Part Three
Continued from the previous issue
Memorie.al / During the night of March 30-31, a group of agents from the Ministry of the Interior was attacked by about 15 members of the Albanian anti-communist resistance while traveling from Tirana towards Elbasan. In the incident, about 30 kilometers from Tirana, the police suffered 12 killed or wounded, among them one Poda, commander of the Ministry’s Battalion. Before dying, he is reported to have said: “You may kill me, but I assure you that I am on your side, therefore I am dying without any thought of revenge.”
Among the documents captured after the attack was an order for checking the positions or strength of resistance groups in this area. Currently, about 85 percent of the urban population and about 95 percent of the rural population are anti-communist. However, the urban population is largely apathetic, therefore there is no initiative from them, in contrast to the rural areas, especially those in the north of the country, which are disposed to assist resistance activity (up to the months of March-April 1950).
November 1950
Economic Information
About 3 km south of Tirana, another factory of the “Stalin” Textile Combine is being built, started in 1948. By May 1950, most of the buildings had been completed and machinery brought from the dismantling of several Soviet and satellite-country factories had been installed.
A sugar factory, which now has a daily production of 7,000 kg, has been built in Maliq, employing 100 to 150 workers. In August 1950, a one-lane road connecting Peqin with Elbasan is expected to be completed. In May 1950, two tunnels were completed in … with a length of about 1,000 meters.
Reclamation of the Maliq Swamp
The land reclamation project of the Maliq swamp successfully managed to divert the water course of the lake through a 3 km long canal towards the Devoll River. The project started in 1946, but in December 1949 the canal was still under construction; at the end of the canal, a dam has been built to control the water flow.
Built with reinforced concrete, it is about 50 meters long and has eight water gates. The reclaimed area will be used for the cultivation of sugar beets and potatoes. The beets will be used at the new sugar factory built in the town of Maliq.
Resistance to the Ban on Weapons in Albania
According to refugees recently arrived in Yugoslavia from Albania, police squads are checking cities and villages for weapons and ammunition. Despite the authorities’ threats, the operation has not been successful, as people have hidden the weapons left by the Italians during World War II.
The refugees also declare that in some areas in northeastern Albania, especially in Kukës, peasants have forcibly resisted police attempts to confiscate their hunting weapons, which they need for protecting livestock from wolves.
Due to the famine crisis, peasants in the mountainous areas have been forced to even kill dogs for food, and their weapons are their only protection against wild animals. Although the Albanian people live in miserable conditions and poverty, the general resistance in the country against the communist leaders is not taking the proportions of an organized revolt.
In the Korçë area, the resistance is more active in the Muslim part of the city, while in northern Albania, the resistance is active among the Catholic population. Armed clashes and other incidents of disorder are frequent throughout the country. Special mobile courts go to specific locations after a revolt and issue quick, arbitrary verdicts against those captured.
Another informant reports that there are no signs of a widespread organized revolt, and that in any case such a thing is considered impossible. Some of the more educated Albanians are radical rightists, but most people do not think about political programs, except for being anti-communist. The same informant says that the communists in Albania have destroyed the country’s food and other goods. The peasants live only on what they can hide from the state officials who collect the harvest production.
Peasants keep at home only enough food for two to three days, and they resupply from reserves hidden in the mountains. Village shops are empty, occasionally rarely having salt or kerosene. In the Korçë area, whenever a shipment of food or other goods arrives, the authorities divide it into two parts, one for the collective farms and the other for themselves and party members, leaving nothing for the population. Good harvests are expected this year.
Recruited Agents
The intelligence objectives have been set by Washington, including the desired information on anti-communist resistance groups, internal political conditions, and military defense installations. The plan entered the operational phase in February 1949, when four agents in two groups, with special radio equipment, were dropped in perfect weather conditions at the desired point of Serrisht, in Mirdita.
The agents were Alush Lleshakanu and Xhevdet Bloshmi from the first group, and Ndue Gjonmarkaj and Ndue Mlyshi in the second group. Shyqyri Biçaku and Kolë Çuni were part of the second support group, but are being kept in reserve for reasons of poor health. Radio contact with the first two groups has not yet been established.
