Dashnor Kaloçi
Part sixteen
Memorie.al/ publishes some archival documents extracted from the Central State Archive in Tirana (Fund of the former Central Committee of PPSh), which contain the acronym “Secret” and “Top Secret” and belong to a period from January from 1982 until September 1983, where there is a voluminous file with minutes of meetings of the Secretariat of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the PPSh, meetings which were chaired by its General Secretary, Enver Hoxha, where they assisted: Ramiz Alia, Adil Çarçani, Manush Myftiu, Hekuran Isai, Rita Marko, Pali Miska, Hajredin Çeliku, Haki Toska, Simon Stefani, Lenka Çuko, Muho Asllani, Vangjel Çerrava, etc., as the main topic is analysis about the “hostile activity” of Mehmet Shehu and his close collaborators, from Fadil Paçrami, Todi Lubonja, Beqir Balluku, Petrit Dume, Hito Çako, Abdyl Këllezi, Koço Theodhosi, Kiço Ngjela, Vasil Kati, Kadri Hazbiu, Fiqret Shehu, Feçor Shehu, Mihalla q Ziçishti, Llambi Peçini, etc. In the file available to Memorie.al, in addition to the analysis of the “hostile activity of the police agent Mehmet Shehu and his associates Beqir Balluku and Kadri Hazbiu”, in the meetings of the Political Bureau and the daily meetings of the Secretariat of the PPS Central Committee, are analyzed also the activity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Security, with its agency and collaborators, inside and outside the country, the reports and relations of the Albanian state with different countries of the world, such as: the USA, the Soviet Union, West Germany, England, Spain, Italy, as well as those with neighbors, such as Greece and Yugoslavia and the demonstrations in Kosovo, how the world press presented Socialist Albania, the talks with West Germany about the War reparations payments, meetings and conversations with party leaders Marxist-Leninists from different countries of the world, such as Ernst Aust, Zhoao Amazonas, Fosko Dinuçi, etc., regarding the “suicide of Mehmet Shehu”, the problems of Polish immigration Albanian refugees, in different countries of the world, and the change of the exchange rate of the dollar in the remittances, which they made to their relatives in Albania, up to numerous economic problems, from heavy industry, hydropower plants on the cascade of the river Drin, energy import and export, etc., etc.
Continues from last issue
The “Top Secret” document with the minutes of the daily meeting of the secretaries of the Central Committee of the PPSh, held on September 10, 1983, where it was discussed: “On the conclusion of the trial of the remaining enemy elements from Beqir Balluk’s caste and on the necessity of renewing the framework in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the bodies that depend on it”.
DAILY MEETING OF SECRETARIES OF THE CENTRAL PARTY COMMITTEE ON SEPTEMBER 10, 1983
Top Secret
In this meeting, in which Comrade Hekuran Isai also participated, it was first discussed about the conclusion of the trial of the remaining enemy elements from Beqir Balluku’s caste and the necessity of renewing the staff in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the bodies that depend on her, for their education with a healthy party spirit, for the need to also carefully interweave old cadres with new ones in other bodies, on the necessity of establishing a party work in the bodies of Internal Affairs and on the care that must be taken to distinguish fair remarks from tendencies with hostile intentions, for the care of a preventive and healing work with people in the spirit of the party, for ensuring the leadership of the Party in the bodies of Internal Affairs, as well as for the structure and powers in the Security bodies.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: For example, we send alerts to the Ministry of Energy about a bad situation in one of the sectors it covers. Before, it was the rule that in such a case the ministry that was alerted was obliged to give a written answer to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about the measures it had taken.
According to this practice, our department must wait for the official response from all departments, when we inform each minister of an unsatisfactory situation in one of their sectors. And we do this, so that he can see it and take measures to improve the situation.
Since it was such a rule, even Farudin Hoxha told me: “I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to send you the answer to a letter yet.” “What is that letter you want to send me” I asked him for clarification. “I have raised some problems that have arisen for us regarding Koman, which you can and should solve. If after this announcement I find that you do not take measures to correct the situation, if this comes up to me once again issue, I will take it to the Central Committee. That’s why I don’t need the letter, since the important thing is that you take measures to improve the bad situation that we have pointed out”.
By this I mean that it has been practiced to develop a certain correspondence between the departments and the Ministry of Internal Affairs on such issues, as if all the ministries are obliged to give us answers to the alerts that we give them. And in fact, with such answers, a whole archive has been created with us.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: And thus an unfair archive is created, because in the end, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as a special body, only has the duty to signal. The State Security, of course, has information from the agency where we can take it, in the hydropower plant of Koman, some shows are noticed, which impress you, therefore, very rightly, the Ministry of the Interior, makes these known to the Ministry of Construction.
