Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes an archival document issued by the Central State Archive in Tirana (fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP), which belongs to 1969, where there is a letter from the Director of Foreign Relations at the office of The Central Committee of the ALP, Behar Shtylla, sent to his superiors, which he titled: “Some thoughts on the work of our Intelligence abroad and on the work towards reactionary emigration.” Behar Shtyllë’s full letter to the ALP top leadership, where he recommends the creation of a new model of organization and action of Albanian agents infiltrating the Albanian anti-communist political diaspora, (or “reactionary emigration” as the Albanian political diaspora was considered before the 1990s from official Tirana), showing even the most detailed details of how that process should be developed.
“In determining the current duties for the employees of the Intelligence abroad, to separate the work that has to do with the basic task (protection of the homeland) from the routine or second-hand work. For this purpose (perhaps this is done) a scaling up and division of labor is also needed for agents; according to their position and functions, there may be those who give us information only very rarely, but very important for our protection, so contacts with them are very rare, only when necessary.
In addition to the current task and in the service of this for today and tomorrow, we must expand the information work through legal channels, we must also lay the foundation for the distant perspective, after 10-20 years, especially in the direction of neighboring countries. In the West more, but also in revisionist countries, a lot of data that interests our defense and policy can be obtained in many cases legally, even faster, more safely and without the difficulties posed by the illegal route. “Apart from direct observation where we have our people, where this can be done for those objects and activities that can be observed and followed directly by our people, there are two main ways of legal detection.”
This is what Behar Shtylla wrote, among other things, in a letter sent to the Central Committee of the ALP, in 1969, at that time in the position of Director of Foreign Relations at the Central Committee of the ALP, where he expressed the views of and his suggestions, on how the Albanian Intelligence should work and function abroad, which apparently came from his long experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs with Albania (1953-1966), where he was attached to the Directorate of Foreign Intelligence, which had its main dependence on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Directorate of State Security. For more about this, the document in question informs us, which memorie.al publishes in full and without any changes.
Top secret
CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ALBANIAN LABOR PARTY
(EXTERNAL SECTOR)
Content
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE WORK OF OUR DISCOVERY ABROAD AND ON THE WORK TOWARDS REACTIONAL IMMIGRATION
- I have the impression that our Overseas Intelligence deals mainly with the current tasks of securing the defense of the homeland (this should remain its main task), and these generally in an agency way.
I think:
- a) In determining the current duties for the employees of the Intelligence abroad, to separate the work that has to do with the basic task (protection of the homeland) from the routine or second-hand work. For this purpose (perhaps this is done) a scaling up and division of labor is also needed for agents; according to their position and functions, there may be those who give us information only very rarely, but very important for our protection, so contacts with them are very rare, only when necessary.
- b) In addition to the current task and in service of this for today and tomorrow, we must expand the information work through legal channels, we must also lay the foundation for the distant perspective, after 10-20 years, especially in the direction of neighboring countries.
How do I understand these?
- Informative work through legal channels
In the West more, but also in revisionist countries, a lot of data that interests our defense and policy can be obtained in many cases legally, even faster, more safely and without the difficulties posed by the illegal route. In addition to direct observation where we have our people, where this can be done for those objects and activities that can be observed and followed directly by our people, there are two main ways of legal detection:
- Press
- Contacts with people.
Press: In the press of every country, especially in those of capitalist and revisionist countries, many materials are published that in one form or another provide valuable data for Discovery. Particularly important here are the specialized press (military, economic, legislative, etc.) and that of the provinces. Successful use of the press in this regard requires:
– Identify the places we are interested in Discovery.
– To determine the directions in which the study of the press should be focused.
– To appoint and hand over the newspapers and magazines that interest us for this purpose.
– To organize (partly in our embassies and mainly in the center in the relevant bodies) the rational use of this press by staff who know the relevant languages and who have the necessary preparation to produce what interests us.
– This data to be confronted or supplemented with other data, then the appropriate conclusions are drawn.
