From DASHNOR KALOÇI
Part Five
Memorie.al / When not even three months had passed since the declaration of political pluralism in Albania and the country was on the verge of the first pluralist elections to be held after nearly 45 years of rule by the communist regime, led first by Enver Hoxha and then by his successor Ramiz Alia, on March 6, 1991, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PPSH (Party of Labour of Albania), headed by the General Secretary Ramiz Alia, held a long meeting. During this meeting, several key events that had occurred recently were analyzed, while also making a retrospective of everything that had happened over the previous year. Starting with the events in Shkodër in January 1990 regarding the removal of Stalin’s bust, followed by those in Kavajë; the events of July 2nd, when about 6,000 people entered foreign embassies in Tirana and left Albania; the coincidence of these events with the declaration of the Constitution of Kosovo on that same July 2nd; the “implication of the international reaction,” led by the CIA, the French, and the Yugoslavs, aiming to destabilize Albania; the protests of the student youth in the “Student City” in December, which also led to the declaration of political pluralism; the massive departures of Albanians from the country through the northwestern and southeastern borders towards Yugoslavia and Greece; the toppling of Enver Hoxha’s monument on February 20, 1991; the mass exodus of the first days of March 1991, when thousands of Albanian citizens seized ships in the country’s main ports and fled towards the Italian coasts; the risk of a repeat of the embassy events; and, finally, the preparation for the first pluralist elections, which were to be held on March 31, 1991, where, according to the Albanian embassy in Athens, the American ambassador there had refused an invitation to go to Boston, stating: “events are expected to happen in Albania.”
Regarding these matters, etc., this secret archival document (long since declassified), extracted from the Central State Archive (the fund of the former Central Committee of the PPSH), contains the minutes of the Politburo meeting. In it, besides Ramiz Alia’s report, in which he also addressed the Democratic Party and its two main leaders, Azem Hajdari and Sali Berisha, there are also all the discussions of the “comrades of the Politburo” and the secretaries of the Central Committee of the PPSH. For more about this, etc., the document in question informs us, published for the first time with its corresponding facsimiles, by Memorie.al.
Continued from the previous issue
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE POLITBURO OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PPSH, MARCH 6, 1991
THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA Secret
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
– General Sector –
M I N U T E S
OF THE MEETING OF THE POLITBURO OF THE CC OF THE PARTY
March 6, 1991, 5:00 PM
The Politburo of the Central Committee of the PPSH, in its meeting of March 6, 1991, discussed the events of the recent days and the Letter that will be delivered to the basic organizations of the Party. The meeting is chaired by Comrade Ramiz Alia, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania.
Present are the members and candidate members of the Politburo, comrades: Adil Çarçani, Besnik Bekteshi, Hekuran Isai, Pali Miska, Vangjel Çërava, Xhelil Gjoni, Llambi Gegprifti, Niko Gjyzari, Xhemal Dymylja, as well as the secretaries of the Central Committee of the Party, comrades: Spiro Dede and Abdyl Backa. Comrade Kiço Mustaqi is absent with a valid reason.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI:Of these, 6,000 are of an extremely severe degree; they live in houses that are in danger of collapsing, in unhygienic, uninhabitable conditions. Demographic and mechanical additions in Tirana add 2,700 requests per year. If we do not build over 3,000 apartments, not only will we not ease the situation we have in Tirana, but it will become even more aggravated. In the meetings we hold with the people, we give no solution. We receive orders, letters have been written to you, to Comrade Adil and to other comrades, but we cannot provide any solution.
In Tirana, the situation has worsened greatly with the return of the internees. They are all those families who have come to Tirana from internment, from prison. We have taken their houses away. In meetings, I have received them, since I am the chairman of the local power authority – from Liri Belishova, Halim Ramohito, etc. We cannot give them anything. “We have only a few years left to live,” they say, “so we ask for houses, because you took ours.”
“You will have to wait,” we tell them. “How long must we wait? Give us a date when you will give us houses,” they say. They want minimal conditions – a room and a kitchen – but today I do not have even a single room and kitchen available. For the families of the Block, if we hadn’t vacated the clinic and the offices of the reception directorate, we would have been completely ashamed. Even with those, we are barely managing to accommodate them. And the claims of the comrades are very great.
