By Dashnor Kaloçi
Second part
– The secret document with the unknown incident of two families from Vermoshi who, after coming to Yugoslavia, crossing the border at the border point “Bashkim” in Velipoja, gave interviews on Titograd Radio-Television-
Memorie.al / “The escape of 17 people is a serious event, to the extent that it brought damage to the work of the Party, while we, as the Border Force, did not fulfill our duty, morally, the people punish us, the enemy won in this battle as a whole this case reduced the striking force. For this event, in addition to the responsibility of the Post Command, the Command of Department 299, the operational sector in the Branch, and the head of the Branch, we, the command of the Headquarters of the Border Forces, also has a great responsibility”!
This is stated, among others, in an information report dated September 3, 1987, drawn up by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which informs the apparatus of the Central Committee of the PPSh, informing them of the event of that had happened on August 10 of that year, where at 02 o’clock in the night, two families from the village of Vermosh, with 17 people, had been able to escape to Yugoslavia, crossing the state border at the border point of Velipoja (Quadrat sector) of Ward 299 Tamara.
According to the testimony of H.G. a former senior soldier of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who on that day was in service as a Direction Officer in the Ministry, the radiogram of the Shkodra Internal Branch, which arrived that day at the Ministry, announcing the event in question, alerted not only the highest heads of the ministry where he served, but also the highest leadership of the ALP Central Committee, which was immediately set in motion.
Thus, on that same day, at lunchtime, a helicopter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on its board, the Minister of the Interior Hekuran Isai and the secretary of the Central Committee of PPSh Simon Stefani (covering the organs of Dictatorship of the Proletariat’), would urgently fly to the highlands of Vermoshi, where the highest leaders of the Internal Branch of Shkodra had already “landed” and also the District Party Committee, headed by the first secretary, Xhemal Dymylja .
This extraordinary event, (which would later become the object of long meetings and analyses), became more difficult, since only two or three days later, some of the members of the Vushaj and Lelçaj families gave interviews on the state television of Montenegro, (Radio-Television Titograd), which caused a great stir and was followed with great interest, not only by the residents of the Shkodra district, but also in almost half of the territory of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, where they arrived the television waves of the stations of neighboring Yugoslavia. But who were the people of the Vushaj and Lelçaj family, what relations did they have with the communist regime in power, what were the reasons for the escape and how did they organize their plan, without falling into the eyes of the State Security bodies and their collaborators in that border area?
How could they not be dictated by the chairman of the People’s Council of the village and the commander of the volunteer forces of those villages, who, according to the testimonies of some residents of that area, had not only helped to catch some border violators, but was the man who had Zefi Vushaj’s family under strict control and surveillance, where only a few times before, he had climbed up to the ceiling of their house, to check for a few kg. beans that it was suspected that the family living in extreme poverty had acquired from the agricultural cooperative?!
How could the members of the Vushaj and Lelçaj families cross the state border, without being understood by the border forces, when among them were small children of a few months?! Regarding these and others from the extraordinary event of August 10, 1987, which shocked the senior leadership of the PPSh in Tirana, we know some archival documents (extracted from the Archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tirana and The Central State Archive, the fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP), where in addition to the document with the report-information of the Department of Internal Affairs of the district of Shkodra, addressed to the secretariat of the Central Committee of the ALP, with the analysis related to that event, there is also the information report drawn up by the Chairman of the General Investigation of the Socialist People’s Republic of Albania, Qemal Lame, sent to the secretary of the Central Committee of the PPSh, Foto Çami, as well as several other documents, which are published every first, from Memorie.al
Continues from last issue
THE SECRET REPORT OF THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF THE SHKODRA DISTRICT, SENT TO THE FIRST DIRECTORATE OF STATE INSURANCE UNDER THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, ON THE ESCAPE OF THE VUSHAJ AND LELÇAJ FAMILIES
SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRET
MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AFFAIRS Specimen No. 2
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Shkodër, on 4.9.1987
No. 1495/1 Prot.
Subject: Sending some data for the month of August 1987
Ministry of Internal Affairs
First Directorate
Fourth Branch
Tirana
For the month of August, we send you the following data:
- Currently, the Insurance sector follows 4 processing’s, with deadline, of which, 3 in 2/A and 1 in preliminary processing. According to trends, they belong to: 1 in 2/A as an agent in the service of Yugoslav Intelligence, 1 in 2/A for hostile propaganda, 1 in 2/A and 1 in preliminary processing, for the tendency to escape, abroad. Concrete tasks have been set for these processes; their completion will be done within the first 15 days of September.