Contacts with people
In many capitalist and revisionist countries there are many revolutionary people, democrats and progressives or friends of Albania who want and are willing to help us in various ways, especially with information that interests our politics or defense. In addition to these, there are others who are not available; if you know how to handle them or talk to them, they can talk and give interesting information. We still notice today that different people, officials, traders or other professions, when they meet our people, in many cases give them different information. Among them, of course, there are people who want to misinform us, so we must know “to separate the wheat from the weeds.”
I think we should give great importance to this sector and organize the work better than today.
– For each country, a platform for legal work with people should be elaborated: in which direction, with which categories do we have more interest, etc. This does not preclude special instructions being given in special cases.
– The main thing is to prepare our people for such a job: they must absolutely master the languages of the country, study well the place where they operate (economy, politics, history, etc.), possess a broad culture and be in able to talk about various issues (including literature, art, etc.), which can gain knowledge with others, gain their respect and sympathy, as well as the politics they defend and their dignity and ability. This requires very organized and serious preparation of the framework for overseas intelligence, in addition to the deep ideological preparations that are fundamental, their ingenuity and skill.
– In many foreign countries, at various diplomatic receptions, the incumbent and many times his close associates are regularly invited when they have a high rank: minister, adviser, military attaché, and very rarely or not at all, secretaries. It is therefore necessary that in some countries where we have an interest in expanding legal intelligence work and have trained comrades, we give them appropriate diplomatic ranks (advisers). We can do this even in revisionist countries where the headlines are busy with work.
Other diplomatic cadres abroad can and should be engaged in legal intelligence work, in addition to intelligence cadres: heads, secretaries, trade attachés, etc. Even the wives of fellow diplomats who know the language have the opportunity to make contact with women diplomats and personalities of the country. All these friends should be instructed in this regard.
- Work for perspective
In addition to the task of developing intelligence work for the current defense of our socialist homeland and putting this at the forefront, we must think and lay sound foundations to have our intelligence raised for a distant future, 10 -20 years later, especially in the direction of neighboring countries, in Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece. I think that in the past some good cases have escaped us: the contingent of Italian and Greek captives, Yugoslav emigrants, etc.
It also seems to me that in this regard we would still have a very good basis today if we had worked in perspective with Albanian women married to Italians, connecting them more with their families in our country, as well as with immigrants economic and their children in some countries that interest us more etc.
However, I think there are still opportunities to do a better job in the future. I think we should set ourselves the goal that for a period of 5-15 years we prepare and have our people to be responsible cadres in the state apparatus mainly in Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece.
This means that we must find, select and educate and prepare a number of young people of Albanian nationality or not, to love the RPSH and serve it to the death, to be encouraged and helped in different ways so that gradually in the countries where we are interested to occupy responsible positions from where we can get important information about our defense and policy in the future.
The work is not easy, but neither is it impossible. It must be discussed and studied very carefully from all sides, it requires great attention, effort, patience and seriousness. This task should be assigned to a special, very limited and prepared body of the Directorate of Intelligence.
Some contingents where such young people can be sought are:
- a) Sons and daughters of Albanian emigrants in Italy, France, Egypt, etc., as well as Albanian women married to Italians and Greeks.
- b) Young Kosovars and Albanians from Macedonia and Montenegro.
- c) Children of some Italians who have remained in Albania and married Albanian women or of some Albanians who have married Italian or other foreign women. These families keep in touch with their respective families in Italy, even exchanging visits. Some of their sons, even if very few, raised and educated with love and loyalty to the RPSH and the Party, may be allowed to go to study in Italy (or elsewhere) with their relatives, from time to time sometimes any of them can “stay” there forever and “make a career”. These and others, there are other ways to get out.
- d) This should be considered from now on even in the direction of revisionist countries.
It is noticed that, since now, many boys and girls of Albanian emigrants in foreign countries have finished schools, become professors, doctors, and have various official jobs. Many of them still know Albanian and are proud to be Albanian. There are many others, especially in the US, who are being assimilated.
