Tepelena, August 23, 2024 – On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, the annual pilgrimage was held at the former Tepelena camp to commemorate the victims of internments and deportations during the communist regime in Albania. The event was attended by Mr. Gjergj Marku, member of the Authority for Information on the Documents of the former State Security, joined by Mr. Ethem Fejzollari, Chairman of the Anticommunist Association of Former Political Persecuted, Mr. Malo Sadikaj, Chairman of the Anticommunist Association of Tepelena, as well as many survivors and former internees of the camp, along with their families and relatives. In his speech, Mr. Gjergj Marku spoke about the internments and deportations in communist Albania and the history of the Tepelena camp, which he described as “an open wound of national memory.” He emphasized that this camp remains a symbol of inhuman suffering, where more than 1,500 families were concentrated under extreme conditions and where, in 1950 alone, over 280 children lost their lives due to hunger and disease.
“It is our duty not to allow history to be forgotten or distorted. Tepelena must be turned into a place of remembrance and education for the younger generations,” said Marku. The Tepelena camp, established in 1949, has also been mentioned in international documents as an example of the flagrant violations of human rights during the communist dictatorship and remains one of the most painful symbols of internment in Albania.
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