By Prof. Dr. Elmas Leci
– Archival documents on surveillance, punishments and persecutions against soldiers by the former State Security, because they cursed beans, loved girls with bad biographies, gambled or kept pornographic photos, etc.-
Memorie.al / how many officers suffered from love with “bad biography”! How many good girls suppressed their love because the order of the disciples of the dictatorship forbade them?! How many women were separated from their husbands?! Over 2500 such. The People’s Assembly in 1950 issued a decision that allowed marriage to Soviet women. And there were a large number of cadres, even from the army, who started families with Russian women. But with the breakdown of the Albanian leadership with Moscow, in 1961-’62, in all the organizations of the masses (even in those of the party definitely) it was laid out that Russian women are informers of the KGB. They should be divorced immediately. Hundreds of Soviet women made their way back. Those who dared to stay were either imprisoned as spies, or exiled as family members. Their men were demobilized from the army and hatred, contempt and suspicion fell upon them. The vast majority of them were sent to isolated places, far from borders and to hard labor. The sufferings and stresses have been terrible. Children, who ran away as minors, when they grew up, looked for their fathers. They sent them letters but never got a reply.
Prison for insulting Chinese weapons
The trials against the military for agitation and propaganda have been conducted without basis and with fabrications. We are mentioning one organized in 1975, in the former Corps of Korça. It was a trial, one of those called exemplary. An officer, Bajram Dervishi from Vlora, was accused; he had more than two decades in a row, wandering the mountains, ward afterward, with the belief that he was serving the country. Yes, one day, in 1975, out of his conviction, out of carelessness or intrigue, they handcuffed him with the motivation that: “he cursed the Chinese armament”. All the officers of the former Korça Corps were brought to the “model” trial. Everyone’s face expressed surprise at the accusation. Bajram Dervish was sentenced to prison for insulting the Chinese weaponry.
The “exemplary” trials!
In order to silence the officers, the dictatorship organized “exemplary trials”. In the period 1960-1985, more than 2,500 such trials against officers took place. With “exemplary trials”, with draconian measures, the dictatorship exerted pressure and gave “lessons” to the officers. The denigration or punishment to the point of imprisonment, of the assassin and brave, anti-fascist fighter of large proportions, Adnand Qatipi, comrade in arms and ideal of the “People’s Hero” Myslym Keta, was done in the process of the so-called military coup. Trials that had their motto from the infamous offices of the State Security, from those offices that even punished officers with a plan, even with a monthly program and objectives. When the former Minister of Internal Affairs of the dictatorship, Feçor Shehu, was sentenced, it turned out that the punishments were planned.
In those programs, the percentages of how the arrests and punishments of people in general, and of officers in particular, should be carried out were specified. Honest people are well aware of the heinous acts of the communist regime, from which, the tears of entire families have not yet dried up. Punishments were given with a plan, with a work plan. People with “cracks” were studied and followed closely, or an officer was targeted, who, for artificially created reasons, was accused without grounds and punished without any harm.
A former Head of Security in the former Corps of Shkodra, from time to time at the meetings of the Party organization, stood up and discussed that he was not discovering any enemies among the officers. He said that there are such, but we are not finding out where they are! “This is the weakness of the work of the Security”, he said. That Sigurim was necessarily looking for “enemies” to realize the task-plan set by the party.
Two more years in the army for the bad biography
There are also other aspects that are part of the depersonalization of the military, such as the one in 1967, where 25 students who finished their studies in different branches of the university, sent them massively for two years as soldiers, because the Party leadership, with the information of the State Security, revealed that the students “unjustly” (according to the Security people) had penetrated the university’s auditoriums. They had a “bad biography”, so the decision was made to take two more years of soldiers.
