Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al/ publishes some unknown archival documents belonging to June 1943, where there is a correspondence between the Prefecture of Gjirokastra, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tirana and the Public Transport Bus Company (SATA), where the event is announced occurred on June 11 of that year, where in the village of Picar in the district of Gjirokastra, a communist gang consisting of about 50 armed men and hats with red stars, stopped the bus line Tirana-Vlora-Gjirokastra, and after they checked all the passengers, forcibly abducted Ali Këlcyra, whom they took in their arms, and left crossing the Kardhiq River. All the details of that sensational event, where the partisan communist forces were forced to release the head of the National Front for the South of Albania, after the ultimatum given by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the head of the Gjirokastra Prefecture, Beso Gega, writing that he should be personally interested in Ali Këlcyra being released alive, because otherwise, that district of that Prefecture would have very bad consequences. As well as the speeches of the Prefect Beso Gega and Hasan Xhiku before the people of the city of Gjirokastra, who considered Ali Këlcyra as the “flower of Albanian nationalism”, and called for the communist ideology to be uprooted, which was a shameful theory, and imported from abroad.
After the ’90s one of the controversies and open debates in the print and visual media or various books by journalists, publicists, scholars, historians, war veterans, etc. is also the one that has to do with the armed conflict (or civil war) that started during the occupation of the country between the partisan communist forces led by Enver Hoxha and the nationalist National Front of Legality led by Mit’hat Frashëri and Abaz Kupit.
In addition to the debate over who first started the civil war or armed conflict, ie who attacked and struck first by committing: murder, torture, kidnapping, assassination, robbery, burning of houses and property, etc., has existed and continues to be open still the debate that: at what period of time did the armed conflict between them start, where from time to time by both “sides”, is taken as the “border” of division between communists and nationalists, the Mukje Conference with the unilateral termination of the agreement of famous (by Enver Hoxha) that had been signed between the two parties.
But many archival documents published after the 1990s, and the following three decades, which the official historiography and propaganda of Enver Hoxha’s communist regime never made public, shed light on the great truth, namely: about what the communists first launched the armed struggle, striking the forces of the Front of Legality.
Among other things, this is confirmed and presented very clearly by these archival documents that Memorie.al is publishing in this article, which talk about the abduction of Ali Këlcyra, by an armed partisan gang of the communist district of Gjirokastra, ( led by Bedri Spahiu), who on June 11, 1943, abducted him from the Tirana-Vlora-Gjirokastra bus, cutting off the road in the village of Picar (15 km from Tepelena), and left passing the Kardhiqi River with Ali Këlcyra that they held on their side, to hide from the villages of that area where the partisan formations took refuge.
And it took the intervention of state authorities from Tirana, addressed to the Prefecture of Gjirokastra, which gave an ultimatum to the partisan forces, who, frightened by an operation against them, were forced and released Ali bej Këlcyra, who is going on a mission in Gjirokastra to organize the nationalist forces of Balli Kombëtar.
For more, about this event, we are informed about the documents in question that Memorie.al makes public for the first time.
Gjiroksatra Prefect announces to the Ministry of Interior on the abduction and holding of Ali Këlcyra hostage by communist gangs
Gjinokastra Prefecture
Nr. 174/8 RES. Gjinokastra on 12./6/1943
7:50 p.m.
Too Urgent, delay causes
Heavy responsibilities.
Ministry of Interior
Political Office
Tirana
Prime Minister
For announcement Tirana
Following is the wire No. 174/7 Res yesterday.
The commission returned at 5.30 am from the Greek border after Libohova and after coming in contact with the leaders of the communist squads who informed him that Mr. Ali Këlcyra is alive.
The Prefecture also received this news from the civilian forces that came into contact with the fire with the gang that robbed and at the time when they were crossing the Kardhiqi River, it was seen from afar that they were crossing Këlcyra taking it in their arms (.)
The robbery squad is surrounded on all sides (.)
The commission was recently sent to Cepo, where Aliu is located (.)
Although the fighting ceased, the siege from afar continues (.)
Please order the Military Command to have free and telephone contacts at all times. Now I get the letter of Ali Këlcyra from Plesati and he is alive in the house of Iljaz Mehmeti, they know me personally (.)
The calligraphy and the signature are authentic and require a cessation of hostilities (.)
The siege narrows (.)
Villagers terrified by the siege and the fire of war will definitely provoke the release of the living Ali (.)
I’m leaving for the scene in person, the end will be announced.
