By DASHNOR KALOÇI
Part Sixteen
Memorie.al / Less than a week had passed since July 2, 1990 – when thousands of Albanian citizens scaled the gates and walls of foreign embassies in Tirana and entered their premises with the goal of leaving Albania – when the senior leadership of the PLA (Party of Labor of Albania), headed by General Secretary Ramiz Alia, convened the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee, which held its proceedings on July 6 and 7. Although the agenda was predetermined around three main points, dominated by the item on the development of education in Albania, throughout almost the entire proceedings of that plenum (especially under point 4, “Miscellaneous”), the event of those days, otherwise known as the “July 2 embassy events,” was discussed and debated. Present at that plenum were all members and candidate members of the Central Committee of the PLA, first secretaries of district party committees, ministers, key cadres from the sectors of education, culture, science, and the economy, leaders of the Labor Youth Union of Albania, as well as representatives from the Central Committee apparatus of the PLA, Radio-Television, ATA (Albanian Telegraphic Agency), etc. However, Nimet Cani, Ali Vukatana, Reiz Malile, Shpëtim Çaushi, Zylyftar Ramizi, Qemal Lame, Zef Loka, Pirro Kondi, and Hekuran Isai were absent, as they had been “in the field” for several days “managing” the embassy situation.
After the opening of the meeting by Ramiz Alia, the floor was given to the Minister of Education, Skënder Gjinushi, who presented the corresponding report (“On the perfection of the educational system and the further qualitative strengthening of schools”). The main underlying topic of that plenum remained the “embassy event,” discussing and analyzing in detail how and why it occurred (“the role of foreign intelligence agencies”), up to the tasks arising for managing that situation during those hot days of July, when over five thousand Albanian citizens from all districts of the country were inside the premises of several key embassies in Tirana, awaiting their departure from Albania.
Furthermore, throughout that entire meeting, but mainly under item No. 4 of the agenda (discussed in the final session), several major events that had occurred in various districts of the country during that year were analyzed, such as: the protests in Shkodra in January for the removal of Stalin’s bust; the events in the city of Kavaja where the local population clashed with police forces; mass escapes across state borders with Yugoslavia and Greece; mass gatherings at holy religious sites, such as the Church of Saint Anthony in Laç, Kurbin; the legal permission of religious faiths and the opening of places of worship; or other issues pressing for resolution, such as: talks with international actors for the restoration of diplomatic relations with the US and the Soviet Union (the talks conducted with the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister in Sofia by Sofokli Lazri); the Kosovo issue; international pressure for Albania’s opening to the world and its adherence to several international conventions; the privileges of the senior PLA leadership and their families residing mainly in the “Bllok”; rumors circulating among the public regarding Enver Hoxha’s family and Ramiz’s relations with Nexhmije; changes to legislation and the penal code; the release of political prisoners; the issuance of passports to citizens wishing to travel abroad as visitors to relatives; the new economic mechanism; housing and employment for many groups across all districts of the country; granting land and livestock to cooperative peasantry; up to supplying urban populations with basic food products and various industrial goods.
As will be seen from archival documents belonging to the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the PLA – which are being published for the first time – in addition to the leadership and several high-ranking officials of that era, several other prominent figures who continued their political careers after the 1990s were either discussed or mentioned in that meeting, such as: Skënder Gjinushi, Fatos Nano, Sali Berisha, Rexhep Mejdani, Gramoz Pashko, Spiro Dede, Dritëro Agolli, Ismail Kadare, Moikom Zeqo, Mehmet Elezi, Lisen Bashkurti, Koço Kokëdhima, Ylli Popa, Aleks Luarasi, etc.
Likewise, within the voluminous file of this plenum, documents belonging to the secretaries of District Party Committees or the “Information Group” – who traveled to all districts of the country and documented all major issues raised in base party organization meetings discussing “The Letter of the Central Committee” – are of great interest, forming the largest and most significant portion of the file in question. Indeed, it can be said to be among the most important from the entire era of Enver Hoxha’s communist regime and his successor Ramiz Alia, as that period, with the events that unfolded, marked the prologue to the fall of that regime.
