Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes an archival document issued by the Central State Archive in Tirana, (the fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP), which contains a report-information that belongs to 1976, where the chief of press in the Office of the Committee Central Committee of the ALP, Miti Tona, informs his superior, the secretary of the Central Committee, Ramiz Alia, who covered propaganda, art and culture, regarding a group of writers and artists, such as: Hasan Petrela, Agim Shehu, Bekim Gaçe, Lirim Deda, Ibrahim Gani, Sotir Andoni, Skifter Këlliçi, Odhise Grillo, etc., who “due to their moral and political image”, were proposed to be deprived of the right to publish and some of their books were banned that had been sent to the printing house for publication!
The great storm that started in the beginning of 1973 against the writers and artists and all other employees of art and culture, after the speech of Enver Hoxha, initially held on January 9 in the apparatus of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly and on March 15 and 16 at the extended meeting of the communists of the apparatus of the Central Committee of the ALP, where he criticized for the first time the 11th National Song Festival on Radio Television, it seemed that it would not end with that, but would continue for a long time.
After the arrest and sentencing for “political guilt” of Todi Lubonja and Fadil Paçrami accused by Enver Hoxha himself as “the head of the liberal group in art and culture”, as well as some other writers and artists accused as their supporters, such as: Mihallaq Luarasi, Minush Jero, Kujtim Spahivogli, Lluk Kaçaj, Miho Gjini, Sherif Merdani, Dhimitër Lala, Visar Zhiti, etc., who from that time onwards also ended up in the prisons and internments of the communist regime, right from the beginning of in 1975, against many writers and artists, began the ‘administrative measures’, or rather the removal of the copyright and sending them into production as workers, as happened with Agim Shehu, Skifter Këlliçi and others.
Among other things, this is made known by this archival document of 1976, (detached from a voluminous file with the initials “secret”), where the Chief of Press in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the ALP, Miti Tona, informs Ramiz Alina, regarding a number of writers, such as: Hasan Petrela, Agim Shehu, Bekim Gaçe, Lirim Deda, Ibrahim Gani, Sotir Andoni, Skifter Këlliçi, Odhise Grillo, etc., who have been deprived of the right to publish.
Almost all of them were well-known names: writers Lirim Deda and Ibrahim Gani, were military cadres in the Ministry of People’s Defense, and worked mainly in the military press (newspaper “Luftërari”, magazine “10 Korriku” etc.), Hasan Petrela, wrote mainly for the body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (magazine “In the service of the people”), the poet Agim Shehu, was considered in the literary hierarchy as the third (after Kadare and Agoll), Odhise Grillo, a well-known literary writer for children, Sotir Andoni, one of the oldest writers, author of many novels, etc., Skifter Këlliçi, well-known sports journalist and telegraphist and writer also, author of several books and novels, etc.
The measures taken against them seemed to show the lesson that the “Party did not make concessions” and was determined to bring to an end the “fight against foreign performances and liberal influences” in the ranks of writers and artists. What is noticed in the report-information of Miti Tona, is his insistence, that for some writers, to continue the punishment measure (removal of the publishing right) even after their return to the Party?!
Regarding this and everything else that he has suggested in his information, Ramiz Alia, has made the note: “I agree. You have to be extremely careful, because writers are educators. “No concessions, not only political and ideological, but also artistic.”
For more about this, let us know the document in question which is published for the first time in the pages of this book, with a very small abbreviation.
The report of the chief of press in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the ALP, Miti Tona, sent to Ramiz Alia, for the writers who would be deprived of the right of publication
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ALP
SHOKUT RAMIZ ALIA
I N F O R M A T I O N
ON THE REMOVAL OF THE PUBLICATION RIGHT OF SOME ARTISTS
Due to their moral-political figure, some literary authors have been denied the right to publish. Such are among others: Hasan Petrela, Agim Shehu, Bekim Gaçe, Lirim Deda, Ibrahim Gani, Sotir Andoni, Skifter Këlliçi, Odhise Grillo, etc.
Some of these authors, such as Agim Shehu and Odhise Grillo, have been suspended from the circulation of some volumes, which were ready to be released on the market at the time when the punitive measures were taken against them. The work of some of them has been blocked in the process of publishing in the printing house.
Regarding the restoration of the right to publish, the Publishing House “Naim Frashëri” has been instructed to consult with the relevant committees of the Party, judging each as a case in itself with details and partisanship. But although according to the Party committees, some of them may be given the right to publish, because they either pleaded guilty like Hasan Petrela, (back to the Party), or work well as Agim Shehu and Skifter Këlliçi, the first employee in Metallurgy, the second worker in the Tractor Plant, we think that, given the fact that the literary work communicates with whole masses of readers, and that every writer, regardless of the degree of spread of his literary work, becomes a social personality and educator of the masses, we think that for all those perpetrators who have been taken
with party measures for political faults, the time of rehabilitation in the press, is not necessarily related and in all cases with the time of repayment of the punishment.
For example, we think that Hasan Petrela, although returned to the party, the novel submitted for publication should be postponed for next year. Agim Shehu, who has not yet returned to the party, not to publish the volume “For my son and the generations to come” (poem dedicated to Comrade Enver), and not to publish before his admission to the party the works he has presented end for publication, regardless of artistic values.
For the above volume dedicated to Comrade Enver, we think that in the future it will not be published as a separate publication. The same attitude should be held towards Skifter Këlliç, who …… publicly for his figure ………., From … in RTV, where he worked and was taken for re-education at the Tractor plant two years ago.
Also for Odhise Grillon, we think that this year, which is the jubilee year of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Party, nothing will be published.
For Sotir Andoni, whose mistakes are known and are entirely of a political nature, we think that a firm stance should be taken. Some time ago we oriented the press and publishing bodies to publish as rarely as possible and only when his works have real artistic and educational values. In light of the recent plenums of K.Q. the publishing bodies have not seen fit to publish anything by him even in these cases. Memorie.al
20.3.1976 PRESS SECTOR
Miti Tona
