Mehmet Shehu, the stolen gold, the secret files... The former communist leader says: “At the trial, I will tell everything.” CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA — “Mystery surrounding the dictatorship in Albania? Of course there are mysteries, and many of them—as with all mysteries—will be difficult to uncover.” This is not a challenge from him, but a simple statement: it is as if to say that the secrets of this country and its communist regime seem destined to remain buried forever in the memories of those who survived and have no intention of speaking. Ramiz Alia says he will not be one of them: “The great mysteries, amid cold games and half-sentences,” he agrees to retrace the threshold of Albania’s secrets. Then he promises: “When I am put on trial, I will speak. I will say everything that needs to be said.” Let’s start with the mystery that has been talked about a lot lately: Mehmet Shehu’s death... “But this is not a mystery. I have no doubt: Mehmet Shehu killed himself, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying.” Many maintain that you still have the last letter written by Mehmet Shehu. Is that true? “I don’t have any letter. As far as I know, that document is in the archives of the Party of Labour. It should be sought there. But I admit that I read it: it was very long; he addressed Hoxha in the first person, telling him that he had been his friend. Then he explained the choice he had made to sever relations, connecting it to the episode of his son’s engagement. ‘My nerves can’t take it anymore,’ he wrote. It all seems clear to me...” The letter also mentioned you... “Yes, he urged Hoxha not to trust me. He called me the Khrushchev of Albania. In a word, a liberal.” Do you support the theory that Mehmet Shehu was involved in foreign espionage? Former President Ramiz Alia “I have read two documents that confirm his collaboration with the American CIA. The most recent document does not bear our [???] either, in Argentina in 1987. Of course, I cannot guarantee that the documents are genuine.” Shehu’s bed and [???] have disappeared: what happened to them? “Disappeared? I assure you, this is the first time I’ve heard that. I always knew they were in the cemetery.” Let’s talk about another mystery: the stolen gold. “What stolen gold? This story emerged after [???] John McGough spoke about such a story. In 1990, when his statements became public, I sent an investigator to Geneva to question him, but he could no longer be found. It was clear he was lying.” But there is also talk of a 1963 Central Committee decision by which the Party of Labour ordered accounts to be opened abroad to finance the arming of the nomenklatura in the event of a coup. Is at least that true? “I’ll answer you with another question: in 1963, which European government would have been caught unprepared by fleeing communists? The only country that could protect us was China, and according to you China would not have made its own capital available as well. Nevertheless, investigators and government officials seized all my property, both in Albania and abroad. In any case, I have nothing.” What do the archives hold—the secrets of the Sigurimi? “Files and documents, naturally, although I have never gone into those archives, not even in 1990. But I support the idea that politicians’ files should be opened and made public. At least through a simple preliminary procedure: every politician should declare in writing that they have never had any ties to the Sigurimi. Then they should be checked, to find out whether they were sincere or not. Everyone else’s files, on the other hand, should be left where they are. This country does not need any more hatred.” What was Nexhmije Hoxha’s real role in the final years of the dictator’s life? “Enver was clear-minded until the final minute of his life. Physically, of course, he was very ill. Nexhmije held a position of considerable power, but she never wanted to involve herself in matters that were not hers to handle.” During the democratic revolution, it is said that she was even an obstacle... “I repeat: Nexhmije never aspired to any role other than the one she held in her official capacity. Of course, the months of the democratic revolution were very difficult. When Enver Hoxha’s statue was toppled, the Presidium decided to declare a state of emergency. That decision could have led to civil war: that day I kept the decree in my pocket without signing it. And I never signed it.”