Similarly of great interest are the documents from the final session of that meeting regarding item No. 4 of the agenda, “Miscellaneous,” which constituted the most heated topic of the entire plenum. It involved harsh debates surrounding the release from duties and retirement of three Politburo members (Rita Marko, Manush Myftiu, and Prokop Murra), or the removal from ministerial duties and other high positions held for years by several other “leaders,” such as Simon Stefani, Pali Miska, Muho Asllani, Lenka Çuko, Vito Kapo, Pirro Kondi, Jovan Bardhi, etc., and the appointment of “younger comrades” to the high leadership and forums of the Party and State, such as Xhelil Gjoni, Abdyl Backa, Niko Gjyzari, Kiço Mustaqi, etc. Regarding these and more, we are informed by the documents in question retrieved from the Central State Archive (Fund of the former Central Committee of the PLA), published for the first time along with their respective facsimiles by Memorie.al
Continued from the previous issue
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE 11TH PLENUM OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, HELD ON JULY 6 AND 7, 1990
MISCELLANEOUS
Certain issues regarding the current situations and the political problems arising from them.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Are there any other thoughts from the comrades? (There are none). I wanted to clarify something regarding the question raised by Comrade Muntaz about workers’ wages. The new economic mechanism, the reorganization of services and handicrafts mainly favor the urban population. But life shows that other supplementary measures must also be implemented, which were thought of in advance, but I propose that the Council of Ministers study the possibility of implementing these measures by the end of the third quarter, i.e., at the end of September.
First, it is planned to increase low wages for workers in general, by 10 to 20 percent. Second, payment according to job position or work process will be applied everywhere. Third, when work is interrupted due to lack of raw materials or other objective factors, such as lack of electrical energy, workers will be guaranteed 80 percent of their wage, instead of the 50 percent guaranteed until today. About one-third of state sector workers – nearly 250 thousand workers – will benefit from these improvements in the wage system. (Applause). Now, if the Plenum agrees, we can publish the notice regarding these measures to be taken, so that the public is informed.
COMRADE MUNTAZ DHRAMI: Forgive me Comrade Ramiz; is this only regarding low wages or all wages?
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: You did not listen carefully, Muntaz, because I said it is planned to increase low wages for workers in general by 10 to 20 percent. Low wages are considered those under 600 lek. Naturally, the Council of Ministers will examine this issue more specifically, which I raised here only in principle. For your information, the total sum for wage increases reaches about 250 million lek, so practically every worker stands to receive about one thousand lek per year.
COMRADE XHEMAL DYMYLJA: If it is a matter of wages up to 600 lek, in the notice that may be published, let us not say “low wages”…!
COMRADE SPIRO KOLEKA: A wage of 600 lek is not a low wage…!
COMRADE ANASTAS KONDO: I think that for the sake of propaganda, it would be better to keep the wording you gave, that wages under 600 lek will be increased by 10 to 20 percent, without labeling them “low.”
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: It is better to leave it to the Government to specify this matter.
COMRADE MANUSH MYFTIU: Since a decision is being made on wages, it is good to set an orienting criterion regarding which wages are being discussed, so as not to create confusion or lead to too many questions.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: That is true, but the Central Committee of the Party should not decide on these matters; that is why we proposed that the Council of Ministers, after studying the possibility, set the implementation deadline by the end of the third quarter.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: The last two measures – the one on compensation according to job position and especially the 80 percent payment in cases of raw material shortages, etc. – can be implemented immediately. Their combined effect should be studied together.
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI: Implementing them requires 28 million lek.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: The first one can be left for implementation toward the end of the quarter.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Then, do we agree that the Council of Ministers study the possibility and that these measures be implemented by the end of the third quarter? (Agreed).
COMRADE SOTIR KOÇOLLARI: Is it possible for the 80 percent payment measure to be announced immediately?
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Very well, let the Council of Ministers decide and let it be announced tomorrow or the day after, once my speech at this Plenum is published.
Do you have any other matters? (There are none).
Cadre Issues
In continuation of this item, we will discuss cadre issues. We also discussed several problems regarding cadre issues in the Politburo. Comrade Muntaz rose again in this meeting the need for cadre renewal, which has been an enduring tradition of the Party. After formulating the line for the further revolutionization of the entire life of the Party and the country – which has found support among the masses of the people and the Party – the Politburo believes it is time that several comrades, members of the Politburo, retire, thereby creating conditions for promoting younger cadres into responsible positions.
I said “several,” because if we look at the issue through the lens of age, there are others – starting with myself and Comrade Adil – who fall into the category of retirees. Our turn will come too, but it seems to me that right now this is neither in the interest of the Party nor in the interest of the people. On the contrary, it is for the good of the work and the homeland to combine the experience of older members with the dynamism and knowledge of younger ones, so that the passing of the torch occurs naturally rather than mechanically. In this matter too, we must proceed with measured steps. For now, we propose that Comrades Manush Myftiu, Prokop Murra, and Rita Marko retire, while retaining their mandates as members of the Central Committee and deputies of the People’s Assembly, to which they were elected by the Party Congress and by the people.
