By Dashnor Kaloçi
The first part
Memorie.al / The Special Operative Group that was created immediately after the arrest of the former Minister of the Interior, Kadri Hazbiu and his deputy, Feçor Shehu, in mid-October 1982, headed by the Deputy Minister of Works of the Interior, Zylyftar Ramizi, and as his subordinates he had Enver Zeneli and Hasan Ulqinak, among other measures, such as; the study and analysis of a large number of archival files, which belonged to a long period of time (1945-1982), called and asked some of the former senior officials of the PPSh leadership and former cadres senior leaders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security officers, etc., to give in writing, what they knew, or had doubts, regarding the “hostile activity” of Kadri Hazbiu, Feçor Shehu, or other persons, with whom they were connected by work or not, during the period that they had served at that ministry, or in the Interior Branches in the districts, in the Political Intelligence sector, at our diplomatic missions accredited in different countries the world, etc.
Among the former senior officials of the PPSh and the leading cadres and officers of the State Security, etc., who responded to this call, giving their written testimonies to the Special Operative Group, were: Liri Belishova, (former member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the PPS Central Committee for propaganda, art and culture), Nesti Kerenxhi, (former major-general, Director of State Security and Minister of Internal Affairs), Xhule Çiraku (former-general- major, Director of Security and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs), Rexhep Kolli (former Major General, Director of State Security and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs), Zija Kambo (former Major General and commander of of the Guard of the Republic), Zoi Themeli (former Major-General, Director of State Security and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs), Nevzat Haznedari, (former Major-General and Head of the Investigation in the Ministry of Internal Affairs), Hekuran Pobrati (former colonel and senior officer of the State Security), Feti Smokthina (former colonel and Commander of the Republic Guard), Zylfi Saliu (former colonel, senior officer of the State Security, head of the Internal Department in several districts, deputy of the People’s Assembly), Lelo Sinaj, (former major officer and Director of State Security), Ilo Manushi (major officer and head of the Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior), Mark Dodani (former lieutenant colonel and officer head of State Security), etc., etc.
From the letters or reports-information in question sent to the address of the Special Operative Group at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (in the years 1982-1983), or personally to Minister Hekuran Isai, we have selected for publication in this article the letter of the former officer of head of the State Security, lieutenant colonel Mark Dodani, (also known as the screenwriter of several films of Kinostudio “New Albania” and writer and author of several books), which was extracted from a voluminous file, which is found in the archival fund of to the Authority for the Information of Former State Security Files, where he informs the head of the Ministry of the Interior, in detail, about some of the most important events, which he had the opportunity to be present only because of his duty, or the doubts that arose about those events and persons.
For example. the escape and the tragic murder in the cave with artillery, of Colonel Haxhi Hajdar, (former deputy of the People’s Assembly), on April 8, 1963, the mysterious death of Colonel Myslym Keta, on February 26, 1966 (where Mark Dodani writes that he was charged by the ministers Beqir Balluku and Kadri Hazbiu, to eliminate him physically, since he had committed treason and wanted to escape), the escape to Greece and the mystery of the murder of Izet Osmani, the collaborator of the Admiral of the Naval Fleet, Major General, Teme Sejkos, some of the combinations that Kadri Hazbiu had made with the Greek agency in the South of the country, where Kadri Hazbiu’s secretary, Xelal Shaqiri, who was imprisoned and then released by Feçor Shehu, was also implicated. etc. For more about these, we are familiar with the paper in question by Mark Dodani, published for the first time in several issues, by Memorie.al
ARCHIVE DOCUMENT WITH THE LETTER OF THE FORMER STATE SECURITY OFFICER, LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARK DODANI, SENT TO THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR, HEKURAN ISAI, IN 1982
Minister of Internal Affairs
Comrade Hekuran Isai
Tirana
Dear friend Hekuran
Appreciating with all the responsibility as a communist, the life-giving lessons of the Party, of Comrade Enver, on the recent situations in the war against the fierce enemies of the Motherland, especially for those that I got to know in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I feel a duty to I take the information I think may be useful and leave it to your own biased judgment.
Earlier he added that I am A.P.P.SH. Mark Dodani from a Mirditor village that enters the jurisdiction of Shkodra, organized as a young communist in the years of the National Liberation War in Korçë and A.P. in Puka, as well as an employee of the Internal Affairs bodies since the beginning of 1946 in Puka, released at the time of the 8th plenum of the Central Committee in 1948, returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, immediately after of the 11th plenum in 1948, where I continued working without interruption (including the time of transfers between districts) until 1975.
In this year I was released with the signature of Kadri Hazbi, forced to ask for it myself, as sick, although five years before the age limit, even though I had over 30 years of service. In the name of Kadri Hazbiu, I was promised that I would continue to deal with the study work as a writer, but in 1977, I was called by Bato Karafili, who forced me to take the connection of the Party, outside the Internal Affairs bodies, since here, as he said, he cannot continue being released, regardless of the desire for various writings and studies.
