Dashnor Kaloçi
The third part
Memorie.al publishes a voluminous archival file issued by the institution of the Authority for Information of Former State Security Files, where there are hundreds of documents with the logo “Top secret” belonging to the former political prisoner, Xhavit Qesja, originally from the city of Kruja, whose family during the period of occupation of the country, 1939-1944, was closely associated with the Anti-Fascist Movement, being one of its main bases and made available all the wealth it had, as Xhavit was one of the first members of the Albanian Communist Party for the Kruja district, leading the Kruja-Ishëm partisan battalion and the 22nd Assault Brigade. Xhavit Qese’s political career after the end of the War, where he was appointed and served in senior positions in the Albanian Army, the apparatus of the Central Committee of the ALP, and several districts of the country, from where he was sent to study in the Soviet Union, where remained until 1957, when he was announced to return to Albania urgently, after openly expressing his views in favor of the political line being pursued by the main Kremlin leader, Nikita Khrushchev, condemning the Stalin cult. Enver Hoxha’s conversation with Xhavit Qesen in his office in the Central Committee, where he sharply criticized him for the wrong views he had shown during his studies in Moscow, urging him to reflect and make self-criticism, but Xhavit rejected the suggestion of the first secretary of the Albanian Labor Party, which caused him to no longer be allowed to go to the Soviet Union to complete his studies, but to be sent to work as deputy chairman of the Elbasan Executive Committee, from where a year later, he was expelled from the Party and exiled to Zvërnec Island, where the communist regime kept isolated some of the former senior party and state cadres whom he had condemned for their anti-party views. Xhavit Qesë’s long ordeal and percussion from 1957 to 1990, where he spent a full 32 years in prison and internment, being one of the few convicts in Burrell Prison who went on long hunger strikes in protest of the treatment and savage attitude of the communist regime of Enver Hoxha towards him. The full form, investigative and judicial file in charge of Xhavit Qeses, which is published for the first time by Memorie.al, which contains the documents of the former State Security that reflect the prosecution and wiretapping against him, the reports of Security collaborators with pseudonyms their correspondence with the letters he sent to the highest party and state instances, as well as the top leaders of the ALP, until 1991 when he was released from prison!
Continued from the previous issue
The decision of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of the District of Elbasan, for the opening of file 2 / A, in pursuit and surveillance of Xhavit Qeses, approved by the Deputy Director, Major, Seri Qerimi
Top Secret
Elbasan and 15 / X1 / 1957
APPROVED
DEPUTY DIRECTOR P. INTERIOR
Major (Qerimi Series)
DECISION
(On opening the file in II-A)
On 25/9/1957 I, the Operational Worker, Captain Avni Mehmeti, effective of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of the District of Elbasan, after taking charge and studied the preliminary materials called Xhavit Qeses, from Kruja, working as Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of Elbasan district.
FIND:
Xhevit Qesja, son of Hajdari and born in 1920, born in Kruja and living in Elbasan, with higher education, member of the Albanian Labor Party, with Albanian nationality and citizenship, never convicted and tried by our popular government , derives from a wealthy commercial civic stratum.
His attitude during the bird regime was good and he had no relationship with the cliques or Parties of that regime, but he was engaged in school studies and is not known to have shown any activity for or against this regime.
He did not welcome the arrival of the fascist occupation and as such he participated in various revolutionary groups against the occupier and traitors of the country and thus he became a man determined for the National Liberation Movement and took an active part contributing to the liberation of full of the country from the occupiers and traitors of our country.
In 1942-43 he became a member of the party and suffered various responsibilities in the ranks of the National Liberation Army; After the liberation of the country, Xhaviti was released from the Army and was charged with various functions in the party, being for some time in the Central Committee and later Secretary of the Party Committee for the former Berat Region and from there he was sent to the Marxist High School in the Union. Soviet and after expressing anti-party views here, he was removed and sent to work in the place where he is now as Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Elbasan Region.
With the appearance of the anti-party group at the Tirana conference, Xhaviti expressed his anti-party and revisionist views, calling unfair the party’s position regarding the views of the revisionist elements of the Tirana Conference. He discusses these at school with other friends who criticize him, but he does not give up on these views.
He goes even deeper into this mistake, criticizing our party’s stance on the Yugoslav and Polish issue, saying that our party has mistaken in this regard. For all these views he is expelled from school and summoned by the Central Committee, where he is told that he was contrary to the Party line, but Xhavit does not withdraw from these views again, so the party condemns him by removing him from the school and appoints him with work in Elbasan.
Recently, Xhaviti has started to show the activities against the Party, calling the measure taken against him, as unfair and that in our party there is repression of criticism and self-criticism, linking that ostensibly in our party there is no democracy. People who are leaders in the Party, says they do not want to recognize the mistakes they have in this regard d.m.th. on the Yugoslav and Polish issues.
He said that he was right against the revolution in Hungary and it is not true that Yugoslavia had a hand in this, but it came about the mistakes made by the leadership of the Hungarian Workers’ Party. She said that our leadership lives a luxurious life for itself and is not interested in the life of the people; the ministers have certain cars and villas in Durrës to spend the summer holidays, while the people suffer to find a barracks!
Our relations with Yugoslavia do not improve after our leaders do not admit their mistakes. In our country there is terror and great oppression worse than in the time of Koçi. He connects this with the measures taken against a series of enemy elements, such as Tuk Jakova, Bedri Spahiu and others. Also for the sentencing of Dali Ndreu and Liri Gega, he calls these that they have been done in vain and it is not true that they have anything to do with Yugoslavia.