But this ministry, why did you want to report to the State Security that the issue is like this or that, and that we took this or that measure?! She no longer has a job with the Security, she only has the duty to take measures herself, and clean up the abnormal situation that has been created. And the Ministry of the Interior quickly finds out if the relevant minister normalized that situation or not, and if he took the appropriate measures or not.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: I see that the issue is not given due importance by the relevant minister, I notify the Prime Minister as well as you here, the Central Committee. Regarding the problem of granting visas to Party members, which came up here, I think we should act as you say, Comrade Enver, stamp your passport without delay and let them go where they have to go.
I am talking about the cadres, of course, but it is necessary that the proposals are made by the department and they are seen by the District Party Committee, before these lists come to us, so that we know that the Party these cadres who want to go abroad has seen them.
So that, when the proposal for them comes to us, we will know if the consent from the Party Committee has been given. In this case, we have the duty to issue the visa immediately, and we have no right to bring any obstacles.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Of course, you have no right to create any obstacles, in case the relevant Party Committee has given its consent. You stamp, and the designated person immediately leaves the country, and the Party Committee is responsible.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: Of course he bears responsibility. If we have anything extraordinary about a communist, we immediately make it known to the Party Secretary of the district, so that the Party Committee can look at it and judge for it what will be done with it.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: It should also be done, you are right.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: So, it is not up to us to do verifications for the communists and for the cadres of the nomenclature of the Central Committee and the Government. For these voices, the seal must be given immediately by our bodies.
COMRADE LENKA CUKO: There is one more thing that should be taken into account here, Comrade Enver, the Party Committees in the districts are not asked at all about those communists from the departments where they work, and they are sent abroad for work or studies.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: For those who the Party Committee decides should be sent out, you should be given a stamp and there is no reason for us to discuss this issue at all.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: With this eye, all these issues should be seen.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: All of these are of great importance, so they must be redefined carefully, and these issues must be formulated clearly.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: As you order, we will rate all of these.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: No, in the context that you spoke to us a few days ago, Comrade Enver.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: Yes, yes, we are continuing with the review and determination of norms in the spirit that you instructed us that day.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Even today’s conversation, a continuation of that day’s conversation, we discussed that some of these issues should be regulated, and that is the right thing to do.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: More, I have these party members, who are active in leading the masses, who know and are clear about all the problems that the Party poses, so how can you not be given the right to go abroad? !
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: How come these people who go abroad are not trusted?! This does not work at all, Comrade Enver.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Why should the Ministry of Internal Affairs be asked about Party members?! Such a practice is the remnant of hostile views according to which the State Security must control the Party, control the Executive Committee, that is, power. This means that State Security employees are infallible. This is how this issue comes to us.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: An employee of the State Security said something, others took it a priori.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Everything said by a State Security employee is taken as if it were definite and very certain. But while the entire head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been in hostile positions, there is no doubt that impermissible actions were taken against a good and loyal cadre. The relevant department could send him abroad, but Kadri Hazbiu had the opportunity to inform the UDB so that, when he went abroad, the UDB would try to compromise him.
And when he returned, he was told in the relevant department that: “based on information we have, this person has been connected with UDB agents and you, as a minister or deputy minister, who gave permission, were not alert”. All the misdeeds were done by the enemies we had at the head of the Ministry of the Interior.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Yes, and what Hekurani said now, the request made to the ministers to give answers to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, what measures were taken from the information provided by this for each sector, it was necessary for the interests his to Kadri Hazbi with the intention that tomorrow, if something happened in the sectors they covered, they would denigrate them by saying: “However, you informed us that everything there is in order, and you even gave it to us in writing look there, what happened?! This means that you lack vigilance”. This was used as a tool to compromise the ministers.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: To have them at hand.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: These enemies worked to have us all in their hands, not only with what we said, but also to check our correspondence, monitor our phones. Do you remember the “complaint” that Mehmet Shehu told us that someone was tapping his phones?! Of course it was nothing, because the truth was that the enemies were tapping our phones, and they were doing this against all of us.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: With this, they wanted to attract attention as if someone was eavesdropping on them, when in fact they were eavesdropping on us.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: I once asked if our phone numbers are safe and they answered that they are, that the switchboards were sealed with wax seals, and no one could access the machines. But I don’t believe this, since certain people were introduced there by them.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: Since you opened it as a discussion, I am reporting that we have resolved this issue, Comrade Enver. One day, the Deputy Director of PTT, Sokoli, officially came to the Central Committee and stated that he wanted to discuss an issue with me.
