Ali Demi
{{Short description|Albanian partisan (1918–1943)}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Ali Demi
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Ali Demi (1943).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Demi in 1943
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Ali Ahmet Demi
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|1|18|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Filiates, Kingdom of Greece
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1943|12|19|1918|1|18|df=yes}}
| death_place = Kaninë, Vlorë, German-occupied Albania
| death_cause = Assassinated by Balli Kombëtar
| resting_place = National Martyrs' Cemetery
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| party = PKSH
| movement =
| opponents = {{hlist|PFSH| Balli Kombëtar}}
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| relatives =
| family = Demi family
| callsign =
| awards = 17px Hero of the People
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| module = {{Infobox military person
|embed = yes
|embed_title = Military career
|allegiance = LANÇ
|branch = Çermenika Battalion
|serviceyears = 1943
|rank = Commissar
}}
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Ali Demi (18 January 1918 – 29 December 1943) was an Albanian hero of World War II and a communist.[https://www.ballkan.com/index.php?page=shownews&newsID=38956 Balkan Newspaper] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050430173234/https://www.ballkan.com/index.php?page=shownews&newsID=38956 |date=April 30, 2005 }}[http://www.peshkupauje.com/50-atentatoret-e-luftes-nacionalclirimtare/2006/04/15/ article of Tirana Observer newspaper]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He was killed in battle fighting German forces in Vlora, Albania in 1943.[https://books.google.com/books?id=pgf6GWJxuZgC&q=ali+demi+&pg=PA102] A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History By Robert Elsie, pages 101-2.
Biography
He was born in Filiates, Greece (Çamëria), to a Cham Albanian family. Later Ali Demi studied at the Lyceum, in Tirana, Albania and in 1939 he participated in antifascist demonstrations. He was also one of the founders of the Communist party of Albania. He was sentenced to death by the Italian forces but he managed to escape and join the partisans.
In 1943, Demi was killed in a battle against German forces in Kaninë village, near Vlora.{{Cite web|last=Zane|first=Hyqmet|title=Ali Demi, i vetmi Hero i Popullit i Çamërisë|url=https://sot.com.al/opinion-editorial/ali-demi-i-vetmi-hero-i-popullit-i-%C3%A7am%C3%ABris%C3%AB|access-date=2022-01-21|website=sot.com.al}}{{Cite web|last=Rama|first=Luan|title=Ali Demi, muajt e fundit të jetës së një heroi (FOTO)|url=https://www.gazeta-shqip.com/2018/12/19/ali-demi-muajt-e-fundit-te-jetes-se-nje-heroi-foto/|access-date=2022-01-21|website=www.gazeta-shqip.com}}
=Aftermath=
In May 1944, the Greek People's Liberation Army formed and named a mixed unit of both Greeks and Cham Albanians in his honor, the IV "Ali Demi" battalion of 15th regiment."...in May 1944 ”a mixed battalion of the Cham minority that was formed within ELAS-fighting units under the command of the 15th regiment in the village of Kastanjë”, was named “Ali Demi” and comprised in the time of its formation 460 men..." Kretsi, Georgia: Verfolgung und Gedächtnis in Albanien: Eine Analyse postsozialistischer Erinnerungsstrategien, {{ISBN|3-447-05544-8}}
Ali Demi Street and Ali Demi (neighborhood) in Tirana, are named after him. There is a statue of Ali Demi in Tirana stating on it “ ALI DEMI HERO I POPULLIT” - in English “ Ali Demi hero of the people”.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Cham Albanians}}
{{People's Hero of Albania}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demi, Ali}}
Category:Albanian anti-fascists
Category:Albanian resistance members
Category:Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany