Former Security Archive Director submits documents: That's how Ardit Gebre ratted RAI journalists into dictatorship

In the years of the Communist dictatorship, visiting our country was rare.

Even rarer were foreign journalists coming here. The Italians were also very rare. In 1989 the renowned Italian singer Albano and his wife performed a concert in Tirana.

This same time comes RAI journalist Rudolf Valentini. It was for his visit and opinions that the escort prepared the report “from conversation with Italian journalist Rudolfi Valentini”, who was sent to the PPSH Central Committee for recognition in 6,10.1989. For curiosity, read the following text.

Shit.

Associate Report

Being a companion of Italian singers Albano and Romina Pauer, those days gave me the chance to get acquainted with an Italian journalist at RAI2, Rudolf Valentini, who was constantly publishing articles from “Mesagero”, the Rome newspaper.

He tells me: When after an intensive, or continuous job, you need an invasion and physical rest, in Italy we have some kind of sports center that, by massages, etc., they bring you into shape; but it takes millions of liras.

As I now discovered the Albanian paradise; the tranquillity, the fresh air, and all that seems beautiful to me, I will not break up with you in”.
Yet I say - you journalists are strange. Others like you who came earlier have spoken and expressed themselves about our country here, and in newspapers we have read almost always the opposite.

Valentine told me: It's true, but I'm the second Italian professional journalist to come to Albania. Others who wrote had this job for “hoby”. And the first journalist that cast poison upon you, this man that was before you, called him, and took him by the ear; at least in this respect I am honest, and not a liar.

Then he tells me: I've come here for two reasons:

- The first one, I was sent by the president of Italy's journalists to talk to your journalists' president about a friendly visit he will make to your country and some exchanges or assistance we can give you. I also want to meet your RTV director after he's visiting RAI general director here.

- Second. I came to see and verify the lies of the first journalist's article, to publish an editorial on Albanian socialist reality when I return.

How did his plans come about?
I meet him two days after Albano's departure to the hotel “Dajti” and upset me: “

I said: When they asked an artist of this century that he's dealing with politics- he's answered-and enough to breathe the air of time and you've been dealing with politics -- so I told him, I'm not afraid and I'm not afraid to answer any problems you might ask me. Then he starts in a row:

1 - I as a journalist love Albania and have always shot at it to express its progressive leaders' opinion on various political and social issues.

But what is happening when you ask your embassy, for example, what attitude did you take toward the recent event in Kosovo?

Then you have to wait three months to find an answer, apparently you asked Tirana and then come back. But then she's no longer useful than the fact has passed and the interest is gone.

2-after, he continued, in the first journalist article, it was written that an Albanian officer, allegedly told him that in Albania military cannot interview and that he supposedly again, had informed him that on the Albanian-Yugoslav border there are war balls that occasionally fire in the direction of Yugoslavia.

I understand -- I mean, that's bullshit. And for that I expressed my desire to meet an Albanian military man. Let him not talk to me about military problems, but only about peaceful politics and the preservation of the sovereignty of the peoples to pursue Albania. But George Melica's answer was, look at this work, that's it, and it's all there. If it was like this, I-I didn't come here but I ordered the literature to come to me.

3 -I haven't even met with the president of your journalists, nor with the director of your RTV (how we learned, Comrade Maras Hayati, and Virgil Kulen met him on the last day after he extended his service for that purpose).
I don't understand the neglect-telling-each of our states makes their own policy, ours, you. We don't interfere and we don't discuss this, but don't you care if the newspaper “People's voice” has any more presentations? You still work with typewriters, broad reading columns, old layouts, etc., etc. so we can talk about fixing this and then what you fill those lines with, that's your run, that we don't discuss. We only discuss technique here.

4-again another negligence. We have extended an invitation to a sports journalist who, while staying in Italy at our expense, will assist in the world finals of 1990 in football, and will announce sports news in Albania. Of all the countries in the world we have received the answers and names of journalists and-I swear by Albania alone. Is that all you care about?

- Of course I told her there's gonna be some misunderstanding in this middle and there's got to be invitations.

-Anyhow-back me, in mid-October, admissions are over.

5-Arti-I said- writing to visit the Museum of Kruja, on the way I saw some balls. So I ask the escort (who I don't remember) the balls are? He didn't answer me, but I just asked him that I saw them.

But what impressed me was that after 20 minutes, the guide told me: - Yeah, the balls were. Then it made me laugh, as my question was not intentional. And above all, it's normal because each country takes steps for its territorial protection. However, I kept quiet and asked no more about anything.

6-For you Albanians say the dictatorship crushes the thought and freedom of the word of the people. I said- I even talked to young people on the way and after talking to me they left quietly. That's what I'm saying, that in the BS when I accidentally asked a girl about x; after 10 meters she was put in a suspicious car of three men.

7 I finally told her about the achievement of Albanian art and culture, as she told me she would write about it.