Part Three
Memorie.al / The CIA have attached great importance to the breakdown of cooperation between Albania and the Soviet Union. In a declassified document, the replies and insults between the two countries regarding the Warsaw Treaty are shown. On the other hand, it is also shown when Mehmet Shehu announced the dismissal of Beqir Balluku from the government.
Continued from the previous issue
April 1951
Anti-Yugoslav Propaganda in Trieste
A considerable amount of propaganda materials is entering Yugoslavia illegally from Trieste, mainly from the branch of the Communist Party of Trieste. The shipments of these materials toward Trieste from Moscow and from other satellite capitals have been so large that the post offices had to call party members to come and pick them up. It is not known in what manner these materials have been infiltrated into Yugoslavia. They are believed to be received by couriers in Fiume and Pola.
According to information, the materials consist mainly of anti-Tito propaganda taken from the press of Yugoslav émigré groups in Moscow, Prague, and Sofia. We have no indications whether Trieste is also a crossing point for anti-Tito propaganda into Albania and Romania. But there is considerable evidence of the Soviet bloc having been successful with the passages of pro-Soviet literature into Yugoslavia, while the White Book mentions several cases of incidents.
Yugoslavia on the Reactions in Albania – Dedijer
The Yugoslav theoretician Vladimir Dedijer explains that the purpose of one of his recent articles in the daily “Borba” on Western machinations in Albania is to refute the accusations of the Moscow daily “Izvestia,” which said that Yugoslavia is cooperating in plans for the invasion of Albania. He emphasizes that the campaigns of dropping leaflets and paratroopers planned for Albania had made drops in the areas of Kosovo and Metohija with aircraft that had come from Italy.
He declared that a similar activity had been carried out also by Greece, but he did not mention specific acts in the article, for reasons of the disturbing effects this could have on relations with Greece. This activity on Yugoslav soil had not brought great concerns for the authorities, because it was kept under control. But the Yugoslav government was only concerned that Moscow might exploit the current crisis with Albania, in order to involve Yugoslavia as a possible aggressor against it.
Dedijer’s references to the reduction of Greece’s role in Western machinations toward Albania are another proof of Yugoslavia’s will to improve relations between the two countries. In his article on Albania, Dedijer refers only to Greece’s possible acceptance to participate in these activities, with the statement of some Greek circles that are interested in the overthrow of the current power in Albania.
June 1965
Albania Continues to Lead the Chinese Camp’s Offensive Against the USSR, with a Harsh Attack on Defense Minister Malinovsky and Through Him on the Soviet Union for Exploiting the Warsaw Pact as an Instrument to Capture and Implement Soviet Policies
The attack culminates with another appeal to the Soviet people, to “cast off the usurpers,” while it reports that China’s second atomic bomb test on 14 May brought great joy among the peoples.
While other media of communist countries reported briefly on the event and without comment. The article of “Zëri i Popullit” (“The Voice of the People”), “Answer to Marshal Malinovsky,” is in a stinging attack on the Soviets for manipulation of the Warsaw Treaty and a reaction to Soviet isolating rhetoric about Albania. In the speech of 14 May in Moscow for the 10th anniversary of the Warsaw Treaty, Minister Malinovsky mentioned Albania as a country that is isolating itself from the other members of the alliance, although at the end he added that; “the door of the pact will always remain open for it.”
“Zëri i Popullit” wrote:
“Marshal Malinovsky is a revisionist demagogue who once again proved that he is not ashamed of slander, or vulgarity toward others. Historical facts are not toy soldiers that you can place wherever you want…! Everyone knows that it was not we who sought to leave the Warsaw Pact, but the Khrushchevite revisionists and especially Nikita Khrushchev, Malinovsky and their comrades who lead the Soviet Union in an absolute and arbitrary manner.
Their illegal methods prevented Albania from exercising its right to be a member of the pact and brought about its de facto exclusion…! There no longer exists a Warsaw Pact as its founders conceived it, but only a revisionist chauvinist political instrument in the hands of the Soviets…! The Warsaw Pact is dominated and commanded by a single power, by the Soviet Minister of Defense, Marshal Grechko, who is at the same time the deputy of Malinovsky. General Batov, the head of the Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, is at the same time deputy commander of the Army of the Soviet Union.
Officially the deputy commanders are the Ministries of Defense of the participating countries, but this is only a façade. They are never asked anything about the plans or activities of the organization. The representatives of the participating armies have been turned into simple couriers, since it is only he, Marshal Malinovsky, who closed the doors for Albania in the Warsaw Pact. In a banal and faithless manner, you, the Soviet leaders, have arbitrarily torn up the bilateral agreements and trampled upon the obligations…!
You have stolen from us eight submarines, as well as the Albanian warships that were in Sevastopol for repairs. You have dismantled the Naval Base of Vlora and have done everything possible to weaken the defense and Albania…! You have made efforts to incite rebellion in our army against the state and the party. And finally, after all these acts of treason and division, you have the audacity to accuse that Albania is isolating itself from the Warsaw Pact! You have not acted in this cunning and treacherous manner only toward Albania, but also toward your own Soviet military men.
The cases are in the hundreds, but we can remind you of only one which typifies the plots of Khrushchev, Malinovsky and their colleagues, whom we now find at the head of the Soviet state. In order to eliminate Marshal Zhukov, you plotted against him and the revisionist group replaced him with Marshal Malinovsky, the old collaborator, loyal to Khrushchev.
