By Sokol Paja
– “VATRA” IN THE STATE SECURITY FILES, IN THE 1960s – ’70s, WITH THE NAMES AND PSEUDOMONIES OF THE SPIES AGENTS WHO FOLLOWED AND SURVEYED THE POLITICAL EXILE IN THE USA –
Memorie.al / The Security of the Albanian State throughout the communist dictatorship in Albania tried at all costs to not only have the Pan-Albanian Federation of America “Vatra” under control, but also to condition or direct its activity, through spies recruited in “Vatra” and informants close to it. State security was a very important lever in the dictatorial state apparatus. Through the information that the State Security provided to the Albanian diaspora in America, through regular spies, collaborators and informants, the plan of measures that the Security gave to the spies was also built, to carry out the tasks assigned to them to attack “Vatra” and inform on the Albanian exile in America.
“Vatra”, in the State Security Files in the 60s and 70s, constitutes a previously unaddressed research aspect and brings scientific innovation, on methods and plans of secret measures, on how the State Security operated. The clarification of the data contained in the Security file for “Vatra” brings a social benefit, as it highlights the activity of Albanians in exile in America, political and social conditions, personalities, activists and concrete efforts and movements of Albanians in America.
Based on the policies pursued by the communist state in Albania, the State Security acted and reinforced the foreign policy of propaganda against “imperialist enemies”. Security follows “Vatra” in every activity since the beginning of the 50s, until the collapse of communism in Albania.
THE CONTENTS OF THE HEARTH FILE IN THE 60’S-70’S
The file of the Pan-Albanian Federation of America “Vatra”, in the State Security in the 60s-’70s, obtained by the Authority for the Information of the Files of the former State Security in Albania, contains 296 sheets, named number 102 and titled ; “Vatra Object File – Secret”. In this file, the activity of the “Vatra” Federation is included in detail, in the years we have considered, the activity of the “Dielli” newspaper, the clashes in the “Vatra” Federation and the “Dielli” newspaper, the detailed history of the “Vatra” Federation, the branches of the Federation, the governing bodies of the Federation, the functions and activities in detail, of each governing body and the responsible person in these governing bodies of “Vatra”.
The files present the situation of political and economic immigration in the United States of America, the clashes and attempts to unite “Vatra” and the “Free Albania” Committee. Informative reports describe Fan Noli, as drawn into the activities of “Vatra” and tired of the successive fights in “Vatra” and dissatisfied with the regime in Tirana, and that the man whom the State Security feared the most was the Editor of “Diellit”, Qerim Panariti whom Sigurimi saw, as; agent of the US State Department.
File no. 1, on page 37, in the informative document: “Report on the state of the Albanian colony in America”, it is said: “Vatra” is the oldest organization and is headed by American agents. The attitude of this organization and its newspaper “Dielli” is not good. “Dielli” newspaper develops a reactionary propaganda against our Republic and the camp of socialism”. The leader of the Muslim Albanians in America at the time we are talking, Imam Vehbi Ismajli, the State Security in the file classifies him as an agent of the Americans and King Zog, while Dervish Rexhepi of the Bektashis, they call him an agent of the Americans.
Against “Vatra”, the communist state brought together a multitude of spies and collaborators, as well as all the auxiliary levers of the institutions of the communist state, with the aim of subduing “Vatra”, until its final destruction. The communists in Albania and in their Mission in New York, used pressure with relatives in Albania, for imprisonment, persecution and torture, and, among the most incredible, repatriates or visitors were used, they were encouraged, they were fabricated, they were directed and internal conflicts and disagreements in “Vatra” arose, sophisticated traps, informative talks, pressures of various kinds were set up, with the aim of destroying “Vatra” and weakening the effect of its newspaper “Dielli”.
The information is forwarded to the Security Files, according to the information exchange typology, according to the categories: information reports, relations, action plans, information calls, information conversations, studies, decisions, lists, operational letters, information, extracts, telegrams, notes, etc. During the period of the communist regime, 15 people were identified with the secret file of “Vatra”, who left the relevant notes. The reason for the opening of the “Vatra” file, by the State Security, is noted for activity with enemy intelligence, towards the popular power in communist Albania.