Soldiers took the students, without weapons: Agim Hoxha, Seit Hasani, Fitim Meta, Muharrem Dizdari, Edmond Pisha, etc. How many officers were prosecuted and convicted even for teaching foreign languages with “agent” charges? The statistics collected in the archives and personnel branches show 1,200 cases. Arguing (always according to the statistics of the dictatorship), reading foreign literature, the foreign language they learned, “made them agents”. Regarding these and others, we are informed by the archival documents that we are quoting below:
In pursuit of the soldiers who cursed beans
In Gjirokastër, in the Corps Command, a communist, non-commissioned officer, boasted about the 11th Song Festival on Radio-Television, and expressed dissatisfaction with the economic supply. We called the non-commissioned officer, but he said that the Security operative slanders these, because I did not give him beans. We released him for defamation, but the field security will follow up on him. In this corps, an officer has spoken out against the exercises, saying that they took away our spirit with this load and that there is no training with a bowl of beans. The officer is in pursuit and surveillance.
Laboratory worker A. V., in department 3720, expressed sympathy for the way of life in Kosovo, because there are people there. We dismissed her from work, while the security agencies on the ground will follow her activity in the company where we assigned her to work.
The non-commissioned officer is released for hosting tourists at home
Non-commissioned officer Y. Ç., an officer of department 9001 Shkodër, met with the people of his tribe, who came as tourists from Montenegro. He accepted them in his house and accepted spoils from them. We released him immediately and he is being pursued by field operatives. In the Air and Navy arms, things are a bit better, as in these arms, there are very useful and quality surveillance contingents. In these weapons, the soldier who performs these functions, as a qualified agency, is put by the Internal Affairs Branches of each district.
Holding pornographic photos, his right to fly is revoked
For the pilot P. N. effective of department 3780 Tirana, it is said that he keeps pornographic pictures. He said that the world has modern helicopters. This is reported by the Security operative. Work continues to verify the agitation and propaganda he carried out against the Party. Now we have only taken away the right to fly.
He is followed as anti-party, because he wears a suit with two slits
For Officer S. K., operative of the 1930 Lezhë ward, the operative reports in the Bulletin that he looks anti-party, as he wears a suit with two slits. In fact, there are microbourgeois tendencies, but everything must be proven. Work is being followed.
Removed from office for “hostile” slogans
For Officer Zh. O., officer of department 9004 Skrapar, we have these data. This one says that “shrimps in agriculture and captains in the army enslaved this people”, while the second hostile slogan is related to the fire centers. We demoted him from his position and the Security operative will definitely catch him, because he is a talker.
The officer S. B., an officer of department 5370 Lushnjë, the operative of the Security, has included in the contingent of those who do agitation and propaganda, but more facts are needed to take him to court. Work continues on the collection of concrete material.
He didn’t report the drunken soldier; he is expelled from the party
For officers D.P. and D.T., operatives of department 9718 Kavajë, the work continues to make them responsible in the category of enemy people. Soldier Dh. S., from Përmeti, drank in a club and said: “Down with Marxism-Leninism, down with those who follow this path”. For this, the chief of staff of the ward, the candidate for party member, K.V., was present, who did not report to the command, or to the head of Security, nor to the party in the ward.
We expelled him from the party and he is being followed by the specialized bodies of the Security, lest he too has the concepts of a soldier. For Officer Sh. Mr., officer of department 1580 Vlorë, the operative of the Security, reports that he does agitation and propaganda against the party, but we think that the head of the Security has a tendency towards his family. The work is followed by a field information network.
In search of enemy officers!
Officer N. L., battalion commander in the Fifth Brigade of Vlora, states that; our officers live like dogs. Work continues to gather as much information as possible. Officer M. K., company commander in department 4681 Fier, has stated that the Albanian officer receives the same amount as a security guard of an enterprise. The information is provided by the Security operative, through the fact that his agent, the MK soldier, gave it to him. Work continues to collect other facts.
