Documenti
Tirana Albania in Albanian, 8 Jun 97 p5
[Interview with Albert Shyti, chairman of the Vlore
Salvation Committee, by an unidentified correspondent via
telephone from Vlore on 7 June: "Dead or Alive, We Will
Oust Sali Berisha"]
[FBIS Translated Text] Albert Shyti thinks that he
will remain at the head of his committee for a long time
yet, until 100 percent of the money is given back. However,
no government has undertaken to embark on such an adventure.
The 26-year-old bachelor, who is head of the Salvation
Committee, who says that he lost a lot with the Gjallica
firm, offered this as an inducement for him to surrender his
parallel post of power, which Tirana considers to be
illegitimate. These committees will send Vlore and the south
to the polls on 29 June. "The ballot will be free, just as
the people of Vlore have been free in recent days," said
Shyti for the newspaper Albania. At the same time, the press
reports that 40,000 inhabitants of Vlore have left the city
in order to save themselves from the anarchy and chaos.
The committee chairman is categorical about the removal
of Berisha, even if he wins the vote against the monarchy.
Shyti says that a monarchy is not for Albania at the present
time. He asks for the money of the people of Vlore to be
refunded through a distribution of the customs revenue of
the district itself, and for not a cent to be given to the
state, which he says merely fleeces the people. Although he
does not predict what further course his life will take, he
will not allow himself to become a scapegoat for Nano,
Berisha, or others, and will not allow them to reap the
fruits of what the Vlore committee has done.
[Albania] The Salvation Committee has supplanted the
local government in Vlore.
[Shyti] You are wrong. The local government has been
working in Vlore for three months. We replaced it only in
the first two months or for a month and one half, but the
local government is now working at full capacity, including
the municipality and the District Council. You know that
Medin Xhelili, the chairman of the District Council, meets
with the government almost three times a week. The two
deputy chairmen that have been installed, one from the
Democratic Party [PD] and one from the Socialist Party [PS],
meet the government almost twice a week. The local
government is now trying to start up the courts, the
Procurator's Office, the Investigator's Office, etc.
[Albania] They have been working for three months?
[Shyti] You see, there is something you do not know.
Almost two and a half months.
[Albania] Reports from Vlore say that the committee
has the last word.
[Shyti] Let me explain something else to you. Since
the day it was created to the present, the committee has
made only suggestions. It has never made decisions, because
it is not a legislative body.
[Albania] But the local government approves its
suggestions?
[Shyti] Of course.
[Albania] What specific proposals have you made?
[Shyti] The first proposal we made was about Mr. Milto
Kordha, the chief of the Vlore Police Commissariat. Because
the local government was not operating, we approved him with
the help of the people. We put him up in front of the
people, and also sounded the common opinions of the
political parties that were active in Vlore at that time. We
proposed a chairman of the District Council, and our view
coincided with that of the councilors of the District
Council. We also proposed a chairman for the Municipal
Council and a deputy chairman. The secretary was a
presidential appointee, and we did not go to the trouble of
proposing him. So we always merely make suggestions.
[Albania] Are you happy with the people you proposed?
[Shyti] In that the local government itself is
satisfied with its officials, we have to be satisfied. It is
enough that the earlier management staff has been replaced.
There might have been some very good people in that staff,
but the people thought they were all incriminated and the
staff abandoned the people when they should not have done
so. Of course, some of them belonged to Sali Berisha's
clique.
[Albania] Of what political wing are those in power
now?
[Shyti] The chairman of the District Council belongs
to the Social-Democratic Party. One deputy chairman belongs
to the PD and the other to the PS. We have established
political pluralism in Vlore. The chairman of the Municipal
Council belongs to the Democratic Alliance, and the deputy
chairman belongs to the National Front.
[Albania] In your belief, is this pluralism effective?
[Shyti] I think so, because it has produced fruit at
this time. If they start behaving like the previous lot,
they will surrender their places to other people who will
work for the people.
[Albania] Can you tell what these fruits are so far?
[Shyti] Of course, I can remind you of one or two
things. Since the District Council has existed, people have
found a door to knock at with social problems of all kinds.
Since the municipality has been in existence, the people of
Vlore have received their pensions and welfare payments. A
solution was found for those 2,200 people who were, as they
say, on the skids, and were waiting to receive welfare. The
central government has left us in the lurch since 5
February, when we took to the streets in protest. All the
councilors made all the efforts they could, because the
entire financial administration, like the police
administration, had abandoned Vlore and escaped to Tirana.
Sali Berisha collected all his adherents, all the people who
supported him, in Tirana, because that is where he has all
his trusties. These are the fruits. There is now talk about
food problems and price controls, because prices have
rocketed. The government does not send us any food because
it thinks that Sali Berisha is going to reduce us to dust.
But he does not know that the people of Laberia can live on
gruel.
[Albania] What relations do you have with the other
committees of the south?
[Shyti] We cooperate, more on a friendly basis than
anything else. We have found a consensus. We share the same
views. Dead or alive, we will topple Sali Berisha from his
throne on 30 June, if a free ballot does not do this.
