Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes the unknown story of Myslym Keta, the hero of the Guerrilla Units of Tirana who was first honored in Albania with the high title “Hero of the Nation” since 1947 (when this title had not yet been awarded to Enver Hoxha), and his military career that remained until the rank of colonel, even though he graduated with high results the Military Academy in the former Soviet Union?!
How did the suspicions about Lymin start after 1961, when the Russian military attaché, a close friend of his, proposed to Beqir Balluku at the banquet given in honor of the Independence Day, for the elimination of the “four” (Enver, Mehmet, Hysni, and Ramiz who were in Moscow) and the keys were handed over to Balluk?! The denunciation of Balluk to Kadri Hazbiu who accompanied the “four” in Moscow and their return by train to the homeland, where in the Palace of Brigades, Enver Hoxha would raise the first toast for “comrade Beqir” who saved the Party from the intrigues of the enemies!
The suspicions about Lym Keta as an accomplice of the Russian military attaché, and the testimony of the former senior official of the State Security, Mark Dodan, on the order they had given for the physical elimination of Lym Keta while he was going hunting, the cancellation and postponement of that plan, until February 26, 1966, when he died “accidentally” somewhere in the turns of Fushë-Arrëz, after the helicopter from Tirana left four hours late… ?!
Why Lym Keta was buried in Tufina and not in the Cemetery of the Martyrs of the Nation, the removal of the leadership comrades from his house where they went for May 5, the cancellation of books and documentaries made for him, as well as the arrest and sentencing as ” enemies of the people” of all his comrades in 1980, who held high positions and functions, including his sister who was interned in Tepelena?
Somewhere in the public cemetery on the outskirts of Tirana, near the village of Shish-Tufinë, in a special plot where it was said that the communist regime had it reserved for prominent people and with special merits, there is a tomb that in the form of marble with it which is built there is nothing special from the other tombs. What can attract the attention of rare passers-by, is an epitaph written with engraving which says: “In case Albania needed a dam / his chest came / and not at all how life hurt / Such was it, my friends / brave Myslym Keta”.
In that tomb surrounded by thorns rests the man for whom many legends were woven, the one who first received the high title “National Hero” in July 1947, when he was not more than 22 years old, at a time when none of Many generals and personalities of the National Liberation War did not enjoy this title, including Colonel-General Enver Hoxha himself?! Who was Myslym Keta and why was he honored with this title? Why did not the first National Hero of War rest in the Nation Martyrs Cemetery, when he was still enjoying this title?
Gathering of 81 Parties and Soviet provocation
It was November 28, 1961, when the anniversary of Independence was celebrated in the House of Party No. 1 (behind the former building of the Central Committee of the ALP.). As soon as the solemn ceremony begins, Enver Hoxha stands up and with a glass in his hand says: “We will raise this toast not like the other times for the Party, but for the man who saved the Party from a conspiracy of its enemies, our friend Beqir Balluku …”! What happened and what was the plot that was hatched and how could Beqir Balluku eliminate it?! It was November 17 of the same year when a reception was given at the Palace of Brigades on the occasion of the anniversary of the liberation of Tirana. At that time Enver Hoxha, Mehmet Shehu, Hysni Kapo and Kadri Hazbiu were in the Party delegation in Moscow at the meeting of 81 parties and the management of the country Enver Hoxha had given to his most loyal man, Balluku, to whom he belonged according to the hierarchy. official, as he was a member of the Politburo and First Deputy Prime Minister. Among other things, Balluku had given signs of loyalty to Enver Hoxha since the Tirana conference in 1956, when he, as a delegate there, had informed Hoxha in Vlora about what was being hatched at that Conference. Thus, during the reception at the Palace of Brigades, where foreign embassies also assisted, the Soviet military attaché asked Balluku for a confidential meeting and he invited him to his house in Bllok. During the supper, it is said that the Russian military attaché says to Balluku with a laugh: “How do you say we leave out the four of them, closing the door and handing over the keys to you”?! It was about Hoxha, Shehu, Kapo and Hazbi to eliminate them and Balluku to take over the country. Immediately after the provocation of the Russian military, it is said that the nervous Balluku responds “You and Moscow are doing this, for the four of them I will tomorrow slaughter with my own hand four thousand Russians who are in Albania, in Skanderbeg Square”. After that, the conversation could not continue and the Russian attaché left Balluk’s villa for his residence. That night, Balluku contacted Moscow and communicated to Hazbi the possibility of a possible incident by the “homeowners” in Moscow. Minister