Dashnor Kaloçi
Thirty-fifth part
Memorie.al publishes some documents issued by the Central State Archive (fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP), where there is a voluminous file with archival materials which bear the logo ‘Top secret’, which belong to the period of years 1981-1982, with reports, reports, evidence, information, minutes of the meetings of the Politburo and the secretariat of the Central Committee of the ALP, etc., starting from what was held to review and analyze the self-criticism of the former Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu in December 1981, because he had allowed the engagement of his son, Skënder, “with a girl who had some political fugitives in her family circle”, the marathon meeting of the Politburo on the afternoon of December 17 his year that lasted until the late hours of that night, where that problem was discussed with the debates and discussions of all members who “crucified” former Prime Minister Shehu, the meeting of the morning of December 18, after the news that Prime Minister Mehme Shehu had killed himself, the marathon meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the ALP on September 20, 1982, with the topic: “Analysis of serious mistakes of Kadri Hazbiu, committed during the period when he was deputy minister and minister of Internal Affairs “, where Enver Hoxha initially launched accusations against Kadri Hazbiu, luring him as a” loyalist of the Party “, (in order for him to” open the heart of the Party “, speaking against former Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu) , where at the beginning of his speech, Enver said: “After the coup in the army, we discovered the traitorous group in economics of Abdyl Këllez, Koço Theodhos and Kiço Ngjela with friends. We also discovered this group here; it was not discovered by the State Security. The same can be said about the discovery of the group of Fadil Paçrami, Todi Lubonja and a number of other people connected with them, such as Ismail Kadareja with friends, the Security did not reveal, but that hostile work was discovered by the Committee Central, etc. ”! All these and other documents with the logo ‘Top secret’, will be published in several issues in a row, exclusively by Memorie.al.
Continued from the previous issue
ALBANIAN LABOR PARTY
CENTRAL SECRETARY COMMITTEE
-General Sector-
PROCESS – VERBAL
OF THE MEETING OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU OF THE CENTRAL AFFAIRS OF THE ALP DATES
17 E 18 DECEMBER 1981
Agenda: Analysis of the serious mistake made by the member of the Politburo, Mehmet Shehu, regarding the engagement of a boy with a girl with a very bad political composition.
This meeting is attended by all members of the Politburo, with the exception of Comrade Hekuran Isai, who did not come because his mother died last night.
COMRADE MANUSH MYFTIU: I read very carefully the self-criticism of Comrade Mehmet, in which he admits that he made a political mistake, which he corrected, as soon as Comrade Enver told him. There he also presents some reasons that, according to him, led him to this mistake. Of course it is good that he admitted and corrected the mistake, but the issue can not end with that, because of the very nature of the mistake, the damage it brought to the Party, despite the fact that it was corrected, but also because, for the opinion my, his self-criticism is not satisfactory, after not analyzing correctly, to the end the causes that led comrade Mehmet to err so severely.
First of all, the nature of the error must be clearly defined, the causes must be found, and then the ways of correction must be found. Comrade Mehmet has made a grave political mistake, which is in complete contradiction with the Party line, with the class war line, an essential issue of the general line of the Party. His son’s engagement to the daughter of a family with a bad political background is in fact a softening of the class struggle, which is related either to a judgment and other attitude, which are not of the Party, with an opinion that has evolved towards liberalism and opportunism, or with a completely special consideration, with a privileged position he has for himself, which objectively leads to the violation of Party norms and to putting oneself above the Party. This is also a serious violation of the Party line.
Comrade Mehmet’s self-criticism is flawed and superficial. Although it extends to various considerations, it ignores key political and ideological issues. It speaks of sentimentality, of immunity to the influence of the enemy.
He says he had the opinion that he is invulnerable to the influence of the enemy. He says this at a time when the Party has always emphasized the opposite and, among other things, has been repeating for 10 years in a row, day and night, to be vigilant at the peak. It seems to me that this is not one of the reasons. One of the real reasons he made this mistake is that he thinks that only he knows what is liberal and what is opportunistic, what should be allowed and what should not be allowed. Moreover, he thinks that he can be allowed anything, as long as he considers it reasonable.
Below he says in self-criticism that I did not ask anyone, after I thought that as a family issue it was, I had to solve it myself. I think this does not apply to Comrade Mehmet, or to any of us, when it comes to such cases. Being fully aware that the girl has two runaway uncles and uncles and enemies of the Party and making her a family member and calling this action a “personal matter” is extremely difficult.
I do not agree with what Comrade Mehmet says that, if he had always been arrogant, the Party would have pointed it out to him, etc. There really is something wrong here, for which we have a responsibility and I will talk about that below, but I want to emphasize that no one, none of us, is allowed to blame our mistakes on the Party, even for a special case, when she did not intervene properly and with the necessary force.