It is redundant to emphasize that the aforementioned comrades have served the Party since its founding, were participants in the war, served as leading cadres in partisan units, and worked in the governing bodies of the Party and state from the liberation of the country until now. You and the entire Party know these comrades. Their stance has always been characterized by Marxist-Leninist loyalty to the cause of the people and the Party. Even currently, they have been and remain determined fighters for the Party’s line and the measures taken in the plenums of its Central Committee for the democratization of the life of the Party and the country, for economic reforms, and positions in foreign policy.
I emphasize this issue because, as I mentioned earlier, foreign propaganda has made it a common refrain that whenever any change occurs in Party policy or cadres, it immediately begins making noise that there are divergences in the Albanian leadership, that there are quarrels, that one group is on one side and others on the other, that someone is against Enver Hoxha’s line, someone is for liberalization, etc., etc. Enemies have always dreamed of dividing the Party and its unity with the people, but these remain mere wishes. Our Party and its leadership are united. It is redundant to re-emphasize that the unity of the Party and its Central Committee is steel-like. In the Central Committee of our Party, there is not, in any comrade, any reservation regarding the line approved at the 9th Congress and in the plenums of the Central Committee of the Party.
I made this long digression so that there is no misunderstanding on these matters, and at the same time to emphasize that several other changes that will be made in the Government or in the leadership of the Party carry no ideo-political motivation. It is proposed that Comrades Vito Kapo and Jovan Bardhi also retire. Furthermore, within this framework, the Politburo proposes that Comrade Lenka Çuko, currently Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, be recommended to be elected First Secretary of the Party Committee for the Fier District. It is intended for her to go to that district, as the Fier District is an economic, agricultural, and industrial district of very great importance.
We are of the opinion that Comrade Simon Stefani also step down from his post as Minister of Internal Affairs, and in his place, Comrade Hekuran Isai is proposed. The Politburo initially intended to recommend Comrade Simon to be elected as a leader in the Trade Unions organization. Here, in the plenum, Halil Lejli raised the issue of his responsibility as Minister of the Interior for the events that took place in the embassies. Therefore, it is now up to the plenum to judge whether such a recommendation should be made for Comrade Simon. We must also judge how the working class would receive this recommendation. As for Comrade Hekuran, we thought he should be appointed Minister of the Interior, as he held this position previously and knows this sector. Recently, aiming to strengthen work in the economic sector, we had brought Comrade Hekuran into the role of Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party.
However, since these concerns have now arisen and work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs must be strengthened, we thought he should transfer back there. These changes make it necessary to replenish the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party, because effectively only I and Comrade Foto remain as secretaries. Therefore, the plenum must also judge which comrades can replenish the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party, as well as the number of Politburo members. What do you think – should I offer a judgment on this matter, or will one of you speak? (Silence). Then I will express my opinion, which you may also discuss; do not consider it final. For example, you will also discuss the recommendation made for Comrade Simon. I think that for Comrade Pirro Kondi as well, as First Secretary of the Party Committee for the Tirana District, we should examine the need for a shift from this post. Meanwhile, to replenish the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party, I would propose Comrades Xhelil Gjoni and Abdyl Backa as secretaries.
COMRADE SHEFQET PEÇI: Where does Abdyl Backa work?
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Abdyl Backa until now has been a candidate member of the Central Committee of the Party and my assistant for economic affairs. However, comrades have the right to make other proposals. The idea for moving Comrade Simon and Comrade Pirro occurred to me here while following the plenum’s discussions; therefore, I am laying this issue out for discussion and decision by the plenum. Meanwhile, standing by those proposals made by the Bureau, the need arises again to discuss whether or not to replace the comrades leaving the Politburo. We are obliged to replace them from the ranks of the plenum, or the Bureau can remain as it is until the Party Congress, and then the number of its comrades can be completed alongside other changes that may be made. I laid out these issues to gather your judgment as well: how should we proceed?
COMRADE HAKI TOSKA: Waiting brings nothing.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: The necessary additions can be made even today, as the Plenum of the Central Committee has the right to replace comrades who leave the position of Politburo member. According to the decisions we took in the 8th or 9th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party, the Party Congress will make radical changes. Those changes will begin right from us gathered here, as well as deputies and members of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. Therefore, several younger comrades can be promoted to the position of Politburo member starting right now. Then, if we do not justify ourselves in this role, we might not be elected at the Congress. How do you judge this matter?
