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Secret meeting of the PS leadership: The disappearance of traces, the creation of documentation Secret meeting of the PS leadership: The disappearance of traces, the creation of documentation

LORENC LIGORI Today, four years have passed since that tragic day, April 2, 1991. Four years since the massacre that Alia, Nano, and Ruçi planned and carried out against Albanian citizens, against anti-communist Shkodër. Four years ago, four young men lost their lives. They did not die of an illness, they were not in an accident, they did not leave this world of their own accord. They were murdered! They were struck down in broad daylight. Thousands upon thousands witnessed it. They were not killed by ordinary criminals. They were killed by political crime. Who planned it? The PPSH. Who carried it out? The police and the former State Security service. Other perpetrators and executors: the Shkodër Committee of the Party of Labour, the Internal Affairs Branch, former State Security agents and informers, snipers and criminals. What was their crime? A grave one, very grave in the eyes of the planners and executors named above. They had to be killed because they no longer wanted the dictatorship of dictators; they wanted freedom. What did they do? They protested peacefully. Were they alone? No, an entire people was with them. A people that peacefully protested against its persecutors, against those who for 50 years had killed and imprisoned it, persecuted it, impoverished it, leaving it the poorest in Europe, at the very bottom. That day, April 2, 1991, was planned by the political criminals of this country. March was election month. The PP had set its strategy: violence, psychological and physical terror, bands of mercenaries called “Enver’s volunteers,” and a fight to defend the dictator’s busts. People killed and burned, wounded in Shkodër in ’91, in Tirana and throughout Albania; a failed attempt at a military coup; shops, warehouses and depots—the property of a people—robbed day and night and handed over free of charge to the friends and relatives of the communist leadership; corruption entrenched everywhere; poverty at the brink of starvation, while people hoped for charity from the world. Former communist President Alia gave a speech at the Palace of the King, the seat of power in Tirana, in which he called on people to vote for his party, for communism. Meanwhile, Kavaja, Shkodër, Korçë, Vlora, and of course Tirana, had said “no” to communism. The PPSH had become a party of the periphery. Radio and television announced only the victory of communist candidates, in patriotic tones. Xhelil Gjoni, in parliament and at home, spoke of continuity, of the people’s love, of the volume on the road to failure. The Central Committee Plenum of the PPSH, convened urgently, anathematized: we will defend victory by every means. Let us show that we can cause… catastrophe. Had they not shown this better than anyone for 50 years! At the head were Ramiz Alia, Fatos Nano, Gramoz Ruçi, leaders of the PP and later of the PS, leaders of the communist regime and then of the separate socialist alternative, heads of the political leadership, of corruption, leaders of an era that had passed. In these circumstances, the people of Shkodër, (Continued on page 2)

