TIRANA, July 6 – Thousands of Albanians have called on the government to declare Turkish historian and tour guide, Talha Ugurluel non grata after he posted a video online insulting the country’s national hero, Skanderbeg.
When the Turkish tour guide visited the Albanian town of Lezha that holds the grave of Skanderbeg, he posted a video online saying that Skanderbeg had betrayed the Ottoman Empire and had lived illegally with Albanians. He also claimed that Pope baptized Skanderbeg and compared him to the leaders of Kurdish communist parties. Ugurluel called Skanderbeg’s battles to defend Albania as “attacks against the empire carried out by an illegal thief who had declared war to the Ottomans.” The video was removed from Youtube for foul language and Albanians are still collecting signatures in the petition for declaring him non-grata in Albania.
History records show that the 15th-century Albanian warrior and nobleman was kidnapped from his Kastrioti family and sent to Ottoman Court where he was educated and entered the service of the Ottoman Sultan for the next twenty years. He rose in ranks and in 1444 when he was appointed the chief commander of the short-lived League of Lezhà« that consolidated nobility throughout what is today Albania. He unified Albanian local leaders, declared independence and formed the first state of Albania that was recognized by former world powers. Skanderbeg succeeded for 50 years to keep the country free from Ottoman occupation. Since then, his figure has inspired unity among Albanians.
