 Veli Këlcyra was a delegate of the Përmet region at the Declaration of Independence in Vlora, 28 November 1912.After the Independence he was not very active in the Albanian politics.The residence of the family located up in the hills near the Këlcyrë Gorge was bombarded by the Greek armies led by Zografos in 1914, because of the strong opposition to the annexation of south Albania by Greece, and later the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.