Zhukov, the distinguished Soviet military leader of the patriotic war, whose name is known and respected throughout the world, was devilishly accused by Khrushchev’s group. His removal was a signal for the dismissals of thousands of military officers, to replace them with elements loyal to Khrushchev’s revisionist line. We are certain that the Soviet people will not tolerate for much longer the charlatans and liars who have usurped the command posts in the Soviet army and state.”
November 1974
Rotations in the Government
In a major speech in Parliament this week, Prime Minister Shehu said he had taken over the post of Minister of Defense, confirming persistent rumors that the Minister of Defense and exemplary figure of the Party, Beqir Balluku, had been dismissed. Without doubt he was also excluded from the Political Bureau. Neither Shehu nor the Albanian media offered explanations for Balluku’s removal, but earlier reports from Tirana suggested he had been removed in the summer with motivations such as “revisionism, high treason or lack of ability.”
The Western press reported further that he had come out in favor of improving ties with the Soviet Union and that he had criticized the slow pace of modernization in the army. This implies that he made the fatal mistake of expressing dissatisfaction with the new support that Albania is receiving from China. Shehu also announced the appointment of the chief commissioner of State Planning, Abdyl Këllezi, to the other post left vacant by Balluku, that of deputy prime minister.
He announced the elevation of Adil Çarçani as deputy prime minister and the appointment of unknown figures at the head of the ministries of Communications and Finance. Some changes in the government had been expected since the plenum of the Party’s Central Committee at the end of July, where changes in Defense were discussed. But instead of announcing the changes directly, the Albanian media have released them gradually. Most of the changes were concentrated in the Ministry of Defense, which means that there has been a general purge of Balluku’s colleagues and subordinates.
Shehu’s speech was in many aspects a typical panorama of domestic and foreign policies. After a summary of economic and agricultural achievements, as expected, Shehu raised high Chinese support for Tirana and emphasized the earlier announcement of leader Hoxha, that Albania will not establish ties with the Soviet Union, the United States or West Germany.
He condemned all the countries of the Warsaw Pact, except Romania, but the greatest contempt he delivered upon the USSR, calling it; “the most hated and most dangerous country, traitor of socialism that history has ever known.”
August 1975
Hoxha Reinforces Power
The campaign of suppression against real or imagined threats by Hoxha’s regime has intensified even more. In Tirana, the number of armed guards has increased noticeably from November to May. Government buildings are more heavily guarded and pedestrians are kept at a distance from them.
The increased security measures are accompanied by Hoxha’s campaigns of purges in the administration, justified by attacks on the incompetence of the country’s bureaucrats and intellectuals. Both these groups have shown enthusiasm for the protection of their privileges, following and defending Hoxha’s extreme line of Stalinist communism.
The purges began more than a year ago with the removal of Defense Minister Balluku, which is reported to have brought the removals and displacements of thousands of families. Reports say that about 5 percent of the country’s population has been displaced from urban centers to rural cooperatives. At the same time, the tightening of regulations for admissions to the party has continued.
Every candidate for membership must have been active in the communist youth groups and for his qualification an old party official must vouch. Young intellectuals had to go through a detailed process of analysis before being admitted to the party. Meanwhile, the guilt or fate of Balluku remains still a mystery, since there is no public evidence for Balluku’s connections with the USSR or for anti-government activity.
CIA Priorities in Albania
To develop secure contacts and rapid communications in the target area. To have the development of a support mechanism for the safe passage of agents inside and outside the target area. A suitable psychological climate must be created by means of brochures and other means. As much data as possible must be collected on Albanian policy. It is necessary to collect data on the methods, personnel of the Albanian intelligence services and security services.
Preliminary steps must be undertaken during the next two years for the permitting and fulfillment of the army’s requests on clandestine support of the USA and the launching of war plans, which should focus initially on specific tasks: Continuation of obstacles for the Perondi-Vlorë oil pipeline. The placement and training of a resident agent in Vlora and Tirana, for the possible recruitment of sabotage agents.
The placement and training of a resident agent in each of the areas for the purpose of creating guerrilla units: The Erzen River area, 10 miles South of Tirana; Chameria: 12 miles from Saranda; The Albanian Alps: 18 miles north of Shkodra. The placement and training of a resident agent for purposes of detection of agents, safe houses, safe areas, border crossing points, infiltration and exfiltration, as well as possible air landing points. A mechanism capable of supporting a movement toward the South in the four guerrilla areas. A naval stopping point near the area of the island of Corfu.
Resistance to the Current Regime
Dissatisfaction among the Albanian people continues to be widespread and in recent years there have been several cases of open resistance to the regime. The regime itself has admitted the existence of “diversant” elements and attacks on the army and civilian supply convoys. The most serious incident of resistance was the bomb at the Soviet embassy in February 1951, but local killings and sabotage have also been a challenge for the communist authorities.
Until now Hoxha’s regime has known how to confront opposition movements, by applying numerous repressive measures. For example, Minister Shehu has created several special pursuit battalions that operate in the mountainous areas against individual resistance groups. Anti-communist refugees have reported the existence of several resistance groups with names such as; “National League of the Mountains,” “Freedom,” “Skanderbeg,” “The Call,” but there is no specific information about them. There does not appear to be cooperation between the dissident groups, despite their common desire for the removal of Hoxha’s regime. / Memorie.al
Continued in the next issue
