By Bedri Çoku
Part eleven
Memorie.al publishes the unknown testimonies of Bedri Çoku, originally from the village of Muçias in the district of Lushnja, who at the age of 19 while performing compulsory military service in the district of Gjirokastra, was arrested by two senior State Security officers and after a “unmasking” public trial with accusations mounted in the cinema of that city, he was convicted for agitation and propaganda together with his brother, Çaushi, for the only “fault” that their father had suffered several years as a prisoner in the forced labor camps from where he was released in 1959. The rare testimonies of Bedri Çoku who spent 24 years in the prisons of Spaç, Burrel and Qafë Barit and together with his two brothers, Esat and Çaushi and their father, Azem, suffered 64 years in prison in the camps and prisons of the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, being released only in February 1991. Memoirs of Bedri Çoku masterfully described in his book “The uprising that shook the dictatorship”, which where is mainly added to the Spaç Revolt in May 1973, where he, as one of its main organizers, sheds light for the first time by making public some unknown events and facts from that revolt where the flag was raised without the red star of communism, and until his work as General Director of Camps and Prisons after the ’90s, where he “arrested” his close friend, the accomplice of the dictatorship’s camps and prisons and sent him to the cells of’ Prison 313 ‘. Tirana, where most of the former Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ALP headed by Ramiz Alia and Nexhmije Hoxha were serving their sentences.
The uprising that shook the dictatorship
(Based on a true story)
“To raise the flag, without the communist star, I expressed the opinion that, unable to find a red sheet, we would break our hands and, with our blood, paint the white cloth…! The first to cut his hand with a knife was my brother, Çaushi, the second Gëzim Medolli, Bedri Çoku, Gjet Kadeli, Ulsi Pashollari, and others… ”
We very much hoped for European Security and Cooperation which was being carried out at a dizzying speed under the special care of the United States of America. Rightly all mankind was eagerly awaiting the great historical moment. Signing for the Understanding of the Peoples of Europe, the Western and Communist democracies of the East, which were still suffering from dictatorial regimes, to bring together a new order of peace and cooperation in the world. We hoped that Albania on this occasion as well. She would sign in Helsinki this Act for the Fates of Humanity, as a representative of this International Political Organization. We were convinced that our country, although incomparable with the countries of the East, would, willingly or unwillingly, join the Treaty of Peace and Cooperation with Europe (OSCE).
Author
Continued from the previous issue
The trial against the participants of the revolt, in the city of Rrëshen
– Thank you very much! You are honored!
There were two pieces of meat and two pieces of wafer. The first time, after so long that we were full and enjoyed eating. After a while the counter opened again and, the same policeman brought us an aluminum gourd with water. Oh, this is the climax! – I called – Regardless of why they serve in the police; they have patriotism in their blood. The good behavior with us comes from the spirit, thanks to the bravery and patriotism that you, the nationalist youth, expressed in Spaç, in their province…! Especially the raising of the flag of Skanderbeg, for the Mirditors has been a historic event and will be shown as an unforgettable, brave act, under the savage, anti-national regime. As far as I know the well-wishers, I do not know a few; I believe they have already written the verses for this unfortunate event in Albania, which suffers under communist terror…! They will sing songs to your revolt generation after generation. And indeed.
(Ballad of a poet from Shkodra, of good origin, was published after the dictatorship collapsed)
“Aman, God, what is the beginning of the battle?
What new forces have fallen here
There Spaçi got upset
All the detainees were taken to their feet
They ran from place to place
not to make me look, watching me
But everyone has mentioned it
In that men’s log I made the deck
Their security forces
Trembling fear of sadness
When they saw that it had taken a wave
They have to run out and out
There are rifles
The first did not wait for the evening
Everywhere the country has taken root
They come to the aid of the security
Riflemen and police… ”
Three infantry units
Surround the camp around
Like a mountain of grass and leaves
Triple guards around the circuit
Tie them like pigs in a hoof
Now the prisoners inside
How much a mountain has lifted their hearts
That life seemed free here
As if they are among their own homes
I saw you there now
They have decided to do a job
Hundreds of people were imprisoned here
Every word there is found
How to lose, how to win
How to die, how to save
There you are brave now
We lost time, without losing anything
Foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder
As limbs united in one body
They did not leave the office there without breaking
They did not leave letters there without going
The slogans bit by bit
They tore them to pieces and threw them to the ground… ”
May 21, that day, afternoon
Measures and preparations are taken
He was taken on foot, big and small
Like Postriba when he fell in Shkodra
Something new is new
That will be engraved in history
Why two brave young age
The heartbeat that a tue bre
In this revolt that has taken off
No one knows where he came from
Therefore both of these head to head
I have a lot of work to do
For a red and black flag
This revolt gave me life
Aman God, this great idea
In the heart of the brave he left
They want to give to the world without
What heroes this country has
What heroes Albania has
Hundreds of thousands of you were imprisoned
Gjet Kadeli and Bedri Çoku
So the two of them together
They prepared with heart and soul
This beautiful day was named after me
Bedri Çoku and Gjeto Pjetri
As one, so the other
Something beautiful has entered their heads
In this storm that has erupted
A flag prepares me
These two brave young age
Say for one night the two have let
You say your husband has a brother
But husband’s husband do not resemble
They beat me, they took me, and they gave me
Bedri told Gjeto:
In this mess, in this storm
You would do well to do a job
To be heard by others
Who is in this mess?
