By Dashnor Kaloçi
Part Three
Memorie.al / It was the morning of September 1, 1976, when the workers of the Fishing Enterprise who were the first to arrive at their workplace located on the shore of Lake Shkodra near the village of Shiroka, found that the guard of the enterprise of that sector was surprisingly missing, as well as the office staff, something that had never happened before?! This is because, among other things, there was also the pier where all the fishing boats were anchored, which, tied with chains and locked with a key, were considered objects of special importance and were under the control and double guard, both by the fishing enterprise and by the Border Post located in the village of Zogaj, where the state border with Montenegro, at that time part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of Marshal Tito, was also located.
Although a torrential and stormy rain continued to fall, which had started since midnight, the fishermen began to look for the guard and the foreman of their company, calling them by name, but in vain, because no one answered? But after a while, they were stunned and terrified, when just a few meters away from the fish warehouse, they saw a corpse lying on the ground with no signs of life…! It was the 50-year-old guard, Fadil Rizaj, who had been serving in that position for several years. No one dared to touch him with their hands, because not only was he bloody and with visible marks on his head and body, but his hands were tied with rope from behind his body and also his respiratory organs, tied with a cloth behind his head…! Which clearly meant that he had been killed…!
After that scene of horror, some of the fishermen ran to the offices to call the heads of their company and the Internal Affairs Branch as well, but the telephone line was cut and the connection to Shkodra could not be established…! Meanwhile, from other checks to find the company’s wreck, it was also found that one of the boats (fishing boats) was missing from the pier on the lake shore, precisely the one known as; “Health Boat”, and the safe that held their keys, was broken with a crowbar!
Meanwhile, the alarm was given and there were some of the officers and main chiefs of the Shkodra Internal Affairs Branch, who immediately determined that not only were they dealing with a serious crime, but also with an escape by boat across the lake, which, among other things, would also aggravate their position before their superiors at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tirana. Meanwhile, the news spread and the investigative group with the relevant experts immediately began work to uncover the crime that had occurred and unravel the entire event, which a few days later would shock not only the city and district of Shkodra, but also Tivar, Titograd and Ulcinj in Montenegro!
But what had really happened, who and why had killed the fishing guard Fadil Rizaja? How many people had escaped and what had happened at midnight on August 31, as September 1, 1976 dawned, as a heavy rain fell with thunder and lightning, which was said to have never been remembered, even by the oldest residents of those parts? Why were several dead bodies found on the shore of the lake on the Yugoslav side and another corpse on our side of the border, near the border post in the village of Zogaj? How was the main author of that escape able to swim to the part of the lake that belonged to the border of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, on that dark night with rain, waves and storm?
Who was Hamit Arif Myrto and what did he initially say to the residents of that area, when they saw him completely naked in the alleys of their village, as well as to the competent Yugoslav authorities, regarding the reasons for his escape? What did the UDB authorities ask Hamit during the investigation process in several separate offices in Tivar, Titograd and Ulcinj, where they sent him, frequently changing his location, his “cellmates” and the investigators who interrogated him? What did he testify to when they asked him about the military bases and units, the missile unit and other installations that were located at that time in the Shkodra district, as well as the tracts that were dropped in that city those days, against the Party of Labor and Enver Hoxha?
What did Hamit tell the UDB bodies, regarding his brother-in-law, a minister in the government headed by Mehmet Shehu, and also one of the closest people to the dictator Enver Hoxha, who remained in that position until the collapse of the communist regime? Who was the “photographer” from Shkodra who had escaped to Yugoslavia a few years ago and why were all the investigators asking Hamit about that person? Why did the Yugoslav UDB authorities decide to return Hamit Myrto to Albania, handing him over to the Albanian State Security bodies, even though they were convinced that he had not been sent on a secret mission?
What did Hamit testify during the investigative process, such as the reasons that had forced him to undertake that dangerous adventure, and also everything he had told the UDB? What did Hamit write in the letter addressed to Enver Hoxha to the Minister of Defense Beqir Balluku and how was it possible to find that letter in his house in Shkodra? What did Hamit’s family members, relatives, neighbors, work colleagues, the brigadier, the director of the Fishing Enterprise, the chairman of the People’s Council of the “Partizani” Neighborhood where he lived, and other people who were called to testify against him, testify during the investigation process, in the fall of 1976?
Why was the trial of Hamit Myrtos held in the village of Shiroka, how much was he convicted by the Shkodra District Court, the Criminal College of the Supreme Court and why did the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, leave their decisions in force, for his death sentence (by hanging) even after that terrible tragedy that had happened to him; where he lost his entire family? What were Hamit’s last words before the firing squad and why, to this day, has his grave not yet been found?!
Regarding these and other of the most serious and tragic events that the Shkodra region and Montenegro experienced in those years, we are informed by the archival documents of the voluminous relevant file that Memorie.al has provided, which we are publishing in several issues (with the relevant facsimiles and photos), with the sole purpose of shedding light and making known the monstrous crimes that occurred at that time, where Albanians, in order to escape the communist hell, were forced to undertake the most dangerous adventures towards the state border, just like the main character of this event, Hamit Arif Myrtja!
