Dashnor Kaloçi
Second part
Memorie.al publishes some archival documents with the logo ‘Top secret’ issued by the Central State Archive in Tirana (fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP) where are the minutes of the meetings of the senior party and state delegation of the Republic People’s Party of Albania, headed by the Minister of National Defense, Beqir Balluku, with the high delegation of the People’s Republic of China, headed by the chairman of the military commission at the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Ye Chen Ji, where discussed military issues, as well as the delegation led by the Minister of Trade, Kiço Ngjela, with the Chinese delegation led by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of China, Chu En Lai, where economic problems were discussed, as Albania there was an urgent need for cereals, but the Chinese government could not help them, as as a result of the drought, they could not carry out their plans and were buying nin wheat that the French had imported from the Americans! Unknown documents published for the first time with the full minutes of the two meetings held in Beijing on November 7, 1972, where the Albanian military delegation led by the Minister of National Defense, Beqir Balluku (where they took all directors of directorates and chiefs of different types of weapons of the Albanian army), it was requested that the Chinese government assist the Albanian army, with weapons of all types, starting from: light infantry weapons (rifles), artillery anti-aircraft, land and coastal, tanks, armored vehicles, ships, torpedoes for naval combat fleet, chemical weapons, equipment and engineering materials, liaison, radio location, vehicles, aircraft and helicopters, mechanical tank repair plants and armored personnel carriers, ammunition and explosives, background material, etc., because according to Minister Balluku, the Albanian army was in a very difficult situation in terms of armaments, because it had World War II armaments, which had been brought by the Soviets since the ’50s.
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Fund: CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ALBANIAN LABOR PARTY
Relations with the Communist Party of China
Contents: THE FIRST MEETING OF THE RPSH MILITARY DELEGATION (CHAIRED BY BEQIR BALLUKU) WITH CHINESE FRIENDS OUR PEOPLE, AND OUR ARMIES. ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF ALBANIA WHERE THE INTERESTS OF THE PACTS, THE AGGRESSION OF NATO AND THE WARSAW TREATY, CROSS, THE CHAVINIST AND ANNEXIST GOALS OF THE STATES AROUND US CROSS. ON THE MEASURES TAKEN BY THE ALP, FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE COUNTRY AND THE SUBMISSION OF SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR STRENGTHENING THE DEFENSE.
THE FIRST PLENARY MEETING OF OUR DELEGATION WITH CHINESE FRIENDS, DATED 7.11.1972
Speech by the Minister of National Defense, Beqir Balluku, at the meeting with the Chinese military delegation, led by Jeh Chen Ji
Dear friends
I have the pleasure, on behalf of the Albanian Labor Party, the Government of the People’s Republic of Albania, our People’s Army, and on behalf of the personal leader and teacher of our party and people, Comrade Enver Hoxha, in this first working meeting here in Beijing, among the Chinese brotherly people, among the comrades and comrades-in-arms of our common cause, to warmly greet the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and its great leader Comrade Mao Zedong, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and Comrade Chu En Lai, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Comrade Jeh Chen Ji, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving us the opportunity to visit, as a military delegation, the great People’s China. In this visit we will be acquainted with the great successes of the working masses and of the sister Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which are marching forward resolutely for the realization of the straight line of the party, and of the great Marxist-Leninist ideas of chairman Mao.
The historic victories of R.P. of China, since its founding, including the historic period of the people’s armed struggle and the successful construction of socialism in Greater China, are the result of the vitality and justice of the line of the heroic Chinese Communist Party, of the president’s ideas Mao Zedong, who with his Marxist-Leninist genius, has led, is leading, and will lead, the Chinese party and people, towards new victories of the triumph of socialism and communism in China. We comrades are overjoyed and inspired by the fact that in all historical periods, both in the armed struggle for the liberation of China and in the socialist construction of the country, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, created, and educated, and led, by the party and comrade Mao Zedong has demonstrated and is demonstrating high qualities of ideological and political maturity. It has always been in the same position as the party and the working masses for the realization and protection of the party line and the Marxist-Leninist ideas of Comrade Mao Zedong.
These high qualities and virtues of the heroic Chinese People’s Liberation Army were clearly expressed during the great cultural and proletarian revolution that erupted and was personally led by President Mao. It is the armed wing of the party, and the sharp weapon of the dictatorship of the proletariat in China. Greater China today is a veritable socialist colossus, an invincible stronghold of imperialism and revisionism, and a secure and loyal base of support for revolution and the freedom of peoples for their rights. We comrades, coming as a military friendship delegation to R.P. of China, we deeply feel the responsibility to the Party and our people to carry out with a white face this noble mission, which will surely contribute to the further strengthening and strengthening of the friendship and military cooperation between the two peoples, parties, and armies ours. The reciprocal visits of the military delegations of our two countries have given and will give a valuable contribution to the strengthening of our great revolutionary friendship, as well as to the exchange of experience accumulated by both our sister armies.