Hazbiu, who was responsible for the life and security of the delegation led by Hoxha, Kapo and Shehu, after the conversation with them, suggested to them to change the return itinerary, by plane, traveling through Central Europe to end in Italy. It is not known how much truth there is in all this event that sounds on the verge of legend, but what is certain is the fact that this story has been told for years not only by the senior military who were under Balluk, but Balluk even by many others, part of the high nomenclature living mainly in the Leadership Bloc! But how would this conspiracy be carried out by the Soviets, who would be the people who would support this coup?! Who were the closest friends of the Soviet military attaché in Tirana and what positions did they hold? It is said that immediately after that “incident” surveys began and lists were compiled with possible persons who could carry out this “coup” and after this event, Enver Hoxha would decide to permanently sever all official relations with the Soviet Union, withdrawing and the embassy from Moscow. From all the investigations of the State Security organs at that time regarding the “Russian conspiracy”, it turned out that the most probable person on whom the Soviets would rely to kill Enver Hoxha, was Colonel Myslym Keta, former assassin during the Anti-Fascist War and now The Commander of the Tank Regiment who had studied in Moscow!
Lym Keta and the first doubts about communism!
Lym Keta, as the Tirana people and all Albanians knew him, entered the legends as a brave and courageous assassin in the Guerrilla Units of Tirana during the period of occupation of the country, 1939-1944. In 1947, he was sent to the Academy of Land Forces in Moscow for studies, which he interrupted for health reasons and returned home. In 1949, Lymi was sent back to Moscow, where he graduated with honors from the Military Academy and graduated as a tank engineer. But upon his return from the Bolshevik capital, he gives the first signs of distrust of the cause for which he had fought. According to the testimonies of his contemporaries and closest friends, Lym Keta constantly expressed his dissatisfaction with the “Bloc” and the new privileged. Meanwhile, suspicions that he was linked to a possible Soviet conspiracy to execute high-ranking government leaders by his name were no longer just suspicions, but “stamped” by labeling him a Russian-linked man. Meanwhile, the leaders of the top leadership decided to eliminate him physically, which was entrusted to the high structures of the State Security, which immediately implemented the plans for his execution, which would be very difficult, due to the great reputation that Lym Keta was in the people.
Mark Dodan’s testimony on how Lymi would be eliminated!
According to the stories of Mark Dodani, one of the well-known cadres of the State Security Army, made public in the press years ago, around 1964-’65, Rexhep Kolli, former Deputy Minister of Interior, calls Mark and openly says: “There is a signal that Myslym Keta is in an anti-party and hostile position and tends to run away!” “I was surprised,” Dodani said, “and in dialogue with Rexhepi, I told him:” Lymi must have really betrayed, this cannot be true, I do not believe, are we in front of some ordinary spying, careerist work?! After a short silence, he said: “By order of the senior leadership of the Party, you are in charge of following him to the pyramid. If you prove he will cross the border, you are authorized to use force by arresting him. If he is going to use the weapon, you are authorized to counteract the weapon. You will get in his car “Gaz” and since he has legend that he will go hunting, introduce yourself and you will hunt with him, as friends that you are. You will be followed by another “Gaz” with two or three Security officers, who will be in your support… “. “I was very upset again, but I could not tell. The fact that after us were sent three Security officers with a car that was said to be supporting me in action, they could very well have killed us both as soon as we crossed the pyramid because I was the person who knew a lot. When very easily, if I did not accept the duty, I could be accused as Lymi, “anti-party”, and in these circumstances I was forced to accept the duty and implement the plan when I saw it written and signed by Generals Beqir Balluku and Kadri Hazbiu “. “After three days”, said Dodani, “when I was waiting at the Milot bridge to join Lym for hunting, Rexhep Kolli called me in the office and said:” Mark, you were right, Lym Keta is a real Hero and it turned out, as you said, a careerist intrigue. All that was discussed, the deputy minister on behalf of the leadership, instructed Dodan to keep everything a top state secret. But after the Lym accident that took his life, Mark Dodani adds to the suspicions. “I wrote the letter expressing my suspicions during the period of the investigation of Kadri Hazbiu’s group, which through Hekuran Isai, who was the Minister of Interior, I wanted to get into the hands of Enver, in whom I had unwavering trust”, Dodani testified and according to him, by order of Zylyftar Ramiz, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, he was not involved in the trial of Kadri Hazbiu in 1983 at all.