The situation in Tirana is very aggravated, but especially the housing issue is a very, very acute point. Either we give a solution to this, or the people will say that we are deceiving them again. I am convinced that the way we are going, not only will we not ease the situation as stated in our electoral program, but we will aggravate it even more. Then the people will say: “You are deceiving us again; what kind of party are you?” I have made some proposals.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: What proposals have you made?
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: I say that we must build a new factory for the construction of prefabricated apartments, to achieve 3,500 to 4,000 apartments per year.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: How much does that factory cost?
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Whatever it costs, we will manage it; let us suspend any other project we have. Above housing, there is nothing; it is a vital issue. I think we should suspend investments. In Tirana, we have about 160 million lekë in investments. Of these, 40 million lekë are for constructions.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: What is their structure? Take them all. Let’s decide on it here in the Bureau.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: If we take them all, we solve the housing problem.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: To build that factory you are talking about, it would take six years.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Well, all right, Comrade Hekuran, then what do you think? Are we going to implement the electoral program we have made?
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: Will the people believe you, when you tell them you will build it in six years?!
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Well, let’s also make investments with foreign firms for construction. I cannot face the people with this situation.
COMRADE NIKO GJYZARI: What is the current capacity of the factory for constructing prefabricated apartments?
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: 2,000 apartments per year is its capacity.
COMRADE NIKO GJYZARI: Double the capacity of the one you have.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: You know that it is Chinese; you cannot double its capacity. Last year, 1,700 apartments were built with prefabricated materials, but this factory is for all of Albania, not just for Tirana. Regarding the Letter that will be sent to the basic organizations of the Party, I agree with what Comrade Besnik said, that it needs to be improved, according to the suggestions and remarks you made, Comrade Ramiz.
I think there is no need to convene the Plenum of the Central Committee. We have a lot of work, so let us all move into action. The Letter should be approved with the changes that Comrade Besnik mentioned, which I consider correct, because many things could be fixed.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Fine, agreed.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: If it’s a matter of funds to build apartments, the amortization funds can be used.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: In the matter of constructions, we are moving backwards.
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI: Comrade Llambi, do you know how much of the annual plan you have realized by the end of the year?
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: That is a different matter, Comrade Adil. Are we going to solve the housing problem, or are we going to leave it pending?
COMRADE VANGJEL ÇERAVA: Comrade Llambi, with this level of production of construction materials, not only can we not solve it, but we cannot even ease it. Let’s be realistic.
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI: The people want milk, eggs, and vegetables.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Above all is the house, Comrade Adil.
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI:Above all is food.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Last night, at 12 o’clock midnight, when Xhelili and Kiço Mustaqi were coming from Durrës, they noticed that even at that time, the line for milk was beginning to form.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Now we give milk only to children under one year old.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: You see where we are?
COMRADE VANGJEL ÇERAVA: The milk shops have become pharmacies.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: The powdered milk that was supposed to arrive did not come.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: There is no green garlic or spring onions in the market either. This is a fact.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Green garlic will come out soon. People are getting the food, but houses are the main thing.
COMRADE SPIRO DEDE: The condition of the Tirana market is in a state it has never been in before. There is no worse condition than the market. I was at the market the day before yesterday and saw that, apart from some crushed carrots, absolutely nothing is available.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: Everyone is eating.
COMRADE VANGJEL ÇERAVA: But what are they eating?
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI: No one underestimates the housing problem, because the people need it, but today they need food first and foremost. This is the main thing now.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: Food and raw materials are the priority.
COMRADE PALI MISKA: People are getting the food.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: It’s the matter of vegetables, which are lacking.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: Basic food items and eggs have been sorted out. Many districts have raised the issue of the household yard for families in agricultural enterprises and other things of that nature. If this is done, now is the time. If it is not done, let’s drop it.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: This problem has been presented to the Government.
COMRADE VANGJEL ÇERAVA: If yards are given to the families of the agricultural enterprises, then you must also increase them for the cooperative farmers. In the agricultural enterprises, the salary is high. Until now, we have justified the low wages of the cooperative peasantry by telling them: “You have the yard.” But now that the employees of the agricultural enterprises will also have yards, what will we tell the peasants?