- During this month, 1 active processing 2/A was removed as baseless. His arrest in 2/A was made for escape tendency and agitation and hostile propaganda on the basis of two operational notes compiled by the former Operative Worker, Bedri Kazazi, and the statement of a citizen. From the verification that was made to these materials, it turned out that they did not hold, therefore, his reception in 2/A was done on the basis of the data of lies.
- From the district Party Committee, two persons have been advised in active processing 2/A for the tendency to flee abroad. Both of these have been followed on behalf of the 6th Branch.
- During the month of August, 14 informants were drawn into the secret information network, of which, 6 are for the account of the First Branch, 6 for the account of the 6th Branch, and 2 for the account of the 8th Branch. Of the informants withdrawn, 8 are on a voluntary basis and 6 on a patriotic basis, 8 were withdrawn on the principle of object and 6 on the principle of direction.
- During this period, two controls were carried out by the head of the General Sector, for the preservation of secrecy. From these controls, some deficiencies were also evidenced, such as in three offices of the Operative Workers, where some used carbon and some offices that were not waxed were found. The cadres that had these shortcomings were criticized.
- It was observed that the escapes abroad during this period were carried out by the following persons:
– Vinçenç Vlash Pukri, born in 1968, from Dajç i Ri village, escaped to Yugoslavia on 9.8.1987 via the Buna River; in the sector of the border post, Rrushkull, it has not been documented.
– Alfred Luk Jaku, born in 1968, from the village of Dajç i Ri, escaped to Yugoslavia on 9.8.1987, via the Buna River in the sector of the Rrushkull border point, has not been documented.
– Zef Gjergj Vushaj, born in 1933, from the village of Vermosh, identified as a contingent on behalf of the Yugoslav Intelligence, on 10.8.1987, his family escaped abroad to Yugoslavia, in the sector of the Velipojë border point in Vermosh.
His family consisted of the following people:
– Lena Fran Vushaj, born in 1940
– Dodë Zef Vushaj, born in 1961, registered contingent
– Gjovalin Zef Vushaj, born in 1962, contingent
– Katrina Zef Vushaj, born in 1965, contingent
– Canto Zef Vushaj, born in 1966, contingent
– Col. Zef Vushaj, born in 1969, contingent
– Sokol Zef Vushaj, born in 1971, contingent
– Lume Zef Vushaj, born in 1974, contingent
– Dritë Zef Vushaj, born in 1977, contingent
– Vladimir Zef Vushaj, born in 1982, contingent
– Liza Ndue Vushaj, born in 1965, contingent
The other family that made the escape, on 10.8.1987, together with the family of Zef Vushaj, in the sector of the Velipoja border point in Vermoshi, is:
– Mark Pashko Lelçaj, born in 1957
– Vitore Zef Lelçaj, born in 1959
– Aida Mark Lelçaj, born in 1982
– Vojsava Mark Lelçaj, born in 1983
– Alfred Mark Lelçaj, born in 1986
Head of the Department of Internal Affairs
Bardhosh Lamcaj
SECRET DOCUMENT WITH REPORT-INFORMATION COMPILED BY THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT NEAR THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE APPARATUS, SENT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU, SIMON STEFANI, CONCERNING THE EVENT OF THE ESCAPE IN YUGOSLAVIA, OF THE TWO FAMILIES OF VERMOSH VILLAGE
NOTIFICATION
ABOUT THE ESCAPE OF TWO FAMILIES AND 2 INDIVIDUALS
IN VERMOSH AND RUSHKULL IN THE DISTRICT OF SHKODRA
The Chief of Staff of the RPSSH Border Command informed us that today it was established:
- The escape of two families from the village of Velipojë i Vermoshi, Shkodra district, to Yugoslavia
- The family of Zef Gjergj Vushaj, 11 people.
- The family of Mark Pashk Selcaj, 5 people. (This is Zefi’s son-in-law).
The escape happened after midnight. Both of these families, as we were informed in advance, have relatives in Yugoslavia.
They also left a letter in their apartment, in which to justify the betrayal they have committed, they cite as a pretext “the bad treatment they received from the Party members and the authorities in the village, in solving the problems they had”. .
- In the control that was carried out on the bank of the Buna river, in Rrushkull, the bodies and notification letters of Vincens Kulit and Valentin Lataj, aged 18-20, from the village of Dajç i Ri, who must have escaped to Yugoslavia, were found. .
For clarifications and further verifications, colleagues from the branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and others went to these places.
Once detailed information arrives, we will let you know.