That here are brave boys
From Saranda, from Mirdita
By Berati Elbasani
Vlona, Korça and Dibrani
Gjinokastra and Lunxheri
Shkodra and Puka with highlands
Labëria and Përmeti
As well as in the world outside of us
I was shocked by this event
And the diaspora over there
Without realizing it, they could not leave him…
………………
Mersin Vlashi bulqizaku
On a blood-red calico
How well my hand is moving
With ink paint towards the deal
An eagle with two heads
The most sacred sheikh for these data
Lay the red bed in the middle
Free arms, Serbian forehead
Up there tonight I was seen
Until the sun went down
Mersin Vlashi, handicrafts
Hands of art and heart of fire
Swing and swing moves with hands
They gave life to that flag
In a narrow place, on the table
There are two people above their heads who stick to them
Where they look and kill silently
The mountain heart of both of them is good…!
That long-awaited afternoon
At that moment he was stunned
On the fourth floor, three brave men
They climb like lightning
high above the roof above the front
Two proud Albanians stick together
On that nightmare of that day
These three boys like three stars of light
The whole place is brilliant
Hundreds of people with your eyes saw
In that evening in that breeze
A ZETA AND A MAY, spring day
A flag is raised in the air
Half red and half black
On that evening full of joy
That makes the eye shed tears
It makes hearts rejuvenate
I even sacrificed for him!
Deputy Minister when there is resentment
Like all young cheaters
That eats bread on this Party
They told me differently and I did differently
Do not have a problem with anything
Ani ma when this brave seed
Right wing Security
This Deputy Minister Order
With lamb skin and dog heart
Tue tried as hard as he could
It softens the work with deception
Gentle sage with take this game
And after he had shot them in the loop
Blood was drawn in the eye socket
For Hajri Pashaj fieraku
Until recently, his blood had entered
With all the way you feed it
To reward him today face to face
Hajri had told the brave man
That we know you well who you are
With all the seed and tribe you have
So for you who led the way?
And I feel another friend with you
For these words, you have with pa
How expensive it is going to fall
But do not ryset with these words
Hajro Pashaj, boy falcon
Neither for hatred, nor for fear
The opponent does not run away
All the anger he had
Eye to eye is hitting him
But Hajriu among many other friends
He is not alone in this fuss
But there are many others
From there they parted their minds
In that revolt they have revolted
Do not tire me and do not break me
These infidels, as they thought
The twelve to judge
Four people shot
Eight others were sentenced
But where does he devollit
Dervish Bejko, granite soul
He grew up in Devoll, where he fell
How many blacks I saw there
In the field of Maliq, in those swamps
Where hundreds of people worked
Even those, like these risks
To be severely punished for politics
Half the wings of this power
Dangerous prisoner
Side channel exhaust life
Dervish Bejko as a child
He felt and saw these tragedies
While today, in this court scene
Cruel fruits all around
Tue saw that handcuffs like that
His fears still tremble
There the dogs are very happy
When he was sentenced to death
And the director turtle spirit
The mountain heart was made there
Towards that scene there you saw
Who has no mercy for them?
Like Dervish and three
They have been aiming since yesterday
Now that they put them in the loop once
Let the guilt be sung with notebooks
With these friends and Skënder Daja
A small body with great work
Nobody had known him before
Why had he been so brave
This cupil, this soul plays
No impression is made on you
Just look at them strictly
The blood on his face did not change
When they told him that day in Spaç
According to the article so and so
This one was also given a decision
Death penalty: “Shotgun!”
Aman God, I forgive you
In court these brave when they came out
How much they beat them, how much they beat them
His bones and body were torn to pieces
But among these rare heroes
From this game they sat in front
He, Pal Zefi soul play
He has no regrets about what he did
Especially this brave guy
How he has expressed it many times in faith
That in these prisons where we fell
Sound on top we can hardly part
This is the case this time
That’s at the head of this great table
This is the first time among your friends
He knows that death awaits him… ”!
At night I woke up from a very shocking dream…! From the book of dreams, written according to the explanations of Arab scholars, I had read that dreams can be explained from three sources, originating: 1) Telepathic; 2) Physiological; 3) Divine.
I had never seen such a dream that left a deep impression on me, so much so that, even today, as I am writing these lines, after forty-some years, I tell it without forgetting any details of what I told it the first time. I could hardly wait for the “Priest” to wake up in the morning, although I did not hope he could explain it to me. But let him hear it once. I do not know why I really needed to tell someone this dream…!
Whether I had slept or not after waking up from the dream, I did not understand. Even when the police officer opened the door of the dungeon, for our morning actions, I was like in a trance, remembering the dream not to forget it, while the “Priest” shook my arm to say “Good morning”, that I had to get up…! I went to the bathroom, “drunk”, from the dream that had shocked me. Only when I washed my eyes did I become sober. I waited for the “Priest” to return from the bathroom. As soon as he saw me, he realized that something was bothering me. He sat next to me and was looking at me intently…! – Now tell me, why are you tired, or did you not sleep well? Have you had any concerns?
– I had a strange dream. I woke up and, I did not sleep anymore…!
– He sat cross-legged, as a Muslim, and said:
– Good luck! Tell me!
– When I was a high school student, as is usually the case at that age, there are few who do not fall in love. Some fall in love platonically, without expressing love directly to the girl or boy, others, the bravest, express it to the man of their dreams. I join the brave ones after telling the girl how I felt about her. But fate was not with us, of course, while I am here where I am and she and her husband are raising their children, God forbid! /Memorie.al