Officer Ç. Mr., company commander in department 6577 Fier, often says that: “We sleep the same as the prisoners of the world; even they live better than us”. We have not yet taken measures for the reason that the information was made by a soldier, a contingent of the Security bodies, and that the head of the unit’s Security doubts his agency. Officers K. K. and B. M., effective in department 1371 Përmet, have met with a repatriate, have begun to speak well of the revisionist world and are in pursuit.
In pursuit of the officer who was carrying a favorite
For officer M.M., officer of department 3456 Tepelën, it was reported by the head of the Security, that while wearing long hair and favorites, he groomed a woman with a bad biography. It seems to me, – says the head of Security, – that the woman with a bad biography, has given information about the balls and the officer she leads. We told the head of Security to verify the facts, while he tells us that his words are deeds.
Later, the head of Security tells us that he introduced the girl’s cousin, who has a bad biography, as an agent. For Officer A. Sh. aviator in Rinas, reports the head of Aviation Security, that this officer must be an enemy, because he has long hair and has tribal people from abroad, but instructions were given by the Directorate of Security in the Army to collect facts and arguments. The work is going on.
They gambled, they were released from the army
For the pilots of Kuçova and Rinas, it is reported by the State Security of the wards that they gambled with cards. We think they should be released from the army. Some of them are good professionals, but there is a danger that they will degenerate. For all of them, the work is being followed to prove their concepts as well.
Put a civilian in the tunnel, sit down from duty
For Officer M. B., the member of the Assault Brigade in Fushë-Kruje, we have information from the State Security that he has introduced a civilian into a tunnel of the ward. The tunnel really has no materials, but there is a risk that the civilian will reveal the secret of the tunnel. For this, we removed him from office.
Regarding the officers P. N. and L. Z., operatives of department 4229 Fier, we have information from the head of Security that they do agitation and propaganda, enjoy women and drink beer every day. Where do they find the money, we asked the security chief…?! He answered us that, they take them to girls with bad biography. Their work will be followed by the State Security bodies.
For Officer L. L., the officer of ward 4681 Fier, we have informed that he is engaged to a girl with a bad biography. He called and promised us that he will share it. Regarding the officers P. S. and K. Ç., operatives of the department 5 010 Sazan, we are informed that they have expressed dissatisfaction with the conservation of weapons. We held a meeting and clarified them. The Chief of Security is continuing his work to verify that they are not enemies. For Officer Dh. Ll., an officer of the department 1991 Himarë, we are informed by the head of Security that he is associated with a man who follows fashion and is a feminist.
We called DH and he sincerely apologized, but he again joins the person. The Chief of Security increased the contingent in his direction to verify that they have not taken hostile and repressive paths towards the Party and its leadership.
Officer L. V., the officer of department 5246 Rrëshen, with the instructions of the Security, we transferred him urgently. We will do the same with officers G.S., K.K. and A.K. Officer M.D. from Gjirokastra speaks well of the bourgeois-revisionist world and speaks badly of the bad economic conditions of our country. We arrested him and brought him to trial.
The order prohibiting servicemen from marrying with bad biographies
There is an order in the archives, signed by a former Minister of Defense of the dictatorship period, for the engagements and marriages of military personnel, an order with several articles, which prohibited military personnel from marrying girls with a “bad biography”. Not only that, but the order also defines separations – divorces for reasons of biography. Any officer who did not comply was expelled from the party and the army, and then punishments awaited him one after the other.
Archival documents of espionage in the military
Let us specifically refer to the materials of file no. 135, list 29, and archive fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP. The materials in this file contain information from the period November 1973 – August 1974. At the beginning of the file, it is written: “By order of friend Hysni Kapo”. The sheet has information with number 335, addressed to Hysni Kapo. The information contains various issues about how officers behave, what they do, what they read, who they meet, etc., etc.
For example, for the officer E.A., information was given by the operative of Kuçova R.R. that he deals with reading banned books. The operative, it is said in the information, says that under the surveillance of Officer E. A., we have put his close friends, officers D. I and H. M. as agents. In the first case of receiving information, we will act. Officer E. A. together with officer N. D. deal with a person who has a bad biography, the former chief of health of Ura Vajgurore.
