From Kujtim Boriçi
Memorie.al / The story of the punishment of the senior military officer, Gjergj Titani, in 1974, described by Enver Hoxha’s party as; “anti-party and collaborator of foreign agencies”, a man who “because of his sexual desires, had revealed state secrets”, punishment that preceded the discovery and punishment of the “Punchist Group” of Beqir Balluku, in this article is given to the reader, through the memories of the former – to the direct superior, Veli Llakaj and the documents of the time. The start of extreme punishments for major Albanian soldiers, although with outstanding professional skills, with a fast career for his age (chief of staff), the year 1974, for the well-known career soldier, Gjergj Titani, would mark the starting point of a painful ordeal, which would end in years in prison. The party and Enver Hoxha, according to the documents of the time, but also the notes of Veli Llakaj, had reached the conclusion that; the senior military officer, Gjergj Titani, was an “anti-party”, a “spy”, a man who; “for sexual desire, he had released state secrets”, and at the same time he was “an agent of several foreign countries”!
According to the documents of the time, it is Hysni Kapo, Enver Hoxha’s closest assistant and the person who covered the Army in the Political Bureau, who calls Veli Llakajn, to start the analysis and punishment of the “enemy” Titani. Beyond the given order, the people who took the task of punishing the “enemy” Gjergj Tirani, among the most important, Veli Llakaj, his former direct superior, are embarrassed, in the face of Enver’s request, for expulsion from the party, removal from the Army and criminal prosecution. Not only for the fact of complete disobedience, for these accusations (since they could not even oppose what Enver’s Party said), but because they thought that the punishment should be smaller.
Yes, someone else decided! Thus, before the “enemy” Gjergj Titani was completely crucified, the party discovered the “coup group” in the Army, headed by Beqir Balluku. It would start and continue like this, the extreme punishment, with shootings, imprisonment and exile, for the country’s highest military men.
The testimony of Veli Llakaj, former Chief of the General Staff
In April 1974, I was urgently called to the Ministry of People’s Defense, to Beqir Balluku, where Hito Çako was at the same time. They don’t tell me the reason for the call, but from there, we go to the Central Committee, to Comrade Hysni Kapo. After casual conversations, Hysni Kapo reads me a typewritten material for the Chief of Staff of the Corps, Gjergj Titanin. In that material, which Hysniu was reading to us, Gjergj Titani was described as; anti-party, spy and dangerous man, where, among others, it was said that; “for sexual desire, he also revealed military secrets”. He was accused of; “relationship with several different agencies, such as Italian, Czech and Russian”!!!
My flesh shuddered, from what I was hearing, since I had been working with him for so long, I had good working relationships, I had not stood out as much as they told me, and moreover, I did not believe it to be so. Gjergji was a capable, hard-working cadre, and above all, with excellent biographical backgrounds! So, we wondered how this could happen. The order from above was: “The matter will be raised in the party organization, but without getting into these problems, so that all cadres would know, as this would harm the further disclosure of these meetings, according to the tasks that will be used by the specialized bodies.” !
According to the Party’s order, we would raise problems of deficiencies in the work and for this, we should prepare, that is, find the deficiencies in the work and, especially, in the problems of readiness. Hysniu communicated to us: “The conclusion of the analysis first is exclusion from the party and reduction in office”! Right then and there, I tell my friend Hysni Kapo, Beqir of Hito, that; mistakes at work, we will tell him and we will count them one by one, that maybe, ‘the red horse, there is a hole’, but with these shortcomings alone, we cannot expel him from the party! They addressed me: “Yes, for the shortcomings in training, or in the readiness of the command posts, according to the data we have, at that time or at this time, Gjergji was not responsible”!
Yes, I tell you; there is responsibility, yes, in these shortcomings, all the commands and chiefs in the Corps have their share, and, in the first place, I, as the commander and commissar, who are in charge of this work. Hysniu immediately tells me: “You must understand that now we are analyzing his work, not yours, and in this matter, you must be very careful, to give everyone their share.”
Convinced myself, but with the hope that I could also influence the interlocutors, I emphasized that; I thought that with these arguments that we can raise, I can’t promise you that we can expel him from the party, which is the most extreme and reprehensible measure, that he will be treated instantly as an “enemy”! So, I added, does George deserve such a stain, with the glorious past of his family?!
At this time, Beqiri intervened and addressed me: “Yes, Gjergji is not responsible for those shortcomings that arose when he was a management officer in the General Staff, but for those secret meetings with that Czech “prostitute” who is a very suspicious person, as an agent in Albania yes… yes… yes… etc”! Again I insisted that; for these, he cannot be expelled from the party, and for these mistakes, he has received a punitive measure before, and has not repeated such performances.
