BY AGRON ALIBALI
Memorie.al / Today, it may seem unbelievable that the publicist, writer, and critic Faik Konica, one of the greatest minds that Albania has produced, during his term of service as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, from 1926 to 1939, created a network of informants to monitor the activities of the Albanian diaspora in America. Moreover, Konica took the courage to go against even an instruction from the then-President, Ahmet Zogu, according to which, the consulate in the USA should not meddle in politics. Konica not only failed to implement this instruction but also made an “interpretation” of it and sent it to the Consulate in Boston, emphasizing that “the order could never extend to giving up defending the interests of our State, to closely monitoring political intrigues and criminal propaganda being prepared against the State, and to advising unsuspecting Albanians to beware of paid men who try to poison their minds.”
Thus, during his time in office, Konica widely used his network of informants against the opponents of the President and later King Zog, as well as his personal ones. The chief among them was undoubtedly Fan Noli, for whom he did his utmost to prevent him from entering the United States of America, since, according to him; Noli would start a communist propaganda campaign, moreover one paid for by the Russian government.
All these facts come to us in a rare publication, in a voluminous book, authored by the well-known researcher Agron Alibali, “Dritëhijet e një diplomati” (The Light and Shadows of a Diplomat) (Argeta LMG publications), rich with documents that are published for the first time, especially from the Archive of the Albanian Legation in America, which was considered lost and was found at the Historical Archive of the Farnesina in Italy.
THE CONSULATE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF OBSERVATION
The main problem related to Faik Konica as a diplomat is the use he made of his position concerning relations within the Albanian diaspora in America. It is paradoxical that Faik Konica, who was among those leaders who had laid the foundations for the voluntary unification of all Albanian-Americans in “Vatra” during the darkest days of Albania (when he had power in his hands, he did not dare to use it for purposes that can hardly be considered constructive).
His relations with his fellow combatant and close friend, Fan Noli, appear highly problematic. While, after the failure of the 1924 revolution, the polemics between them – often harsh and personal – were publicly known, Faik Konica did not resist the temptation to harm Noli by abusing his position as a diplomat. The first meaningful example is found in the Legation’s archive.
Upon taking office, Konica diligently set himself to serve Zog’s policy of observing his political opponents. “Please observe whatever will be said against our President and the government in tomorrow’s meeting and send a report to the Legation. Minister F. Konitza,” he would order by telegram as early as July 24, 1926. Meanwhile, on the eve of Flag Day, he instructed Consul Prifti that “the Consulate should not be represented in the Church.”
At the time when Noli had expressed a desire to settle again in the USA (1931), and after obtaining a visa with difficulty and entering American territory, Konica notified the State Department that “Fan Noli may have recently entered the USA under a false name or with a forged passport.” Noli, in fact, had re-entered America, more precisely at the port of New York, on July 10, 1931, “as a temporary visitor for a period of 6 months, according to Article 3 (2) of the 1924 Act.”
The investigations against Noli for alleged Bolshevik views or activities, undertaken by the Office of the Immigration Commissioner in Boston with the help of two “neutral” Albanian-American businessmen, which referred to Noli’s previous visit from May 4, 1930 to January 22, 1931, confirmed that there was no evidence, published in the newspaper “Republika”, that could be considered “red”, “radical”, or “Bolshevik”, nor any statement in his speeches or prayers in Church, where Noli “supported the overthrow of any government since his entry into the US.”
To make a point in Konica’s favor, it must be said that at that time in America there was concern and high sensitivity regarding acts of violence by radical elements from various ethnic groups, such as, for example, the Italian one. At that time, two Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, had been tried and sentenced to death in Boston. To these concerns, naturally, was added the spread of Bolshevik ideas after the October Revolution in Russia.