“Vatranë”, the editors of “Dielli” and influential persons in the Albanian political emigration to America, whose name is mentioned more in the State Security file, are: Qerim Panariti, Xhon Nase, Kristo Thanasi, Antoni Athanas, Vasil Germenji, Hasan Dosti, Halit Ciko, Petraq Ktona, Athanas Gegaj, Dom Zef Oroshi, Rexhep Krasniqi, Niko Kreshpani, Refat Gurazezi, Agim Karagjozi, Selaudin Velaj, Eduard Liço, Peter Çikozi, Arshi Pipa, Hajdar Tanuzi, Bilal Xhaferri, Ernest Koliqi, Sami Repishti, Dom Ndrevashaj, Dhimitër Trebicka, etc.
WHO THE SPIES WERE, THEIR CODES AND PSEUDOMONIES
The State Security had infiltrated “Vatër”, “Diell”, every Albanian organization and family of the political emigration of the time, in the United States of America. From the examination of the file of “Vatra”, in the 60s-70s, it appears that the Operative Workers, directors of the Intelligence branch and Albanian employees of the Intelligence who processed the secret information of “Vatra”, were:
Jonuz Mersini, Hasan Luçi, Idajet Danaj, Servet Memetko, Ropi Llazi, Kleanth Andoni, Sokrat Çomo, Enver Mileti, Xhezair Hodo, Mustafa Kadiu, Belul Zoto, B. Mehmetaj, M.Hila, J.Proko, N.Cano, Kozma Moja, L. Xhemali, I. Xhanaj, T. Rizo, M. Tusha. The nicknames of the spies in the “Heart” File: “Lion”, “Castle”, “Eel”, “Lirija”, “Notebook”, “Liqeni”, “Tabloja”, “Linkolni”, “Vulllneti”, “Korabi”, “Pond”, “Klika”, “Shkumbini”, “Mountain”, “Besimi”, “Selita”, “Toqi”, “Sqiponja”, “Malësia”, “Sazani”, “Piktori”.
Information source, according to codification: “221”, “315”, “349”, “347”, “82”, “372”, “302”, “368”, “361”, “335”, “500”, “504”, “803”, “805”, “502”, “939”, “501”, “801”, “410”.
PLAN OF STATE SECURITY MEASURES TO DESTROY THE “HEAT” AND “THE SUN”
“Vatra”, in all relations, instructions, operational plans for its paralysis, informative reports, informative phone calls, etc., is labeled as; reactionary, hostile, tool of the State Department, collaborating with the FBI and the CIA. In the agency activity, State Security demanded from the network of spies and supporting institutions that:
To increase the divergences and divisions between the ‘Vatrans’, to incite discontent among the ‘Vatrans’ and the Albanians of America for the cooperation of “Vatra” with the Vatican, to unmask “The Sun” and “Vatra” and their leaders at any time, to divide as much as possible many Bishoprics with the “Vatrans” and the Vatican, inciting fierce conflicts and clashes between the “Vatrans” of the community, to unmask the heads of the “Vatrans” and their activities in the Albanian press. Object files “Vatra”, no. 102, de-classified by decision no. 12, dt. 17.06.2019, has a total number of 277 sheets (296 digitized pages).
The file contains reports of the agents of the Albanian Mission in New York, as well as the relevant Directorates of State Security, in the Ministry of the Interior, names of those recruited around and inside “Vatra”, operational plans against “Vatra”, studies about the “hostile” activity of “Vatra”, and the measures of communist Albania to paralyze “Vatra”, Agency-Operative Measures Plan, for the pursuit, detection and prevention of the activities of the organization “Vatra” and its newspaper “Dielli”, reports and various exchanges of information informative.
The State Security targeted the editors of “Dielli”, the presidents of “Vatra”, the members of the leadership of “Vatra” branches. Albanian security seems to have invested a lot in the direction of paralyzing “Vatra” and creating conflicts with other nationalist organizations of the Diaspora in the USA. Another front was the injection of conflicts within “Vatra” by inciting the clash between the group of intellectuals and other ‘vatras’, or old ‘vatras’ with the fugitives, or between patriotic ‘vatras’ as expressed by Security officers and Yugoslav agents , within “Vatra”, or other organizations.
