Dashnor Kaloçi
The fifth part
Memorie.al publishes some archival documents extracted from the Central State Archive in Tirana (the fund of the former PPSh Central Committee), which belong to the year 1982, where there is a file with relations, reports, instructions, information, letters , minutes of meetings of the Political Bureau, the Secretariat of the Central Committee, etc., regarding the “hostile activity” of the member of the Political Bureau and the Minister of People’s Defense, Kadri Hazbiu, as well as some of his closest collaborators, such as: Feçor Shehu, Mihallaq Ziçishti, Llambi Peçini, Zoi Themeli, etc., who were accused by Enver Hoxha, as “the main collaborators of the police agent Mehmet Shehu”. In the file in question, there is also a document with Kadri Hazbi’s self-criticism, dated September 27, 1982, sent to Enver Hoxha and the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the PPSh, regarding “his poor work at the head of the Ministry of of Internal Affairs and the lack of vigilance, for not detecting hostile groups, all of which the party and Comrade Enver had discovered”. In this document, the former head of the Ministry of the Interior writes: “From the beginning of September, when I was getting my hair cut, a driver who works with the transport lines abroad came to me and told me that, returning from abroad, the drivers they had spoken badly about my fate. I didn’t ask him what he had been told, but I told him to go and report it where it should be. He added in more detail that he had spoken to the companion who stays with me, which I ordered him to report. He told me that he had done this. I don’t know whether I told him about this case or not, friend Hekuran. After a few days when I returned from a 3-4 day service, my family told me for the first time that they are taking us on the phone and so on, in meetings they ask about you, where are you and how are you, because we have heard things not good, as if we have escaped as a family abroad, as if I have been dismissed from my position as Minister of Defense, etc. I told you that anyone who asks about us, you say we are fine and don’t engage in further conversation. I emphasize that these things have spread so much that even one of the workers who serves in my family left without expecting that something is happening with me and my family. All these things, I told my friend Ramiz, together with my opinion that there is not enough fight against these harmful slogans and that they are spreading from Tirana in the first place”. Likewise, the document in question also contains the minutes of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the PPSh, held on October 8, 1982, where the “hostile activity of Kadri Hazbi” from the period after the war when he was in the position of Chief of Army Security, which has brought fierce debates, they all discussed, starting from: Adil Çarçani, Hekuran Isai, Simon Stefani, Manush Muftiu, Rita Marko, Prokop Murra, Photo Çami, Lenka Çuko, Pali Miska, Besnik Bekteshi, Muho Asllani and Llambi Gegprifti. Even the debates and strong tones in that meeting were not absent between Enver Hoxha and Kadri Hazbiu, which continued throughout the meeting, for several sessions. But for more about these, we know the document, which is published for the first time by Memorie.al
The document with the minutes of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the PPSh, held on October 8, 1982, where the “hostile activity” of Kadri Hazbi was analyzed
Continues from last issue
ALBANIAN LABOR PARTY TOP SECRET
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
RECORDS
OF THE MEETING OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU OF THE PPS CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON OCTOBER 8, 1982
Agenda:
- Discussion on the serious words of friend Kadri Hazbiu
- Approval of the report on transport to the plenum
All members of the Political Bureau are present at the meeting.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEETING
The meeting was opened and led by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the PPS, Comrade Enver Hoxha.
Discussion on the serious crimes of comrade Kadri Hazbiu.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Let’s start now from the first point. I think we should follow this procedure: the floor should first be given to Comrade Kadri, if he wants such a thing, to complete the self-criticism, secondly, questions should be asked to Comrade Kadri, to clarify the situation, and then have discussions.
Do we agree? Shall we proceed like this?
ALL FRIENDS: OK.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Then, we are giving the floor to Comrade Kadri. Do you still have something to add, friend Kadri?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: In my self-criticism, I expressed in depth my mistakes and their causes, as I feel and I will try to reflect on everything, because I have been working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a long time. If I have gone on, my friends, forgive me, but I have done this to explain the issues as I remember, related to the mistakes against the people, in the circumstances in which I worked.
The enemies I had around, among others, were very cunning, they damaged as much as possible, the work in these bodies and managed to avoid their detection. For this, they also took advantage of my weaknesses at work, and the credulous trust that I had as a leader in the Security bodies.
However, I judge that they were not and were not allowed to do as they wanted, because there, the Party and Comrade Enver directed and watched over them. This is the only factor that these bodies waged a long and fierce war with the enemy. It is also this factor that always drew me to the right path of the Party, regardless of the mistakes I made.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Who has questions to ask Kadri?
COMRADE SIMON STEFANI: Comrade Kadri, how do you explain the attitude towards the hostile activity carried out by some key cadres of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where you headed as minister?
Secondly, all the hostile groups, one after the other, were discovered by the Party, the Central Committee, not the State Security bodies. So, can you tell us, what conclusions have you drawn from this and what is your responsibility?