I asked Bato at that time to allow me to live the life of the Party, near the high school of the M.P.B., but he refused. Everything I want to inform you is also related to the thought that has been created in me, that I never dreamed that there were traitors and criminals such as: Mehmet Shehu, Kadri Hazbiu, etc., their followers, who with foreign minds they wanted to burn our hearth, kill our Party, extinguish our Albania.
I am presenting the facts that I know:
On the case of Rrustem Furrik. You had written a letter to Kadri Hazbiu that Rrustem Purriku was from Kabash village of Puka. At the same time, he was the secretary of the basic organization of the Party in Kabash, as well as his family, considered during the National Liberation War, as a base where the partisans of the province were sheltered.
Rrustemi told me that someone in the Internal Affairs Branch of Puka (he did not mention the name), had pushed him and his brother, Saliu, to give false depositions, to the address of a former arrested officer. Even for this, he said that; apart from Riza Kuçi, former head of the Branch in Pukë, Thoma Dine, former at that time, first secretary of the Party Committee in the district, now arrested as an enemy, had called him to the Party. In detail, accompanied by an original document (the document was a letter written by someone in Dega), Rrustemi sent it at that time (I think from 1978 or 1979) to Kadri Hazbiu, who at that time was still in the position of Minister of Works Internal.
For the sake of the authenticity of this information, to document whether or not the letter (as claimed by Rrustemi) went into the hands of Kadri Hazbiu, on my part, in the letter I submitted, I tried to elaborate on the alleged intrigue. That’s why I also sent information to Kadri Hazbi, through the secretary. In that information, I mentioned that; Rrustem Purriku, complained about colleagues of the Internal Affairs Branch in Pukë, regarding violations of the law, as far as the obligation, which they had done to his brother (Sali) to give false depositions.
For this, I wrote that they had compiled a letter with impromptu statements against an arrested former officer. In the trial, Saliu, (Rustem’s brother), spoke the opposite of what those interested in Dega expected. He declared that he was keeping the letter written with lies, by someone in the Branch, in a hidden place and as soon as he was released, he would take it up to the Party. Surprisingly, Saliu died after a few days, from the statement he gave on the paper in court.
For this information, Kadri Hazbiu, through the secretary, must have received notification, both from me and from the interested party. The latter, as far as I know, has records of the dates and names of the friends with whom he communicated in the ministry, on this problem, but until now (as he claimed), he has not received any response. He is very worried about his family, more than his brother’s death, because of his fraternal exclusion from the Party.
Regarding the knowledge I have about the family of Rrustem Purrik, regarding the incident reported to Kadri Hazbiu, I have given detailed information in writing as a communist, even to the Party Committee in Puka.
Regarding the traitor Haxhi Hajdari.
In 1963, when that former colonel, the enemy, escaped, I was also charged with service. After the criminal was killed by our forces, in the cave of Lug i Rrjolli, in the highlands of Shkodra, I returned to the Ministry. I remember that, being in the office with the “People’s Hero”, Asim Aliko, I read a letter from the Shkodra Internal Affairs Branch, signed by Feçor Shehu, who was the chairman, or by his deputy.
Here it was reported and actions were requested in the direction of a residency, which we followed with the nicknames, as far as I remember, “Mustaqja” in Durrës (it was about A.P., officer of the Internal Affairs bodies, Halil Zenelin), for another with initials, s’ I remember what initials, but I understood that it was about A.P. – the officer in the ministry, comrade Xhemal Bejtja, as well as for A.P., Dr. Sitki Bushatin, the latter with an open name.
I guessed that these actions could not be done without the approval of Kadri Hazbi. At the same time, this would have approval from the Party, otherwise this would be a serious violation of the platform. Now I suspect that Kadri Hazbiu and Feçor Shehu will have violated the Political Platform of the Party in this case with certain goals, by processing loyal friends, as I know those I mentioned above. However, the doubt I mentioned about these friends is only my own, because I do not know the further practice of this matter.
It is said that Feçor Shehu, at that time, was “removed” as if he was going to discover a dangerous plot, which captured the north, just as it happened with the plot of Teme Sejko and Panajot Plaku, in the south. Rexhep Kolli, who participated directly in the operations against Haxhi Hajdar, as the director of the State Security, must have known about the actions of Feçor Shehu, in the direction of Halil, Xhemal and Sitkiu? Meanwhile, Xhemal Bejtja, an employee of the Department of War against Gangs, I saw that he himself read the letter I spoke about.
At that time, I could not know more about this problem, because I had no duty and as usual, for such things, I followed the strict rules that we had determined by the Party. In front of Xhemal and Lilo, I remained silent, but Rakip Beqon, as the vice-chairman of the Shkodra Branch, I asked him about that document. Rakipi told me that he knew nothing, except for a whistleblower who mixed up the name of Xhemal’s father, about Haxhi Hajdar’s escape.
All this, at that time, was related to the pursuit of the criminal Haxhi Hajdari. After the murder of this criminal, Haxhi Hajdar, I don’t know how and why the Shkodra Branch took the letter I mentioned to the Branch where I worked together with Asim, Xhemal, etc., and with the head of the Branch, Banush. In the meantime, I was impressed, why they didn’t allow us to capture Haxhi Hajdar alive, that there were opportunities for this, (the last sentence was apparently added to the original, after the material was made. My note, Hasan Ulqinaku).