Continued from the previous issue
CERTIFICATIONS ISSUED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL OF THE “PARTIZANI” NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE FISHING ENTERPRISE, FOR HAMIT MYRTJA, WHO LIVED IN DIFFICULT HOUSING CONDITIONS, WITH FIVE FAMILY MEMBERS IN ONE ROOM!
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA Shkodra, on 10.10.1975
PEOPLE’S COUNCIL OF THE “PARTIZANI” NEIGHBORHOOD
Certification
We certify that citizen Hamit Arifi, a resident of this neighborhood, has a family of 5 people and lives in a single room without annexes, in difficult conditions. He has presented himself to the People’s Council of the neighborhood and has requested to be given the opportunity to be sheltered in another apartment, we have this on record, but due to the created conditions, he must be sheltered as soon as possible by the work center where he works. We, as the People’s Council of the neighborhood, are currently unable to shelter him, because we do not have a housing contingent.
This certification is issued to present him for the purposes of seeking shelter.
For the People’s Council of the neighborhood
Chairman
Ibrahim Stankaj
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
Fishing Enterprise Shkodra, on 5.6.1976
Certificate
By which we certify that this enterprise is not required by the Executive Committee of the district to build houses with voluntary contributions, due to the area where it operates and that most of the workers are from Shiroka and Zogaj.
Therefore, this certificate is issued to the worker Hamit Arif Myrtja, to present it to the People’s Council of the Neighborhood where he lives, for the purpose of housing planning according to the rules available.
Director
Thoma Liti
MINUTES OF THE INTERROGATION OF HAMIT ARFIF MYRTJA BY THE INVESTIGATOR OF THE SHKODRA INTERNAL BRANCH, JAKE TEFIKU
MINNUTES
Questioning of the defendant, Hamit Arif Myrtja, Shkodër on 7.10.1976.
I, Jake Tefiku, investigator at the Internal Affairs Branch, question Hamit Arif Myrtja.
Question: What can you explain to us regarding the charges made against you?
Answer: I heard and understood the charges that are being communicated to me. Regarding the charges made against me, I do not accept only the hostile propaganda, but with the other two charges, I agree and explain as follows:
A month before I escaped to Yugoslavia, the idea of crossing to Yugoslavia arose in my mind. Thinking for almost a month about the method of escape, in what direction and in what way. I thought that the most likely route for escape was to take a canoe, to cross the lake. I also thought about taking the night shift, so that I could get a boat, or a fishing boat, or some other agency, because I knew that the Health and Internal Affairs departments were also stationed at the pier.
Three days before, I told my wife, Hasija, about the plan and the idea that I had to escape abroad, to Yugoslavia. I told her that I cannot provide daily food here, because we have very little income and with this we cannot get through the winter. Finally, because the wife was reluctant at first, but when she saw my insistence, she immediately agreed. I told her not to talk to anyone about the conversation. I told the wife that without talking to you, I cannot escape. As I said, she agreed and promised me that she would not talk to anyone about the conversation that took place between me and her.
Continuing to work as a fisherman, I constantly thought about the way to escape, I had already thought about hijacking a boat to escape, taking my family with me. I told my wife this. At the end of August, our fishing brigade with Brigadier Qemal Ulkonja was on duty for the company’s night shift. I, having planned my escape, asked him to take over the night shift at 10:00 PM. The Brigadier said yes. I told him that I needed to replace this day with a later day off. So, on August 31, 1976, until 2:00 PM, I worked in the dock with my brigade, left work, returned, and went home.
I forgot to say that my escape plan failed once, because I intended to escape by means of a slush fund, but they did not give me this right. So my wife, Hasija, found out. As soon as I went home, I told Hasija to get ready because that night we would make the escape, and that is why I thought of writing a letter, explaining the reasons that forced me to escape. Hasija saw me writing something, but she did not ask me what I was writing! The content of the letter was mainly only economic problems, saying that I can no longer live on this income, that our salary has been reduced, that we have not been given housing, and many other problems, all of which I do not remember.
In the content of this letter I wrote that it should be addressed to the main leader of the Party and handed over to him. By this I meant that he should learn why I was escaping. I put this letter in a small suitcase and left it there, because I thought that if I legalized myself and my escape became known, the people of the Internal Affairs Branch would come and find me.
At 8:00 PM on August 31, 1976, I, together with my wife and three children, decided to leave the house, I ordered my wife that if we encountered our people on the street, to say that we were going to the aunt’s daughter, who we have in the “Ndocaj” neighborhood, Rakip Hoxha. The woman dressed the children, took with her a pair of pliers and a pair of tongs, a black bag, a white sheet that the woman had taken to blacken and put in and made black the day before, to make it like a sail for the boat, I took a pair of black velvet pants in blue, took clothes for the woman herself and the children and we left.
