Did a double take his place in public? CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA — It is the final mystery of the communist regime, the least known and most unbelievable of them all: Enver Hoxha had a double, a man identical to him in face and body, who replaced him at public events, official lunches and important anniversaries. A man who lived for 35 years as a prisoner by his side and who, upon the dictator’s death, ended up in an internment camp. Another martyr among the many victims of communism, who today lives in hiding somewhere, in some corner of Albania. This story—so absurd that it represents a truly new enigma—was uncovered by New Zealand journalist Lloyd Jones, who will publish a book about his sensational discovery days from now, entitled “Biography”. A scoop that is already becoming a literary phenomenon in England: is it all true, or is the story simply fantasy? Meanwhile, the name: Enver Hoxha’s double is called Pjetër Shapllo, a dentist who worked in the village of Topojan in the district of Dibër. Shapllo had resembled the dictator since he was young: one day someone noticed, and a plan was devised. Jones writes that the man was frightened and underwent plastic surgery, necessary to make his copy perfect, and was transferred close to the dictator’s “court”. His family, meanwhile, was wiped out. From that day on, the fake Enver Hoxha would take the place of the real Hoxha on all occasions—especially ceremonies, celebrations in the square and rallies of no political importance—and whenever the dictator had more important things to do. No one ever noticed the switch. Shapllo had to adjust his appearance to match the changes in the real Hoxha: when Hoxha had a fever, he would go without sleep so that his face would look pale; if Hoxha gained a few kilos, Shapllo had to gain weight too. The same appearance, the same movements and the same gestures; until the day the dictator died, when the dishevelled Hoxha withdrew from the scene. Disguised by a thick beard, he began his rounds of the internment camps in the South, far from Topojan, where someone might recognize him. Writer Jones says he tracked down the dictator’s double after many difficult searches in Albania. Where? In the village of Savër, near Lushnjë, where, according to Pjetër Shapllo, he had been sent for several weeks. From there—seriously ill, desperate and alone—he was then sent to another unknown destination. Savra is a village a little over 100 kilometres from Tirana, one of the largest former internment camps in Albania. Today no more than 400 families live there. Almost all the internees—after the democratic transition—have returned to their places of origin, with the exception of about 50 families who continue to live where they were once prisoners. “We don’t have the money to buy another house,” Egerem Çapol, 57, head of the local Association of Internees, tells the Gazette. Have you ever known a certain Pjetër Shapllo? “No, never,” Çapol replies, “everyone knows everyone here...” What about a man who looked very much like Enver Hoxha? “No, never. Three of the dictator’s female cousins were interned here, and that’s all.” So is the story of the double, now complete, a fantasy? It is hard to say. Because another piece of information comes from Savra: if no one here today knew him, everyone knows the person who uncovered his story. “Yes, Lloyd Jones,” Egerem Çapol confirms, “he was a New Zealand journalist; he was here in June 1992. He interviewed me, asked me strange questions, then left. As far as I know, he also went to Gradishtë and Gjaz. He wanted to learn the history of the internment camps. He didn’t tell me who he was looking for, but I realized he had come all this way to find someone...” A dictator’s guard: «We knew nothing about this» TIRANA — Is it possible that Enver Hoxha had a double who publicly took his place, and that this mystery has been uncovered—only today—by a foreign journalist? “I never knew anything about the story of the double,” one of the dictator’s former bodyguards tells the Gazette, agreeing to speak only on condition of anonymity. “I worked with Hoxha for many years,” he says, now unemployed. “I was responsible for his personal security and was always by his side. I never knew that he had a double assigned to replace him at public events. Of course, I admit that it was theoretically possible. But I repeat: it seems strange to me, and until today I had never heard of such a thing.” I had never heard of such a thing.” Enver Hoxha during a meeting; but is it really him, or is this the double?

The national team plays well. The Danes struggle in the first half. The fans return Sports — But the “Hope” team manages to win TIRANA — Another defeat in Tirana for the Albanian national football team. But this time, against Denmark, the European champions, they lost only on the scoreboard. “The youngsters played very well,” winning team coach Nilsen told the Gazette immediately after the match. Nevertheless, it was 0-1: Pingel’s second-half goal would make the positive comments about the Albanian team count for nothing. “I think the Albanian public will be pleased with this match.” Strakosha, one of the best Albanian players on the field, does not want to call the match against Denmark a defeat. His coach, Birçe, thinks the Albanians were unlucky, as they have been on other occasions. “Everything pointed to a possible victory, not a defeat,” Birçe explains, “but luck always favours the big-name teams.” Then the penalty, which the Cypriot referee did not dispute, dashed the Albanians’ hopes of at least drawing an evenly matched game. Indeed, having shown themselves to be the more promising side, the Albanian players forced the Danes to play roughly, and the referee booked them three times. But while the national team lost, the “Hope” team won 1-0. The young Danes were beaten after a spectacular goal from 35 metres, scored by Muça. ALBANIA: Strakosha, Zmijani, Bano, Shulku, Vata, Kacaj, Kushta, Lekbello, Millo, Demollari, Fortuzi (Zalla). Coach: Birçe. DENMARK: Shmajkel, Hansen, Elrieder, Olsen, Kielberg, Nilsen, Velfort, Pingel, M. Laudrup, B. Laudrup. Coach: Nilsen. Goal: Pingel 64’. Attendance: 12,000. Yellow cards: 3 (Denmark), 2 (Albania). The Albania-Denmark match, 0-1, a qualifying match for the World Cup

