THE ENIGMA OF THE DEAD ARMY

AIM JUNIOR Tirana

AIM Tirana, 16 May, 1997

Only a handful of Albanians managed to stick their noses through iron bars of the fence surrounding the port of Duress on the morning of April 14 in order to watch the disembarkation of uniformed soldiers they have never seen before. The operation "Alba" made its first difficult step in Albania. Europe had finally realized that, if it did not send its sons to the "country of eagles", it could be forced to deal with another Balkan problem, after the one in Bosnia.

The whole adventure "Alba", starting from the planning stage up to the disembarkation of the first soldiers, is now well known. Embarrassing meetings of the leading international diplomats, discussions, swearing and insults exchanged between the Albanian politicians, pushed into oblivion the only word which, as it seems, represents the axis of the whole situation: the army. Presently, Albania is the only country without an army. At the threshold of 2000 the country is without adequate defence structures in one of the hottest regions of the old continent. It is not easy to describe the history of the Albanian army. Just like all the other similar histories it is enwrapped in the infamous phrase "military secret". Still, after the deeply moving events which had soaked the Albanian soil in blood in the last months, many things are coming out...

If we were to believe what had been written about the Albanian army, it should be said that it is the youngest in Europe. Created by foreign instructors at the dawn of the Albanian state it assumed the shape of a regular army much later, somewhere around the 30's. After that came World War II, which marked the first destruction of its fragile structures. Enver Hoxha and others were the first to create the true pillars of dictatorship with an army which had just stepped down from the mountains. Thousands of pillarboxes, a country turned into a true labyrinth of mountain tunnels full of ammunition, the entire nation in arms and staggering expenditures for a country which was undoubtedly the poorest in Europe. That is the beginning of the true history of tragic days because of which many Albanians are still bleeding.

Only one name is mentioned in the overall latest history of the Albanian army - Safet Xhulali. One of the most powerful men of the Democratic Party for already five years, a man of President Berisha's confidence and Minister of Defence until two months ago he was person No.2 in Albania. It was perhaps at the moment he saw himself at the helm of the Albanian Army that he realized what gigantic potential he had at his disposal. Arms factories, ammunition, all sorts of armament and finally a trump card which had to be played wisely, i.e. the strategic position of Albania. This last one links this whole story with the greatest military power in the world - the United States of America.

The first Americans in green uniforms started appearing on the Albanian TV screens already at time of the massacre in Bosnia. According to Washington's advice, the Albanians ordered the withdrawal of their army to the barracks. The army and its forces were significantly reduced and that was termed "the successful army reform". Xhulali, Berisha's "iron man", was still safely in charge, but it was very hard to find out anything about his frequent meetings with envoys from Washington. "Partnership for Peace" was another initiative which Berisha and Xhulali accepted with great enthusiasm. This was later on followed by numerous contacts with the NATO. And that was the visible side of the coin. On several occasions the press reacted to the news from Africa or Afghanistan about weapons of Albanian origin discovered there, but that did not disturb Xhulali in the least as he continued bragging of the success of the reforms the Americans had taught him.

Many analysts are trying to explain how was it possible to topple down in just a few days an entire structure which took 50 years to create. Numerous questions, doubts, parallel events - all that is reverberating in the heads of the Albanians who see the arms, so easily taken from the packed army dumps, in the hands of irresponsible people. Maybe this whole subject will remain a secret for many years to come, but sometimes a single word can bring you closer to the truth. In this case that word is the base. In Biza, on a mountain plateau some 70 kms. North-East of Tirana the Americans have started the construction of an authentic military base which is in everyday language termed "the drill base". The event did not attract much attention of the domestic public. However, it seems that that was not the case with the capitals of Europe. After only several months of drill in snow covered woods, the number of Americans started to decline, while at the same time the base lost its original function.

What happened in the meantime? Why had the Americans withdrawn? Had Berisha regretted his first love or had some other states intervened? Perhaps no one but Berisha could precisely answer these questions. Still, it seems that numerous states which are mentioned throughout this story have ignored one name - Russia. The Moscow "bear" was the only state which had managed to secure a base in Enver Hoxha's Albania which was a cause of distress for the West for several decades. Only 72 kms. from Italy the Russian submarines had calmly watched their Western colleagues sweat while protecting their country. The only large Albanian island Sazan was turned into a sophisticated Russian base. In the meantime the course of history changed and the Russians left Sazan and Vlore in 1961 when relations with Enver Hoxha deteriorated, but since then no one though it possible that the history with bases, which seemed long forgotten, would come to the surface once again with the same force.

"The Americans wanted Sazan", stated the semi-official sources close to Berisha. "Berisha had personally offered us Sazan, we did not dream of asking for it", was the American explanation. And Berisha who found himself in a closed circle of the daily chaos the country was caught in, had to deal personally with the "war of statements" with Washington. The truth will not out this time, but it is certain that the negotiations were held behind closed doors. Other sources close to the American Embassy in Tirana until recently claim that "Berisha - or better said his Minister Xhulali - have agreed on the creation of an axis to start at the already finished base in Biza and end at the island of Sazan". This Agreement was never realized. No one knows why, but the country was caught on fire, the army disintegrated to the last unit and as for Minister Xhulali...he ran away to Italy and it is not known what are he and the group of 60 he took with him, living on.

On a boat he bought from a member of his family Xhulali fled the country at the time the dumps, which should have been protected and under his command, were broken into. Later on, from Italy he accused: "Berisha is guilty, he wanted to kill me". In the meantime the President and his men proclaimed him a "common traitor". There are some missing elements in this whole "puzzle". It is only logical that Berisha himself realized that he was in a tight spot either because the American demands were too pretentious or because someone reminded him that although the USA is the most powerful country in this world, it was not the only one. Who could have been this "prompter" it is up to Berisha to tell. There are many indications that it was Russia which knows best what Albania with its bases means. In that case, it probably had some other European giant on its side. It is a fact that Berisha did not keep his promise given to Washington, but also that precisely at that moment the fire spread all over the country, hundreds were killed, thousands wounded, the economy destroyed beyond repair and finally the country lost its army...

It seems that Berisha has forgotten that he should beware of the wrath of the mighty. Be it as it may, he turned out to be a poor player.

AIM Tirana Anila BASHA