Execution order…
Based on the testimony of the former senior exponent of the State Security, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Dodani, Enver Hoxha’s order for the physical liquidation of Lym Keta was signed by Balluku and Hazbi. But why was his liquidation plan postponed?! According to some testimonies, in the middle of 1965, Lym Keta was called to the Political Directorate by S.B., Et’hem Gjinushi and deputy. Minister of Interior, Rexhep Kolli. They put in front of him a letter of indictment with twelve points, where in turn Lym was asked to reflect on all the accusations against him, responding to all in writing. In those 12 points, he was accused of having said about the peasant because that was becoming gangrene, about the Block that was coming and going, and about the prisons that were coming and being filled with innocent people. Shortly after this letter, Lymi calls home his close friend, Dhimitër Mano (Lola), and tells him all the conversation he had had with the three generals. After that Lymi is called back by S.B. where he was pressured to leave the problems raised only between them. Following these frequent calls and pressures on Lymi, a strict surveillance by the State Security will begin. It is said that the assassination of Lym Keta was postponed because Myslym Peza was also questioned about it, which was done intentionally by the top leadership, as if to expand the circle of those who knew about his “hostile activity”! But it is said that Father Myslymi refuted the accusations made against Keta and even defended her. But already, it seemed that his “fate” was determined. On February 26, 1966, Colonel Myslym Keta lost his life after a serious car accident that happened somewhere near Fushë-Arrëz, for which many people have expressed suspicions that he may have been provoked by the State Security!
Testimony of Lym Keta’s driver
The former driver of Myslym Keta, Petrit Topi, who lives in the city of Durrës, in an interview he gave to the author of this article many years ago, among other things regarding the accident that happened to his boss, said: “The command of the ward,” The FUD charged me with driving with Myslym Keta seven months before the accident. Lymi had an old “Gaz-67” car that was from the Second World War. Cars older than that you do not find in the entire Army. It was February 24, 1966, when Lymi told me that we were going to serve in Fushë-Arrëz. We left in the afternoon and that night we both slept in Shkodra, at Lymi’s baxhanak. Before leaving, Lymi begged his son, Ben, to take him with him, as he often came with us. Lymi once agreed, but quickly changed his mind. He that day took from the house a small machine gun that he had never taken with him, as he only took the shotgun (couple) in such cases! That night we slept in Shkodra, we left the car in a military unit at the Shkodra Corps. The next day we set off for the road and before leaving for Fushë-Arrëz, we stopped in Puka, where Lymi met the head of the Military Branch. By the way, we bought something to eat. At one-point Lymi told me to stop the car, that he would take it himself and I did. Lymi got behind the wheel and we set off. He was a true master of all types of vehicles. Near a turn, the car did not cut but climbed a few feet and turned back upside down on the road. Lymi was badly damaged in the head by the iron of the car window, while I tried to lift it to wipe the blood coming out of his forehead. But he had in mind me and told me to freeze my clothes, that I had not received wounds on the body. Meanwhile, after us comes a “Skoda” car from Shkodra and Lymi gets up and enters the cabin himself. Before we got in the car that came, when we were both down, I told Lym to get the automatic and shoot to sound the alarm. He got up on his own and took the machine gun, that I did not know how to use it and shot several times. The car of Shkodra took us to the hospital of Fushë-Arrëz, where there was a young doctor who did his best with the means he had to treat Lym. He immediately got on the phone