Officer S. M., operational chief of a unit in Burrel, met with foreign tourists. This is confirmed by the unit’s Security operative as well as one of his agents, one of whom is a midwife. Officer S. M. expressed his satisfaction for the 11th Festival on RTV, while for the 13th Festival, he expressed dissatisfaction. The work of the Security operative continues, to record the expressions said, in order to seize the law for agitation and propaganda.
For the six new officers we are informed about, we have just received the data from the Security operative and we are waiting for the concrete material. So far for these six officers, we have been told by the operative that, they have said that they like foreign music. We will see their biographies and act.
For D. R., an officer in the Infantry Brigade in Librazhd, we have complete materials available from the Security operative. D.R., in the presence of some soldiers, has turned on the television to a foreign station. One of the soldiers, whose biography and political beliefs are being investigated by the head of the Security, D.I., said that he likes Yugoslav and Italian music.
For this, we called D and behaved well with him, in order to put him to sleep and, when we find the opportunity, to hand him over to the competent authorities. In order to prevent such cases from happening, we ordered that in the army, the televisions be locked in boxes with keys, where only staff officers have the right to open them, with the aim that only Tirana is followed. We decided that the televisions should be opened only by the political workers or the youth secretaries of the sub-departments.
In the following, the information points out: Officer N.K., an officer of department 9181 Tirana, is a very dangerous person, because he said: “If there is a war, I will kill the commissar of the Brigade first”. For this, the Security operative and his agency reported to us in the relevant department.
N.K. was called, by the deputy secretary of the Grouping Party Committee, but he did not admit to having said so. We asked to meet the witnesses, but the operative explained to us that the platform does not allow them, being free officers, to meet the agency, which serves as evidence, only in prisons. We are continuing to follow the officer’s activity.
For Officer N. H., deputy chief of the Puka Military Branch, our agents inform that he eats and drinks in a family with a bad political attitude. The Security operative guarantees that N has revisionist views and that is why we demoted him. He will definitely speak with displeasure, and if he does, we have set the trap for him together with the operative.
Officer I. Ç., the officer of department 6600 Kukës, we say release him and then prosecute him, because he had meetings with the repatriate E. N. The operative of the unit is monitoring him through the agency network.
Information with no. prot. 330 of the dt. 2.12.1974.
Comrade Mehmet Shehu
“As a result of the open and dangerous hostile activity in the army, we have to strengthen the organizational side of the army and we have taken the following measures: Demobilization is postponed for soldiers who are waiting for their turn to be released, and for this reason, the soldiers have expressed that they will stay in the army, as much as the party needs. There are violations in terms of the appointment and removal of reservists, which are handled by the commands of the Military Branches and do not take the opinion of the party organizations. This was done in Pogradec, Erseke, Divjake, Pukë.
Don’t they know that everything must be done by the Party, led by the Party, led by the Party, commanded by the Party? There are plenty of rumors of hostile activity. Officer Ridvan Topulli, from Farka, talks with a music teacher of the “Xezmi Delli” school, that he heard from the Italian about the coup d’état of Beqir Balluku. It has been called. Investigations are underway.
The owner of the degaussing ship yard brought two televisions, one for the ship’s crew and one for its captain. They gave him a “Durrësi” radio and a “25 – Vjetori” album. Navy officers did not tell about this gesture. For this, based on the decision of the Council of Ministers, No. 115, dt 2.7.73, this type of action was prohibited, i.e. the decision has been violated. Measures were taken and a stand will be taken.”
It was a whole amplification made of baseless accusations against the so-called enemies. They condemned the coup group only on the basis of accusations, party slogans, without any legal facts, without any arguments. The examples clearly show how the accusations were made up, how they were magnified and how the iron fist of the communist dictatorship hit them./Memorie.al
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