The Martyrs of Shkodër Angels of Democracy April 2, 1995 Martyrs of democracy: Arben Broci, Bujar Beshanaku, Besnik Ceka, Nazmi Kryeziu Photomontage by Angjelin Nenshati Four years ago, Shkodër, the city of Rozafa, the city of Barleti, Fishta, Mjeda, Gurakuqi and Mikel Koliqi, experienced one of the most tragic days in its thousand-year history: the massacre of April 2. Today, Shkodër and all Albania bow in deep tribute before the deeds and memory of the martyrs of April 2. Arben Broci had made the monstrous decision: Shkodër was to be struck, specifically Shkodër—democracy at its heart—as revenge, to extinguish its anti-communism, for its unyielding resistance to the Hoxhaist dictatorship, for the full support it gave democracy, and for the 17 Democratic deputies it would send to the new parliament. The citizens of Shkodër were described as a dark force, the responsible parties, rogues, and even today, four years later, two days beforehand, in order to prove that it remains the mouthpiece of crime, it labels the peaceful protests of Shkodër’s students, through insinuation, as “criminal gatherings,” etc. of Barleti, Fishta, Mjeda, Gurakuqi and Mikel Koliqi, the city of Bardheti, experienced the most tragic day Broci, Nazmi Kryeziu, Bujar Beshenaku, Besnik Ceka, who fell that day to remain forever honored in the minds and hearts of all Albanians who love democracy. On April 2, 1991, Shkodër experienced its bloodiest and bitterest day in its history. It was when the communist regime was at its strongest, as communist cliques were exercising their power in their agony throughout Eastern Europe. The general elections of March 31, 1991, as is well known, were preceded by a strategy of terror, violence, coups and killings unprecedented in Europe[?]. From February 22 until the elections, the ruling clique conducted a true campaign of terror, during which dozens of Democrats and innocent people were killed and wounded in Tirana, Fier and Shkodër. Albania. Under these conditions, the March 31 elections could have had no result other than the shameful and overwhelming victory of the PPSH. But this result deeply shook the human and national conscience of Albanians. Everywhere, in all the cities and residential centers of Albania, people expressed their despair and anger at the undeserved results of the vote. They were legitimate, dignified protest demonstrations by a people that had waited half a century for the fall of democracy. Such were the demonstrations and civic protests in Shkodër on April 1 and 2, held for the martyrs. On the morning of April 2, just as the day before, Shkodër’s high-school students left their first lesson and, in a civic protest, sat quietly on their bags and books in the courtyard of their school and opposite the Palace of Crime, the PPSH Committee for Shkodër. The students’ peaceful protest was to last only a short time, because the Alia, Nano, Ruçi, Dokle clique had made the monstrous decision: to strike Shkodër, specifically Shkodër—democracy at its heart—as revenge for for its full support of to the new parliament. The telegrams from the red gang in power were clear. Alia’s party had won—Shkodër was anti-Alia—bloody Shkodër. The monsters wanted to celebrate their victory with blood. The orders were carried out. Machine-gun bursts, snipers and Kalashnikovs opened fire on the morning of April 2 on the heads and young bodies of the schoolchildren of Shkodër; their bags and books were left behind. In the city square, [text unclear] the PD. Armored vehicles and special units furiously attacked the defenseless citizens. But the entire people also poured into the streets against the violence to protect their children. The massacre unfolded like a real battle between defenseless citizens and criminal gangs, State Security commandos who were taking orders from Tirana. In this battle-massacre, Arben Broci fell and attained immortality. He was a member, founder and principal leader of the PDSH, and his activity, courage and determination had long made him an enemy whom the communist regime wanted to eliminate. Activists and members of the PD, Nazmi Kryeziu, Bujar Beshenaku and Besnik Ceka, also fell as they charged like lions at the armored vehicles and the building of Crime. Besides… their bags and books were left behind. The leaders of the PD also came out into the city square. vehicles and the building of Crime. Besides Europeans, the Vatican[?] and the American Congress condemned with the deepest indignation the barbaric act of the communist clique of Albanians in power. The pages of the world press filled with reports and photographs of the events of April 2. Those who fell on April 2 laid the foundations of today’s democracy with their lives and ideals. Their families, friends and comrades, Shkodër and the entire Albanian nation will honor the martyrs of April 2 forever as angels of democracy, like flowers of a blood-soaked spring. Shkodër, who rose up to overthrow communism. All those thousands of demonstrators who put their chests in the path of bullets did not rise up to gain anything for themselves; they rose up for Albania’s freedom, for the freedom and dignity of human beings. They put an end to the regime of personal files, the regime of spying, the rule of ration coupons and bread queues. Facing tanks, cannons, guns and rubber truncheons, the youth of Shkodër had only their bare chests and courage. April 2 began with the peaceful demonstration by students from the Jordan Misja and 28 Nëntori schools. The “Sambists” mercilessly attacked the students. The people gathered and responded. They called on the Democrats, Arben Broci, to hold the demonstrators back so that… forces? sky, they say the world hears, were being killed, and the authorities, title?

