Post #113
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Forwarded from ꑭ𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐬ꑭ
EMIN FAZLIJA🇦🇱🇭🇷
The Albanian Anti-Communist Nationalist and His Connections to Croatian Radical Nationalists
Emin Haradin Fazlija, also known by his political pseudonym Emil Kastrioti, was an Albanian nationalist and anti-communist activist who maintained connections with Croatian radical nationalist organizations during the 1970s and 1980s.
Born on 24 September 1937 near Mitrovica, Kosovo, Fazlija became involved in underground Albanian nationalist activities during his youth. In 1960, he was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Yugoslav military court for his political activities. Following his release, he fled to West Germany in 1970.
Fazlija was a fierce opponent of both Yugoslav communism under Josip Broz Tito and Albanian communism under Enver Hoxha. His political objective was the unification of Albanian-inhabited territories under a non-communist government. In 1972, he became associated with the Albanian National Democratic League (BKDSH), an organization advocating Albanian national unification and opposing communist rule.
Connections to Croatian Nationalists
During his exile in West Germany, Fazlija established political relationships with Croatian nationalist emigrants who shared his opposition to Yugoslavia.
Among his reported Croatian collaborators were Stipe Bilandžić, Mladen Schwartz, and Marin Sopta. Bilandžić was a leading member of Hrvatski narodni otpor (HNO), or Croatian National Resistance, a radical nationalist organization founded by former Ustaša commander Vjekoslav “Maks” Luburić.
Although Fazlija’s cooperation with Croatian nationalist circles is documented, his formal membership in HNO has not been established.
The 1978 Extradition Affair
In 1978, Yugoslavia demanded Fazlija’s extradition from West Germany alongside seven other political emigrants, including Croatian nationalist Stipe Bilandžić. Yugoslav authorities accused them of anti-state activities and terrorism, but West Germany ultimately refused to extradite Fazlija. The allegations did not establish his involvement in terrorist acts.
His connections also extended into Croatian nationalist publications. Under the name Emil Kastrioti, he contributed writings concerning Kosovo to Studia Croatica and Republika Hrvatska in 1979.
The 1983 Munich Speech
On 3 August 1983, Fazlija delivered a speech at the funeral of Croatian anti-communist dissident Stjepan Đureković, who had been assassinated in West Germany.
Speaking alongside Ivan Jelić, president of Croatian National Resistance, Fazlija emphasized solidarity between Albanian and Croatian political emigrants in their opposition to communist Yugoslavia.
His political activities illustrate the cooperation that existed between elements of the Albanian and Croatian nationalist exile movements during the Cold War.
Fazlija remained committed to his Albanian nationalist and anti-communist convictions until his death on 16 June 2015.
HISTORICAL SOURCES:
Mate Nikola Tokić, Croatian Radical Separatism and Diaspora Terrorism During the Cold War (2020), pp. 160–162.
Studia Croatica, vol. 72–73 (1979), pp. 75–78.
Republika Hrvatska, issues 118–119 (1979).
Bože Vukušić, Zločini komunističke mafije, pp. 71–72.
Xhafer Leci, Ushtari i nacionalizmës, Emin Fazlija (2026).
The Albanian Anti-Communist Nationalist and His Connections to Croatian Radical Nationalists
Emin Haradin Fazlija, also known by his political pseudonym Emil Kastrioti, was an Albanian nationalist and anti-communist activist who maintained connections with Croatian radical nationalist organizations during the 1970s and 1980s.
Born on 24 September 1937 near Mitrovica, Kosovo, Fazlija became involved in underground Albanian nationalist activities during his youth. In 1960, he was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Yugoslav military court for his political activities. Following his release, he fled to West Germany in 1970.
Fazlija was a fierce opponent of both Yugoslav communism under Josip Broz Tito and Albanian communism under Enver Hoxha. His political objective was the unification of Albanian-inhabited territories under a non-communist government. In 1972, he became associated with the Albanian National Democratic League (BKDSH), an organization advocating Albanian national unification and opposing communist rule.
Connections to Croatian Nationalists
During his exile in West Germany, Fazlija established political relationships with Croatian nationalist emigrants who shared his opposition to Yugoslavia.
Among his reported Croatian collaborators were Stipe Bilandžić, Mladen Schwartz, and Marin Sopta. Bilandžić was a leading member of Hrvatski narodni otpor (HNO), or Croatian National Resistance, a radical nationalist organization founded by former Ustaša commander Vjekoslav “Maks” Luburić.
Although Fazlija’s cooperation with Croatian nationalist circles is documented, his formal membership in HNO has not been established.
The 1978 Extradition Affair
In 1978, Yugoslavia demanded Fazlija’s extradition from West Germany alongside seven other political emigrants, including Croatian nationalist Stipe Bilandžić. Yugoslav authorities accused them of anti-state activities and terrorism, but West Germany ultimately refused to extradite Fazlija. The allegations did not establish his involvement in terrorist acts.
His connections also extended into Croatian nationalist publications. Under the name Emil Kastrioti, he contributed writings concerning Kosovo to Studia Croatica and Republika Hrvatska in 1979.
The 1983 Munich Speech
On 3 August 1983, Fazlija delivered a speech at the funeral of Croatian anti-communist dissident Stjepan Đureković, who had been assassinated in West Germany.
Speaking alongside Ivan Jelić, president of Croatian National Resistance, Fazlija emphasized solidarity between Albanian and Croatian political emigrants in their opposition to communist Yugoslavia.
His political activities illustrate the cooperation that existed between elements of the Albanian and Croatian nationalist exile movements during the Cold War.
Fazlija remained committed to his Albanian nationalist and anti-communist convictions until his death on 16 June 2015.
HISTORICAL SOURCES:
Mate Nikola Tokić, Croatian Radical Separatism and Diaspora Terrorism During the Cold War (2020), pp. 160–162.
Studia Croatica, vol. 72–73 (1979), pp. 75–78.
Republika Hrvatska, issues 118–119 (1979).
Bože Vukušić, Zločini komunističke mafije, pp. 71–72.
Xhafer Leci, Ushtari i nacionalizmës, Emin Fazlija (2026).
