By Dashnor Kaloçi
Part One
Memorie.al / Exactly 48 years ago, on May 31, 1977, somewhere on the outskirts of Tirana, in a place that to this day remains undiscovered, a firing squad set up on special orders from the then Minister of the Interior, Kadri Hazbiu, executed with a bullet in the head, Abdyl Këllezin Koço Theodhosin, and Xhavit Sallakun, who had been arrested in 1975, accused by Enver Hoxha, as the main leaders of the “Saboteur Group in the Economy”. Along with Këllezin and Theodhosin, two other ministers, Kiço Ngjela (Minister of Trade) and Vasil Kati (Minister of Foreign Trade), were sentenced to 20 and 15 years in political prison, respectively, and several senior officials from the Ministry of Economy were also sentenced to heavy sentences.
Këllëzi and Theodhosi, former members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Albanian People’s Party, deputies of the People’s Assembly and deputy prime ministers and ministers for more than three decades, were among the few from the top leadership of the Albanian People’s Party who had studied and graduated in the West, since the period of the Zog Monarchy, and likewise, Ngjela and Vasil Kati, had studied abroad and had returned to Albania immediately after the occupation of the country by fascist Italy, to join the partisan ranks, even with leadership functions. By striking this so-called “hostile saboteur group in the Economy”, Enver Hoxha was striking the “brain of the Economy”, since from the end of the war until that time, Këllez, Theodhosi, Ngjela and Kati, had held key functions of the Albanian economy.
While these things are already very well known, as much has been said and written about them in the more than three decades since the collapse of the communist regime, Memorie.al has secured several documents belonging to the fund of the former Presidium of the People’s Assembly of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, headed by Haxhi Lleshi, who at that time examined the issue of the “Saboteur Group in the Economy”, based on the reports and information reports sent to it by the High Court headed by Aranit Çela, which also conducted the judicial process against that “Group”.
In addition to the above, the documents in question also include the requests of Këllez and Theodhos (in their own handwriting), sent to the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, for the pardon of life, as well as the minutes of the meetings of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, with the discussions of Enver Hoxha (who also gave the report at the beginning of the meeting) Haxhi Lleshi, Spiro Koleka, Shefqet Peçi (two vice-chairmen of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly), Telo Mezin (secretary of the Presidium), Jovan Bardhi, Muharrem Sefa, Nuredin Hoxha, Pilo Peristeri, Rrapo Dervishi, Spiro Moisiu, Zina Franja and Maliq Sadushi, members of the Presidium, which we will publish in several issues, along with the relevant photos and facsimiles.
REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT, ARANIT ÇELA, TO THE PRESIDIUM OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY, ON THE “HOSTILE ACTIVITIES OF THE SABOTATOR GROUP IN THE ECONOMY”, LEAD BY A. KËLLEZI, K. THEODHOSI, K. NGJELË AND V. KAT
PEOPLE’S SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
SUPREME COURT
No. 316 Prot.Tirana, 23.V.1977
Subject: Sending of requests for pardon of sentence
4 dated May 17, 1977, based on articles 72 and 73, paragraph I, in combination with article 76 of the Criminal Code, sentenced the defendants Abdyl Këllezi and Koço Theodhosi to death and, respectively, to 20 and 15 years of imprisonment, the defendants Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati.
The investigation and trial of their case resulted in the following:
The defendants Abdyl Këllezi, Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati, in an organized and systematic manner, have developed hostile activities against the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania and its sole leading force – the Party of Labor of Albania. For a long time in various forms, using the high state positions they held, they have sabotaged the implementation of the Party’s directives and orientations as well as the Government’s decisions in the field of state organization and socialist economy.
As resulted from the trial, the defendants are old enemies of the Party, the socialist state and the people, but for a long time they have been able to hide their true face. Abdyl Këllezi has always linked his every stance and activity to the interests of the exploiting classes, to selfishness, ambition and thirst for power. During the trial of the case, he himself stated that: “I associated being in the Party and participating in the war with the desire to make a career; … I am an enemy of the Party with old, ancient reservations, towards its general line”.
