Dashnor Kaloçi
The first part
Memorie.al publishes some archival documents extracted from the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana and the Authority for Information of the Files of the former State Security, which are part of a voluminous file which deals with the rare and unknown history of Ilia Lekës, originally from the village of Glinë in the Greek minority of Gjirokastra, whose family had been living in exile in the villages of Myzeqe since 1945, and whose father, Theodhoriu, had been arrested since 1951 and was serving time in camps and prisons. accused of being an “agent of Greek Intelligence”.
The efforts of the State Security to recruit Ilian and then to arrest him, and Ilia escaped together with his brother Kriston and their uncle to Greece, where after some threatening letters that Ilia wrote to Enver Hoxha, Ramiz Alia and Adil Çarçan, where he was asked to get his father out of prison and, together with his wife and son, allowed to come to Greece, the three of them went on a hunger strike in front of the Albanian embassy in Athens, which lasted until 1984.
The strike caused serious diplomatic problems between the two countries, as it sensitized not only the Greek parliament and the government of Athens, but also the Greek press and some ultra-nationalist parties and chauvinist northern-Epirus circles led by Metropolitan Sevastianos, who exploited it. for their interests, as well as the speeches of Ilia Leka in the European Parliament and the American Congress, for the violation of human rights in the communist regime in Albania, until they forced Enver Hoxha to come out and declare publicly: “I say responsibly to the people Greek brother that there are only 46 citizens from the Greek minority in Albanian prisons and only 4 of them for political faults ”, as well as Ramiz Alina to release Theodhori Lekë from prison in 1989, allowing him to go to Greece forever.
“I was waiting for prison without knowing anything. And we were forced to leave to escape prisons and torture. So much for knowledge. Now, as I wrote to you there, I say to you: To allow my family. Do not hold my 4-year-old son captive, do not keep my father in prison 63 years old by torturing him, do not make me tell you, to commit inhuman acts My father will die, I know, even if you get him out of jail, he does not live more than 6 months. But know you and your Government, the death of my father at the moment I find out, let it be even day at lunch, then you will be convinced what I will do, but you will say that clearly made me on paper. I have told you and I will tell you like men openly. Handing over my family to me washes the accounts. “Then let the Greek government deal diplomatically, because my father has been in prison and internment since 1951. He did not see a white day.”
This is stated, among other things, in a letter sent personally to Enver Hoxha, dated December 25, 1983, authored by an Albanian citizen named Ilia Theodhori Leka, originally from the village of Glinë in Gjirokastra and living in Kolonjë of Lushnja, where he had lived with his family in exile from 1945 until April 12, 1982, when together with his brother, Kristo Leka and their uncle, they were forced to flee Albania to Greece.
The letter in question to Enver Hoxha, which is handwritten by the minority Ilia Leka, is an official document and part of a very voluminous file with the initials “Top secret” issued by the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania and The Authority for Information of the Former State Security Files, where the whole story of Ilia Leka and his family is reflected in hundreds of typed or handwritten sheets.
Starting from the origin of the family from the village of Glinë of the Greek minority in the district of Gjirokastra, where in 1945 two sons of the Leka family escaped, their internment in 1951, in the village of Savër in Lushnja and then in some villages of of that area of Myzeqe, the surveillance by the State Security of Ilia Leka’s father, Theodhori, who was a shepherd in the hills around the Ardenica Monastery, the reports of the State Security collaborators given to the Security operatives who followed and monitored Theodhori Lekë, their relations with the top chiefs, the combinations and legends that were made to “dismantle his agent activity”, the arrest of Theodhori in 1951, accused as an agent of the Greek Intelligence and liaison with several persons and agents who escaped from Albania to Greece and vice versa ”, serving his sentence in several Albanian prison camps, the State Security attempt since the 1970s to recruit his son, Ilia Lekë, his rejection and various provocations of the Security collaborators and the people introduced by him, Ilia’s vicissitudes with letters of complaint in the high state and party instances or meetings with the heads of the courts and the prosecution, demanding the release of his father from prison as innocent, the arrest of Ilia’s uncle and the torture against him in the Vlora Internal Branch, where he was forced to sign a statement about Ilian, as if he had spoken against ” Ilia’s escape with his brother Kriston and their uncle on April 12, 1982, leaving for Greece through the border villages of their homeland, the threatening letters that Ilia sent from Greece to Enver Hoxha, Ramiz Alia , Hekuran Isa, Adil Çarçani and Reiz Maliles, where he asked them to release his father from prison and not to torture him anymore, not to hold his 4-year-old son hostage and not to put pressure on his wife his that to force him to divorce Ilian and remarry another, but to allow them to come to Greece, Ilia Leka’s hunger strike with his brother and uncle in front of the Albanian embassy in Athens that lasted about three years raising public awareness and the Greek policy that made it the issue of the day of the Greek Parliament and the government of Athens, the commitment of the Athens police to protect the Albanian embassy from the fear of Ilia Leka who had set up a tent in front of its main entrance, secret daily correspondence with urgent telegrams of the Albanian Ambassador in Athens, Xenophon Nushi, with the Foreign Ministry in Tirana and personally, Enver Hoxha, Ramiz Alia, Adil Çarçani, Hekuran Isain and Reiz Malilen, keeping an eye on everything that happened there with the hunger strikers and politicians of the Greek deputies who showed solidarity with the strikers and participated in the protest rallies that took place in front of the Albanian embassy, the articles of the main newspapers gr eke that regularly followed that event, as well as the reaction of some nationalist parties and Metropolitan Sevastiano who asked the Hellenic government to resolve the issue as soon as possible and “the fate of 400 thousand Greek minorities suffering under Hoxha’s regime”, correspondence between the Ministry of Labor of Foreign Affairs of Albania and Greece regarding the problem of the strike of Ilia Leka, etc., etc.