We went out into the square, before we left the house, we met the woman’s two sisters, Bukurije and Vjollca and shook their hands, I watched the woman so that she wouldn’t let herself go in front of them, lest they understand something, the woman Hasija held herself, and they didn’t understand anything. I also said goodbye to them, but I didn’t shake their hands, because I had my bicycle in my hand. So, we left. We told them not to wait for us today, that today we won’t come and we will stay around the aunt’s daughter. Together with my wife, we went to ‘Tourism’, and there I drank a glass of raki, we gave the children something, and she took a glass of wine, but since she was thinking about the escape, she couldn’t drink it. We stayed at Tourism until 9:45 p.m., then we set off on my bicycle, walking to the Fishing Enterprise.
After we crossed the Buna Bridge, we saw two ordinary bridge soldiers, and after they saw our passports, they told us to go. So we went straight to the guard. When we went there, I found the guard Fadil, I don’t know his last name, we greeted Fadil, he said to us; you, I told him that I was assigned a night shift, why were you so late, I told him that we had to go to my uncle’s in Oblik, he told me to take my wife home and come back, no, the wife said, that I’m tired and I’ll go tomorrow, and I told Fadil that her aunt died and they’ll put her in the ground tomorrow, I did this to lie to her.
I took the night shift’s mattress and took it upstairs to the administration corridor, that she was supposed to sleep, the wife fell down with the children, to put them to sleep, I started talking to Fadil and we both sat down together. I had some bread and I ate it in his presence and got up and drank some water and sat down again near him, his rifle was close behind him, I did not dare to tell him about the opinion I had, because I was afraid that he would oppose me and shoot me with the rifle, if I told him openly, because I knew his head. I approached him and said: Fadil, I have a big problem, what is your problem, tell me?
I told him that I want to escape to Yugoslavia, he told me that I will kill you and tried to take the rifle to shoot me, I grabbed the rifle, but he had caught it! I took it with good care to convince him and said; look, take Fadil, because I have a big problem, to escape to Yugoslavia, I cannot live here in Albania, and Fadil told me that; I will not let you go alive. While we both had the rifle and he tried to take it from me, and I wouldn’t let go, because I was afraid, he would kill me, we went up, to near the brigade’s warehouse for storing nets, I did this so that I could cover the traces of my escape, so I pulled him up with a trick and not down, because the road was from here, from the pier.
So, walking and arguing, I with the best of my ability to convince him and he in open opposition, we went to the vine, there I intended to hit him and leave him alive and tie him up. When we got there, I again begged him not to fall on my neck, and to allow me to cross to the boat, but he refused and was screaming, then when I saw that he was not obeying, I forcibly pulled the rifle from him. He told me; I will not allow you. I told him that I have decided to escape with my wife and children and that I will definitely do this.
When I had completely pulled the rifle away, he tried and kicked me, he wanted to hit me in the organs, but he couldn’t and shot me in the thigh, I then knocked him to the ground by putting him under my feet and with the other hand I held the rifle, when I knocked him down, I tried to convince him, but he wouldn’t obey and I added by telling him that I didn’t set out to strangle him, he screamed and then out of fear that someone would come, or that the guards who were around would come, when I saw that he wouldn’t obey, I hit him with the butt of the rifle behind his head, he got up again and tried to grab me, I shot him to defeat him and he fell to the ground, then I tied his hands with a piece of nylon net, which I had bought earlier for this purpose, and after tying his hands, I also tied his mouth so that he wouldn’t scream, with a woman’s bottle that I had bought for this purpose.
I didn’t hit him with a knife, I just hit him with the butt of my rifle. After I realized that he wasn’t playing anymore and I thought I had strangled him, I immediately went to my wife and told her to go quickly, and she got up and took the little boy. Before we left, I went with pliers and opened the safe to get the keys to open the safe, and then after doing this, I took the wife, she the little boy, I the mattress and the other boy, while the girl walked on her own feet and we quickly went down to the pier. Before I left for the pier, I quickly cut the telephone line, so that no one would come and report, I also turned off the searchlight and the situation became completely dark, I released a fuse to turn off the guardhouse light and quickly left for the pier.
When I got there, I went to the branch office with the keys, I couldn’t open the lock, I went and got the one from the Health Department that fights mosquitoes, but with pliers, I couldn’t open it, but with pliers I could, I cut it and opened it. As for the bag with the pants, I don’t remember where I left it and I always thought I had it in the boat, when I went out to the lake to sail, the wind started, it was around midnight, after I had gone a little, the wind started, I told my wife to look and give me the sail because I have it in my bag, but I didn’t have this and I had left it in my bag. As soon as I crossed Shiroka, I was caught by the rain and the wind and from the fishing center until I crossed the border, I spent almost two or three hours.
The process was interrupted and after it was read, it was signed. Memorie.al
The defendant Investigator
Hamit Myrtja Jake Tefiku
Continues next issue