And in fact, as early as 1939, Abdyl Këllezi approved the fascist occupation of our Homeland by Italy. Later, in the post-liberation years, he joined forces with Abedin Shehu, Isuf Keçi, Tuk Jakovë, etc., held hostile conversations with them and took them under his protection; he made common cause with the Yugoslav and Soviet revisionists, whose politics and ideology he put at the foundation of his hostile activity. Koço Theodhosi is also like that. During the years of the National Liberation War, he held hostile conversations against the Party’s line and the interests of this war, with anti-party elements and enemies, such as Sejfulla Malëshova and Manol Konomi. After liberation, he disagreed with the measures taken against the exploiting classes and the enemies of the people.
Later, embracing the fundamental theses of the Soviet and Yugoslav revisionists, he created hostile ties with Mako Çomo, Ramadan Xhangolli, Fadil Paçram, Abdyl Këllezi, Kiço Ngjela, Vasil Kati, etc. This enemy also claimed before the trial: “I entered the Party illegally, to gain some position…but I was against its policy”. During the trial, it became clear that on the basis of the unity of their thoughts and hostile attitudes, Abdyl Këllezi, Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati, had the same hostile political, ideological, economic and organizational platform.
In the political field, the basis of this platform is the complete opposition to the policy of our Party and state, the support of the policy of the Soviet, Yugoslav and all other revisionists against the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, the comprehensive strengthening of ties with the revisionist countries. In the ideological field, their hostile platform, in its essence, has consisted in the denial of the dictatorship of the proletariat and, consequently, of the leading role of the working class and its Party, in the denial of the existence and intensification of the class struggle, in the conditions of building a socialist society, as well as in the incompatibility with all important measures of an ideological nature taken by our Party and state, against bureaucratism and liberalism.
In the economic and organizational field, their hostile platform has consisted in the open opposition to the economic policy of the Party and our socialist state, both inside and outside the country, as well as in the full support of the well-known theses of the Soviet, Yugoslav revisionists and other revisionist currents. The enemies Abdyl Këllezi, Koço Theodhosi, etc. have had a certain hostile line also in terms of the leading role of the Party and the state in the economy. All of them claimed that they considered the leading role of the Party as an insurmountable obstacle to the realization of their hostile activity and that they have practically acted to sabotage this role.
All these reactionary, anti-Marxist concepts and worldviews have constituted the general basic platform on which the enemy and anti-party group of saboteurs in the state organization and in the economy, headed by Abdyl Këllezi and with main collaborators Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati, was created, organized and practically operated. The activity of this group was closely connected, organized and coordinated with all the hostile activity developed in our country during the last years and, in particular, with the hostile activity of the enemy, anti-party and putschist group in the army, with that in the field of arts and culture and with that in the oil and gas industry. The joint activity of all these groups was part of the great conspiracy hatched against the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania and the Party of Labor of Albania.