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Let’s leave it to the Government to resolve this matter. It is foreseen that each family in the agricultural enterprise will be given one cow and two dynym [approximately 2000 m²] of land. I do not believe that the agricultural cooperatives would be dissatisfied if we gave one cow to each family, because today the majority of cooperative families do not have cows. There are a total of 400,000 peasant families, while throughout Albania we have 220,000 cows. Even if all the cows were distributed, not all peasant families would be covered; one-third would remain without cows.
COMRADE VANGJEL ÇERAVA:We can give female calves to cooperative families and thus cover them all.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Do your calculations a bit carefully, because if we give one cow to each family in the agricultural enterprises, there will be no more cows left in the enterprises, and then the cities will be left without milk.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: With the livestock that the small herds in the agricultural enterprises have – 20,000 cows, 16,000 calves, and 100,000 small livestock – 50,000 families can be covered, out of the 66,000 families that the agricultural enterprises have.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: I think that for the plain cooperatives, we can add one more dyne of land to the yard, making it three dynym, while for the agricultural enterprises, there are livestock, and their families can be covered with them. Here, it’s not about the wages of the agricultural enterprise workers – no one raises that much – but it’s about the fact that they are currently not supplied with livestock products, and a good part of them keep the livestock hidden.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Only that there is a risk that the employees of the agricultural enterprises will get occupied with their cow and their yard, stealing from the enterprise, and these will be destroyed.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: There’s no problem, because they have surplus labor. The yard in the agricultural enterprises will be a very good thing.
COMRADE XHELIL GJONI: But where will milk be obtained for the city?
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: They have the livestock in small herds today.
COMRADE XHELIL GJONI: Why shouldn’t they keep the small herds concentrated to produce for the city?
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Before, in the agricultural enterprises, we didn’t have small herds, and the workers got their milk from the state shop. We created the small herds here after creating them in the cooperatives as well. Now, suppose we hadn’t created any small herds at all, and we return to where we were, just as we returned in the cooperatives to the cooperative yard. That is, the trade system should supply the agricultural enterprises with milk, vegetables, and everything.
COMRADE ABDYL BACKA: That is also an option.
COMRADE XHELIL GJONI: Whereas in some mountainous agricultural enterprises, the situation is different.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: It’s a different matter for the mountainous agricultural enterprises.
COMRADE PALI MISKA: This will influence them not only to meet their own needs but also to sell some of it.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Alright, is there any other remark?
COMRADE SPIRO DEDE: I think that to pretend now to fill the market, to solve the housing problem, and all the other troubles – this means entering into futile discussions. We must absolutely go into the elections by propagating with all our might, with arguments and with spirit, one of the best programs ever given to the Albanian people for their future. We must convince the people that we are more conscientious than anyone else, that we feel the historical responsibility for everything.
The people understand that these days we cannot solve all the troubles and problems, but we come with this program, and their minds are filled with the weight of this program, with its truly very realistic and progressive character. Good people say: “Will you communists be able to implement this program and lead us with it?” While bad people say: “Your program is very good, but you are finished,” and other things.
Secondly, we must convince the people that this party is the most capable political force, the most serious, the most mature, and the one that will inevitably implement this program. But we must know how to break it down well: what our Party is, what it has done, especially what it is doing for its renewal, particularly in the last year, as we are trampling away from ourselves old concepts, working methods, and others.
These days, I have been in several meetings. At first, even communists snapped at me, so much so that for a moment I thought of leaving. But when you start talking about the program, when you explain what the Party is, when you speak to them with sincerity, the people understand you. Now we have no capacity, so it is futile to talk about doing this and that. If we had the capacity, we would make stronger promises than those of the Democratic Party, which they have as a menu, but we are serious; we say those things that we can do.
These days, we divided all the employees of the Central Committee apparatus to go to all the districts of the country to break down and propagate the Party’s electoral program. At the same time, we created groups with specialized lecturers, and in each district, two activisms will be organized for concrete problems of the program, which will also be reflected in the press and television, with the aim that it be felt that the Party of Labour is working, is doing propaganda, is a living force, something that those of the Democratic Party have done better than us. / Memorie.al
To be continued in the next issue
