Dashnor Kaloçi
The third part
Memorie.al publishes some of the unknown stories of the former prime minister during the life of communist Albania, Mehmet Shehu, told by the former bodyguard and commander of his escort group, Ali Çeno, regarding his boss’s relations with Enver Hoxha and some of the most talked about events that continue to be shrouded in mystery even today, four decades after his elimination, such as those on the evening of December 17, 1981, when Ali Çeno accompanied his boss home after the meeting. of the Politburo, where he was severely criticized by Enver and most of its members and the morning events of that night, when the Albanian Prime Minister was found lifeless in his bedroom!
Rare testimonies of the former bodyguard of the Albanian Prime Minister, starting from the events of 1974, when Enver tried to bring Mehmet into conflict with Beqir Balluku and other former generals who were shot, Enver’s contradictions with Mehmet since 1976, which brought a cooling between them and also Fiqret and Nexhmija, so much so that the holidays did not bring those two families together as they had always done, (the conflict which was reflected in both groups of escorts led by Sulo Gradeci and Ali Çeno), fierce debates of the two highest leaders of communist Albania, in the spring of 1981, when demonstrations began in Kosovo, the events of autumn 1981 after the engagement of Mehmet’s second son, with ” the girl with a bad biography ”, where Enver and Nexhmija went to congratulate and why they took out the photographer of the Prime Minister’s family, the debates about the break-up of that engagement after Enver ordered Mehmeti to return urgently from Korça… ?!
The meeting of the Politburo on the afternoon of December 17, 1981, and the special orders given by Prime Minister Shehu to his bodyguard, for the service group that was guarding the villa that night, who and why informed Çeno to go there that night on duty, which had never happened before… ?! How Ali learned on the morning of December 18 what had happened to his boss, what Vladimir, the eldest son of the Shehu family, told him before he entered the prime minister’s bedroom, Ali’s telephone conversation with Ramiz Ali and his response, the role of Kadri Hazbiu in that event, the inhuman tortures that the investigator Sokol Koleka inflicted on Ali during the investigation process and what he asked him to say about Enver Hoxha, the version that Çeno gives, about the way, the mechanism and the people who took part in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shehu, and why does he accuse Ramiz Alia, as the executor of that plan that was previously conceived by Enver Hoxha ?!
“The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ALP, ended there around 20.00 in the evening and immediately after that, Mehmeti, very nervous as rarely ever, hurried into the studio of his house and threw the bag at the door , which fell to the floor. I immediately sat down to pick him up to put him in the place where he usually kept him, but he said to me: ‘Leave Ali damn, leave…’! Seeing him in that very shocked state, to calm him down somewhat and calm him down, I said to him: ‘Whenever we are criticized, we should not do so’. After that, he turned to me and said: ‘Why did you take Ali, do you compare yourself to me…?! Did you not hear what the little ones were doing at the meeting, like a parrot ‘?! (He was talking about the meeting of the Politburo that had just ended, where almost all its members, instigated by Enver Hoxha, severely attacked him with various accusations). After a while, around 8:45 pm, from the work studio where he was alone and I at her door in the corridor, Mehmeti called Enver and said: ‘Comrade Enver, can I only come for five minutes, to copy some things… ‘? I did not hear what Enver answered on the other side of the receiver, but I learned that the next day from Fiqret. Before I left him, to go to my house, Mehmeti addressed me: ‘Ali, beware of the service, lest evil come from where it awaits’. I had a clear idea of why he was speaking, and before I left, I shared the assignment with the service group, headed home, only to return home after a phone call from one of the escort group members, and I slept in the service room. The next morning, after I pulled out the Benz and got it ready to take the boss to the Bureau meeting, I heard screams from the second floor of the villa. Then, Vladimir, the eldest son of the family, came out and asked me and the doctor (Llesh Rroku) to go upstairs quickly. Ladi pointed her finger from the bedroom and, trembling, said to me: ‘Ali, go and see my father!’! I immediately got in there and for the moment, I remembered that he had fainted. I immediately measured his pulse and saw that he was finished… ”!
This is how Ali Çeno, the bodyguard and former commander of the escort group of the communist Prime Minister of Albania, Mehmet Shehu, and one of his most trusted people, remembered on the night of December 17-18, 1981, when he met and accompanied the chief. on his way home, after the meeting of the Politburo, where Mehmeti was called to account, regarding the engagement of his second son, Skënder…! After that, Ali was silent for a moment and his eyes almost filled with tears. “This is how my flesh growls…”, he told us, as he remembered his former boss, the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the Albanian state, whom he served faithfully for ten years and for the first time showed us all the behind the scenes that led to the fatal night of December 18, 1981, when the Albanian Prime Minister, who had ruled the country with an iron fist for 27 years, was found dead in the bedroom of his villa, at the entrance of “Bllok” , just a few steps away from the building of the Central Committee of the ALP and the great palace of Enver Hoxha, whose shadow seemed to cover it every sunset…!