The early matches in the Italian league have dealt a blow to the teams leading the standings: none of the teams at the top won. ATALANTA 2-REGGIANA 1 — A good performance by Atalanta’s players, who did not lose heart after Reggiana equalized. GENOA 1-CAGLIARI 1 — With the point earned away from home, Cagliari improves its position in the standings and puts an end to controversy about the coach. Both teams played well. INTER 2-CREMONESE 1 — Inter finished the match with nine players. Toto Schillaci put in a good performance and also scored the go-ahead goal. JUVENTUS 3-SAMPDORIA 1 — The team’s start was disappointing, with only Sampdoria player Gullit’s goal standing out; he was the main protagonist of the match. Juventus, forced to recover from a goal down, ended the first half level. LAZIO 2-PARMA 1 — A magnificent spectacle at the Olimpico stadium. Lazio—this time not playing at a different time from the other teams—finally found its usual form and beat a tough opponent. LECCE 0-FOGGIA 2 — The people of Lecce get off to a bad start in the first Apulian derby, missing a penalty. Foggia plays in a way that allows it to score and take the lead, holding on until the end, when it doubled its advantage during stoppage time. NAPOLI 0-TORINO 0 — Fear holds both teams back. Despite the draw, Torino manages to keep first place in the standings. PIACENZA 0-MILAN 0 — Milan’s away performance was disappointing; only in the final minutes did it attempt to show some pride. Newly promoted Piacenza, on the other hand, put in a very good performance. UDINESE 0-ROMA 0 — A poor match that did not allow Roma to repeat the kind of performance it gave on Sunday against Juventus.

A letter from Tirana Prison The courtyard of Tirana Prison EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — Fatos Nano continues to write letters from his cell. But this time, what he writes is not being smuggled out of Tirana Prison, where he has been held since July 30 of this year. It is a very special letter, addressed to Pjetër Arbnori, Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. “Through you, I wish all fellow deputies success in their work during the third session, which has just opened,” begins the two-page letter from the opposition leader, which was delivered to the Secretariat of the People’s Assembly on Tuesday. In a position entirely different from that of the previous session, Fatos Nano writes—in his letter—that he is asking to be among the members of parliament. Although most of them, just a month ago, had voted to lift his immunity, giving the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office the authority to arrest him for “abuse of office” and send him to court to be sentenced... “I have changed 10...,” Nano writes... “that the first mandate... ...”. “...and its supporting apparatus are obliged to provide me with normal conditions for following the programme of legislative and parliamentary oversight work, and for contributing to its proper functioning as opposition leader.” There is still no known response to this letter, although it seems unlikely that the Koran and the Gospel—the only books Nano has been allowed in his cell—could be replaced with parliamentary documents. All the more so because Nano himself repeats that this is an unprecedented practice. Nevertheless, he goes further, asking to be kept informed, in his capacity as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, so that he can offer “my modest contribution”. He also notes that “the administration of the People’s Assembly must handle this matter with care”: “Finally, given that my family is supported solely by my salary as a deputy, I am obliged to remind you to instruct the administration that distributes my monthly allowances, which, naturally, are valid for a period of 1 [unclear] and can be used only by deputies, solely on account of resignation due to extraordinary circumstances.” At the end, as always: “Fatos Nano, cell number 47.”

Accused of beating wedding guests TIRANA — A senior official of the capital’s Police has ended up in one of the cells of Tirana Prison. The District Investigative Prosecutor’s Office ordered the detention of Lieutenant Colonel Kastriot Gjeli, Chief of Police Station 4 in Tirana. Along with him—and on the same charge—the detention of another employee of this Police Station, Ardian Leka, was also ordered; he has not yet been found and is wanted. The detention charge of “abuse of office”—according to initial information—was brought following a complaint by several members of the Elezi family in Tirana, who complained of mistreatment by certain police officers. A man and a woman from this family received treatment on Sunday at the Emergency Surgical Unit of the Central Military Hospital. Although the initial investigation has not allowed the gathering of complete information about the incident, the cause of the altercation between the police officers and the citizens who filed the complaint is known: the ceremonial procession of wedding cars, accompanied by blaring sirens. Following Lieutenant Colonel Gjeli’s detention on Monday at 18:00, a decision on his release or arrest was due to be made at that same time.

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