COMRADE HAXHI LLESHI: We agree that the number of Bureau members be replenished right now, as you said, Comrade Ramiz; then let the Party Congress examine the need for renewal in the Politburo more broadly.
COMRADE SOFOKLI LAZRI: This matter needs to be thought through carefully. The Politburo, replenished or unreplenished, must prepare the Party Congress. We, the former cadres who were once partisans, were not very knowledgeable about the tasks entrusted to us. Therefore, some of us until now have had assistants to write materials and monitor various problems. But today’s times lay out major tasks, and meeting them requires big ideas.
Therefore, the comrades who will be elected to head operations, starting from the upcoming congress, must be very well prepared, capable of writing speeches themselves, or having the ability to speak publicly about the solutions to problems required. Let the comrades not misunderstand me, but I wanted to tell the Central Committee of the Party to think carefully about which comrades it will elect to the Politburo. I think this matter should not be framed merely from a technical standpoint – that today we elect some comrades to the Bureau and at the congress we remove them if they do not deserve it.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Meaning you think the Politburo should not be replenished until the congress?
COMRADE SOFOKLI LAZRI: I am of the opinion that the number of Bureau members should not be replenished right now, but I do not hold rigidly to this view. Even if it is to be replenished, let the Central Committee of the Party not view this as a technical matter, but think carefully about those comrades it will elect to the Politburo. Previously, we acted on the criterion of elevating to the Politburo comrades who came from the working class and, if possible, from those working as far from Tirana as possible. Or in certain situations, we judged that a woman should also be elected.
COMRADE PALI MISKA: But the comrades of the Central Committee are here, and they bear the demands of the time in mind…!
COMRADE SOFOKLI LAZRI: Naturally, Comrade Pali, the comrades we elect do not fall from the sky, but every situation brings different demands. I said a moment ago that in the beginning, when we lacked more knowledgeable cadres, even those of us who had been shepherds and came down from the mountains as partisans were entrusted with difficult tasks by the Party. Then time moved on, and those with 8-year or secondary education took on these duties. But today we have plenty of knowledgeable people, and the Central Committee can find these people wherever they are to place them at the head.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: I am of the opinion that into the Bureau we should elect from among these comrades who are members of the Central Committee; there is no need to co-opt…!
COMRADE JASHAR MENZELXHIU: What does that mean?
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: The Central Committee has the right to co-opt any comrade thought to be elected to the Bureau. In the History of our Party, this practice has been used as well, but I think it is not necessary to elect through co-optation comrades who are not members of the Central Committee of the Party.
COMRADE MANUSH MYFTIU: I agree with the proposals presented by Comrade Ramiz regarding my retirement and that of other comrades, as well as the idea of bringing younger cadres into the Politburo. I was in agreement on this matter even when it was raised in the Politburo, and even before it was raised, I spoke with Comrade Ramiz. Younger cadres must come into the Party leadership. I wish to assure the Central Committee of the Party that as long as I live, I will remain loyal to its line and ever untiring in implementing it.
Continuously and up to now, I have been for the implementation of the Party’s line, and recently for the further democratization of life. In the sectors the Party entrusted me to direct, I have tried to perform my duty well, but naturally there is room for criticism and shortcomings in work. Domestically, neither from leading cadres in Tirana nor in the districts have I heard any opinion suggesting that I am against democratization. But in the foreign press and propaganda, this matter is spoken of including by name regarding myself or Comrade Adil. Indeed, it has even been said that “I am an opponent of Comrade Ramiz”! These comments were made on the very day I presented the Politburo report in the People’s Assembly regarding changes in our legislation.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: What do we care in this meeting about what foreign propaganda says?!
COMRADE MANUSH MYFTIU: Immediately after the meeting of the People’s Assembly, a foreign agency reported that Ramiz Alia is making his opponents speak about the democratization of life. In that meeting, I had spoken alongside Comrade Adil. Then from time to time foreign propaganda has spoken of “opponents of Ramiz Alia.” Even when Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General of the United Nations, visited our country, foreign agencies transmitted news from accompanying journalists mentioning this fact, commenting that some of our people here told them so. Spreading such rumors is not good.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Forgive me, Manush, do you judge that these people spreading such rumors are among us here in the Central Committee? / Memorie.al
Continued in the next issue