Prefect
Rasim Babameto
Order of the Ministry of Interior addressed to the Prefecture of Gjirokastra, to intervene for the conditional release of Ali Këlcyra
THE ALBANIAN KINGDOM
MINISTRY OF P. INTERNAL
Z Y R A P O L I T I K E Tirana on 12.VI.1943
Extremely Urgent
Delay causes liability
Very heavy
Telegram
Gjinokastra Prefecture
Reply to telegram No.174 / 11 Res dated 11 of k.m.
The head of that Prefecture should be personally interested in Ali Këlcyra being handed over alive, otherwise the district of that Prefecture will have very bad consequences (.)
We are waiting for the responsibility urgently (.)
M I N I S T R I
(Firms)
P.T.
CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
T I R A N Ë
For knowledge
M I N I S T R I
(Firms)
Notification of the Ministry of Interior to the Council of Ministers on the speeches of the Prefect of Gjirokastra for the abduction of Ali Këlcyra
THE ALBANIAN KINGDOM
MINISTRY OF P. INTERIOR
Z Y R A P O L I T I K E Tirana, on 12.VI.1943
U R GJ E N T P.T PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
COMMAND OF IX. Army
T I R A N Ë
Abbreviations:
ZZ. Beso Gega and Hasan Xhiku who gave a speech in Gjinokastra.
For your information, here below I have the honor with:
I passed you the telegram that he received from the Prefecture of Gjinokastra, on the 12th of k. m., regarding the announcement of this Ministry with No.… Res dated 12 of the follower:
“A furious statement was made in this city today. The words delivered by ZZ. Beso Gega and Hasan Xhiku, these are (.) The people of Gjinoklastra, patriotic people, yesterday Ali Këlcyra was robbed, the flower of Albanian nationalization by a communist gang.
So the root of this organization must be shaken, which with its theoretical and shameful systems imported from abroad, shakes the state of the nation. This is our desire and this is the expression of the entire Albanian Nation “.
M I N I S T R I
(Firms)
The complaint of the S.A.T.A Company addressed to the high state authorities for the communist gang that was abducted by its bus, Ali Këlcyrë
SOCIETA ALBANESE TRANSPORTI AUTOMOBILICISTICI
Tirana, June 15, 1943
P.T.
GENERAL DEPUTY
CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
SUPERIOR COMMAND F.F. A.A. TO SHQYPNIS
MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY & TRADE
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL P.
MINISTRY OF POPULAR CULTURE
GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF POSTS
T I R A N Ë
AGRICULTURE OF TIRANA – VLONA – GJINOKASTRER
We have the honor to submit to the Authorities in the following direction:
On the 11th of k. m. ion bus FIAT 626 / RNL plates 1253 Tirana, n ’81 of the register, directed by the driver CANTALUPO Arturo and by the invoice MURAT Musta, while passing over the road Gjinokastër – Vlonë – Tirana, in regular service on the public line for passenger transport of the posts, departed from Gjinokastra regularly at 7 o’clock, with 27 passengers loaded, as it arrived near the village Fusha e Pizharit 15 km. away from Tepelena, around 7:30, two armed men stopped them. Our driver was forced to obey you and stop the car: then the boss on both sides of the road many other people, a total of about 50 people all with a red bar on the barrette and a black slingshot on a red soft on the chest, to arm him with rifles, bombs and machine guns. The bandits forced all the passengers to get off the bus and checked all the documents and seized a passenger, a certain ALI KËLCYRA. A man appeared who appeared to be the first of them, gave a speech in Albanian and ordered a boy to sing the communist bulletin and distributed some copies to the passengers. After a stop of almost 30 minutes, the bus was released to continue its journey to Vlona: The event was reported to the Tepelena Brotherhood Command.
We urge the Authorities once again to be kind enough to take the necessary measures to enable them to avoid the recurring and annoying recurrence of these incidents which greatly disturb the security of the exercise of the traffic service rule entrusted to the Society. ‘ona SATA
Regards
The announcement of the Ministry of Interior in 1942 to some Prefectures, on the release from exile in Italy and the return to Tirana of Ali Këlcyra
Kingdom of Albania Tirana, in 1942
Ministry of Interior
Political and Personnel Office
Nr. 44/220. RESERVE
ABBREVIATION: Released persons
From exile.
PREFECTURES: TIRANA, SHKODER, KORÇA, BERAT, GJIROKASTER
The Office of Special Affairs, Reserve at the Superior Command K… of Albania, based on the provisions of the Royal General Viceroy, has written to the Ministry of Interior, (Security), Rome, to leave free to return to Tirana , Mahmut Golemi, and Beqir Zagoriçani, interned in Vicense, Faik Quku interned in Pistoia, and Ali Këlcyra, interned in Çortona.
So much for knowing.
M I N I S T R I
(Firms)