Along with all these that, as we said a little above, are part of a voluminous file which is available in full at Memorie.al and I will make it public starting from this writing, in the coming days we will also meet with an interview long exclusive of Ilia Leka who lives with his family in Athens, where he testifies about these events that contain these archival documents and others that are not reflected there. Since the hunger strike in front of the Albanian embassy in Athens, which shook the official relations between Albania and Greece and forced Enver Hoxha to come out publicly and declare: “I say responsibly to the Greek brother people, that there are only 46 citizens in Albanian prisons Albanians who are part of the Greek minority and only 4 of them are for political faults “, the awareness of the Greek press made the strike of Ilia Leka, who was invited and spoke at the European Parliament in Brussels and at the American Congress in Washington for the violation of human rights from the dictatorial communist regime of Enver Hoxha, to the “overthrow” of official Tirana in 1989, which was forced to release Ilia’s father, Theodhori, from prison, and allow him to go to Greece to his son, where he lived for many years after the overthrow of the communist regime, rejoicing in the arrival of the rest of the family that had remained in Albania.
Letter from Enver Hoxha’s cabinet to the Central Committee for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ALBANIAN LABOR PARTY Tirana, on 21.I.1984
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Nr. 1/1 Prot.
SUBJECT: On the letter of Ilia Lekë from Greece
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Comrade Reiz Malile
T I R A N E
For your information, we send you photocopies of the letter and its summary that the above-mentioned address to Comrade Enver.
WORKER IN THE LETTERS AND COMPLAINTS SECTOR
Petrit Shijaku
Summary of Ilia Leka’s letters sent to Enver by the head of the letters and complaints department at his cabinet, Petrit Shijaku
Overview
Ilia Leka from Greece addresses a letter to Comrade Enver raising the following issues, among others:
His father (Theodhori Leka) has been in prison and interned since 1951. Also, his uncle says that he was arrested and imprisoned in Vlora where, according to him, he is tortured for 7 days and 7 nights by drawing blood from his mouth. to denounce against the letter writer for having spoken against Comrade Enver.
The letter writer claims that knowing that the prison was waiting for him, he was forced to escape.
He wants to be handed over to his father, who, even if he is released from prison, he says, does not have a long life. He also demands that his 4-year-old child be handed over to him and that his wife not be forced to marry another because “my wife’s honor – he threatens – you will pay very, very heavily”, “my son’s slavery, this enemy continues, it will surprise the whole of Greece “and warns that in case the family does not surrender,” with me, – he says – you settle accounts.
Then let the Greek government be taken diplomatically.
Note:
We asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs and they informed us that the letter writer is 34 years old, was born in Glina of Gjirokastra and lived in Kolonjë of Lushnja. He and his brother, Kristo Lekë, fled to Greece on April 12.
The Supreme Court announces that the writer’s father has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and agitation and propaganda.
Ilia Leka’s letter sent to Enver Hoxha from Greece
Mr. Enver Hoxha
I wrote many letters to you when I was living in Albania, to reveal the right of my innocent family. I was so right that I arrived before the high court in Tirana, before my wife Eleni Selenica, Myftar Hoxha, Sofokli Krongo and the prosecutor Rapi Mino.
To say these words: “I am ready to go to my father’s place, to go to prison. “My father is innocent.”
