Press conference of Finance Minister Arben Malaj: We must persevere today to achieve something good tomorrow Page 1

The first complaint against those responsible for the Albanian tragedy has arrived

In the name of true justice, in the name of the blood shed by all those killed and wounded in the city of Vlora, in the name of the countless sacrifices and sufferings of the brave and heroic people of this city, in the name of the torture and physical and psychological violence suffered by these people, in the name of public concern over all the destruction, branches, thefts, losses of public and private property and assets during the period January–June 1997, and also pursuant to Article 281 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, we hereby file this criminal complaint requesting that your office initiate criminal proceedings against citizen Sali Berisha, the country’s former President, and his associates, as those responsible and the main perpetrators of the foregoing in the city of Vlora in particular and throughout Albania in general. This is what several citizens of Vlora say in a complaint seeking criminal prosecution of citizen Sali Ram Berisha and his associates, which has been received by the address of the Prosecutor General. The person we are reporting has instilled fear throughout the complainants’ locality; through his actions and statements, with direct and indirect intent, he has fully committed, in collaboration with Bashkim Gazidede, Agim Shehu, Sokol Mulosmani, and others, the criminal offences of genocide, crimes against humanity, abuse of office, etc.—offences provided for under Articles 73, 74, 248 and 25 of the Criminal Code. More specifically: - On 10 February 1997, the persons mentioned above, driven by the political aim of holding on to power at any cost, sent more than 5,000 police officers against the peaceful people of Vlora. In the ensuing confrontation, the police killed the innocent Vlora citizens Artur Rustemi, Estref Llahaj and Maliq Banushi. The confrontation ended with the complete destruction of the police forces that had arrived from Tirana and those of Vlora. On 28.02.1997, SHIK forces sent to Vlora by the persons mentioned above, in the “10 Korriku” neighbourhood, opened fire on people engaged in peaceful protests, killing three more citizens, named Fatmir Tozaj, Shkëlqim Bogdani and Artur Zotaj. As a result of these tragedies, the people of Vlora, in order to defend themselves, took weapons, military equipment and ammunition from the arms depots of the Vlora Division’s military unit, thereby completely destroying these units in terms of personnel and equipment. When they failed to achieve this with the police and SHIK forces, the persons mentioned above thought they could do so by activating criminal gangs. Among their ranks they enlisted individuals convicted of the most serious crimes, whom they released from prison and sent to besiege Vlora, keeping it in a state of terror and insecurity, without a functioning state and at the mercy of fate. This caused the people of Vlora to remain shut inside their homes for around six months, weapons in hand, waiting for unwanted knocks at the door and enduring an extraordinary state of stress. These were the gangs that committed murders, robberies, kidnappings, thefts, etc. in the city during the period in question, and S. Berisha’s phantom state not only organized them but shamelessly encouraged their criminal activities. Around 1,100 innocent people from Vlora were killed or wounded, including the Vlora police officers Spiro Toshi, Gezím Shabani, Besim Manolli and Vlorën Rrapi, and the citizens Kozma Mata, Veledin Tafili, Sinan Lika, Petrit Lloj, Hajri Tahiri, Arben Osmani, and hundreds of others. The physical and psychological violence and terror inflicted by Berisha and his associates forced hundreds of citizens of Vlora to emigrate to Italy by sea. On 28 March 1997, this emigration marked a tragedy in the history of this city and all of Albania: the Otranto tragedy, the greatest of them all, with 104 victims—men, women and children—a tragedy that shook not only our city. With the pyramid schemes he allowed to operate, Sali Berisha is the greatest thief of the wealth of the Albanian people throughout the entire existence of this people, stealing their blood and sweat. Mr Prosecutor General! Bringing S. Berisha and his gang to criminal justice is, among other things, a moral obligation as well as a legal one. The consequences of this criminal activity are collective, and your office may also act on its own initiative. It has now become clear that S. Berisha and his gang are the source of such great evil in our country. We must uproot this evil, because we have no more time to lose if we are to build a truly democratic, civil and orderly society—a society that is still being obstructed by the actions of the person we have reported, the complaint of the citizens of Vlora concludes.

Racist, Sexist, Fascist BERISHA GO AWAY Racist, Sexist, Fascist / BERISHA GO AWAY

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Rugova at the headquarters of the PSSH Page 2