Our friendship and cooperation, based on the principles of proletarian internationalism between our peoples, parties, and armies, knows no precedent for breadth, as the common goals and objectives and the deep feelings of fraternal sincerity pervade it. This friendship and this cooperation has resisted the trials and tribulations of the greatest and will surely live on for centuries, because it has been hardened and steeled by our two Marxist-Leninist parties, and our two great leaders Mao Ce Dun and Enver Hoxha . We are convinced, dear friends, that with your help, we will be able to successfully perform the task assigned to us by the party and Comrade Enver. In this working meeting, we would like to first of all thank the Party and Comrade Mao Zedong, the Council of State and Comrade Chu En Lai, for the generous and fraternal assistance that our country has given and is giving, for the establishment of the economy and culture in Albania. We also thank you for the great help given and given to our Armed Forces by the Party, the Council of State, and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. These aids have strengthened our defense incomparably in the past, and we thank you for that.
The successes that we have achieved so far in strengthening our defense, both in the field of politico-military training and in consolidating and organizing the operational preparation of the field, do not raise our minds because we have many weaknesses and shortcomings in the work. which, in the future, we must improve and further qualify. It is legal that the defense of any country, especially our small country, geographically surrounded, should be constantly strengthened and consolidated in political, economic, military, ideological, and organizational terms, so that it is able to in any time, and in every situation, to act swiftly and with iron proletarian discipline to face the danger that threatens it. Today’s political conjunctures have not changed and will not change the intentions of our enemies towards our country. It is known that the geographical position of Albania is located in an area where the feverish activity of the two aggressive pacts of NATO and the Warsaw Pact intersect. The states surrounding our country have chauvinist and annexationist intentions, and are active members of these pacts. In the west of Albania, there is Italy, which aspires to own the coastal lowlands of our country.
It is known that the military-naval bases of Italy, which are also the bases of the 6th US Fleet, are located only 100 miles off the Albanian coast. Italy in the past has carried out two aggressions with different motives against Albania. Our diplomatic relations with the Italian state are conjunctural relations. It is well known that today in Italy, the process of fascism is developing rapidly. All these taken together, impose on us vigilance and high combat readiness in this important direction. In the south and southeast of Albania, there is Greece which is led by the fascist clique of colonels. Our relations with Greece, which until yesterday were honorable and in a state of war, are conjunctural elements which have not changed and will not change at all the chauvinistic intentions and territorial and annexationist claims of the Greek state against our country. The issue of Greece for our party, always remains a dangerous issue not only because it is an active member of NATO, and an important base of the US 6th Fleet, but because the leading cliques of Greece in the goals of towards Albania, have always been guided by the idea of its fragmentation. In case of aggression against our country, within NATO between Italy and Greece, contradictions will arise for the division and fragmentation of Albanian areas. So even against the goals of the Greek chauvinist cliques, vigilance and combat readiness are required.
In the north of Albania, there is Yugoslavia which, with the betrayal of the Titoist clique has constituted and poses a serious danger to our country. Our party, since the beginning of the war against Titoism, foresaw the defense of our socialist homeland and the communist international labor movement. Our party openly unmasked the dangers of Titoism and Khrushchevism and now both of these have been completely unmasked. And everything that has been said by our party to these two clicks has been confirmed and is being confirmed every day by life. Currently in Titoist Yugoslavia, capitalism has been restored. It is known that the Yugoslav state has adopted the so-called policy of non-engagement. But in reality, Yugoslavia is committed to both NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Everyone raises the big question, what will happen after Tito’s death in Yugoslavia?! This question is often answered by Tito himself. He has stated that the federation will exist, but it is understood that these are empty and worthless words. Today in Yugoslavia, as a result of the Titoist betrayal, an internal political process is taking place, decomposing the federation, which is reflected in the war between the groups of Serbs on the one hand, and Croats and Slovenes on the other.
With Tito’s death in Yugoslavia, there will be a struggle for Serbo-Croatian hegemony. These two rival groups, of course, will have outside support, respectively, Russian Serbs and Croatian Croat-Slovenes. The two superpowers in accordance with the honorable political situation of Yugoslavia, as well as with its economic chaos, through their political attitudes and the credits they give them further strengthen their positions and influence for today and especially for tomorrow. It is known that the Republic of Serbia is the strongest, most chauvinist republic, and with dominant positions and traditions over all other republics. So the Serbs aspire to hegemony and in this conflict they will have the help of the Russians, Bulgarians, Czechs, etc. While the Croatian-Slovenian current will be assisted by the USA, Germany, Italy, Austria, etc. The Serbian current, aspiring for hegemony, is for the capitalist federation, because it is known that this federation was created 50 years ago by the kings of Serbia. This is what today’s Serbian chauvinists demand. In this conflict for hegemony, the Croatian-Slovenian current is unlikely to win.