The burning of many documents was done by order from above, as I remember around the years of Khrushchev’s treason, which was left to the competence of the Branches. I think now, that this action is significant, in terms of the disappearance of the traces that compromised Kadri Hazbi, and others following him, as violators of the Party’s Political Platform, as well as the laws and established norms. I am recording this fact, because I remember the file of the “People’s Hero”, with the nickname “Furtuna” (Pal Melyshi), that was wanted and I don’t know what was done with it, except that I heard that someone had burned it. I don’t know the details.
In the period of the pursuit of the conspirators Teme Sejko, Panajot Plaku and others, charged with the tasks dictated by the situation according to the orders, the section of the Greek Counterintelligence, which I headed, kept all the implications that emerged. It was even said that when checks were made for operational work, in addition to the file, the lists with names, nicknames and numbers prepared by our section should also be checked. In this section at that time, the following comrades were working as operative management workers: Gezim Hila, Llazi Cici, Jorgo Kareco, Koço Agora and me
I remember the case of the involvement of Jelal Shaqiri, our former officer. I think he worked in the Visa Branch, a secretary near Kadri, at that time, Xelal had returned from Paris, as an employee at the embassy. – The implication was roughly like this: “Jelal Shaqiri had close ties with the conspiracy group, which was in the service of the Greek Intelligence. Meanwhile, one of the members of that group, as if he had given a revolver, or received one, I don’t remember well”.
But I remember on the day of the implication, Kadri Hazbiu personally charged Xelal to go to Konispol, where he would meet for operational reasons. I don’t know what orders Jalali received from Kadri Hazbiu, but interested in stopping this action, in these conditions when Jalali was implicated, I had the opportunity to inform urgently. Rexhep Kolli called me. We arrested Xhelal, without delay, with the legend that he had violated military regulations. And how I secured him in the Tirana prison dungeon, when it seems to me, it was Feçor Shehu, Director of Internal Affairs. However, Kadri Hezbiu forgave him after a while.
In fact, the impression on me was good, because I thought that Kadri Hazbiu, who knows what more in favor of Xelal. Now he works in Tirana Shipping, he is A.P., he meets with the consideration that Kadri Hazbiu had for him, which I have called party consideration. Of course, as long as Xelal Shaqiri is A.P., I do not harbor any illusions, but I am raising this fact only to be known, as a fact related to the conspirator Kadri Hazbiu. For this matter, comrades Rexhep Kolli and Pilo Shanto, should know more details than I do.
In this period, I remember a typical case that now impresses me, in the address of Kadri Hazbiu. This, from the position of the minister, taking me with him to Saranda, for a combination that he led himself, after we failed, he asked me: “What do you think, why are we expected to have connections, contact, with the agency and enemy intelligence, abroad”?! I answered you frankly, that I thought that: “enemy intelligence should have a strong agency in our ranks”. We all said this truth then, we who worked in this sector, that we saw and dealt with all kinds of of persons involved.
Specifically, Kadri Hazbiu, personally approved the combination that we realized on the Greek border, with an object from Mursia. This was suspected as an agent. In the direction of this person, we acted like this: “Asim Aliko, Jorgo Kareco and I, acted as saboteurs, as if we were supposedly coming from Greece. At a point somewhere far away, we placed the chief of Intelligence, Nuri Kosta, whom we ordered not to he moved from the place and at a certain hour, after midnight, to give us light signals, by means of the electric hand, which was left to the apostate.
Meanwhile, Asimi, Jorgua and I, as “saboteurs”, caught the object by surprise. We left with the object together, towards the Greek border, supposedly to cross our country. On the way, we asked the facility to talk to us about the “tasks” it should have performed in favor of “Vorio Epiri”. The object did not disintegrate. Jorgua spoke to him in Greek, held him accountable, while Asimi and I spoke to him in Albanian, as if we were supposedly Albanian fugitives. When we were convinced that the object was not breaking down, we played the game as “set”, to crack the boundary out.
We coordinated this with the time we had expected the signals to be given by Nuri Kosta, who was standing there without a sound. At the appointed time, Nuri Kosta made the expected signals with the electric hand lights.
At the border, according to our combination, strong gun batteries were fired, as if a “fight” with saboteurs broke out somewhere. The group of friends, in the role of saboteurs, were “forced” to return across the border. At a certain place on the slope, a point was left where information would be exchanged. The object, shocked, agreed; our group as “saboteurs” left. We also took Nuri Kosta with us, whom we met late, after the actions. He (Nuriu) with the whiteness of the light, as soon as he went home to Saranda, committed suicide.
He left a written letter for Kadri Hazbi, who was in Saranda. He was proven to be a repentant Greek Intelligence agent. I don’t know how Kadri Hazbiu described this issue, except that he was told that Nuri Kosta asked for his help in a letter, not to be called a traitor. Memorie.al
The next issue follows