Many of the Albanian emigrants have family ties with the Albanian emigrants who are in other countries: many Albanian emigrants in America and elsewhere get married in Greece with girls of Albanian origin or of Greek origin, even in Yugoslavia with Albanian girls.
So, among them, among other ways, can be found families or young people to come and settle in Greece or where it interests us. Apart from the Albanians inside Yugoslavia, the Kosovar emigration to Turkey and elsewhere is very large, and in its ranks can be found young people returning to Yugoslavia.
Of course, this is a very big and delicate job. This requires a very organized and systematic work. It also requires that we review some rules in force regarding economic emigration visits to Albania, find new ways and forms to bring Albanian youth abroad with our country, etc. To elaborate more specifically the relevant problems and measures, if the idea is approved, to charge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On emigration abroad.
Regarding the Albanian emigration abroad, the following phenomena are observed today:
- a) The old generation of economic emigration is gradually disappearing (death, repatriation, complete withdrawal from the political and social life of the colonies) while the younger generation is gradually assimilating into the countries where it lives.
- b) In the ranks of reactionary emigration, treacherous organizations and foreign intelligence continue to operate, but at the same time the differentiation between the masses and the leaders deepens: a good number of fugitives have either died or aged, but their children have now grown, quite of them now work in various jobs, attend or have finished school.
The characteristic is that they all consider themselves Albanians, they love Albania and many of them do not have hostile feelings towards their RPSH parents. Gradually they are taking the place of economic emigration in keeping alive the Albanian movement abroad: to some extent, it depends on our work that their activity is not hostile and is characterized in a patriotic way.
- c) Due to the Titoist persecutions, the Kosovar emigration has increased a lot not only in Turkey, but also in France, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Canada, America, etc. They are more compact in their attitudes against Tito, against reactionary emigration and in favor of the RPSH and Comrade Enver, their main political goal is the unification of Kosovo with Albania. They are not mass-organized: those few Kosovar organizations that exist are in the hands of the reactionary element. Of course, imperialist intelligence and Titoist agencies also work in their ranks.
I think that the work towards the three parties should be strengthened and we should find some suitable forms to implement our policy towards them. Among other things, some measures can be considered in these directions:
- To maintain as long as possible the attitude of the patriotic activity of economic immigration (not only in the US, but also in other countries), by supporting new forms of organization that can attract the younger generation, to get to know and get closer even the latter (the best, most active), Albanian schools and cultural centers and here to teach the Albanian language and history, to have a library, Albanian music, a small museum of the patriotic movement in the colony, photo-exhibitions , our press, some movies etc.
To organize conferences on Albania by Albanians and foreigners, etc .: it can be thought of visits of young Albanians of the colonies in Albania in a group organized for a certain period as foreign tourists; in very rare cases a scholarship may be awarded; not to completely close the hope for economic emigration to visit Albania, etc. To improve the programs of “Radio Tirana” in their direction, the newspaper and the magazine “Shqipëria e Re”, to organize well the work to receive as many newspapers and magazines from Albania.
- In addition to working to expose the leaders and organizations of reactionary emigration, to deepen the divergences between them and the differentiation in the ranks of this emigration, to seek some new forms of work to help us in this regard and to put as much as possible this emigration, especially the younger generation, under our influence.
A useful form would see e.g. that under the direction of our trusted people, and where necessary, with our help, centers or clubs are opened (these can be restaurants or cafes with a special hall) where the Albanian press, Albanian music, library with Albanian books, listen to “Radio Tirana” etc.).
- The above can be done with Kosovars in emigration. In addition, perhaps the time has come for Kosovars to organize in cultural and patriotic societies under our influence, to have their own newspaper, whose editorial office consists of patriotic people and who follow the directives of our Party and Government.
These are just a few thoughts, which of course should be discussed and supplemented by friends and bodies that deal more directly with these problems./Memorie.al
Tirana, March 28, 1969
Behar Shtylla