[Albania] What do you think of the blockade of the
right-wing press in the south of the country?
[Shyti] The Vlore Salvation Committee and the
committees of the south have never for a single day
obstructed the right-wing press, as I can prove to you. The
electorate is not a salvation committee, and all the people
who stand up at meetings are members of the electorate and
of left- and right-wing parties. You cannot forbid the
right-wing press when we have electoral rallies with the
National Front, the Legality Movement, the Democratic Party
of the Right, or the Human Rights Union. We are not the ones
who have obstructed the press. The Salvation Committee has
never gone for such things.
[Albania] Then who burns the vans and the newspapers?
[Shyti] I do not know. I cannot tell you because I was
not at the scene of the incident, and I cannot confirm to
you with any certainty that the vans of the right-wing press
were burned. Those who distribute the press should have made
sure they had both the left and the right-wing press in the
van, so that the people on the street should not have to
wear themselves out making distinctions.
[Albania] What is public order like in Vlore?
[Shyti] I think that people have felt very safe in
recent days. It has been extremely quiet. It has been
summery. Cafes close at nine. Those with the courage or who
like to enjoy life go out. Those who are scared of Sali
Berisha's people or that their coffee might be poisoned--
they do not go out. As for people who want to live, they
live in freedom.
[Albania] What is your purpose with this committee?
[Shyti] We had two aims. Or rather, we started with
one, and they became two. The first was the removal from
political life or the death of Sali Berisha, because he
drenched Vlore in blood, and he will bear political
responsibility for this blood. The second aim was the 100
percent refund of the people's money. There was nothing
else. After the people's blood was shed, the demand for the
money fell into second place. This was because it was a
matter of blood. We cannot forgive the blood of the young
men who were killed here in Vlore. The Salvation Committee
has not stood up either for power or for jobs. We are
representatives of the people, a group of people from all
classes of society that have put ourselves forward to
represent the people's demands, first for a refund of their
money, and now for Berisha's removal.
[Albania] But how do you think Berisha can be removed?
[Shyti] By a free vote of the people. His removal is
120 million percent certain, if the ballot is a free one.
[Albania] What happens if the ballot is free and Sali
Berisha wins?
[Shyti] If the ballot is free and people vote for Sali
Berisha, the PD will remain, but he must go at all costs.
Other people from the PD will remain, but not Sali Berisha.
[Albania] How free do you think the ballot will be in
Vlore?
[Shyti] I can give you a guarantee for Vlore. If
anybody tries any rigging, they will leave their bones here.
The voting will be free here in Vlore, because the people
are free. I cannot vouch for other districts, but I am sure
of this in the south.
[Albania] How do you explain why the OSCE observers
were stopped by the committees of the south?
[Shyti] Do not confuse the committees with the gangs
that stop OSCE monitors. The Salvation Committees have
cooperated with representatives of the OSCE, because they
are for a political settlement and the restoration of order
and calm. We will cooperate with all those we can, to
guarantee a free ballot and to secure the polling stations,
not to obstruct monitors. The gangs that go for looting
might have been sent there on purpose by Sali Berisha, who
knew that the OSCE would take the road for Vlore, Sarande,
or Tepelene. He does not choose his weapons when it comes to
fighting the committees, and he could have done this kind of
thing.
[Albania] What does the committee do if it does not
defend people from violence?
[Shyti] The committee was never formed to perform the
role of policemen, army officers, or prison guards, because
the committee could not do everything, and be a mayor, a
district council chairman, and lawyer prosecutor, and court.
Do not confuse things. We cannot take 180,000 people under
our protection, because there only 35 of us. It would not be
any good if I were killed and then Nano, Belul Celo, Sali
Berisha or somebody else governed, and if the 35 men of the
committee were killed and their places were taken by people
who have never done a thing. I think that is only logical,
is it not?
[Albania] You were in Vlore before the anarchy began.
[Shyti] Of course. I came back to Vlore from Greece on
28 January.
[Albania] Why did you return just at that moment?
[Shyti] I went back when I learned that Gjallica would
pay back our money on 6 February.
[Albania] Did you deposit a lot of money with
Gjallica?
[Shyti] In that I am putting my own life in danger,
let me say it was a considerable sum. If I mention a figure,
tongues will wag, so I have never mentioned the sum from the
very start.
[Albania] Is it worth staking your life for this sum?
[Shyti] It is worth it to live in freedom. This has
interested me more. Nobody can take that from me. Not even
the man who has given me such a blow and taken the money I
earned with my blood. I cannot forgive this.
[Albania] Did you ever think that Gjallica would one
day collapse?
[Shyti] As long as a state existed that was kept going
by these firms, I was sure that my money would be intact:
that is, as long as the Albanian state existed, whoever or
whatever political party was in charge of it. If [Gjallica
deputy chairman] Fitim Gerxhalliu had taken this money, I
would not be asking for it, or I would be looking for Fitim,
but we know that it was Sali Berisha that took this money,
and we will demand every last cent of it from him.
[Albania] But do you think it was Sali Berisha and not
[Gjallica chairman] Shemsie Kadria who took it?