As well as when the contradictions between Enver Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu first arose, who was the minister who testified about the fierce conflict between them in 1954, when after the closure at home guarded by his loyal former partisans from Mallakastra of the Brigade First Attacker, Mehmeti, got ready to go up the mountain ?! What accusations had been made against Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu that day on December 18, 1981, at a meeting of the Politburo and what he had talked about with the son of former Minister King Zog during a visit he had made as Prime Minister to the town of Cërrikut ?! Why did Mehmeti ask for a meeting with Enver Hoxha that evening, a few hours before the mysterious event and what was the answer he received from him?! Ever since the contradictions and big rift between them had started, which led to the irreparable conflict of that fatal night at that end of December, and was it related to the heated debate that had taken place between them in front of the Party House as they left the building of the Central Committee of the ALP in March 1981, when the demonstrations had started in Kosovo and Mehmet Shehu had asked Enver to take the tanks to the border with Yugoslavia?
What were Mehmet’s relations with Ramiz Alia and why did they break up just a few days after the ceremony performed by the two families Shehu and Alia, in the villa of Dajti Mountain?! What had Enver Hoxha plotted, when together with Nexhmija, they went to visit the Shehu family, to wish the engagement of the son, Skënder, with the daughter of the Turdiu family and why they took out the photographer of the Shehu family (Dashamir Rrapin), by do not let him take your pictures? Why did Enver urgently call Mehmet from the meeting in Korça in October 1981 and what did he ask of him in his house, which Mehmet categorically opposed in the fierce quarrel that broke out between them?! Why on the evening of December 18, Mehmeti ordered the commander of his guards, Ali Chenon, to: be careful, that danger could come to you from where they were waiting?! What did he mean by that message and why was Ali Cheno called that night to go to sleep there, which he had never done before during the entire period of nearly 10 years he served in that position?!
Why did Ali Cheno insist, saying: his boss did not kill himself, but was killed by another man, who entered the night through the front door of the villa, collaborating with one of the officers of the internal service?! How did Ramiz Alia react when Ali informed him of what had happened to his boss? What was in the glass that Ali saw on Mehmet’s bedside table and why did it disappear immediately, after a group of forensic experts entered to inspect the scene?! Was Kadri Hazbiu implicated in that event, what was his position on the investigator and what did Kadriu say in the trial about Mehmet Shehu and the trial panel? What did investigator Sokol Spiro Koleka ask investigator Ali Çeno during the investigation process and why did he have to admit that: his boss Mehmeti, had charged him (Ali) to assassinate Enver Hoxha?!
About these mysteries where most of them are unknown and previously unpublished, as well as many other unknown events and facts related to the longest-serving former Prime Minister of the Albanian state, Mehmet Shehu, as well as relations and reports with Enver Hoxha, are made public by the testimonies narrated exclusively by Ali Çeno, former bodyguard and commander of his escort group, which Memorie.al publishes for the first time for its readers in several issues of the dossier section.
Continued from the previous issue
Enver’s conflicts with Mehmet in 1981, over the Kosovo problem
“Before Enver finished his speech well, Mehmeti intervened, saying:” These were built by the people and we are obliged to protect this people. If we do not do this, we are committing a great betrayal and Kosovo will never forgive us. After these words of Mehmet, Enver did not speak anymore and there they parted without talking to each other, Enver continued the way towards his house, and Mehmeti turned back. Throughout the demonstrations in Kosovo, especially in March, April and May 1981, Mehmeti often went to the north-eastern areas of Albania, inspecting the border with Yugoslavia and firing positions, bunkers and artillery. that was installed in the military units of those areas. He loved Kosovo and Kosovars very much and based on what was known to almost everyone, after Mehmet’s murder, one of the main accusations that Enver made up was that ‘UDB sacrificed its agent Mehmet Shehu, only after they started demonstrations in Kosovo “, testified Ali Çeno, on the fierce debate that took place between Enver and Mehmet, regarding the problem of Kosovo, in the spring of 1981 when the students and the people of Kosovo had started mass demonstrations to demand freedoms and rights as well as the status of the Republic. According to the testimonies of Ali Çeno, after that debate that led to a quarrel, the relations between them almost broke down and they no longer met each other. This continued until the beginning of the autumn of that year. The first meeting after this separation, happened when Enver together with Nexhmija, went to the Shehu pardon, to wish the engagement of the second son, Skënder with the daughter of the Turdiu family.