The Security of the Albanian State ordered the spies, collaborators, informants and people with information interest, in concrete measures to be followed against “Vatra”: “Activating the agency and friendly resources, using repatriates and visitors and legal materials, to discover:
A – The concrete goals and plans that the American Discovery has in the direction of the “VATRA” Organization.
B – American Intelligence and K/Intelligence cadres and agents working in the ranks of the “VATRA” Organization, the forms and methods of their work.
Current real situation in this Organization:
A – To provide the complete membership lists of “Vatra”, divided by branches, the detailed organization, the Central Council and the councils of the branches,
B – The people who waver now, especially those who leave “Vatra”, or those who fall into inactivity now, when fugitives have been put in charge of this organization.
C – The relations of the “Vatra” organization with other reactionary immigration organizations, especially with the “Free Albania” Committee.
Ç – The contradictions that exist in the ranks of the Organization: between the leaders and the mass of members, between the separate branches and the center, between the leaders with each other, between this Organization and other reactionary or economic immigration organizations and in between it and the American Discovery, and to see the possibility, how these contradictions can be added.
II- To work actively to increase the contradictions within “Vatra”, to encourage as many patriots as possible to leave “Vatra”, to make the current “Vatra” completely unmasked as an organization in the hands of war criminals, and which works against the interests of the Motherland.
Through friends or by contacting they directly, put pressure on Fan Noli to resign from his current position as “Honorary Chairman” of “Vatra”. Make it clear to him that if he continues in this post, he will be compromised as a supporter of the criminals he has fought, and we will be forced to unmask him ourselves (Nolin).
To unmask through the press, the radio, and the friends we have in the ranks of the Albanians of America,
The fugitives who have entered “Vatër”, now and first of all the Editor of “Dielli” Athanas Gegaj, for whom we are collecting material, that he is an agent of foreign intelligence. We should also unmask those persons from the ranks of reactionary organizations, who are now in the governing bodies of “Vatra” or who write articles in the “Dielli” newspaper.
– To unmask those reactionary persons from the old ‘patriots’, such as; Peter Chikozi, Miko Kokalari, Vahit Çika and others, who with their betrayal, handed over this patriotic organization to criminals sold to foreigners. In unmasking these, we should keep in mind that, according to the situations, we should make some differentiation: In the first place, we should make the main attack against the fugitive leaders who are in “Vatra”, and their active supporters. Since Qerim Panariti is now unhappy, we may not hit him temporarily. ,
Let’s throw open war against the current “Vatra”, those old “vatras” who have left this organization, as well as those who will leave now. Let’s pay special attention to important people like the former president, Th. P., who now resigned from “Vatra”. For these people, let’s take measures, so that our Residency in the USA works and also work in the center, finding their important connections here in Albania, through which, with letters, we can pressure them to activate against criminals, traitors to the Motherland.
Ç – Having consulted on this problem with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to decide what will be done with the “Vatrans” who will leave “Vatra”, and with the Pittsburgh branch of this Organization, which is doing well: Will work be done on the creation of a new “Vatra”, or will they be encouraged to enter the “Free Albania” Organization and this will strengthen and fight the “Vatra”?
D – With the help of friends, the contradictions and dissatisfactions of Qerim Panarit towards the leadership should be used carefully, and he should jump into the war against “Vatra” by developing divisive activities.
For the implementation of the above tasks, after it has been decided with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an instruction with concrete tasks should also be sent to the Residency in New York, in order for it to:
1- To activate agency resources in the direction of “Vatra”, even in the ranks of reactionary immigration.
2 – To activate friendly resources and increase these, especially by bringing in new people, from those “Vatra” who waver, or those who resign from “Vatra”.
3 – To study 1 or 2 people, from those who are in leading positions of “Vatra” and see the possibility of recruiting them into our service”, concludes the information report on page 120 of the “Vatra” file, near the Security of the Albanian Communist State”. Memorie.al