Finally, it is known that hostility towards Zog had resulted in several assassination attempts against him. However, the Albanian diaspora in America was generally oriented towards work and family, and strictly obeyed the laws. Thus, it was unlikely that any harm would come to Zog from distant America. Faik knew this very well. Likewise, today it may seem unbelievable that someone could be denied an entry visa to their homeland, or other diplomatic services, due to differing political views or entirely ordinary activities.
However, this is precisely what the Albanian Consulate in Boston did, with the permission and authorization of Faik Konica, especially during the years 1926-1936. To these concerns, naturally, was also added what Prifti and Blloshmi did to the supporters and sympathizers of Fan Noli while they were in office as representatives of the Albanian state in the USA, which constitutes one of the murky pages – and until today little known – of Konica’s activity in the USA.
The documents found in the Diplomatic Archive of the Albanian Legation in Washington shed broad light on this not-at-all-praiseworthy activity. The documentation, on the other hand, has extraordinary historical – and legal – value, as it sheds light on unknown aspects of the lives of many individuals – many well-known – who, for various reasons, needed consular services from the Albanian diplomatic service in the USA.
It is important to emphasize that the monitoring of the Albanian-American community does not appear to have been a consequence of orders or directives from Tirana. On the contrary, as soon as he took power in December 1924, Ahmet Zogu sent a special directive to the Boston Consulate, that the latter should not interfere in politics. However, it appears that Faik had his own network of informants, independent of the Consulate.
These emerge from Konica’s report addressed to Tirana, dated September 15, 1926. Discussing the reporting he made on the movements in America of Tefik Mborja, Konica complained that; “The Consulate did not show much activity in this matter, and I obtained most of the news about the movement from special sources.” And he further clarified: “The reason is that the consul, a dutiful and obedient man, acted based on an order received two and a half years ago from the Ministry to the Consulate, an order he found in the Archives. According to this order, the Consulate should not meddle in political affairs.”
KONICA’S UNPRECEDENTED INTERPRETATION
Despite his known shortcomings, Zogu, as a cautious and wise leader, understood the power of the Albanian-American community and its historical role in the birth and salvation of Albania. Therefore, he could not allow this community to be divided and entangled in the quarrels and political clashes of the homeland. On the contrary, it appears that Faik Konica was the one who instigated and organized the surveillance of specific elements of the Albanian-American community, becoming the pivot of unpleasant events.
Referring to the circular that forbade the consulate’s interference in politics, Konica wrote to the Center that; “such an order requires interpretation, and in a letter I sent to the Consulate, I make known to them the interpretation that should be given.” Thus, Faik Konica authorized himself to circumvent the center’s circulars. Here is Konica’s peculiar order from September 1926:
Mr. Consul,
About two and a half years ago, the Consulate had received an order from the Ministry not to meddle in politics. This order has its own strength, but it must be properly understood. The meaning that should be given to the order is this: those Consulate officials should not enter into polemics with Albanians here, meddle in local intrigues, or go to meetings and quarrel with other speakers there.
But the order could never extend to giving up defending the interests of our State, to closely monitoring political intrigues and criminal propaganda being prepared against the State, and to advising unsuspecting Albanians to beware of paid men who try to poison their minds. This is a duty that every consulate, besides commercial duties and facilities for subjects, has and remains the primary duties of consulates.
In this spirit, your duty should be understood hereafter, and I kindly request that you send me reports from time to time on any movement by the enemies of the State. I learn of many things from private letters and complaints that reach the Legation. It would be good if I also had reports from the Consulate. Naturally, it is not necessary to deal with meaningless gossip, but only with movements that could help the Government observe the enemies of the state.
I will send a copy of this order to the Ministry.
Respectfully yours,
Minister of the Albanian Republic in Washington.
The content of this unprecedented “order” speaks for itself. Faik Konica, although appearing as a defender of order and national security, as well as freedom of speech and thought, incites the surveillance of the diaspora under circumstances that were outside the official directives of the Albanian government and, moreover, that could violate American laws.
However, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana received this unexpected “gift” from Konica with displeasure. Conscious that, if he himself were to ask for something of this nature, he might face the anger and sarcasm of Faik Konica, Tirana was surely surprised, but nonetheless, accepted the offer. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who at that time must have been Hysen Vrioni, wrote to Faik Konica as follows:
“Mr. Minister,
I have the honor to inform Your Lordship that I read with great interest your Report No. 3 dated September 16, 1926, and I warmly thank you for the care you have taken to nullify the harmful propaganda against our State by renegade Albanians such as Tefik Mborja and his companions, so I greatly approved of the orders that Your Lordship has given to our Consulate in Boston with your letter No. 7 dated September 14, 1926.
I beg you, Mr. Minister, to accept my respects with special honors.
Minister of Foreign Affairs”
We do not know if the minister in Tirana had obtained Zog’s approval. Nonetheless, Konica’s activity did not spare his acquaintances and former colleagues and collaborators of “Vatra” and the diplomatic service. In October 1926, Konica leveled accusations against Tashko and Kirka not only to his superiors in Tirana but also in official communications to the State Department, calling them “dismissed from service long ago because they were in contact with communist elements and that both was awaiting trial on these matters.”
Konica’s “orders” continued until late. A letter of his from November 1933 addressed to Prifti regarding the return to Albania of a certain Leko Dh. Petrenj, instructed the Consul; “to do the necessary to facilitate his return to Albania… if the man does not have a history of anti-government actions.” Regarding the issuance of the passport favorably, Prifti replied that; “Leko Dh. Petrenj from Detroit, Michigan, has not been involved in politics and the passport, according to your order, we sent him accompanied by a letter to the United States Lines Company, to give him a half-price travel ticket”…
KONICA’S MEMORANDUM AGAINST NOLI
It must be said first that this unprecedented clash, involving two compatriot friends, who had studied at the same famous university, as well as American officials who had also graduated from the same university, was not considered important enough for Deputy Secretary Castle to cover it in his detailed diary, preserved at the Harvard Library, where he rigorously and meticulously recorded all important daily events of his professional and social life.
From a stylistic point of view, the memorandum is another masterpiece of Faik Konica, but in terms of content, it leaves much to be desired. The seven-page document begins with a general description of the role of the anonymous “agitator.” The reference to Noli was more than clear. In his perfect English, Konica writes:
“The foreign agitator who comes to the United States with the intention of making communist propaganda is in a favorable position to defend him against possible accusations. He can boldly deny any connection with communist propaganda and can play the role of a liberal who obeys the law, who has come to this country as a refugee in good faith, fleeing the persecution of the reactionary government in his own country.
Regardless of how convincingly it may be proven, based on circumstantial evidence, that he is financially supported by the current Russian ‘government’ or by radical organizations that are financially dependent on the Soviets, the foreign agitator knows very well that no direct, photo-static evidence of his guilt can be presented against him.
Finally, if, in addition to all the above, he happens to agitate among people who speak a language of limited scope, it is almost impossible for the authorities to find a person from the secret services who is capable of eavesdropping on propagandistic speeches and other verbal agitation. This is precisely the case of Fan Noli, who calls himself, and is believed to be, an Albanian. The following memorandum will present some facts concerning this mysterious man.”
The “mysterious man” was, therefore, Fan. S. Noli himself, his comrade-in-arms, with whom Faik had spent days and nights during the founding of “Vatra” in Boston and beyond, who had helped him when Faik was in distress in Vienna during World War I, and who would even conduct the religious service and give the main speech at Faik Konica’s funeral in Boston, in December 1942.
The unprecedented introduction prepares the American reader for the arguments Noli might present in his defense. Konica even prepares the ground for accusations against Noli as a Bolshevik agitator financed by Moscow. Konica speaks of “circumstantial evidence” and the lack of “direct evidence.” He calls his old friend a “mysterious man,” whose Albanianness, according to Faik, at best remains doubtful…! / Memorie.al
