Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes an archival document from the Central State Archive in Tirana, dated 1973. It contains a personal letter marked “secret,” in which the Secretary of the Party Committee of Tepelena District, Ali Manaj, informs the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania (PPSH), Hysni Kapo, about a visit made around that time to Tepelena District by the Vice Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly and, at the same time, the deputy of that region, Shefqet Peçi, accompanied by several of his friends – writers, poets, military personnel and other high officials originating from that area. According to Ali Manaj’s secret information, during a lunch hosted by the Progonat agricultural cooperative in honour of Comrade Shefqet Peçi, the friends accompanying him did not raise the first toast to the Party and Comrade Enver. And what about Enver Hoxha’s annotation and Hysni Kapo’s instruction regarding that event?
The secret letter of Ali Manaj to Hysni Kapo
PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA Personal
DISTRICT PARTY COMMITTEE S E C R E T
T E P E L E N A
Copy No. 1
No. 619. Prot.
Tepelena, 13 August 1973
TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PPSH
(Comrade Hysni Kapo)
T I R A N A
We inform you that from 6 August 1973 to 8 August 1973, the Progonat area and the Salari sector of the Dukaj joint agricultural cooperative hosted for meetings the deputy of their area, member of the CC of the PPSH and Vice Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Comrade Shefqet Peçi. He was accompanied by me, Comrade Fuat Loloçi and Dilaver Pinderi. During the meeting with Comrade Shefqet, the people and communists of this area once again expressed the great love they hold for the Party and Comrade Enver.
They listened carefully to the advice given by Comrade Shefqet regarding the great tasks that lie ahead of us to implement the decisions of the 4th Plenum of the CC of the Party and the enlightening teachings of Comrade Enver.
However, we find it necessary to inform you of certain actions and notions that appeared during a dinner organised on this occasion at the Progonat agricultural cooperative, which appear to us as not correct.
During the days he stayed in Progonat, Comrade Shefqet had brought along several comrades to accompany him, such as: Comrade Xhaferr Matuka, officer, writer, at the Ministry of People’s Defence; Comrade Ibrahim Gani, officer and employee of the editorial office of the newspaper “Luftëtari”; Comrade Agim Shehu, employee of the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit”; Comrade Musa Daci, from Progonat and now residing in Tirana; Comrade Maksut Drrasa, surgeon doctor at the Military Hospital in Tirana; Faik Deda from Nivica, but now a doctor in the Krahes area of Tepelena.
During the dinner organised on this occasion in Progonat, as we explained above, when toasts were raised with water glasses – which forced many comrades to get very drunk from the raki – for example, from drinking raki in this manner, the member of the Plenum of the District Party Committee and Chairman of the Progonat United People’s Council, Comrade Gjysho Ruci, lost consciousness and as a result jumped out of a second‑floor window and is now in hospital, but with the assistance given, he appears to be out of danger.
Furthermore, during the dinner some quite harmful attitudes appeared which the Party has continuously fought and continues to fight. For example, Comrade Xhaferr Matuka raised a toast to the people of Kurvelesh.
I, together with the other comrades, joined this toast adding the toast to all the Albanian people and to Comrade Shefqet Peçi, with Comrade Enver Hoxha at the forefront. Comrade Xhaferr Matuka, driven by localist positions, pressured me in a very unjust manner. He stated: “The toast must be drunk only for the people of Kurvelesh.”
With correctness and composure I tried to convince him that what I said was right – that it expressed love for the people of Kurvelesh, for the Albanian people, for Comrade Shefqet Peçi, for the Party and for Comrade Enver, who secured for us the bright days we enjoy today.
But some of the comrades who had come from Tirana did not support me as they should have. On the contrary, Comrade Musa Daci, from a localist position, immediately rose in defence of Xhaferr Matuka, even going further in his own concept, stating: “We will drink the toast to the people of Kurvelesh, who are no longer united today. Cursed be those who caused them to be divided.”
This spoiled the atmosphere, because it raised a problem that does not exist among the people of Kurvelesh, but is occasionally thrown out by certain individuals who are from Kurvelesh but live in Tirana and elsewhere. We expected these distorted ideas to be answered, but no one did so!
In the meeting of the people of Salari (the Dukaj sector), when Shefqet Peçi spoke in principle against alien manifestations, theft, and waste of state and cooperative property, we think it would have been good and would have helped the entire Party organisation in the district, and especially the Dukaj joint cooperative, if this had been made concrete with the great waste and theft committed by the cadres of this cooperative – matters that Comrade Shefqet inquired about and that we presented to him, explaining in detail, before the meetings began.
We say this given the general opinion within the Party and among the people regarding the stance taken by the relevant bodies toward those responsible.
SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT PARTY COMMITTEE
Ali Manaj
Enver Hoxha’s annotation on Ali Manaj’s letter
I do not believe that at that dinner the toasts began with “the health of the people of Kurvelesh” and that raising a toast to the people, to the Party, etc., was ignored, to the point that Comrade Ali Manaj had to write this letter. Comrade Ali, as the leader of the place where he was, each time he should raise the first toast to the people and to the Party, etc. If such toasts have been raised each time… (Illegible) …he and Comrade Ali saw it – it was out of place, but it was appropriate to raise a toast to the people of Kurvelesh, who deserve not one toast but a hundred toasts.
Enver
Hysni Kapo’s note to Bato Karafili
I called Comrade Bato Karafili and advised him to be careful in handling matters based on the annotation made by Comrade Enver. / Memorie.al
Hysni Kapo
27 September 1973