On the other hand, the hostile activity of the enemy and anti-party group of saboteurs in the state organization and in the economy, headed by Abdyl Këllezi, is completely in the service of the hostile activity that imperialists, social-imperialists and other modern revisionists develop against the R.P.S. of Albania, the Party of Labor of Albania and the Albanian people. All the evidence administered during the trial confirmed these conclusions. This enemy and anti-party group aimed at the destruction of the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat, of the socialist order in general and, through the establishment of the bourgeois-revisionist dictatorship, the restoration of the capitalist order in Albania. The enemy Abdyl Këllezi himself stated during the trial: “…I needed Beqir Balluku and his group, because he had the weapons of the army in his hands, with which we would reassert power…! Under certain conditions and circumstances, some outside intervention was not excluded…! So, we had: planned to use the rifle against the people. The other defendants were of the same mind with me”
Similarly, Koço Theodhosi also stated: “I intended to overthrow the popular power…! I thought that the power would be overthrown by a coup; I thought that there would be intervention from outside as well as from internal forces. Here, blood would also be shed until the popular power was overthrown”. To achieve this deeply hostile objective, Abdyl Këllezi, Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati, for years have agitated and propagated against the Party and our socialist state, having continuous and systematic conversations with each other, with the enemies Beqir Balluku, Fadil Paçrami, Ramadan Xhangolli etc., as well as unifying hostile views among themselves. To achieve their criminal goal, Abdyl Këllezi, Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati, have carried out extensive sabotage activity in several main directions and specifically:
- They sabotaged the fight against bureaucracy, by attacking the principle of democratic centralism and by introducing forms of revisionist self-administration in the state organization and in the economy. With a predetermined goal, they created unnecessary new economic and technical organizations, departments and lines, which fragmented and decentralized production; they created leadership circles with great self-administrative powers; They added and expanded technological bureaus with numerous and unnecessary personnel, who were removed from production; they expanded the administrative and economic apparatuses with employees; they invented the list-organikat to disproportionately increase the number of non-productive personnel compared to the workforce, to unify employees into workers, and to degenerate our socialist state and society.
A special role in this regard was played especially by Abdyl Këllezi, assisted by Koço Theodhosi and Kiço Ngjela.
- They openly sabotaged the Party line and the laws of the state, regarding socialist planning in general and the planning methodology in particular, opposing the directive and mandatory character of the state plan, its scientific development: the implementation of the line of measures in planning, preventing the apparatus of the State Plan Commission from drafting and controlling the implementation of plans, etc. Together with Koço Theodhos and other collaborators, Abdyl Këllezi introduced inflated, unrealizable items and figures into the plan for oil, agriculture, import-export, etc., in order to create artificial difficulties and disproportions in the economy.
All together they sabotaged the centralized administration of state funds and materials. Abdyl Këllezi changed the planned destination of investment funds and basic constructions; he used the fund of major works for the construction of other unplanned facilities that do not serve these works. This, with the knowledge of Koço Theodhos and the other defendants, has secretly kept a reserve of funds (of 20-46 million lekë) from the Government and has distributed it as he wished, in order to compromise the cadres and create personal glory.
In the same way, by direct order of Abdyl Këllezi and with the knowledge of the other defendants, a reserve fund in foreign currency outside the import limits, planned for various departments, was kept and this fund (of several million ALL), was used without criteria by them, avoiding government control. Also, Abdyl Këllezi, outside of any competence, has laid hands on the state reserve and, for years, has distributed to enterprises, institutions or cooperatives, goods and materials costing millions of ALL.
- They sabotaged the principle of socialist legality, to pave the way for their arbitrariness and illegal actions. There are numerous by-laws that they approved or issued and that are completely or partially in open contradiction with the laws of the state and the decisions of the government. Through this activity, these enemies tried everywhere to decentralize powers, to introduce forms of revisionist self-administration into the state organization and the economy, as well as to damage the common property.
- They sabotaged and severely damaged the oil and gas industry by coordinating and in fact leading the work of the group of saboteurs Piro Gusho, Filip Nashi, etc. The defendant Abdyl Këllezi himself, during the trial, stated: “…I and Koço Theodhosi are the heads of this activity, while Lipe Nashi and the others are the executors”! They carried out their sabotage activity in this field specifically through the failure to discover new oil and gas resource sites, the barbaric exploitation of existing resource sites and their flooding with water, and through the commissioning of observation wells.
To understand the serious consequences of this activity, it is enough to point out that for 5 years in a row, they left the Homeland without oil and gas resource sites, scattering research and tiring oil workers in vain, that currently in a high percentage of wells in use in Ballsh, Visokë and Gorisht-Kocul, the oil-water contact has advanced and that the material damage caused to the State by all saboteurs in the oil and gas industry reaches a total of 892 million ALL. A prominent hostile role has been played in this regard, especially by Koço Theodhosi and Abdyl Këllezi.