Hysni Kapo: “Enveri ordered to be punished”!
Seeing my objection and disobedience, in the absence of real arguments, for the severe punishment that was required for Gjergj Titanin, – Llakaj continues – Hysni Kapo intervened, saying: “Yes, you could not reach these measures that we propose to you. here today and give him this measure, then you will raise these issues to Gjergji: first, intimate and sexual relations, with the employee of the Czech Embassy, as a spy, intimate and sexual relations, with E.S.L. , an Italian prostitute and agent, where we have information that she also told him military secrets, for which she was expelled from Tirana as a family…! So, if you say these things, this dirty agent is not excluded, who shows us such a great patriot”?!
These things that Hysniu said – Llakaj writes further, in his memoirs – were reinforced by the other interlocutors present, saying that; everything is known by the party and the State Security, about the problems, for which Titan’s severe punishment is required. Faced with this situation, the insistence of the order, Veli Llakaj, finally turns to Hysni Kapo with a request, saying: “Please, let’s exclude him from the Army and not from the party, because this exclusion is very serious” !
Hysniu intervenes, saying: “No, in no way, Comrade Enver’s message is; to stay in the Army, because there we have the opportunity to control him better, the State Security bodies have taken on the task of this issue”!
The impossibility to protect Gjergj Titani…!
Thus, according to the statements of contemporaries and the documents of the time, for the soldier Gjergji Titani, the political trial begins in the party as an “enemy, collaborator of foreign agencies”. Veli Llakaj, his former direct superior at that time, writes that: “In that analysis, after many debates, none of the members of the basic organization of the party made any proposal for exclusion from the party.
The only one who made this proposal was the head of security, Reshat Sinovarfi, who knew this matter before me, followed by me and the secretary of the party organization, Qani Duraj. The organization did not obey, and then I, with regret, threw the smoke “bomb” that Hysniu had given me, against my friend and first deputy”! – writes Veli Llakaj. After the “bomb” dropped, everyone joined in one voice, for exclusion from the party and demobilization from the Army of Gjergj Titani. The same attitude, according to the documents of the time, was also maintained in the Corps Party Committee, where many other actions were spoken more openly. Thus, Gjergj Titani was expelled from the party and was appointed a training instructor at the Reserve Officers’ School in Vlora. He was later arrested and sentenced for “agitation and propaganda”. For this absurd accusation, Titani served a sentence of almost 15 years in prison.
“With all the great love and preoccupation to help him, and some other friend, especially the corps commissar, Gaqo Collaku, we could not do this, because the orientation, order and order of the Party was indisputable, and I and my friends, we were forced to implement it”, writes Veli Llakaj about this problem.
Enver’s order: “Albania, palm and center of fire”
How did Mehmet Shehu lead the fortification of the country? Statistics from the fortification of the country: -Across the country, 360,000 concrete fire stations were built. -3,264 fortified artillery firing positions were also built. -They were built underground, over 1,000 observation points (many of them with several rooms and premises), fortified. -Hundreds of underground tunnels, thousands of collective shelters for the population were built. Military majors who designed and directed the fortification of Albania – Mehmet Shehu – Menduh Backa – Alfred Moisiu – Josif Zegali – Sotiraq Budina – Abedin Galanxhi. Isolation, the order to fortify the country. The “hostile groups” in the army, which started with the conviction of Beqir Balluk and his closest collaborators, the “saboteur” groups in the economy who had the same fate, the breakdown of friendship with the Russians (in 1960) and with the Chinese afterwards, brought a complete isolation of Albania from the world, and a total commitment of the state, to ensure the defense of the country, only with its own forces! In these conditions, according to the official documents of the time, in addition to the maximum increase of the active army, the establishment of a military department on every mountain top, the inclusion of “all the military people”, the putting the entire population under arms, within the limits of 6 hours, Enver Hoxha and the Political Bureau, plan and organize the fortification of the entire country, as the guarantee of a strong and impenetrable defense from the enemy.
The order of the Party “Place palm and center of fire”, – remember the soldiers who designed and implemented this fortification, was one of the most difficult undertakings, since the Second World War, that had a voluminous work and extremely high financial costs. The fortification, – according to Veli Llakaj, the former chief of the General Staff of the Army and one of the leaders of the country’s fortification, began after a very studious work, carried out by the wonderful military and civil engineers and designers. The fortification, according to him, was the result of an experience and study of all the fortifications of the countries of the world, either according to what I discussed above, but also from the experience of the Vietnam war. But, – he adds further, – this fortification is original Albanian and according to the conditions of our country.