Such an engagement is contrary to the line of the Party, and if realized to the end, it would mark a change in the line of the Party, would be the beginning of the acceptance of a liberal, opportunistic and conciliatory line with the enemy of the class, and which would inevitably lead to other liberal consequences. It in this case would also lead to the split of the Party.
So the issue is not personal, nor sentimental, but a matter of principle and politics, it is a swing in the line of the Party, a swing from the right, exactly from the side where comrade Mehmet, thought he could never go wrong. But sectarian attitudes are not only not a guarantee of righteous attitudes and are never stable, but they are easily crossed over to the opposite side.
The party has condemned its ordinary members, when they have quarreled with the kulaks. What if they made a political mistake, being ordinary peasants, Comrade Mehmet as a senior cadre of the Party, made a hundred times more mistake and made this mistake that he overestimated himself.
There have been reactions in the Council of Ministers to your unjust attitudes, but other comrades have not supported them, they have supported you who made a mistake, instead of criticizing you harshly and rightly. You have insulted people there with harsh words; you have left the meeting of the Presidency, because the discussion of Comrade Prokop lasted.
I do not want in any way to take advantage of the case, that such a thing would not be partisan, but some things should be pointed out that are unacceptable, and that should not be allowed further. And indeed after all these attitudes, can ministers be expected to have the courage to speak, I say speak and no longer express opinions that do not agree with your opinion?
We, who are more and who are less, are to blame for this situation, but each of us must discover the flaws and reveal them to the end, even if we run out of mouth, let the Political Bureau correct us, but the intention is good, to serve to strengthen the work of the Party. You should end a way of a judge who has won the right of citizenship in the Council of Ministers, “this is how Comrade Mehmet has it”, “this is what Comrade Mehmet said”, your arrogance should be put an end to.
Comrade Mehmet must keep in mind that he can not act as he pleases and he was doing wrong, he can correct this when he wants and how he wants. You insulted the chairman of the Executive Committee of the People’s Council of the Tirana district, until you called him anti-party, for not selling greens of different qualities in the same shop, then in your self-criticism, a little later you recognized that you did not do well, that Nesip is not an anti-party element, but does not follow the Party line.
A specialist attacked him with insulting words, because he said that the oil coke could not be burned in the furnace, based on the proposal of a driver. I had also told this to Comrade Enver and he did not take such a position, he was ordering me to look into the matter from many angles and did not call the position of the specialist, who did not agree with the proposal for the coking of oil coke, low. , even told me that you have a duty to give us such information.
You have forced me to exchange words about this in the Council of Ministers and you have made self-criticism. I agreed with that self-criticism, I want to emphasize that while you made the big and unjust noise in the Council of Ministers, in the presence of the entire press of the Republic, you did the self-criticism after expelling the secretaries and we were the only ones left, four deputy prime ministers with you.
I agree with the opinion expressed by Comrade Mehmet, but of course I reserve the right to hear Comrade Mehmet’s last opinion on these issues.
COMRADE LLAMBI GEGPRIFTI: We got acquainted with the self-criticism of Comrade Mehmet. I want to emphasize from the beginning that his self-criticism, although it is 39 pages, does not highlight those causes or better to say that negative element of his character, which is the main and most important. In my opinion, the main cause and the only source of all these negative moments, which comrade Mehmet mentions in self-criticism, is that he has overestimated himself to the extent of others, has put himself above others and in privileged conditions. .
It is true that Comrade Mehmet has skills, knowledge and a wide horizon in all fields, it is true that he has accumulated from life a great baggage of experience and deep management and organizing habits, which the Party and Comrade Enver have not reserved never to evaluate and point out to him, just as they have pointed out to him the shortcomings and weaknesses in concrete cases. Yet he should never continue to repeat his faults and weaknesses, overestimate himself, and forget the principle of equivalence with his peers, putting himself above others, for he suffers, as has been said here, from the disease of arrogance!
Is it also the reason that Comrade Enver helped you a lot with his valuable advice, to shake you, as you say yourself by saying: “Where are you like this Mehmet”!? It is because we love you so much that we, your friends, are supposed to help you, even more so, by pointing out the flaws and weaknesses that we see in you. Yes this is an important aspect of the problem.
The other side, which is even more important than the first, is that Comrade Mehmet must delve himself as much as possible into the shortcomings and weaknesses of his work and activity as a communist and cadre, then reflect and react correctly as to his mistakes and shortcomings, as well as the criticisms and messages given to us by Comrade Enver, all at the last meeting of the Politburo.