with Tirana, looking for a helicopter, because he saw that Lym’s wound on his head was large and he was getting worse by the minute. I started crying and they wanted to take me out of the treatment room, but Lymi did not let them, telling me: “Do not leave my head.” On the phone with Tirana, I learned that Beqir Balluku and Rrahman Përllaku had appeared, who was the man that Lymi wanted the most. Lymi requested that Dr. Koliqi, who was in the Military Hospital, come from Tirana. The helicopter from Tirana arrived about four hours after the announcement and was accompanied by surgeons, Ismail Feta and another doctor along with the Chief of the Artillery of the Navy. When they arrived, Lymi had passed away. I came in random cars only the next day to Tirana and two days after the accident, the Chief of Security, Qemal Pashaj, called me and asked me about the accident. I learned from him that expertise had brought out our defective car. After ten days I was transferred from my ward to another ward and I never saw my car again. To this day, I doubt and do not rule out the possibility that this accident was planned by the State Security, damaging our car when it was in the military unit in Shkodra, nor do I rule out the possibility that our car was shot at the time of the crash. “, Ended his testimony Petrit Topi, which was the first and last testimony he made about that event, after a great insistence from us and the family of Myslym Keta.
Silence after death, or “second death” of Lym Keta?!
After the death of Lym Keta, the Central Committee of the ALP issued a dry communiqué, and thousands of residents of Tirana and surrounding villages attended his funeral. There was no telegram and no courtesy visit from Enver Hoxha’s family. Other senior dignitaries visiting his home on the occasion of May 5 began to rage every year until only neighborhood activists remained. Immediately after Lym’s death, the “Party comrades” rush and take all of Lym’s memoirs and writings to make a monograph that was never published! But the suspicions about the elimination of Lym Keta “for state reasons” did not remain so and he was “stamped” in 1980, when the Party gave orders and arrested all his closest comrades who held high positions and positions. , such as: Ali Kubati, (former deputy chairman of the Executive Committee of Tirana), Edip Ohri, (former MP and Commander of the Albanian Aviation), Sabri Pilkati (former prosecutor and deputy chairman of the Executive Committee of Tirana, Dhimitër Mano ( Myslym Keta’s brother-in-law), etc., to Lym’s sister who was interned for several years in Tepelena.According to a former senior State Security official, the plan to arrest Myslym Keta’s group had been planned for a long time but he was deliberately postponed in order not to be linked to his death, as according to a lot of information that the Security had, the people who after his death started talking, which forced the top leadership to postpone the arrest of Myslym’s comrades, but no surveillance of them! Which on the contrary was greatly added? And when Lymi’s friends gathered together for a drink or a glass or to make a handful of letters, they also remembered their friend. They also remembered the events when the Security people knocked on the door of the house, where the irritated Lymi once came out with a pistol in his hand, threatening to blow his brains out to him and those who had sent him…?!
How was the documentary about Lym Keta canceled on the day of the broadcast?!
While all this had happened, in 1986, the writer Skënder Jasa and a director of the Albanian Radio-Television were preparing a television documentary about the hero Lym Keta, who was announced for broadcast, but on the day of the show, he was commissioned by “from above” canceled and not transmitted. Reason: Lymi is not a “National Hero” but only a local hero! These were the acts that marked the second death of Lymi, Colonel “People’s Hero”, who died in mysterious circumstances and still to this day there is no clear version on his elimination?! / Memorie.al