PJETER ARBNORI April 2 was a pivotal date in the year of the upheaval of 1991. I call it a sinister date because that year all the dark forces, having seen that the cause of communism was lost, hurried to find a way, the same means, the same honest threads to revive their own life, even in the form of neocommunism. We have said and continue to say: we are proud that democracy won without violence, without bloodshed. This applies to our side. There was no revenge for the crimes committed against a people martyred for half a century. No violence was used for the democratic transition. If the forces of the dictatorship claim that a few shoves at demonstrations, a few broken windows, a few busts blown up or turned upside down amount to violence, they should not be so delicate: they did everything imaginable to us. So violence and blood belong to the other side. History will write and speak of the dead and wounded of Shkodër, Kavaja, Tirana, Fier and Korçë; history will speak of the attempted coup at the United School, of the street terror that the dark forces tried unsuccessfully to unleash. Shkodër experienced this more clearly than anyone, through the arrests, beatings and injuries it suffered on January 14, December 13, 1990, and April 2. who used violence against us. Human beings, as rational creatures, have both the capacity to forget and memory. Both must be used. We cannot move forward without forgetting. Without memory, we risk returning to where we were. So do not forget, but always look ahead. Some people have begun to forget very quickly. On the eve of April 2 there were civilians with automatic weapons on every street; snipers on every terrace and strategic point in the city; gunfire could be heard day and night, and every so often someone was killed or wounded. The March 31 elections were lost. The Communists won two-thirds of the votes in Albania. Shkodër ranked among the most pro-democracy cities. In town and countryside, in the mountains and on the plain, 16 citizens of Shkodër were elected as new and courageous forces, rogues; indeed, even today, four years later, two days beforehand, to prove that it remains an accomplice to crime, it labels the peaceful protests of Shkodër’s students as “criminal gatherings,” etc. On April 2, Shkodër once again demonstrated to Albania and to the whole world its unyielding Albanian spirit, its unbreakable resolve. April 2 was also regarded as another Timoshoare, and there had been democratic… institutions Democratic deputies and only 3 Communists. The dictatorship decided to go on the offensive. The PPSH Central Committee Plenum, with R. Alia, made the decision on April 1: “to trample the Democrats underfoot,” as the criminals Qapedarët put it. Radio Tirana was not broadcasting the election results for Shkodër. People stopped us in the street and cried: “Is it true that we have lost?” A peaceful strike was held in front of the PPSH Committee. Not a single window was broken. No one was touched. The PD’s initiating committee mobilized in its entirety to prevent possible provocations. One after another, we all went in front of the PPSH Committee to tell the demonstrators to remain calm. Three members of the KDP were sent there that night, too, to stay with them until they dispersed peacefully. I remember all my comrades as clearly as if it were today, every single one: Arben Broci, Nikolin Thane, Ali Spahine, Alfons Grizhe, Xhemal Uruçi, Kolec Ndou, Eduard Perjaku, Edmond Bushati, Ilirian Idrizi, Agustin Shqalësi, Zhani Sekuj, Fatmir Berdicaj, Fran Gjergji, Ferit Hafizi, Dashamir Peku. Not one held back; all took an active part in opposing violence. They were not the only ones: there were hundreds and thousands of activists who took part in the democratic movement. It was the entire people of Shkodër, who rose to defend … so that they would not become victims, but the snipers and police forces fired and killed him and his comrades: Nazmi Kryeziu, Bujar Beshanaku and Besnik Ceka. Eighty peaceful demonstrators were wounded. Only then did the youth of Shkodër show the dictatorship what they could do. They attacked and burned the communist headquarters, sending black smoke billowing up to the sky. Huana Kurti went inside with the flag in her hand. The police buses were burned. Many of those who were in the square that day remember documents and fake ballot boxes flying out of the windows. The people of Shkodër forced the dictatorship to retreat, although it had been prepared to trample democracy underfoot. The “Sambists” attacked the people of Shkodër with weapons. When the battle was over, on our side there were books, students’ bags and policemen left in the square. Nevertheless, the schoolboys and schoolgirls prevailed over the police buses. The blood of Arben Broci and the martyrs of democracy, the blood of the wounded, and the courage and determination of thousands of demonstrators call on the democrats now in power not to rest easy, but to listen to the opinions and criticisms of the people who gave them their votes; to strive every day to put something right and improve it, and to explain to the people how many good things have been done and how many more can and are being done. The blood of the martyrs of democracy is a warning to neocommunists who try to trample democracy underfoot and seize power by deceiving, sabotaging and destroying everything the people have secured through sacrifice. The people of Shkodër and all Albania will not allow those who killed us on April 2 to take up the banner of freedom and democracy in order to put us under a new yoke again. The “2 Prilli” association, too, as an organization that fights to guarantee, strengthen and improve democracy in Albania, must become the standard-bearer of the people of Shkodër’s eternal struggle for freedom and democracy, committing all its forces to the struggle against those trying to bring back the past in new, disguised forms.

