By Dashnor Kaloçi
The Secret Document of August 1956, with the Operative Communiqué of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Regarding the Reactions of Some Cadres and Communists to the Tirana Conference
Memorie.al / The Conference of the Tirana District Party Committee, which held its proceedings from April 14 to 19, 1956, was held in the spirit of the XX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union led by Nikita Khrushchev, which had taken place in February of that year, where the new Kremlin leaders condemned the cult of Stalin and the crimes that had been committed until then by the main leadership of the Party. As is now known, immediately after the Tirana Conference, Enver Hoxha and the senior leadership of the Party of Labour of Albania (PPSH) were totally mobilized, striking down and condemning all those who had discussed or raised their voices at that conference about the cult of the individual and the privileges of the senior leadership of the PPSH, especially those who lived in the special neighborhood of New Tirana, called “The Block”.
Immediately after the end of the conference, under special order from Enver Hoxha, the senior leadership of the PPSH, under the direction of Hysni Kapo, drafted a list of all those who had discussed or asked questions during the conference “in opposition to the Party line,” considering them “anti-party elements.” The main ones were; Pëllumb Dishnica, Hulusi Spahiu, Pajo Islamaj, Niazi Jaho, Nesti Zoto, Vehip Demi, Peço Fidhi, Vandush Vinçani, Ihsan Budo, Iljaz Ahmeti, Taho Sejko, etc.
Enver Hoxha and the senior leadership of the PPSH were not content with just punishing the 21 people who were accused as “anti-party elements,” who were imprisoned or interned. They continued the fight and purges against the “anti-party elements” to find the true inspirers and those who were thought to be hiding behind those who had spoken at that conference. All this was also done as a preparation for the III Congress of the Party of Labour of Albania, which would hold its proceedings in November of that year. Among other things, this is also made known by this archival document with the “secret” seal that we are publishing in this article, which is dated August 9, 1956, where the State Security continued the pursuit, surveillance, and investigations against all those communist cadres, etc., to discover and punish the “organizers” of the Tirana Conference, as well as those who had supported or shown solidarity with it.
THE SECRET DOCUMENT OF AUGUST 1956, WITH THE OPERATIVE COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, REGARDING THE REACTIONS OF SOME CADRES AND COMMUNISTS TOWARDS THE TIRANA CONFERENCE
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
-Security Branch-
-132
Subject: Operative Communiqué, dated 9.VIII.1956
SECRET
Tirana, 9.VIII.1956
TO THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Directorate of Information
Tirana
Major Petro Vidhima, informs the basic Party organization of the M.L.K.A. that he had learned from a Party member of this organization, Captain Thoma Godelli, that according to Thoma, a plenum of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania would be held, where a “big one” would resign. This matter had been told to Thoma by Pandeli Skrami, a professor at the “Skënderbeg” school.
Pandeli Skrami, during several hours of questioning in the investigation, did not accept anything, while later he was forced to accept, when confronted with Captain Thoma, and regarding this matter he declared:
“On July 23, I discussed with Captain Thoma that a plenum of the Central Committee will soon be held and there will be a discussion about the resignation of one of the main cadres of the Party, for health reasons.”
Pandeli said that he heard these things from Lili Naska, who is a private coffee shop owner by profession, a former officer of Zog’s Gendarmerie.
In the questions that were asked of Lili, he declared that it is true that he told Professor Pandeli Skrami that, as he had heard, the Plenum of the Central Committee would be held and there would be changes, because Comrade Enver Hoxha would be appointed to a government position.
Lili said that he learned these things from Avni G., who told him that Major General Tahir Kadareja had resigned and now the Plenum would be held and there would be changes in the government. Avni Goxhi, from Golemi i Kurveleshit, today a motor vehicle operator, was once Zog’s gendarme, a former B.p. of the Security organs, expelled as worthless.
From Avni’s depositions, it appears that he learned the words from two sources. It is true, Avni says, that I told Lili Naska, and I learned these things in this way:
A certain Saliko Civili from Gjirokastra told me one day that he had learned that Major General Tahir Kadareja had been dismissed from his duty, and a few days later, a person named Ali Bajram Karaj, with whom we worked on a construction site, and whom he knew as a person, but did not have much of a friendship with, told me that the Plenum of the Central Committee would be held and Comrade Enver Hoxha would be dismissed, as well as three or four others.
Ali Bajram Karaj from Preza and a longtime resident of Tirana, sentenced in 1951 to 6 months in political prison for agitation and propaganda, in the questions that were asked and from the confrontations with Avni Goxhi, did not in any way admit that he had told Avni Goxhi.
While later, Ali Karaj admitted that he had told Avni, when the latter asked what was going on, Ali had told him that in Hungary the Central Committee had met and changes had been made, both in the Party and in the government.
Avni asked him: “What will we have here in Albania?” Ali told him that here in Albania too, the plenum of the Central Committee would be held and there would certainly be changes in the party and in the Government, without specifying the people who would be demoted or promoted.
Ali deposes that he told these things on his own, by observing the changes that are happening in the countries of people’s democracies. Ali Karaj has been detained by us and a regular investigation is ongoing with him./Memrie.al
IN THE ABSENCE OF THE DIRECTOR AND WITH HIS AUTHORIZATION
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Major Manol Milo