The accused tried to sell cocaine to an Italian serviceman. Many doubts still remain. DURRËS / Trial concludes DURRËS — (E. L.) For the first time, Albanian justice has sentenced a drug trafficker. The Durrës Court’s ruling against Fatmir Hajdar Kulle, 28, from Durrës, was 10 years’ imprisonment. Arrested in the act—while attempting to sell drugs to an Italian serviceman taking part in Operation “Pellicano”—and held in detention by the Public Order Branch for around 100 days, his case has now come to light. “The trial, held in open court—but monitored by a substantial police presence—under the direction of Judge Drita Prençi, lasted five hours as it examined the two criminal offences charged against Fatmir Kulle: unlawful possession and the sale of prostitution, which was proven.” This incident and others—to uncover the accounts of the dictatorship in Albania? “Who has no secrets? What country or organization keeps no secrets? But some, I believe, will remain secret forever.” At the trial, witnesses said that for the first time they had heard his account that afternoon. According to the time and place of the meeting, while Kulle and Rosario were meeting, Albanian police intervened. The Italian serviceman, who did not come to court in person, explained in his letter: “We had arranged with Fatmir that he would show me something, but I didn’t have time because the police arrived at that moment.” At this hearing, the defendant’s mother was also questioned as a witness. She said that her son had no knowledge of the “TT”-type pistol that was found—in a search of the home—in her room. The defendant himself denied all the charges, as did his defence lawyer. The arrest in Durrës of a drug trafficker

INVESTIGATION INTO THE FUSHË-ARRËZ INCIDENTS CONCLUDED — The investigation into those responsible for the victims of Fushë-Arrëz has been completed. The Pukë Prosecutor’s Office has sent to the district court a

A new financial service TIRANA — For the first time, Albanian citizens will have the opportunity to obtain a travellers’ cheque. It is an additional convenience, especially for traders, who will no longer need to carry large sums of cash around. The Savings Bank in Tirana announced today the introduction into circulation of the Albanian travellers’ cheque. It is the only bank that today is not indebted to any foreign bank. The number of depositors at the Tirana Savings Bank exceeds 600,000, and its activity amounts to 15 million dollars, not counting this lek sum, the national currency. At present the bank is also financing the National Construction Agency with 300 million lekë and has granted a loan to a paper factory. In its foreign relations, too, the Savings Bank is the first to have introduced the Travelling Cheque and the Temosa Kukun in Albania, while maintaining a high level of currency transfers. It was only a few days ago that an agreement was also concluded between the bank and the “San Paolo” Institute of Turin, under which the savings of Albanian emigrants employed in Italy will be transferred to Tirana. Similar agreements are being made with banks in other countries where Albanian immigrants are present.

Inside ● Plot to kill the UN Secretary-General ● An evening of Italian music in New York

The little girl had been raped BAJRAM CURRI — It is

— has been completed. The Pukë Prosecutor’s Office has sent an indictment to the district court, accusing five people—all employees at the district’s trade warehouses—of being responsible for the tragedy that occurred in December 1991. All are charged with abuse of office. Three of the accused have been placed under house arrest, while the other two are in custody. Police are also seeking two other people in connection with the same case. EXTRADITION OF QEMAL LAME, FORMER HEAD OF THE GENERAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT, SOUGHT — The Tirana Prosecutor’s Office asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the day before yesterday to extradite Qemal Lame and Ferit Sula, head of the investigative group for the events of April 2 in Shkodër. Both left the country after being dismissed from their posts. ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE PROTESTS OVER TWO PEOPLE KILLED BY POLICE — In a statement, the Albanian Helsinki Committee protests two cases documented in recent weeks in Korçë and Fier. In both cases, citizens died as a result of blows inflicted by police. The Albanian Helsinki Committee describes these two cases as extreme use of violence beyond the limits of the law. The organization also emphasizes that it supports all orders in the fight against crime, but calls for similar cases to be avoided everywhere in the future.