Thirdly, did you personally direct the investigative work against the putschists, or did you leave it in the hands of someone else?
Did you know anything about the manipulations done to cover up the hostile activity of Mehmet Shehu and his gang? About the manipulations that were done in the investigator for the hostile activity of Mehmet Shehu and his gang, did you know anything, did you smell anything?
You have given very important and very secret documents to the Soviet revisionists. Why did you do this, without the permission of the Central Committee, and why did you not announce it, at least later, when we broke off relations with them?
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: A little quickly Simon, the questions, because we are wasting time.
COMRADE SIMON STEFANI: Agreed, Comrade Enver. Explain to us a bit the issue of the State Security cadres’ proceedings, sick familiarity and unfounded euphoria, and finally, how do you explain not putting Trotskyism and Yugoslav work methods for camouflaged enemies?
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Consume these first, Comrade Kadri.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Now, to answer the question, how do I explain the attitude towards the investigations that were carried out against some key personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I did not know that they were carrying out hostile activities.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Yes, what do you know?!
COMRADE PALI MISKA: Yes, how did you not know?!
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: I’ll talk to you a little bit.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: There is no one here, tell us, what you knew. Did they do hostile work there, or not?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: If I knew, that they were doing hostile work, Comrade Enver…!
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Would he have arrested them? How long did you say, I don’t know, I mean, sleep?!
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: I would have arrested them, if I knew anything and I would have told the Party.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: I mean, you were sleeping, so why do you say, no, just like that?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: These yes. I said it in the self-criticism I did, and I said it now, that this is where my weakness lies.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Is this issue as easy as that you don’t know how to speak? But why did we send you to the head of this department to sleep?
COMRADE PALI MISKA: How do you explain this, as the Minister of Internal Affairs?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Let’s understand, I tried to explain in my self-criticism, this issue in the complex of circumstances, how they were created, that it is not the case that there were one or two people, these were even higher.
COMRADE RITA MARKO: As much as they were.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Even worse.
COMRADE PALI MISKA: Even worse, when there are many, you can put your finger more easily.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: This was created…!
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: How was it created…? Can’t you explain a bit?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: This was created, i.e., a certain credulous trust, we had, towards those who were in charge.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Why are you so credulous? I don’t know you as a credulous person.
COMRADE MISKA: None of us recognize Kadri ascredulous.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Comrade Enver, practice is showing that this is how I used to be.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Ah, that’s what you say, then, that we lied to you, but in fact, we didn’t know you as credulous, but as a smart person, that if we knew you were credulous, we wouldn’t let you in that place, where naivety is not allowed.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: That’s how I knew myself too, Comrade Enver, but the fact is now a fact.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Yes, Kadri, you tell us in your self-criticism, believe me, I am who I have been. So, what should we believe now, should we believe that you were as you write, credulous?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: No, loyal, loyal, loyal.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Good, but not credulous.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: But how loyal have you been, to leave everything in the hands of traitors?
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI: To be loyal, to have a thousand and one traitors around you, and not to reveal them, what kind of loyalty is this?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: How do I understand the issue of loyalty. I understand this in this way, that with conscience, I have not forgiven them anything, neither Mehmet, nor the others.
COMRADE PALI MISKA: Yes, mother, without conscience, you forgave them.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Without conscience, yes. It is clear that without conscience, I forgave them. As long as they they acted…!
COMRADE PALI MISKA: Yes, yes, to forgive them, with a conscience, without a conscience, no one puts this on the line. You forgive the enemy, the bird escaped from your hands.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: That’s right, he ran away. I was forgiving without conscience, but that’s another matter.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Let’s leave this question, with these explanations Kadri, let’s not waste time.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Agreed, Comrade Enver.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: The fact is, you were not vigilant, and you did not deserve the task that the Party assigned you. Naive, we know that you are not, therefore there must be other reasons, that you do not have on these issues, that you can now philosophize, but we do not believe what you say.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: No, I don’t philosophize, Comrade Enver, nor do I want to convince anyone, I speak as I feel, that’s what I say.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Good, speak as you feel, agree.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: As far as I have, I have told the Party.
ALL FRIENDS: What did you catch and what did you say?
COMRADE ADIL ÇARÇANI: Tell us here, what you have caught, that in fact, all these activities of the enemies have been caught by the Party. And you, as the Minister of Internal Affairs, at least tell us just one fact, what did you catch?
COMRADE PALI MISKA: So, theft, you may have caught, but out of all these dangerous enemies, don’t you tell us a bit about what you caught?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Well, excuse me for a minute, dear, I myself, as the Minister of Internal Affairs, without the help of the Security bodies, and without these bodies working properly, I had nothing to do. I explained these clearly in the self-criticism I wrote.
COMRADE PALI MISKA: You don’t even explain anything in your self-criticism, so we ask you to reflect.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: Okay, reject what I said, but what should I reflect on? Memorie.al
The next issue follows