Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes the unknown history of the controversies that took place during the period of the Zog Monarchy in the newspaper ‘ARBNIA’ (June-July 1936) regarding the tobacco smuggling that took place in the district of Elbasan, where the Municipality of that city accused the former leader of the joint stock company, ‘SAIDE’, which dealt with the processing and marketing of tobacco, Abdyl Kooli, as one of the main organizers of that smuggling, and he accused the current leaders who were in charge of that company, Mehmet Pajuni, together with the deputy director , Rruzhdi Luniku and the trade unionist, Beqir Rusi, as the real perpetrators of that smuggling and the instigators of the article in the newspaper ‘ARBNIA’. The full article of Abdyl Kooli in the press of the Zog Monarchy, where he gives in detail how the tobacco smuggling in the city of Elbasan was carried out by the main leaders of the ‘SAIDE’ Society, who were caught red-handed by the Director of Municipality finances by removing tobacco from the depot, as well as his response to the accusation of abuse of the state coffers in December 1924, when he was in the military with the duty of deputy commander of the 1st Battalion, and fled to Italy after Zog returned to power!
The article of the newspaper ‘ARBNIA’ in July 1936, authored by the former head of the ‘SAIDE’ Society, Abdyl Kooli, about tobacco smuggling
In the honest newspaper “Arbnia” on the 13th of this month, an article was published given by the company “SAIDE” in response to the one we had published in the same newspaper on the 8th of this month, on the detection of a smuggling of developed by that society. The President of the Company, Mr. Mehmet Pajuni, together with the Deputy Director, Mr. Rruzhdi Lunik, and the trade unionist, Mr. Beqir Rusin, who are also the publishers of that article, speaking and hiding under the name of the company that represents all shareholders, among who I am together with all my friends who make up the majority and who are accused by them, try to hide the smuggling discovered by the Director of Finance himself, for which by the decision of the competent Financial Council, the company in question was fined 1000 gold francs. The gentlemen in question seek to justify the development of this smuggling, as a regular action, but in fact the facts proved the opposite of what they claim, which was clarified by the prosecution of officials, which led to the fine of the company. The gentlemen in question also seek to be acquitted by attributing to us the discovery of this smuggling, which according to them was done in the form of a conspiracy prepared by us. And as a result of these conjectures, they attack us, venting the accumulated anger towards us with words and slander that only those with Beqir Rusi on top know, and have a habit of fabricating. For the use of these words and slanders that make us on behalf of the company, abusing the trust and name of all the shareholders who make up the company and who do not agree with them, the above-mentioned gentlemen, will get the answer only through litigation, and in terms of clarifying public opinion and especially shareholders, we are responding as follows:
“How was the smuggling caught in the act”?
“Their claim to smuggled tobacco, that it was taken out of the depot to be exchanged with that of the haram, is neither and should not be true ‘because as we are informed, the Director of Finance who was hiding somewhere in the direction of the tobacco factory, as he saw the movements and the way the tobacco was being taken out of the warehouse, namely the guards placed at the top of the road and in the corner of the warehouse, the absence of a Finance officer to assist in the extraction of tobacco, the speed of the workers and the gestures of the deputy director, Mr. Rruzhdi Lunik, was fully convinced that smuggling was taking place there. Under these circumstances, he came face to face with a gendarmerie soldier, catching them in the act. If it was as they want to say, that this tobacco was being taken out of the depot to be exchanged, then the amount of tobacco needed for the exchange should have been taken out of the blender beforehand and put in the depot, and only after that the tobacco action had to be taken out of the depot and put into the harman. But even in this case, the presence of a Finance official had to be necessary in order to ensure that the tobacco would indeed be put into storage, and the same amount would be extracted from it. This type of smuggling, according to the investigations we have made, which we are ready to prove at the right moment for the interest of the State Treasury and for the preservation of the company’s archive, which began on May 16, 1936, that is, a few days after we took over the administration of the Company from its developers, and not at the time when I was the director of the Company, as if they were interested in saying. Our interest in pursuing this smuggling stems from no other reason than the interest of the Society in which I am a member and directly interested; and based on these, I want the Society not to be materially and morally damaged, because this belongs to me as well, and the responsibility for that smuggling should be borne by those who did it. With the discovery of this smuggling, those who say that we have hatched it with a special purpose, because according to them we are opponents, exactly one of the reasons why we, together with the majority of shareholders, oppose to be the leaders of the Company , because they actually act that way. When we say that most of the shareholders are their opponents, we base this on reality, and invite the directors of the Company to prove otherwise through an extraordinary meeting they may do, which we have requested, but they have arbitrarily rejected us. Either this is done through a statement through the press, by the majority of shareholders who claim that they favor them, or on the contrary by publishing through the press the minutes kept by the Public Notary, Mr. F. Ekmekçiu , at the extraordinary meeting of 7 May 1936, on the basis of which they came into force.