In this disintegration and decomposition of the federation, the Croat-Slovenes will not accept to enter a federation, where the Serbs will dominate. This they have expressed, and are expressing with the administration itself and the tendencies for independence, which is the old Ustasha tradition. So after Tito’s death we anticipate the further escalation of today’s political conflicts, even to the point of striking between the two groups which in their own way, will be supported by the two superpowers. In this war, if the Serbian chauvinist group wins, we can predict that the federation will be divided between the Republika Srpska on the one hand, and the Croatian-Slovenian Republic on the other. This is against the will of the Russians and Serbs, but unfortunately, it can be done. In this political chaos, there is another variant, that in the impossibility of establishing Serbian hegemony, the secession of all nationalists takes place.
In this context, the autonomous province of Kosovo, inhabited by nearly 2 million Albanians who have suffered all their lives from the oppression of the Serbs, refuse to enter the Republic of Serbia, but declare themselves an Autonomous Republic. It is understood that such an action can be done with the desire of Kosovars themselves, without having a finger on us in this matter. Such a thing could happen with Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, etc. All of the above can be similar to the aggravation and further development of political situations, but also to shocks. In case of realization of each form I mentioned above, the danger for our country is great because with the new connections and alliances, the forces of both superpowers come to our northern borders. In these conditions against Albania, the situation is aggravated and provocations will take place and the Serbs will accuse us that in the issue of the secession of the province of Kosovo, it is our hand, which in fact will not be.
So in this prism, our party without underestimating Italy and Greece which are members of NATO sees eminent dangers of the development of the situation in Yugoslavia, which comes as a result of the betrayal of the Titoist clique. It is superfluous to underline the degree of danger and the attention required by the northern part of Albania. To this chain of NATO air and naval bases in the Mediterranean basin must be added the presence of the Soviet Navy on the coast of Africa, which has great firepower and air and naval landing capabilities. Warsaw Pact military bases in the Soviet Union (Ukraine), Hungary, and Bulgaria, where large airborne troops are concentrated, despite the cessation of ground and air contact of these bases with our country, due to the geographical position of the Yugoslav state, they still pose a real danger to Soviet aggression against our country.
The Soviets and their allies in case of an eventual attack on our country, to undertake an air strike with a group of 6-7 divisions, will need only a 200 km wide air bridge on the Bulgaria-Macedonia-Albania route. This flyover they would at best secure in its shopping spree with today’s Titoist clique. Otherwise, this air bridge can be secured, violating the Yugoslav airspace with violence and force, as long as it will take for the airborne convoys to reach the facility. It is understood that the areodesant operation launched from the territory of the Soviet Union and Bulgaria, will be linked and coordinated with the simultaneous operations of naval landing operations, which will be carried out by the Soviet naval combat fleet stationed off the coast of Africa. As it is known in Europe, tainted by revisionist degeneration, only Albania is a socialist state, which for this reason and for other aggressive purposes, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, as well as their partners around our borders, have noticed Albania.
At convenient conjectural moments, they will realize their aggressive intentions towards us, not in the context of a global configuration, but also of a local attack in the Mediterranean area. All that has been said separately, and finally taken together, strongly highlights before our Party and our Armed Forces the task of continually raising the vigilance and defense power of the country. In the matter of assessing the political and military situations that develop around our country, we are, and will always be, cold-blooded. But with its development and tendencies we must take them seriously, because our Labor Party is responsible for the fate of the people and socialism in Albania. We pose these problems to you as dear friends and allies.
I want to reiterate once again that the ALP, in order to raise the appropriate level of combat readiness, to face the risk of a possible aggression, has turned the issue of defending the country into an important issue of the people. We are convinced that good preparation in this regard, offers all the possibilities of successfully breaking the aggression. This is the first basic method of our combat activity. Only in the war with the front and the background, which is the first basic form of our defense, it will not be possible to carry out the task by the decision of the political-military leadership of the country, we will move to the second form of frontless war and enemy background. We also prepare this variant with defined operational accounts and tasks. In the whole framework of the work for the strengthening and consolidation of our military, of the political and military preparation, of the engineering works, we have success but besides them we also have problems. We need to identify and eliminate these shortcomings step by step.
I consider it my duty, and that of the comrades of the delegation, to underline once again that in the matter of consolidating the strengthening of our defense, an important role has been played and is played by the fraternal assistance of R.P. of China, which with all its difficulties and commitments, has seen and addressed our problem in its specificity. And this is because our two countries are far from each other and the equipment needs of our Armed Forces can only be met in conditions of relative calm. It is understood that in case of global or regional inflation, the sea routes that connect our two countries are closed. Highlighting and thanking us for the great help that R.P. has given us and is giving us. of China, we comrades, wish to lay order of K.Q. of the ALP, and of the Council of Ministers, some material requirements for filling some important gaps of our defense system. We have in mind comrades, the difficulties of R.P. of China in these directions, but to us, we make these demands with an open heart P.K. of China and Comrade Mao Zedong, the Council of Ministers and Comrade Chu En Lai, the sister Chinese army, who will always and now look at these issues as their problems. Now let me move on to some concrete problems of our requirements. Memorie.al
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