Enver and Nexhmija took out the photographer of the Shehu family
Regarding the first visit of Enver and Nexhmija to the Shehu family, after the conflict they had in the spring of 1981, Ali Çeno recalled, among other things: “After a long cooling of relations between them, from the beginning of September 1981 , Enver and Nexhmija came to the Shehu family, to wish the engagement of the second son, Skënder, with the daughter of the honored professor of mathematics, Qazim Turdiu. After I was informed in advance about the visit that Enver and Nexhmija would make there, I told the Shehu family photographer, Dashamir Rrapi, to get the camera ready to take some pictures, so that the family would remember them, as is usually the case in such cases not only for the families of the high nomenclature to live in the “Bloc” of leadership, but also for many other Albanian families who had this opportunity. Enver and Nexhmija, when they came to Mehmet’s house, during all the time they stayed there, they were very cordial with the family members, and especially with Skënder and Silva, the girl who had just been engaged to the prime minister’s son, who was very well known. but also the fact that she was a volleyball player of the “Dinamo” team of the capital. During that visit, Enver asked Silva at length and told her that he knew her father, Professor Qazim Turdiu, who was an honorable man. Seeing the incredibly cordial situation he was possessing there, I asked the photographer to come in and take some pictures. But when I turned my head, I saw that he was not there. I left the room where I was and told Dashamir to come inside immediately to take pictures. But he told me that he had told Sulo Gradeci that he should not go inside in any way and that he should not take any shots, as he would do them to Sulo himself. I, annoyed, went inside with the photographer, but Sulo came immediately and told me to take him out, because Comrade Enver had given the order, only Sulo would take the pictures. After the debate we had about this problem with Sulo, I took the photographer out because there was neither the time nor the place to have debates. The photos of that visit were taken by Sulo, with all the family members and with Skënder and Silva who were the protagonists of this visit. A few months later, after Mehmet’s murder, I remembered that event and came to the conclusion that: Enver’s decision was premeditated and intentional, that before they came to congratulate Skënder’s engagement, they had planned that he would did they break that engagement, as it happened, and did not want the photos to remain as a document, which they had agreed and wished him for that engagement. “They came there to congratulate him in order to make that engagement a fact and then to attack Mehmet, as it happened”, said Ali Çeno, starting with the visit of Enver Hoxha and Nexhmija to the Shehu family, about the engagement of their son the second of that family.
Mehmeti: Enver, when Turdiu came out we were sorry… ?!
Regarding the Hoxha family’s relations with Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu after that event, Ali Çeno, among other things, recalled: “After that visit, they did not meet each other until the first days of October. In those days we were in the city of Korça, where Mehmeti was delegated to the District Party Conference, or for a meeting of the Executive Committee, I do not remember well. At the time of the meeting, Mehmeti went outside and told me that we had to leave urgently for Tirana, as Enver was looking for him. We left quickly as rarely as ever in the direction of Tirana. All the way Mehmeti did not speak, but I followed him from the mirror and saw that he was very upset, as rarely ever, which made a lot of impression on the driver who very tactfully looked at Mehmeti in the mirror. Based on Mehmet’s order that we should hurry to Tirana, somewhere at the exit of Librazhd, due to the speed, the driver lost control and we risked ending up in the Shkumbin River, but the good maneuver of the driver saved us. After that, Mehmeti did not speak to the driver at all, which meant that he should not slow down, but continue at that pace towards Tirana. When we arrived at the “Block” of the leadership, we went directly to Enver’s house, where he was waiting. As soon as Mehmeti entered the room where Enver was, not without a nervousness that could be easily seen, he addressed him saying: ‘Comrade Enver, why did you call me…’ ?! Enver replied: ‘You should immediately break up the boy’s engagement, because do you know what biography Qazim Turdiu has’ ?! Even before finishing Enver’s speech, Mehmeti said: ‘Why didn’t you tell me this, when you came to my house for congratulations. For Professor Turdiun, we have always said that he is an honorable man and we have taken him all home to teach our children. When did it turn out that he has a bad biography ?! I can not interfere in the feelings of my children, to break this engagement ‘. After Mehmet’s answer, Enver got angry and addressed you, saying: ‘You will break this engagement as soon as possible, because this is what the Party has ordered’. After this debate we came out and it was realized that Mehmeti could not escape the breakdown of his son’s engagement, seeing the great pressure that Enver exerted on him and also the honorable situation that prevailed among all members of the Politburo, who had departed and held attitude towards him. After a few days, Mehmet called me to the garden of the villa and said to me: Ali, please can you call Skënder and Silva to your house and tell them on behalf of our family that their engagement will be broken. Ali, finish this work for us, because I do not have the heart to tell you, because I could not wait for this engagement. We had this conversation in the backyard, as he knew he had been eavesdropping for a long time and guarded from any conversation. In that period, every time we went out in the districts for different meetings, Mehmeti would tell me how the phones rang when he connected with Tirana. After I took over the order given to me by Mehmeti, I called Skënder and Silva to my house and I told you with great embarrassment about the breakdown of their engagement, I asked for this on behalf of the family, Shehu.