The statements written by the witnesses were brought, that they were imposed by the Operative, Kristaq Pleqi and the investigator, Skënder Korriku. Not only did they not solve anything, but on the contrary, the Lushnja Branch in cooperation with the Gjirokastra Branch, took my uncle, and Sabriu, Pirro Pjetri, Murati and the mayor, put the bars in Gjirokastra and took him to the Vlora prison, where he was beaten so much that blood flowed from his mouth 7 days and 7 nights, to force him to sign for me, that I had said words about you, where at one time his family was sitting in the village and I had my father in prison and I knew according to your law , that prisons are filled by us “allegedly affected”.
Prison awaited me knowing nothing. And we were forced to leave to escape prisons and torture. So much for knowledge. Now, as I wrote to you there, I say to you: To allow my family.
Do not hold my 4-year-old son captive, do not keep my father in prison 63 years old by torturing him, do not make me tell you to commit inhuman acts.
My dad is going to die, I know, even if you get him out of jail, he doesn’t live more than 6 months.
But know you and your Government, the death of my father at the moment I find out, let it be even day at lunch, then you will be convinced what I will do, but you will say that clearly made me on paper. I have told you and I will tell you like men openly.
Handing over my family to me washes the accounts. Then let the Greek government deal diplomatically, that my father has been in prisons and internments since 1951. He did not see a white day.
20.XII. 1983
You will pay my wife’s honor very, very heavily, forcing her to marry with difficulty.
My son’s captivity will amaze all of Greece. Even in war we were. We would have handed over the family.
Israel also handed over 2,500 captive soldiers, who fought for so long, and no letter allows you to remember that I will stop torturing my family. I tell you to death, no. If you do not deliver do whatever you want, this is my debt from Greece. I have respected you as you say as the letters do not reach your hand.
We will look at them now. From Greece we will see now how much it will fall into hand.
Innocent
Ilia Leka
Nr. 1207 Epivika Oidos uai (Greece)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Top secret” telegrams of the Albanian ambassador in Athens, Xenophon Nushi, sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana, for Enver Hoxha, Ramiz Alia, Adil Çarçani, Hekuran Isain and Reiz Malilen
VERY SECRET DECORATION
Nr. 3089 From Athens
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
This morning, three policemen armed with automatic weapons were placed in front of the embassy. A policeman told our friends that tonight they had received an anonymous call, saying that they would blow up the embassy with a dynamite car, that the Albanians had threatened Metropolitan Sebastianos that they would kill him.
Our comrades told the police that Albanians do not engage in such acts that accuse the priests. For your information tonight there have been some swearing calls from ordinary people.
Cenon
Letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Reiz Malile, to the Albanian Ambassador to Athens, Xenophon Nushi
SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRET
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Tirana on 2. II. 1984
Nr. 251/1
EMBASSY OF THE RPS OF ALBANIA
(Comrade Xenophon Nushi)
A TH I N E
Attached we send you a photocopy of the letters that the criminal Ilia Leka addressed to Comrade Enver Hoxha, Comrade Ramiz Alia, Comrade Hekuran Isai, Comrade Reiz Malile.
Photocopies of these letters together with the Greek newspapers that have written about the alleged threats for the murder of Sevastiano by our people, submit them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a meeting with the Deputy Minister, or the General Political Director or even the other person that will await you.
The person who will receive you at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a serious but correct tone, tell him the following:
“I have come to tell you about the threats that have been made and continue to be made against our embassy.
I have talked to you about these problems’ other times. We have also provided you with a tape recorder that contains occasional threats against the embassy and its staff.
I am now handing you copies of letters addressed to our leaders with low threats.
“We see that in Greek newspapers Albania is accused of terrorism, that allegedly it wants to kill the Metropolitan of Konica, Sevastianos. As you know, we are not terrorists, we are against terrorism. The Albanian embassy is threatened to be blown up and armed police officers are put in front of it.
As you can see, an abnormal situation is being created that prevents the Albanian embassy in Athens from working under normal conditions.
I ask the Greek Government to take measures and create normal working conditions for the Albanian embassy, just as such working conditions have been created for the Greek embassy in Tirana.
“We can neither close the embassy, nor stop our normal activity as a diplomatic mission, therefore the Greek side has a duty to create normal working conditions for us and to take the necessary measures.”
For your part, the person who will be waiting for you, just raise this issue and do not raise other issues.
From urgently announce the action
Ministry
(Reiz Malile)
Note: We also send you a copy of the letter that the criminal Ilia Leka addressed to his friend Adil Çarçani. You also submit this together with the other four./Memorie.al
Continues in the next issue
