of the People’s Army of Kosovo, the appointment of an 8-member supreme staff, and the appointment of a general commander. The Congress also elected the Central Committee of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement consisting of 27 members. After the congress, the first meeting of the Central Committee of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement was held, in which Ajet Gerguri was elected chairman by open vote, Hasan Bilalli as deputy, and Gjon Serreçi as general secretary. Within the Central Committee, 4 professional commissions and permanent executive organs were elected: 1) Commission for Defense and National Security; 2) Commission for Foreign Relations; 3) Commission for Information, Propaganda, and Agitation; and 4) Commission for Finance, Economy, and Supply. Despite the fact that the congress was held illegally, the participants were quickly uncovered, and soon followed persecution, liquidation, imprisonment, and many years of imprisonment for almost all participants and leaders of the Albanian National-Democratic Movement. (In the photo: View from the village of Lipovice.)
Text: Encyclopedic Dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. I , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Prishtina, 2018, page 844.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipovica_%28Gjilan%29
Graphic processing: AHCF