- They sabotaged the socialist trade sector.
This enemy and anti-party group encouraged the importation from abroad of many consumer goods that were actually produced in the country or could be produced in the country (washing machines, household electrical and hardware items, textiles and luxury items). This action, together with the poor planning of the distribution of the goods fund and the hostile orientation of Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati; “don’t be afraid of the goods in the warehouse”, hindered the development of production in the country and increased the situation of goods above the norms and stocks to worrying proportions. Thus, at the end of 1974, goods of this nature reached the value of 190 million ALL and were always increasing; while Abdyl Këllezi encouraged their further growth, allocating funds above the turnover needs.
These enemies sabotaged the Party’s directives and the implementation of concrete measures for the gradual narrowing of the essential differences between the village and the city; they reduced the funds planned to be given to the village and increased them to the city; they supplied the village with food items in much smaller quantities compared to those of the city; they did not take the necessary measures to supply the peasantry with vegetables, milk, etc., to ensure the food base of the livestock and to collect agricultural and livestock products from cooperatives and cooperative yards; they sabotaged the increase in the state’s contribution with funds to meet the needs of the village for educational-cultural, health institutions and for payments to midwives.
Abdyl Këllezi and Kiço Ngjela played a more active role in this regard. This enemy and anti-party group sabotaged the implementation of the directives of our Party and State in the field of foreign trade. Contrary to these directives, they greatly expanded trade with revisionist countries and especially with Yugoslavia; from 7.5 million rubles that had been traded with Yugoslavia in 1971, it increased to 39 million rubles in 1975; that is, at much higher rates than with other market countries, free exchange rate and in clearing. Many times, trade with Yugoslavia has been unfavorable for us, because our goods (chrome, reinforced concrete, cement, tobacco, etc.) have been sold to them at prices much lower than the international market prices. For this reason, for the years 1973-1975 alone, our country has suffered an economic loss of 974,309 dollars.
Contrary to the categorical orders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, this enemy and anti-party group has for years allowed passive balances to our disadvantage in trade with revisionist countries; that is, they have put our country in debt; especially with Yugoslavia, this balance has always been increasing and in April 1975, it reached 3,690,000 rubles, or 5,239,000 dollars, in favor of the Yugoslavs. This enemy and anti-party group sabotaged the expansion of our foreign trade with the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, by issuing all kinds of unfounded justifications, at a time when, as results from the numerous documents that were examined in court, many of these countries sought to trade with us and when our goods went to these countries through other revisionist and capitalist countries that bought them from us with the right to re-export.
Finally; this enemy and anti-party group, illegally maintained the old form of cooperative trade, through the former BATKOP and entered into trade relations with the United States of America. Determined on this hostile path, all the defendants have gone so far as to request permission (license) from the American Department of Commerce, i.e., from the American Government itself, for the purchase of certain goods from various American firms, in flagrant violation of the policy of our Party and state and the continuous orders that had been given to them. The defendants Kiço Ngjela, Abdyl Këllezi and Vasil Kati played an active role in sabotage in the field of foreign trade.
In order to avoid unmasking themselves and the discovery of their hostile sabotage and propaganda agitation activity, the enemy and anti-party group of saboteurs in the state organization and economy, headed by Abdyl Këllezi and with main associates Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela and Vasil Kati, has used camouflage, deception and falsification, concealing the reality of the situation before the Party and State Leadership, disguised distortion and misuse of the correct orientations and directives of the Central Committee of the Albanian People’s Party and the Council of Ministers, the use of arrogance and arrogance towards subordinates and other forms of work thought out and coordinated with each other. The court found that Abdyl Këllezi was the leader, inspirer and coordinator of the activity of this group. Also, a special role was played by Koço Theodhosi, whose activity has a broad character, takes a long time and has brought serious consequences. Memorie.al
PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT
Aranit Çela
To be continued in the next issue
