Dashnor Kaloçi
Part Three
Memorie.al publishes an archival document taken from the fund of the former Central Committee of the PPSH (Albanian Party of Labour), dated 9 April 1973, in which the delegate of the Party Committee of Tirana, Xhafer Spahiu, through a report sent to Enver Hoxha, informs him in detail about the meeting of the communists of Albanian Radio-Television, where numerous discussions were held and the 11th Song Festival on Radio-Television was analysed. According to Xhafer Spahiu’s report – which he drafted in cooperation with a working group composed of several other functionaries of the Central Committee apparatus of the PPSH, namely Sadik Bocaj, Hasan Selenica, Pipi Mitrojorgji and Vita Adhami, who were present at that meeting – the main directors of Radio-Television, Todi Lubonja and Nefo Myftiu, as well as the leadership team of the 11th Festival, headed by Mihallaq Luarasi as director and Nikolla Zoraqi as artistic leader, were harshly criticised and accused. Xhafer Spahiu’s report to Enver Hoxha also mentions a number of other names, from ordinary employees of Albanian Radio-Television – such as journalists, editors and editorial heads – to those in leadership positions, including: Thanas Nano, Klimi Misja, Hasan Pinci, Kiço Pandeli, Skënder Nenaj, Endri Keko, Kristaq Dhamo, Alfred Xhufka, etc. In the said report, the delegate of the Party Committee of Tirana, Xhafer Spahiu, also reported on a series of criticisms and accusations that had been made against Todi Lubonja before that meeting and which were repeated again, regarding his behaviour and attitudes both toward his subordinates at Radio-Television and regarding the criticisms made against him as early as 1972 by Mehmet Shehu and Ramiz Alia concerning the appearance on the television screen of people with long hair, etc., etc. Likewise, the report in question also reported on the criticisms made against the Director of Domestic Radio, Nefo Myftiu, for her liberal displays and for holding the same views as Todi Lubonja, for which their dismissal from their respective leadership posts at Radio-Television was proposed, along with other measures.
Continued from the previous issu
R E P O R T
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENERAL MEETING OF THE COMMUNISTS OF RADIO-TELEVISION
In December 1972, [Todi Lubonja] was criticised for violating Party norms and for subjectivism in the matter of the transfer of comrade Klimi Misja. In the report that was presented on the issue of Klimi Misja, comrade Enver made this annotation: “Comrade Klimi Misja is not to be transferred; the decision of the basic organisation is correct; the discussions of the communists and non-party employees are on a high ideological-Party level. Any ‘fear’ among them that transfers could be made without justification and without sound reasons is to be removed. Every move must bear the stamp of the correct Party norms regarding these issues; the basic organisation and the collective are the main guarantors of this, not the subjective side of one or two comrades holding official positions.”
Recently, in January and February 1973, in comrade Enver’s speeches, Radio-Television was harshly criticised for foreign influences of a liberal-modernist character.
- Upon his arrival at Radio-Television, [Todi Lubonja’s] liberal-modernist deviations from the Party line manifested themselves again in several areas simultaneously.
– In the field of music and in the organisation of the 11th Festival on Radio-Television, which we discussed in detail above and which testify to his tendencies toward decadent music, art and culture, in opposition to the Party line in art and culture.
– In the field of the reorganisation of Radio-Television. As we also noted above, in that project liberal views again emerged, tendencies toward copying and imitating Western radio-television stations, not only in form but also in content, thereby diverting our Radio-Television from the orientations of the Party’s Central Committee.
– In the field of cadre policy, pursuing a subjective, personal policy contrary to Party policy and to comrade Enver’s orientations. The Party’s correct orientations concerning rotation he used to remove cadres who did not agree with his modernist views, who criticised him and who defended the Party line and norms. Arrogance and conceit, belittling others, an ironic and contemptuous attitude towards those he did not sympathise with were very pronounced in him.
– In the organisational field, by underestimating the leading role of the Party organisation. During his time at Radio-Television, not only did he not raise issues before it, but he also exerted a negative influence, shifting it [the organisation] aside and speculating with his authority as a member of the Party’s Central Committee.