[Shyti] I am sorry. I know about this things. These
firms kept the Albanian state going. There is nothing else
to say.
[Albania] When did you discover that the Albanian
state was keeping itself going with your money?
[Shyti] With my money? From the very moment that I
deposited it. I was the master of my own money, but when I
left Albania I deposited it, in the full knowledge that it
would keep the state going. But I could reclaim my money at
any moment.
[Albania] But why did you do this, when you knew where
the money was going?
[Shyti] Because the state existed. As long as this
state existed, and kept my money, and used it, and was able
to make it yield profits, I was sure that I would not lose
my money.
[Albania] Which party would you like to see win the 29
June elections?
[Shyti] I would like to see win the political party
that works hardest for the people. I am not a member of a
party myself. I would like a coalition of parties, or rather
I think that in Albania's present position there is no need
for a president or anything. There is a need for a figure
who will symbolically represent the state, and a group of
people must be found who will work for the people.
[Albania] From the old caste or new people?
[Shyti] I am talking about people who want to work,
and who want to do something for this country. The new caste
might be slightly more moderate, but certainly no less like
a mafia.
[Albania] According to you, how will the state
operate? How can there be a presidential republic without a
president?
[Shyti] There should be a president, but not one who
makes all the laws.
[Albania] Are you in favor of a monarchy?
[Shyti] No. Albania's level of development is not
right for a return of the monarchy; rather developed
countries realized long ago that the time of personal power
is past.
[Albania] What relations do you have with the Alba
mission?
[Shyti] We have meetings about all kinds of problems
almost three times a week. You can ask General Giulio about
this. He knows me personally very well. He succeeded in
getting to know us properly, not like Sali Berisha who calls
us rebels and criminals.
[Albania] How can you explain why they are so passive?
[Shyti] It is not up to me to analyze this. I have
told them face to face what Giulio and the multinational
force should do.
[Albania] When will the committee be dissolved?
[Shyti] The committee will be dissolved when the
people's money is refunded 100 percent. Then Sali Berisha
can talk about dissolving the committees or anything else,
because we are not creatures of the president, the
parliament, or the political parties. It was a necessity of
the times when the committee was created out of the broad
masses of the people. They cannot make us scapegoats in
order to lift the state of emergency. The state of emergency
should be lifted, even though the committees exist.
[Albania] Do you think that you will receive 100
percent of your money?
[Shyti] No. I believe only one thing, and that is that
I will ask for the money from whatever kind of government is
installed, and if it does not reply, it will either have to
give way to another government or come here to slay all us
people of Vlore, or of the whole of the south, all the
people who have lost their money.
[Albania] However, your compatriot [Finance Minister]
Arben Malaj has said that there will be no compensation for
the moneylending.
[Shyti] I cannot talk Arben Malaj's language, because
Arben Malaj has been a member of a government for three
months. It is up to the new government that will have a
four-year mandate to return the money, because there are
plenty of opportunities. I am an economist and an
intellectual, and I know this. The state and the government
will find a way of paying the money back. There will be
taxes and duties. The customs house of Vlore will work, and
it will pay back the money within six months. If we send the
money to the state budget, there will be the same corruption
as before. I am a taxpayer. I do not work for the Albanian
budget. I work for my own budget, my own pocket. I am not
obliged to pay taxes to the state, when the state does
nothing for me. The ferry alone pays $200,000 a month to
customs in Vlore. About 300 million [old] leks a month. In
Vlore, there are 12,000 people paid out of the budget, who
each receive 7,000 leks a month, which means 840 million
[old] leks. In the meantime, 100,000 people here pay taxes.
That money goes to the state budget, quite apart from the
money traders pay to customs.
[Albania] What relations to you have with those who
keep the city for you?
[Shyti] I am on friendly terms with Zani. The only
thing that unites us is the struggle against Sali Berisha,
in which we will stand firm until the end. As for their
personal activities, I cannot say anything. Zani is one
person, Berti is another. Kakami, Agron, and so forth are
others still.... In the meantime, the other groups seem to
have come out in defense of Sali Berisha.
[Albania] What do you think about the recent acts of
violence?
[Shyti] As for the attack on the president, I am not a
baby, to make an attack of that kind. A grenade cannot take
nine seconds to explode. These are tricks that we cannot
fall for. A grenade explodes in two or three seconds.
[Albania] What about the bomb attack against Lush
Perpali?
[Shyti] That was a political bomb attack.
[Albania] Why do you think it was political?
[Shyti] Lush, who is in the post of secretary, does
not have any great contacts with those whom Berisha calls
the rebels.
[Albania] But for you, is it terror when bombs
explode?
[Shyti] Not only when bombs explode, but when
Kalashnikovs rattle.
[Albania] Do you believe in God?
[Shyti] No, I do not believe.
[Albania] What will you do when the committee is
dissolved?
[Shyti] I will find a way to make a living.
[Albania] How?
[Shyti] I cannot answer this, because the times have
made me change course many times. But, as far as I am
concerned, I am the sort that will work as long as he has
the strength. We can talk again in three weeks' time.