“Interest in detecting smuggling”
Our interest in detecting this smuggling, also stems from the fact that we do not want in any way and do not even think about winning in unfair ways and especially at the expense of the State Treasury, as if the profit derived from this smuggling goes for the benefit of the Society, work that is not done. N “is that today’s administrators of the Company call their regular action, then let them pretend as we do and everyone else in an extraordinary meeting, to expose to shareholders their actions in the event of this scandal and ask vote of confidence for the time they have left, so that they can take advantage of the opportunity to be legalized, as to this day they remain arbitrarily and illegally in power. This is the purpose and the reasons that we are divided into two groups, and consequently our group has no other purpose than the well-being of the Company, according to what is written in the statute, as a commercial-industrial company; while those of the other group, for their own purposes, have given the Society a militant political color and by the actions they are taking in this way and on this basis, are causing the breakdown of the Society and the endangerment of social capital to the detriment of those own it and the national economy. This fact, due to which, many shareholders are being put in very bad positions by them, due to the illegal actions they use, and as a result seeing their capital at risk, are constrained to t ‘sell their shares to our group, act quite contrary to the other, ignoring the grudges and passions, passions and interests emanating from the political militants, even though this consists of persons who are quite contrary in opinion. Namely from two pairs of political parties, but they know and will distinguish things, so that when it comes to political elections, they stand firm in their thoughts and principles, and when it comes to trade and industry, they act together avoiding, despite political and party divisions. Kuse from the other group, a pair of their factors that are two-page table, such as Mr. Nehmet Pajuni, Ibrahim Miraku and Beqir Rusi, etc., enter every stream, without any principle, vice as t ‘ the day falls on you and how to ask for your interest, bending you as much as each other. As for me, I have proved with facts that when there was a need to act in the interest of the Society, throughout the time I was its director, I cooperated with both parties, always in the interest of the Society, even I opposed and fought at the risk of my personal interest as the Director of the Society, and when I saw that the Society had recently fallen into incompetent hands, I resigned. However, in cases of political elections, such as those of the Municipality, I opposed and fought my associates of the Society, acting side by side with the so-called Dakli party. I do not understand the word used in the answer to my article, that my country, with all the desire I had to be reappointed as Director of Society, nor do I understand how dare and where these beauties dare to speak and write in this way! What force can it be to categorically and absolutely stop the exercise of a right, which like everyone else I can gain as long as it depends on the free will and desire that the shareholders of the Company with have the right to show by their vote, on the basis of the Statute of Society and the laws of the state, guaranteed by the genius of our Sovereign Augustus, His Majesty, the First Bird, the much-adored King. Regarding the accusations made against me, where it is said that I am ashamed of being separated from the Society, and implicated in colossal abuses and abuses, which according to them I did to the detriment of the Society when I was its Director, these are as true as what they say we are being prosecuted for. I left the company by resigning, because I could not cooperate and take responsibility as Director, with the self-proclaimed, today’s council, which came and stays in power arbitrarily, and against the will of the majority of shareholders. And especially with people like Beqir Rusi, who for all the reasons that attack me, was once ousted from the presidency of the Company, with the votes of shareholders. As for the shame they mention to me, I slap you in the face of the chairman, Mr. Mehmet Pajuni and the trade unionist, Mr. Beqir Rusi, just as their slaps slapped each other in the face some time ago in Shelkut and who today have become friends of best friends.
“The truth of the accusations of stealing the army coffers”
As for the accusations made against me about my time in the army, I clarify that even these do not correspond to the truth. The truth is that on the night of the panic on December 24, 1924, when I was the battery commander and deputy commander of the 1st Battalion, being aware of the task, I saw fit not to cause confusion and loss of money. I took the Battalion’s coffers into custody together with the intendant, and like many others, I made the mistake of escaping and went to Brindisi, where, on the occasion of my return to Albania, the then captain, Ndoc Gjinaj, I submitted a letter declaring that I had received the money from the Battalion Cashier, with the promise that when I returned to Albania, I would have to hand it all over to the account. And indeed, sometime after my return to my homeland, with a prayer addressed to the General Command of National Defense, I requested the formation of a commission for the submission of accounts, on the basis of which I was summoned to the General Intendance, where I submitted the accounts according to all the rules. Only I did not hand over the money because I had ruined it on the run for the sake of securing my livelihood, as national conscience and military honor did not allow me to reach out to foreigners. As for the trial that is said to have continued to be conducted against me in this case, it was a civil lawsuit and not for abuses, as it was done only for the collection of money, which, in time, through work my sweaty forehead, I liquidated them all. These are confirmed by the retired lieutenant colonel, Mr. Hasan Çaushi and Major Ndoc Gjinaj and the trial. Thus we remember that we have performed our duty as a shareholder of the Company; after all, as far as smuggling is concerned, it is the duty of the competent authorities and for the others it is the shareholders of the general meeting. (Abdyl Kooli). /Memorie.al