At the Bureau meeting, Ramiz directed the accusations against Mehmet
According to the testimonies of Ali Ceno, after the debate between Enver and Mehmet, the two did not meet each other anymore, not even in the days of the Congress and their confrontation would take place only at the meeting of the Bureau, on December 17. In this regard, Ceno recalled: “The meeting of the Politburo ended around 20.00 and immediately after that, Mehmeti, very nervous, as rarely ever, hurried to the work studio in his house and threw the bag he was carrying at the door. with himself when there was a meeting. I sat down to take the bag to put it in the right place, but he said to me: Leave Ali damn, leave…! Seeing his shocked state, to alleviate him somewhat, I said to him: ‘How many times are we criticized in meetings…’! After that he addressed me: Why mo Ali, you compare yourself with me… ?! Did you not hear what the little ones did in the meeting like parrots’ ?! (It was about the meeting of the Politburo, which had just ended, where almost all its members, instigated by Enver, severely attacked Mehmet, with various accusations. One of the people who attacked him most severely, was Ramiz Alia, who in addition to the accusations he made himself, had incited other members of the Politburo to attack Mehmet, mentioning his son’s engagement to the daughter of the Turdiu family and until the open display of the need for the end of the class war, as was the case where he had praised and embraced the son of Zog’s former minister, during his visit to Cërrik.All these attacks were led by Ramis Alia, who since 1976, his attitudes towards Mehmet , converged with those of Enver, depending on the relationship and relations they both had.But in addition, Ramiz had another reason, to be harsh on Mehmet and to become the main instigator of accusations and attacks against him. thing came after the breakdown and cooled Ramiz’s final relationship with Mehmet, which had its origins in the early 1980s. At that time, it seemed that the Shehu and Alia families established a strong and lasting bond between them, which was concretized with a ceremony. that the two families did in the villa of Dajti mountain. But only so long after this ceremony, it was the Shehu family which broke the friendship with the Alia family and the relations between Mehmet and Ramiz remained only official. Ramiz Alia knows very well what that connection was between the Shehu and Alia families, krushqi or something else. If you want more about her, you can ask her “, said Ali Çeno, regarding the climate created at the meeting of the Politburo on December 17, which according to him, were conducted by Ramiz Alia, understood according to the” libretto “of Enver Hoxha.
Mehmet’s phone call with Enver on the night of December 17, 1981
How did the events unfold on the evening of December 17 after the meeting of the Politburo, between the two highest leaders of communist Albania ?! In this regard, Ali recalled: “After a while around nine o’clock without a quarter, from the work studio where only the two of us were together, Mehmeti called Enver and said: Comrade Enver, is it possible for me to come only 5 minutes, to copy some things, so that tomorrow at the Bureau meeting, a ripe thing came out and not like today, where one fell on the nail and the other on the horseshoe, and the first did not know the second ‘. I did not hear what Enver answered on the other side of the receiver, but I learned it the next day from Fiqret. Enver had told him that he could not wait for him, as he had guests for dinner and was very tired, but told Mehmet to prepare for self-criticism, that he would give him the conclusions in the Bureau. Before I left him, to go to my house, Mehmeti addressed me: ‘Ali, be careful of the service, lest evil come from where it awaits’. I was clear about why he was speaking, and before I left, I shared my duties with the service group and left for home to return after a phone call from one of the escorts and I slept in the service room. The next day, after I pulled out the Benz and got it ready to take the boss to the Bureau meeting, I heard screams from the second floor. Then, Vladimir, the eldest son of the Shehu family, came out and asked me and the doctor (Llesh Rroku) to go upstairs quickly. Ladi pointed from the bedroom and, trembling, said to me: ‘Ali, go and see my father’. I immediately got in there and for the moment I remembered that he had fainted. “I measured his pulse and saw that he was finished.” /Memorie.al
The next issue follows