– In the field of labour discipline. His orientation that only creative work matters, not official discipline, gave rise to serious indiscipline at work. People would come and go as they pleased, would disobey the orders of their supervisors under the pretext that they were creative workers, that they had work with collaborators, etc. This indiscipline led to unfounded claims for increases in staffing levels, because supposedly the volume of work could not be handled, etc. Todi himself set bad examples at work. He did not stay at his post, and his leadership of Radio-Television affairs was characterised by excessive generalisation.
– In his personal life, he also manifested many liberal displays and modernist tastes, as well as tendencies of personal interest. His son is one of those who stand out in Tirana for his long hair reaching to the shoulders. Contrary to regulations, he tacitly accepted a scholarship for his son, a university student. Todi has often displayed his admiration for the “elegant” attire of Western girls and women. The meeting pointed out to him that he often holds a dismissive and, in some cases, contemptuous and ironic attitude toward his workmates.
The meeting pointed out to him the fact that Todi not only did not react correctly to comrade Enver’s criticisms concerning the said festival, delivered at the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, but on the contrary, with his “reserved” attitude, he contributed to stifling criticism and self-criticism. As an example, a meeting called by him on 2 February 1973, on the eve of the 3rd Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee, was cited; it was attended by the collegiums of the three directorates of Radio-Television. At this meeting, which was his first encounter with the leading cadres, he spoke in general terms about the importance of comrade Enver’s speech, about the criticisms being directed at Radio-Television, and then he placed emphasis on the danger of conservatism, routine, of not going to the other extreme with criticisms, and concluded by saying that there should be no gossip and that people with long hair should no longer be allowed on television. After that, he closed the meeting without allowing any discussion. He minimised this fact as well.
As early as May 1972, comrade Mehmet Shehu and comrade Ramiz Alia had drawn Todi’s attention to the fact that people with long locks were appearing on our television screen and that he should take measures. He did not implement these instructions nor did he raise the issue. However, regarding the foreign influences in music, i.e., the festival, comrade Todi received several remarks from the Party leadership and from the Party’s Central Committee apparatus. But he did not appreciate them, saying: “It catches your eye, but we are paying tribute to the past.”
In his discussion at the general meeting of communists, he accepted in very general terms the criticisms that comrade Enver had made of Radio-Television regarding the deviations in the 11th Festival (while in the analysis at the bureau, he did not even point these out); he accepted that he had damaged the Party line, that he had deviated and had been influenced by the pressure of foreign ideology from abroad and from within, that he had lacked political and ideological vigilance, that he had overestimated his abilities out of arrogance, that he had not oriented the festival’s work in accordance with today’s international situation, fostering a sense of calm and entertainment among the youth, that these foreign manifestations in music created fertile ground for the work of external and internal enemies of our country. But on the other hand, not only did he fail to break down the causes, sources and his own responsibilities, but he arrogantly rejected many of the justified criticisms made against him, calling some of them slander, and denied, distorted or minimised others. He tried to justify the criticisms regarding the unjust actions in cadre policy by minimising them or shifting the blame onto comrades from the Party’s Central Committee apparatus, saying that he had discussed the matter with this or that comrade, or he dismissed them as random things, without purpose and unrelated to his liberal views.
The general meeting concluded that comrade Todi Lubonja did not engage in open self-criticism, did not reveal the sources of these faults, wherein his liberal-modernist views consisted, and when they had begun in him, and how he had deviated from the Party line towards liberalism, right-wing opportunism, thereby seriously damaging the Party line.
The discussants were of the opinion that if the Party were to accept comrade Todi Lubonja’s views, it would open the way to bourgeois and revisionist degeneration of our country.
Before the meeting closed, he was called upon to speak openly to the Party, to explain the causes, sources and his concrete responsibilities. But Todi, with an arrogant and dismissive attitude, only said: “I will not speak. I stand by the views I have expressed. I have nothing to add to my self-criticism. I remain with what I have said.”