He spoke with contempt against comrade Beqir Balluku, saying that his mind has grown and he does not look you in the eye with all of us who have been friends together. He also spoke about a series of other fellow members and candidates of K.Q.P.P. Albania. Seeing all this anti-party and revisionist activity that he mentions in the subject:
DECIDED
To open his form file by categorizing it in 2A for anti-party and revisionist activity, to process it actively, in order to discover and verify his anti-party activity, as well as his social circle where he lies these activities.
Proposers
OPERATIVE WORKSHOP
Captain (Avni Mehmeti)
Report-information of the Deputy Colonel of the State Security, Shim Kolli, regarding the testimonies of the Security collaborator with the nickname “Skëndi”, for the pursuit and surveillance that he has done to Xhavit Qeses
Received from Lieutenant Colonel Shim Kolli
Given by B.p. “Skëndi”
Dt. 6.12.1957
R E P O R T
He often meets Xhavit Qesen, but it rarely happens to him that he is alone and speaks without hesitation. Xhaviti studies constantly, be it literary materials, ideological books and novels, and in particular reads “Pravda”, which he receives every issue. “Pravda” comments on news about Yugoslavia, no matter how simple it may be. His favorite topic when we are alone is the issue of Yugoslavia.
Socialism is really being built in Yugoslavia, without bureaucracy and big words; the Yugoslavs have found such ways of building socialism, which the Soviets are taking as an example.
The Yugoslavs are pursuing an independent policy and why they did not sign the Consultation of Communist Parties convened on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution in Moscow, while ours (comrade Enver and comrade Mehmet, sign everything).
To understand the situation in Yugoslavia, it is enough to say that the people remain loyal to the Party and the government, although Stalin said that the situation would soon change and that all the People’s Democracies left nothing unsaid to the Yugoslav leadership, so especially against Tito, like Stalin, to say something against Enver and Mehmet, they would not be able to stay in power for 24 hours!
These show that the Yugoslav leadership has worked right and well. “Well,” he said, “but the mistakes of the Yugoslavs towards our country, why do they not accept them?” “It is not so,” Xhavit replied, “we know only what is said here, which is not known how true it is, while what the Yugoslavs say, we do not know.”
“In our country”, Xhaviti continued, “there is nothing but statements and speeches, expressions in the form of slogans, everything has become slogans. We do not tell the truth, do not deepen and do not analyze events.
What do we need in the “Enver” hydropower plant, with millions of lek expenses, or to show off?! “We have been able to meet the needs for electricity with existing motors.” Well he said, but our constructions have the approval of Soviet comrades and technicians, who have a long experience, if not good, they would advise us how to act. “The Soviets,” Xhavit continued, “do not say anything, because they do not want to take responsibility.”
“And you,” he addressed him, “have things that do not seem right to you, but he does not speak and why does he not speak?! He does not say that he is afraid, that he suffers like Tuk Jakova and Bedri Spahiu. One must speak, one must be principled and one must have courage.
On the one hand we say that we want good relations with Yugoslavia, on the other hand they kill Liri Gega and Dali Ndreu, as agents of a foreign power! Whose power is meant by Yugoslavia? What did Daliu and Liri do in the end, did they not give enough not to be executed, did they not give more Ethem Çako, a criminal with a stamp and that life forgives you. These are things that revolt one.
He was in Tirana on November 7, invited from there to meet Xhevit Qesen and he invited them to visit Ymer Veshi’s brother-in-law, where they found Ymer, Xhevit and Ymer had a close friendship.
“Skëndi”
Elbasan, on 6.12.1957
Assignment:
- In the meeting that you will have, with Xhavit, open the conversations about Yugoslavia and ask him to explain more concretely, because Yugoslavia did not participate in the Conference of Communist parties in Moscow
- Ask the question: how is it possible that Yugoslavia is building socialism detached from the countries of the Socialist camp?
- If Xhaviti is going to talk about bureaucracy, ask questions: how concrete is this bureaucracy?
Operating Measures:
- To be printed in two copies, one to be sent to the Second Branch of the State Security Directorate in Tirana.
- To bring out the social and friendly circle of Xhavit Qeses here in Elbasan.
- To be put under three-day surveillance here and to inform Tirana when he goes there, so that we can take surveillance.
(Lieutenant Colonel Shim Kolli)
Elbasan on 7.12.1957
Anonymous letter sent to Xhevit Qeses in Elbasan on December 15, 1957!
Sends (is anonymous) Receives: Xhavit Qesja
Shkodër, dated 15 / XII / 1957 N / Kry. Com. Ek. K.P. County
Elbasan
Communist comrade Xhavid!
Taking with you I wrote this dear letter, I enjoy and wish in principle your health and that of your whole family, also we are in very good health and with work, as I and my whole family.
Comrade Xhavit!
Now I ask you how are you? What about work, how are you doing, or are you very tired? What about the family? Did we go there from Tirana soon to see how they are? Surely I want to ask you about Meriban, how was his health? And with work how are you doing? How are the children in health, especially for the rescue? I ask you about the state of the weather? Is it getting cold and how the weather is holding up for agriculture? What about the state plans, how are your problems, such as industry, agriculture, collections, etc.?
Comrade Xhavid!
For the New Year we have 1 day off, maybe I can go there, but I do not guarantee my arrival, since it depends on the wealth (solto).
Now with that I end with a few words and more longing as honest communists as I am. I greet you like you, Meriban and the children, I also greet you mother, brother and little sister Katerina.
We expect answers from you, as much as possible.
Greetings from the family of Zef Franos, especially from Zina.
Note: This letter was copied for reasons of anonymity.
The unit is certified with the original. Memorie.al
20/12/1957
K.P. Operational Workshop
CHAIRMAN OF THE INTERNAL BRANCH P
N / COLONEL
(Muhedin Kërxhalliu)
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