BAJRAM CURRI — Ibrahim Rexhaj, 29, from the village of Sopot near the town of Bajram Curri, has been sentenced to death by firing squad by the Tropoja District Court. Rexhaj, arrested by police after several days of searching, was accused of a horrific crime: kidnapping, raping, and killing a 9-year-old girl, L. N., from a nearby village. The family’s disappearance had alarmed the family from the village of Rrezë Mali, which immediately notified law-enforcement authorities. Exhaustive searches began at once, and shortly afterward mobilized Tropoja District police forces managed to discover the body of the young victim near her birthplace. Ibrahim Rexhaj then became a suspect. He was a person well known to the police. He had already been convicted five other times for ordinary crimes. By the end of the investigation, the investigators in Bajram Curri had no further doubts. All the evidence showed that Rexhaj was the perpetrator of the monstrous crime, the likes of which had not been heard of in this area for a long time. After a trial that did not last long, the Tropoja Court delivered its verdict: death by firing squad. The prosecution representative had requested the same sentence. The court found Rexhaj guilty on several charges: kidnapping, rape of a minor, and premeditated murder. Ibrahim Rexhaj will now await the decision of the higher court. After that, the final authority to decide the condemned man’s fate will be the President of the Republic himself. This crime had provoked a strong public reaction in “Tropojë.” The trial, held in open court — but requested by numerous police forces — under the direction of court president Drita Prençi, spent 5 hours discussing and establishing the criminal acts charged against Fatmir Kulla: then the two others; seven people have been sentenced to one year each and three to two years in prison — according to the defendant, whose surname is unclear — a refugee in Germany, during a conversation, offered to help him get away from the drug aid. Arturi — still unidentified — then gave Fatmir Kulla around 60 vials of drugs, which he was supposed to sell, each for at least 60,000 lire. The defendant Kulla considered selling the drugs only within the premises of Operation “Pellicano.” Since he also worked at this base, he was able to make contact with the Italian soldiers Rosa-is made public. The trial, held in open court — but requested by numerous police forces — under the direction of Judge acts charged against Fatmir Kulla. The seven defendants were questioned, with defendant Kulla facing both charges. The court dismissed the charge of illegal possession of a firearm — in its view, the charge was not proven — but for the other offense it chose a sentence harsher than the one sought. Judge Prençi justified the 10-year prison sentence “taking into account the great social dangerousness of this phenomenon, unprecedented in Albania until now.” The article used against Fatmir Kulla provides for the punishment of those who “produce, possess, import, and sell drugs and other narcotic substances.”

Restructuring at the Palace of Culture TIRANA — It is called “Cafe des artistes,” and the French name is not, in fact, the only surprise about such an appealing venue. TIRANA — It is called “Cafe des artistes,” and the French name is not, in fact, the only surprise about such an appealing venue, entirely Albanian and Italian. It is due to open tomorrow evening on the terrace of the Palace of Culture and is being presented as the summer season’s latest fashionable attraction in Tirana. It is a bar-discotheque where, in an atmosphere of modern elegance, you can have a drink, dance, listen to music “dal vivo” and “of course” sing. The place seems to have been designed specifically to encourage encounters between intellectuals and young people, with the hope that the latter will become tomorrow’s intellectuals. The project was developed by the Palace of Culture in Tirana and the company Dinest S.p.a of Bari, at the head of the entrepreneurial group that Genarro, one of the most famous in Puglia. An agreement also covers the restructuring of part of the Palace of Culture (their initial investment is 600 thousand dollars). It provides for the creation, on the third floor, of a restaurant and, on the first floor, of a gallery with offices, shops, and exhibition spaces. Work has already begun. An ambitious project intended to transform this part of the city into a more modern point of reference for entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and tourists, whether Albanian or foreign. “Cafe des artistes” is open every day, 24 hours! Until late last night it functioned as a mattress for [unclear], then it turns into a bar where, to enter, you have to pay an admission fee (100 lekë), or have an invitation. Every evening, Albanian singers and performers will appear in the music corner, and short tours by the Italian singer-songwriter have also been scheduled. In short, something new in the landscape of public venues opened so far in Albania. And [unclear] wishes them success with their contribution and hopes it will make the cool days and hot evenings in Tirana more pleasant.

Because of a strike called by Italian journalists, “Gazeta Shqiptare” will not be published on Sunday, and we apologize to our readers for this.

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