SECTOR OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS BODIES
Tirana, on 10.8.1987
SECRET DOCUMENT WITH REPORT-INFORMATION COMPILED BY THE CHIEF OF THE GENERAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA, QEMAL LAME, ADDRESSED TO THE SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ALP, FOTO ÇAMI, ON THE EVENT OF ESCAPE TO YUGOSLAVIA, OF TWO FAMILIES IN THE VILLAGE OF VERMOSH , ON AUGUST 10, 1987
SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRET
GENERAL INVESTIGATION Exemplar No. 2
No. 932 Prot. Tirana, on 20.8.1987
SUBJECT: On the escape of two families with 17 people in Vermosh, Shkodra district.
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF APS
FRIEND PHOTO CHAMI
TIRANA
In the morning of 10.8.1987, the escape of the family of Zef Gjergj Vushaj with his wife and ten children, of these seven adults working in the cooperative, while three were minors, as well as the family of Mark Pashko Lelçaj, the son-in-law of Zefit, the fifth himself, with his wife and three young children.
Zefi had a father who fled to Yugoslavia, currently dead, and an uncle who was deported. In Yugoslavia, Zefi also has some distant cousins. My friend Lena has a brother who is a party member.
From the investigations carried out so far, it appears that on 9.8.1987, Zef Vushaj had organized a family lunch with all the family members, under the pretext that his son Kanto Vushaj had come on leave from the army. His two sons-in-law, Pashko Lelçaj, with his wife and children, also from that village, and Gjeto
Moçaj, engaged to Zefi’s daughter, two months ago, living in Selca, together with his sister-in-law, were invited to this lunch.
After lunch, Gheto was told to stay for dinner, but he had run away to his village in Selce, after he bought and took with him a mule, which his father-in-law, Zef Vushaj, sold to him for 4500 Lek.
That same night, the youth of the village of Vermosh, after an action for the collection of grass, had organized an evening of dancing, until midnight. In the evening, Zefi’s four children also participated: Doda, Katrina, Kantua and Gjovalin Vushaj. Gjovalini had not entered in the evening, but had stayed outside.
It is thought that he stayed to observe if anyone suspected them and for any reinforcing measures that could be taken to protect the border.
At the end of the evening, at midnight, all four of Zefi’s children went home. After that, Zefi with the other members of the family, with the son-in-law and the daughter with children, closed the door with a board from the inside and went out through a window, from the back of the house.
The escape took place around 24:30. The perpetrators had passed around a deep stream near their house that continues to the border, at a distance of about 1,200 meters, which direction was not covered for protection by the border service.
The unit was 150 meters away from the place where the escape took place, but it did not dictate anything.
That night, only the custodian was on duty at the post office. The commander was on duty in Shkodër, while the commissioner was on duty at another point.
From the investigation, it turns out that this family in the village has caused concerns for damage to property, for quarrels and disputes.
During the inspection of the apartment, several letters written by Zefi’s sons, Dod and Gjovalin Vushaj and Zefi’s son-in-law, Pashko Lelçaj, were found.
In them, various grievances were expressed, such as for unfair sentences given by the court, for poor treatment of the family, where they wrote hateful and insulting words about the Chairman of the People’s Council of the village, H.N., who is also a member of the People’s Assembly. , complained about receiving a plot of potatoes on the charter, about the constant suspicions of theft against their family, etc.
He says that in one case, he was tied up by order of the Council, because they were suspected of theft.
The fugitive Mark Lelçaj, in the letter left, expressed that he was unhappy, that he had not been accepted into the party, that he had been appointed to lead the army in a department with people with bad biographies.
He himself was a martyr’s family. He was unhappy that they had not visited him for the May Day holiday.
Efforts are being made to find the reasons that led the mentioned to commit this serious crime, if they were triggered by their enmity and hatred towards the popular government, or if this crime was organized and instigated by the Yugoslav Discovery.
These were the main problems that we thought we would inform them about.
HEAD OF THE GENERAL INVESTIGATION
QEMAL LAME
THE DOCUMENT WITH THE NOTE OF THE APPARATUS INSTRUCTOR OF THE APPARATUS CENTRAL COMMITTEE, REGARDING THE ORDERS LEFT BY THE SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, SIMON STEFANI, FOR THE BORDER AUTHORITIES AND THE HIGH COURT
Regarding the order left by Comrade Simon, I called Comrade Leni, Comrade Halil Kopani, the secretary of the Supreme Court party organization, and Comrade Zija Vuçaj, the vice-president of the District Court, and presented them.
They accepted them. I told them that they present you to all the border departments, so that there are no more cases.
There were also remarks about the investigation, that they did not perform the tasks set by us well. Memorie.al