For all his deviations from the Party line, for the serious mistakes and faults he had committed, the general meeting made the proposal that comrade Todi Lubonja be dismissed as director of Radio-Television and that his membership in the Party’s Central Committee be reviewed. There were also two individuals who proposed that his very membership in the Party be reviewed.
On the authority of comrade Nefo Myftiu
The general meeting of communists was of the opinion that comrade Nefo bears great responsibility for the manifestations of liberalism in Radio [i.e., Domestic Radio], and that they had damaged the Party line with the distortions in the field of music. Her liberal tastes and views aligned with those of Todi. In him she saw a director with whom she “got along”. Todi would put forward Nefo to implement his liberal views. But from one meeting to another, her self-criticism deepened; a sense of concern was noted for finding the causes and determining personal responsibility. In her self-criticism before the general meeting, she attempted to analyse the ideological roots of her mistakes and also criticised Todi, whereas in the Bureau meeting she did not criticise him at all. She was advised to delve even deeper into the analysis of her own mistakes because during the course of the meeting she showed some cases of instability regarding self-criticism; she was criticised by many comrades regarding her relations with cadres and employees, to be simpler and to pay careful attention to their observations and criticisms.
The communists proposed – “with the exception of two persons” – that comrade Nefo Myftiu be dismissed as director of Domestic Radio.
After having jointly consulted also with the comrades from the Party’s Central Committee apparatus who were at this meeting, in my closing speech I appreciated the sound analysis, with high partisanship, and the critical and self-critical spirit that the communists brought to the situation in Radio-Television, in light of comrade Enver’s speeches; I spoke about the causes of the deviations from the Party line in Radio-Television, the collective and individual responsibilities of each, especially of comrade Todi Lubonja as the main responsible, and also of comrade Nefo Myftiu, etc., and I emphasised the tasks and measures to be taken for the future in all directions, and particularly:
– In the direction of comprehensively strengthening the leading role of the basic Party organisations and the bureau, increasing the responsibility of communists for implementing the Party line in the struggle against liberalism and indifferentism, for strengthening unity of thought and action, for creating communist, sincere, open, always principled relations among communists, for strictly respecting Party norms concerning the treatment, rotation or movement of cadres.
– In the direction of comprehensively strengthening ideo-political work through systematic and in-depth study of Party documents and comrade Enver’s speeches.
– In the direction of immediately establishing a sound proletarian discipline at work.
– In the direction of the functioning of the rules of the leading bodies (General Directorate, collegiums, editorial offices, etc.), for strengthening collegiality and personal responsibility.
– In the direction of the functioning and strengthening of the educational and mobilising role, along the Party line, of the Youth organisations and the Trade Unions.
– In the direction of raising to a higher level all Radio-Television programmes, for the continuous deepening of their ideo-political content both in programmes of a political and ideological character and in those of a cultural and artistic character. Especially Television should increase its efforts to implement as well as possible the platform set out for it by the Secretariat of the Party’s Central Committee, to raise the quality of programmes, to enrich the schedule and to create its own national, socialist, revolutionary identity.
Our opinion is:
- Comrade Todi Lubonja should be replaced as soon as possible, with the aim of strengthening the leadership work at Radio-Television. Likewise, comrade Nefo Myftiu should also be replaced.
- The cadre issue should be carefully considered and Radio-Television should be strengthened with one or two other cadres.
- A special educational effort should be made. Several qualified lecturers should be sent for important issues of ideo-aesthetic education, etc.
- The structure of Radio-Television should be reviewed by the Central Committee apparatus and presented for approval, because an experimental information directorate has been attached which is ill-defined.
- Measures should be taken to secure some equipment for television on the basis of free foreign currency funds approved by the Council of Ministers in recent days.
THE DELEGATE OF THE P. COMMITTEE OF TIRANA DISTRICT
(XHAFER SPAHIU)
Tirana, 9 April 1973
Note: This informational material was reviewed jointly with comrades Sadik Bocaj, Hasan Selenica, Pipi Mitrojorgji and Vita Adhami, who assisted in the meeting. /Memorie.al