“The creator of this fortification was Mehmet Shehu, who with his imagination, patience, ingenuity, the deep study he had done and the intuition of a designer, managed to give it a physiognomy in cooperation with the best engineers and constructors full. His closest collaborators were the talented general; Mendu Backa, Alfred Moisiu, Josif Zagali, Sotir Budina, Abedin Galanxhi; many others”, – remembers Llakaj. “Preparations for this adventure of fortification of the country”, recalls the former Chief of the General Staff of the Army, were made according to the operational-strategic plan, defense and combat tasks of the respective units.
This fortification was made based on the capacity of the terrain. “Before work began on a complete and high-quality fortification, a garrison with fire centers was first prepared, under the direction of the Directorate of Fortification, and this micro-fortification was seen by Mehmet Shehu and some of the Army’s senior cadres. on the basis of completely free discussions, remarks and opinions given, and in the end, Mehmet Shehu gave this stamp”, – says Llakaj. So, after this experience, a basis was created for undertaking the important step to “plant” the entire territory of Albania, with fire centers and concrete fortifications. Thus, at the army level, an indicative practical lesson was made, with all the commanders of the corps and brigades of the Army, in the area of Fushë-Studes and on the plateau of Mount Zyl, i.e. a combination, between fortification in the field area and that mountainous. “This theoretical-practical lesson, for almost a month, was done under the direct guidance of Alfred Moisiu, that is, a very competent person, for this matter, who has made a contribution of special value, in this important component of the defense of the country”, – adds Llakaj.
Fortification, folly or necessity?!
Not a few, but over 360,000 concrete fire stations, fortified buildings, over 1,000 underground tunnels, thousands of collective underground shelters, about 3,264 fortified firing positions for artillery, etc. A colossal investment, which has “planted” the country in every direction, like no other country in the world. According to specialists, the cost of building just one fire station is greater than one entrance for housing, while the investment for the fortification of the country has spent the efforts of generations of Albanians over the decades. Time soon showed that the fortification of Albania was an adventure, although someone argues this enterprise, with the time and circumstances when this fortification was made.
“Someone today will call it nonsense or nonsense, about who will attack us, etc. And now, it can be judged like this, but also some stupidity can come again that we need, just as someone could think; what about China, who will attack that has a whole underground fantasy, that whoever has seen it is envious”, – asserts among others Veli Llakaj, the former chief of the General Staff of the Army.
Mehmet Shehu, unhappy with the removal of ranks in the Army!
Although Mehmet Shehu, the former prime minister of the country, since 1974, also assumed the position of Minister of Defense, he is responsible for taking the step, for removing the ranks in the Albanian Army, just like many major military men of the time, a part of who opposed this decision, even Mehmeti, had nostalgia for the ranks, which he has expressed more than once in his relationship with his closest colleagues. According to Veli Llakaj, the former chief of the General Staff of the Army and Mehmet’s closest collaborator for 8 years, he and his colleagues remember several cases where Mehmet emphasizes this nostalgia. “In an exercise in the Coastal Corps of Fier, in a conversation that started as a joke, between Mehmet, Hysni Kapos and Shefqet Peçi, where I was present and several other senior staff, Mehmet, addressing us, said that; you are nostalgic for the ranks”! – recalls Veli Llakaj. At that moment, according to him, Shefqeti intervened, saying not to open that conversation again, that if it is put to a vote, the restoration of ranks, the majority of those present there, were in favor.
The ranks in the Albanian army were removed on May 1, 1966, based on a decision of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, accompanied by a state order, for implementation in this period. On the same day, i.e. on May 1, 1966, the military units as well as other structures of the armed forces, in the traditional parade on the main boulevard of Tirana (University Building, Skenderbeu Monument), were exhibited for the first time without ranks, as well as with simple military uniforms, regardless of duty function.
“Removing ranks and changing uniforms was a step taken in the framework of the fight against bureaucracy, to avoid the tendency of differentiation, to make everyone equal, but in reality, it was an action that was not supported by the broad mass of military personnel, as well as brought numerous problems in the field of defense”, – recalls Veli Llakaj, former Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defense. According to Llakaj and the testimonies of the time, the removal of ranks and the so-called “war against bureaucratism” was accompanied by numerous staff turnovers, from the center to the base, the “voluntarily” flight to the countryside, and hundreds and thousands of others, along with their families.