It was precisely the problem of controlling internal and external telephones. He told me the story of how this matter stands. On the basis of the State Security platform, it has the right, when it has data, to exercise control over the phones of the enemy element.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: The State Security is right, and we should leave it to them.
COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: I am talking about the technique now. At the post office, a man has been assigned to monitor the telephone lines (recording is interrupted).
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: We must not allow the enemy elements to denigrate us, the State Security bodies.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: That they try to throw mud on the State Security organs, which are organs of the Party.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: We must be very careful in these matters because the enemy has increased the pressure on the Party and the organs of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: He has not only increased the pressures, but also perfected the quality of his work.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: He has perfected both the quality of his work and the demands from the agency. Therefore, the security weapon must always be alert, strong, and sharp, in the fight against enemies, maintain balance, and not make concessions, not tend to liberalism.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: No, we do not and will never make concessions, Comrade Enver. We will not fall for the extremism and working methods of the enemies.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: These that we discussed must be realized on the basis of Party principles. One may be designated as a State Security worker in a sector, who is also a party man. If the Secretary of the Basic Party Organization in a work center opens his eyes well, the State Security worker should also open his eyes well, and in this case nothing bad happens.
If they sleep, the enemy will certainly harm us. The Security Worker knows the responsibility that the Party Secretary has, and what he himself has. In the event that the head of the Department of Internal Affairs sees, the word comes that some people in the leadership of the Party organization or the Government, tending towards liberalism, on the basis of the Party line first, should not allow themselves to fall in the positions that the people of the Party of Power may have fallen, and put the Internal Branch in a difficult situation.
But the Head of the Branch has in his hand the opportunities that the Party has created for him, to carry out his duties, his informants, and his collaborators. He should try to make these informants good and clean people, so he should work carefully to this end with them, try also not to appear to be working specially with them, and constantly keep his ears open to open and sharp eyes, that for this purpose the Party has put it.
He must at the same time be cool-headed and try to judge deeply and objectively, for any foreign action or appearance. Even if the Secretary of the Party makes concessions in his line, he should not let go, even if they accuse him of following the old line. Otherwise, he must make an effort to follow the path of the Party.
If you see that the Secretary of the Party, in an enterprise or in a cooperative, hangs out and goes to parties, weddings, lunches, and dinners, eats and drinks with enemy, declassed, and degenerate elements, that the State Security worker knows well that what are all these attitudes held by this party secretary, he will tell the Party that he is hanging out with this friend, that he is eating and drinking with bad people, that he goes after women, and others like these.
The State Security worker, as a responsible cadre, has the duty to tell the Party about these indecent behaviors of the Secretary, that with them he discredits the Party. In the past, he can also tell the Secretary himself about the incorrect behavior he has noticed, tell him that, at the wedding he went to, he learned that there were also some bad people there, whom he has under observation.
And since the Party has taught me to be vigilant, I am pointing these out and I don’t understand how you get along and mix with them! “Hey guys, there’s nothing wrong with that, maybe it could be someone who is not in order, but whatever he does to me”, the secretary can say. “Okay, okay,” said the Security worker, I have a duty to point it out, and I will show it to the Party as well.
And he goes and informs the Secretary of the Party Committee of the district to take this friend into account in that sector, signaling that the remark and opinion he told the Secretary of the Organization, he did not take into account, and underestimated it as something not serious. So State Security workers must be balanced, neither sectarian nor liberal.
COMRADE HEKURAN ISAI: Both liberalism and sectarianism are dangerous, Comrade Enver.
COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: That’s right, they are dangerous. It may happen that some Party Secretary does not properly understand the duty and importance of the State Security weapon, as well as the necessity of its dependence on the Party line, and not on the Party Secretary as an individual. The Secretary of the Party must understand that the Party has given some functions to this body, just as it has given the powers to the secretary himself in his line.
Therefore, he cannot misuse those powers and behave arrogantly, standing as if he has passed on them. Even the worker of the State Security should not allow him to pass illegally outside the norms of the Party, since he is also a defender of the line and sees that the ways of his work cannot pass, they are not forms party work.
Balance is therefore advised from both sides. There are people, especially in the grassroots, who can jump from the other side, as the one from safety acted before, that now the Party took control of the situation and this one from safety, don’t open your mouth too much, and come and tell him secretary all matters. A deep understanding of these issues is essential. Memorie.al
It was seen by Haxhi Kroi
Tirana 10.9.1983