Four years ago, Shkodër, the city of Rozafa, the city of Barleti, Fishta, Mjeda, Gurakuqi and Mikel Koliqi… Democratic deputies pay tribute to the martyrs of democracy

Kalashnikovs opened fire on the morning of April 2 on the heads and young bodies of the schoolchildren of Shkodër…

There were hundreds and thousands of activists who took part in the democratic movement.

Basketball: Xhordan's spectacular return, Karate, etc. PAGE 6

On the eve of April 1991: Ramiz Alia, in his speech at the Palace of Congresses on March 29, 1991, said, among other things: “Let us give our votes to the PP candidates, to the Party born in the bosom of the people, the Party that the people themselves love and defend.” (Published in ZP, March 30, 1991; only four days after this speech, the Party shot at the people “who love and defend it.”) ■ “The March 31 elections—a major victory for the PPSH”—ZP, April 2, 1991 ■ “The dignified victory of the PPSH—a statement by the PPSH Central Committee”—ZP, April 3, 1991. Published on April 3, the statement celebrates the PPSH victory, while the massacre in Shkodër has already taken place, and not a word is said about it. ■ Communiqué of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly and the Presidential Council, Tirana, April 2, 1991. Among other things, it says: “The Minister of Internal Affairs, Gramoz Ruçi, then reported on the situation in public… (Ruçi stressed) that in Shkodër there had been illegal gatherings…” authorized the law-enforcement bodies to use all legal means to stop unauthorized demonstrations and protect public institutions. During these gatherings, terrorist groups in the city of Shkodër attacked and set fire to the Party of Labour Committee building… “To restore calm and deploy the law-enforcement forces” (ZP, April 3, ’91) ■ Communiqué of the Council of Ministers, dated 3.4.91 “…There have been illegal gatherings and unlawful anarchic acts in Shkodër” (ZP, April 4, ’91) ■ “Chairman: The March 31 elections—a great victory for the Albanian people” “The PPSH’s composure is well known; its tolerance has been exemplary, especially in these months” (ZP, April 4, ’91) ■ “…On the proposal of the members, it was decided to dissolve the plenary session of the KP of Shkodër district; Shaqir Vukaj was elected chairman of the organizing committee” (ZP, 6.4.91) ■ Main article — “Everlasting honor and gratitude” (Dedicated to Enver Hoxha) “…Today we commemorate Enver Hoxha… …He will remain honored forever… We feel fortunate that Enver Hoxha did not leave us closed paths on our roads toward Europe.” (ZP, Thursday, April 11) ■ Lead article: “An undesirable statement” (As can be seen from the text below, this concerns…) The statement by the Democratic deputies of the People’s Assembly, who ask the Presidential Council and the Council of Ministers to publish “immediately the results of the investigation and the punishment of those responsible” for the events that took place in Shkodër on April 2. (ZP, Sunday, April 14, ’91)