– Kushtrim Brezash –
Mihal was born in the village of Erind in Lunxhëria, Gjirokastra, in 1916. Following the death of his father, he moved with his mother and younger sister to Tirana, where Mihal completed the fifth year of primary school. After finishing school, he began working at the “Dielli” printing house, where he worked 10–12 hours a day for very little pay. Mihal possessed the exceptional qualities of a revolutionary worker.
From an early age, he became involved in the workers’ movement and rapidly distinguished himself as an activist. He established ties with Qemal Stafa, Vasil Shanto, Enver Hoxha, Vojo Kushi and other militants. Mihal Duri became a member of the Korça Communist Group’s Tirana branch. There he recruited a number of revolutionary intellectuals, including his fellow villager Misto Mame. Together, even before the founding of the Communist Party of Albania (CPA), they established the clandestine press, printing leaflets, communiqués, slogans and articles exposing fascist propaganda. At Enver Hoxha’s initiative, they made preparations for the publication of the newspapers Zëri i Popullit and Kushtrimi i Lirisë.
Immediately after the formation of the CPA, a series of operations were undertaken to procure duplicating machines, typewriters, paper, type and other necessary materials. These operations were entrusted to Misto Mame and one of the guerrilla units under his command. In this way, a large quantity of printing paper was obtained from the former Ministry of Public Works. Mihal was admitted to the ranks of the CPA from its earliest days. The enemy and its informers began monitoring his every movement. Together with Vasil Shanto, Qemal Stafa and other militants, he was among the first partisans in 1941 to join the ranks of the Peza detachment, commanded by the patriot Baba Myslim, which rapidly became known throughout the country for its operations and struggle against the Italian fascists and their collaborators.
On 25 November 1941, the communists Vasil Shanto, Mihal Duri, Ferid Xhajko, Stavri Themeli, Pandi Nasho, Baki Starja and Loni Grazhdani assembled at Maknor in Peza and formed the first CPA cell within the Peza detachment, with Mihal Duri elected as its secretary. Under the leadership of the Party, the Peza detachment became a training ground for the new cadres required to provide military and political leadership to the other partisan detachments subsequently formed in numerous regions of the country. As secretary of the cell within the Peza detachment, Mihal Duri distinguished himself by his determination and fighting spirit.
Several days before he was killed, Mihal Duri came to Tirana and met with comrades from the CPA Regional Committee of Tirana. After completing his work with two comrades from the city, he went to Peza e Vogël, where the Peza cell was based. Upon arriving there, Mihal organised and prepared men to conduct reconnaissance of the Sharra barracks, which were filled with ammunition and were to be set on fire. Together with the communist Xhevdet Petrela, Mihal prepared the unit that would reconnoitre and survey the location before taking the necessary measures to carry out the operation. Six men were selected for the reconnaissance mission. Mihal and his comrades disguised themselves in peasant clothing and passed unnoticed as strangers. At approximately 17:00, the unit approached Damjan, where a considerable number of militiamen and Carabinieri had arrived from Tirana, whose presence was entirely unknown to the partisan unit. As they were entering the first houses, they encountered an enemy ambush and gunfire erupted throughout the area. The partisans conducted an orderly fighting withdrawal, engaging the enemy from a distance of approximately 500 metres. During this engagement, an enemy bullet separated Mihal from his comrades.
On 20 August 1942, Mihal Duri fell heroically, and his death constituted a major loss for the Party cell of the Peza detachment. Following the liberation of Albania, the Presidium of the People’s Assembly awarded Mihal Duri the highest decoration, “Hero of the People.” The enterprise in which books were printed bore his name, the “Mihal Duri” Printing House. The nine-year school in Bultica was likewise named “Mihal Duri,” as was a street in Tirana.
Kushtrim Brezash [Call to the Generations] is the organ of the “Honour of the Nation” Veterans and Descendants of the National Liberation War of the Albanian People.
(Translated by The Voice of Albania from the Albanian original)
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