You, comrade Mehmet, say in self-criticism that closure in itself, when it comes to family matters, is another negative factor in you. I, too, believe that other friends, too, fail to understand this so hermetic closure even for your own family matters. How do you explain that for a complex problem, such as the case of your son’s engagement to a girl with a bad political attitude, you do not consult with Comrade Enver, or with your other friends, with whom you meet almost every day?! How is it that you forget the principle of class warfare, by marrying declassed people?!
There is no way to explain that you did not take any punishment for Skënder, in this case also for the good of the boy, that he had to return from postgraduate studies, which he is continuing in Sweden and be sent even as an engineer to one of the plants of our country, even outside Tirana. In your self-criticism, you put all the fire on yourself and you do not charge your son or your wife Fiqret with a small amount of responsibility. This moment expresses the truth that you have not yet been completely freed from the shackles of micro-bourgeois sentimentality and that for the good of the Party and you, you must break them as soon as possible.
Skënder’s relationship with Qazim Turdiu’s daughter was definitely known, even before you were engaged by many other people, close or distant, but they did not have the communist courage to give you advice and criticize you, because, as you say yourself, even the more you have suppressed them with your tactless attitudes and attitudes and not infrequently too harsh. In conclusion, he expresses his full conviction that Comrade Mehmet, with a cold mind, with a deep judgment of the revolutionary, will correctly understand the criticisms made against him and will react correctly to them.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: We close this session and come in the afternoon at 5. Good lunch.
THIRD SESSION
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: We continue, comrades.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: I, like other comrades, have been seriously preoccupied, especially since I learned about the engagement of Comrade Mehmet’s son in known circumstances. I have reflected as much as I could to explain correctly why this happened in the life and attitude of a leading friend in our Party, namely Comrade Mehmet, as well as Comrade Fiqret, both old communists, who, as we know, from have long covered and are covering important functions in the leadership of the Party?
This serious mistake, although corrected after the intervention of Comrade Enver in defense of the Party and Comrade Mehmet himself, has nevertheless given negative effects. Many comments have been made and are still being made in the Party and by honest people without a party. In these conversations and comments, on the one hand, the belief in the justice of the Party is expressed, and in this cases the defense of the line by Comrade Enver in particular, as well as the joy that this mistake was quickly corrected. But, on the other hand, the concern of these people, the concern of the communists, about how such mistakes can be made in the line and for such essential issues by the communists, that the Party has chosen to lead, stands out.
First of all, Comrade Enver’s attitudes in dealing with problems and in his relations with many friends are, in many cases, not at all correct. Despite our not always militant attitude towards these harmful performances, they are impermissible for a leader like Comrade Mehmet and have had consequences, especially in the work of the Government, for which I think there can be a special analysis.
The comrades who knew this, approved of it and did not oppose it, the least that can be said, have been indifferent and conformist. I feel that I could and should have done more for the few things I knew and left unsaid. But despite this, Comrade Mehmet must reconsider his views.
In many cases and wrong attitudes he, Mehmeti has continuity. This is disturbing. I am reminded of some instances in which he has clearly expressed his softening of the class struggle, which, to Comrade Mehmet, have been pointed out. Thus, for example, with his initiative he has broken the Security regime in Durrës Beach…!
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: How did you break it?
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: This is what happened, Comrade Enver: It is known that the regime has been approved and set up there for implementation. Comrade Mehmet, I do not remember the year, reading on a front page a report by a Western journalist, who said that in Albania there is a second ‘Pankov’, as far as I can remember, not only in Tirana, but also in Durrës Beach, where more than half of the Beach is intended for leadership etc. etc., orders the Guard guards to leave and Fiqret and his children say…!
COMRADE MEHMET SHEHU: Not the soldiers, but the civilians.
COMRADE KADRI HAZBIU: No, no, Comrade Mehmet, let us say things as they are. You immediately ordered the removal of the Guard guards stationed around your house. I was informed that this is what is happening to the guards and all the people, as they were on the beach, were immediately ushered inside to the bridge in front of the facility. I called Feti Smokthina, who was the commander of the Guard, he is still alive today, comrade Mehmet, and I ordered him to go and put the guards in place and come and tell you, comrade Mehmet, that if you had such an opinion, to order me first, as the Minister of Interior that I was, then to act.
Comrade Mehmet, in fact, welcomed Feti’s intervention and then allowed the rule to be restored, as before. I went to dinner myself, I pointed out the importance of this issue to comrade Mehmet that I told him that the measure he had taken was wrong. We talked about this issue, if I am not mistaken, at the Party House here, with Comrade Ramiz and Comrade Manush also present. I started to come to you who were in Pogradec, Comrade Enver, that Comrade Hysni was in Vlora at that time, but when I went in the afternoon, Comrade Mehmet recognized that he was wrong about this and the issue was settled, that care should be taken that not to liberalize the security regime…!
COMRADE MEHMET SHEHU: No, I remember the military guards who were on the beach…! Memorie.al
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