Šemsi paša in the Kolašin events at the beginning of the 20th century
Шемси-паша у колашинским збивањима почетком XX века
Апстракт: У раду се говори о положају српског становништва Ибарског Колашина и његовом настојању да се одупре нападима арбанашких зулумћара. Османско царство је крајем XIX и почетком XX века захватила анархија која се одразила и на Србе у колашинском крају. Порта није предузимала одлучније мере да поправи ситуацију на терену, већ се њена политика заснивала на повлађивању Арбанасима. Такав став турских власти имао је далекосежне последице, арбанашка необузданост постајала је већа, а зулуми према Србима свакодневни и разноврснији. Налазећи се између арбанашких зулумћара, с једне и незаинтересованих турских власти, с друге стране, Срби су почели да се активније наоружавају. Сазнање о наоружавању Срба изазвало је реакцију арбанашких вођа који су вршили претрагу колашинског краја. Колашинци су се за помоћ обраћали Влади у Београду, руском конзулу из Скопља, али и митровачком војном команданту Шемсипаши, чија је реакција изазивала презир код Арбанаса. Захваљујући његовим војничким способностима и одлучности, бројни арбанашки зликовци су били ухапшени и кажњени.
Summary: At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, weakness and anarchy in the Ottoman Empire affected most of the country. Such a situation was transferred to the European part and significantly affected the position of the Serbian population in the province of Kosovo. However, the situation was not the same in all parts, the most difficult was in those areas where Serbs were few, where daily attacks on them came to the fore. In contrast, in densely populated areas, Serbs resisted and further invoked the wrath of many oppressors, who could not accept such behaviour by "reaya". One such environment was Ibarski Kolašin, the most ethnically homogeneous Serb area in the Priština Sandzak, which had some kind of autonomy. Exposed to daily pressures, the people of Kolašin began to arm themselves. The knowledge of that action of the Serbs of the Kolašin region caused great dissatisfaction among the Albanians who set out to destroy and displace them. In that fight for survival on their hearths, the people of Kolašin asked for help from the Government in Belgrade, the Russian consul in Skopje, but also from the Mitrovica military commander Šemsi Paša, who was building his military career throughout the Ottoman Empire. Šemsi Paša had serious intentions to deal with the Albanians and put an end to their atrocities and behavior. During the winter of 1901, he tried to improve the position of the Serbian population, not only in Ibarski Kolašin, but also in the surrounding area. He also directed his forces against the tyrants in Mitrovica. Serbs saw in him a brave and courageous officer who was adorned with determination and justice, so 115 they often asked him to protect them. One of the first contacts that the people of Kolašin had with him was a request related to the issue of joining Kolašin to Vučitrn. Nevertheless, Šemsi Paša was an officer in the Turkish army and had to obey the orders of his superiors, which enabled the Albanians to carry out a search in Kolašin under the pretext of searching for weapons. Representatives of Russia in Constantinople and throughout the Ottoman Empire came to the aid of the Serbs; they put pressure on the Turkish authorities and officials to improve the situation on the ground, ensure security and punish the Albanian`s villains, the perpetrators of the Kolašin events. Thanks to the work of Russian and Serbian diplomacy, as well as the personal engagement of the consuls from Skopje, Viktor Maškov and Šemsi Paša, the massacre of the Serbian population in Ibarski Kolašin and Novi Pazar was avoided. Šemsi Paša was constantly present on the ground and tried to make impartial decisions that were in accordance with the existing laws. In addition, his military abilities and experience instilled in the Serbian population faith in further struggle and survival on their properties and homes. Such work and activities of Šemsi Paša did not go unnoticed by the Muslim population of the Sjenica, Priština and Peć Sandzak, who did not like the peaceful situation. Due to the fact that, as the commander of the army, he was in charge of pacifying the situation in the western part of the Kosovo vilayet, it was considered that he favored Christians. His activity provoked the displeasure of the Muslim population, which later grew into resistance.
srpski
2022
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Key words: Serbs, Albanians, Ibarski Kolašin, Šemsi Paša, Turkish authorities, crimes
Кључне речи: Срби, Арбанаси, Ибарски Колашин, Шемсипаша, турске власти, злочини