According to Llakaj, even the military uniform that was put to use was inappropriate, a meringue cloth that got dirty immediately, the hat was like a coachman’s hat, while the authority of the military began to decline. For me, Llakaj adds, removing the ranks was and remains a wrong action. While many well-known cadres of the Albanian Army, among them General Halim Xhelo, who opposed the removal of ranks, were severely punished.
Shehu, Kapo and Peçi, in a training session!
One of the cases of Mehmet Shehu’s dissatisfaction with the removal of ranks, many years later, right after the discovery of the “putschists” in the army, is an exercise (with artillery fire) held in the Fier corps, where Mehmet Shehu was present. Enter Kapo, Shefqet Peçi. We had the concern of the training, which took place immediately after the discovery of the “coup master” Beqir Balluku, – remembers Llakaj- without knowing that at some point, there would be a debate about removing the ranks. At the end of the shooting, with anti-aircraft artillery weapons, Mehmet Shehu asked all the participants: “How do you think this training that you followed, with what we saw, is it a real situation or not, therefore each of you should give an opinion , that’s why we called you, and not just as a spectator”!
“After 2-3 people have spoken, recalls Llakaj, Hysni Kapo takes the floor, emphasizing: Comrade Mehmet, I think that this exercise convinced us of what the commander of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery dealt with theoretically, with those practical actions, and I have the opinion that if we have this anti-aircraft organization everywhere, our protection is ensured, from the possible air landing, therefore comrades, we should be congratulated for what we saw”! Mehmet Shehu turns to his friend Shefqet Peçi, laughing and says: I want to hear General Shefqet’s remarks! As Llakaj remembers, Shefqet Peçi spoke briefly, but turning irony on Mehmet’s words: “I had so much to say, but better than the most talented general here, comrade Mehmet, I don’t know who, and we must We obey his opinion. I find it difficult to talk much more and make comments because I can’t stand it, but I say that here I should thank my friend Fiqrete, that as she pushes it with this, she should be decorated, at least every 6 months”! “This was like an opening, Llakaj continues his story, – but why this was done, I am not able to say even today, when it is known how that situation was.
Joke-debate about removing ranks
“At another moment – remembers Llakaj – Mehmeti took the floor again, addressing Shefqet Peçi, saying: “I asked this question, as a general, that you did not agree to the removal of ranks, that the Army would broke without ranks, but here it was not broken, but even without ranks, the training and readiness is at the highest level”.
That’s all it took to continue the debate about ranks. Shefqeti addresses Mehmet: “Comrade Mehmet, don’t open that wound, for the removal of ranks, because they are putting it to the vote here, with all these generals they once had, with others who should have received and with those ranks , we were winning, because for sure, we will only have friend Hysni against us. All of these (major soldiers who were there), and many others, agree that we should return the embanked ones again, if not you too, you will regret why you removed them”.
The joke-debate broke out, remembers Llakaj, where Mehmeti added: “What Shefqeti says is true, that’s why I also, not without purpose, opened up the issue of the ranks, that with their removal, the one who is today in Rroskovec, Beqir Balluku”! Joke or debate, Llakaj remembers, it was a double-edged sword, since the first of the “putschists”, Beqir Balluku, had just been crucified.
The debate, Llakaj-Shehu, about the Russian uniform!
“The training in general was going quite well. Mehmet Shehu informed me that he had come down and was checking a group of tanks, for the passage to the two-way crossing points, together with the first secretary of the Party Committee, Piro Gushon. Mehmeti – adds Llakaj, – approaches me, looks at me dressed in a Russian uniform and angrily shouts at me: “Yes, you really liked the Russian dress, you studied there and you are nostalgic for Khrushchev”!
Veliu says: “No, I told him, but I wear it because it is more suitable, because I also have the helmet, so I take off the vest, put it on the belt, and put on the helmet. He didn’t last long; he was putting his lip on the gas and taking a picture, with the soldier who drove the tank into a large canal. At the moment, Piro Gusho tells him that; the tank was not passed by the soldier, but by an officer. Mehmet got so angry that he called the brigade commander, Demo Liço, and did it for one ALL. Angry, says Llakaj, he ran away from the training that was almost over and says that; the commander of this brigade is a fraud.
A few days later, the commander, Demo Liço, was dismissed from his position. While the debates and dissatisfaction about the removal of the ranks that day between Shehu, Peç, and Kapo, there was no immediate sacrifice, but in the months and years to come. Many senior cadres of the Army would suffer, among others, also for their “love” for the ranks. Memorie.al
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