A flight in good weather conditions was carried out over Albania on the night of April 12, but no signal was observed in the designated area, according to the preliminary plan. On April 24, Ismail Vërlaci received a commercial cablegram from Kastoria in Greece, signed by Lleshakanu, stating that he and Bloshmi had arrived safely in Kastoria. On April 28, he received the telegram that the two agents had arrived in Athens, where they immediately established contact with our center there to provide information.
Intervention from Neighbors
During the revolutionary actions, the trained forces of about 4,000 Albanians alleged to exist in Yugoslavia, and the military forces of Greece and Yugoslavia, should remain ready for assistance if the need arises.
Greek and Yugoslav forces should withdraw immediately behind their borders as soon as the revolution has declared success. The U.S. Sixth Fleet will conduct maneuvers in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas during the revolution, to cover amphibious landings and to assist the revolutionaries if needed.
It will not have an active role unless called upon for this purpose. The fleet will remain in the area for several weeks to discourage and prevent antagonistic actions from the Soviet Union or its satellites. Free elections for a democratic government are to be organized.
While many of the individual recommendations in the above paragraphs may not be necessary, it is important to seek the friendly neutrality of Italy, Greece, and Yugoslavia for the overthrow of the Albanian government, if not their active cooperation.
Training in Germany
CIA assessment teams have analyzed more than 200 individuals in the Guard Company in Germany and have selected 66 of them as the most qualified for operations. The existing structures for training agents in Germany are now, after the completion of training for Bulgarian agents, ready for the training of Albanian agents. The training of radio operators will be completed in time to supply the late summer operations.
Our contractors have acquired another training center in Germany, in addition to the one in Hambuechen, and it is more effective than our first center there. The refugee camp for Albanians in Lavrion, Greece, is controlled by the Legality Party, and a list of 117 Albanians who could serve as agents has been drawn up, whose backgrounds are currently being checked by security teams.
A brochure regarding the bomb episode was prepared in London as of April 8, but has not been dropped over Albania due to the embargo measure imposed by the State Department. However, the supply mission was allowed to drop 50,000 copies of this brochure in several localities as a deception instrument. 500,000 copies of the brochure announcing the start of clandestine radio broadcasts have arrived in Athens, bringing the total to 1,500,000 brochures to be distributed upon the lifting of the embargo on June 3, 1951.
Radio Broadcasts
The naval vessel with the clandestine radio station has established its base in Patras, Greece, and a liaison officer between sea and land will go to Patras in May. The start of broadcasts is believed to begin around May 15, as it has been delayed by technical and personnel difficulties.
Meanwhile, repairs are being carried out on the telegraph equipment damaged during the ocean crossing. The assembly of the propaganda staff is being completed in Greece, and the propaganda editor and another radio technician are expected to arrive at the location.
The texts to be broadcast are first sent to Washington. The propaganda branch of the National Committee for “Free Albania” is increasing its production, and the material exceeds the monthly need of 500,000 brochures. In addition, the Committee is producing abundant material for the Committee’s newspaper published in New York.
Political Activities
The internal political problems between the groups of the National Committee for “Free Albania” have not yet been resolved, although it continues to function as a unit, providing considerable support through its military junta and its propaganda branch.
The two April issues of the Committee’s newspaper were published on time. Said Kryeziu, a member of the leadership of the National Committee for Free Albania (NCFA) and head of the Agrarian Party, who has visited the Guard Company in Germany, is expected to be in the USA on May 10, on a visit aimed at improving relations between him and other members of the NCFA.
The relations between Enver Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu during the communist regime were not at all good. At least, that is what the Americans claim. The CIA has declassified a document from 1955, which shows government dismissals, as well as the Hoxha-Shehu relationship. It states that there was great rivalry between them, and according to the report, Hoxha brought his own people into the government, and especially Spiro Koleka, in order to strengthen his positions. Furthermore, other documents show what was happening with the educational system in the country.
Internal Situation in Albania
Two major shocks have occurred in the Albanian regime in the last three weeks, with two high-level leaders dismissed on charges of incompetence: Deputy Prime Minister Tuk Jakova and the Minister of Education and Culture, Bedri Spahiu. Among the possible reasons for this are the change in orientation of Albanian policies towards Yugoslavia, or the development of what has been reported previously, namely rivalry between Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu and Party Chairman Enver Hoxha.
One of those dismissed, Bedri Spahiu, had headed the commission that tried and condemned Koçi Xoxe, the leading Albanian Titoist, in May 1949. Meanwhile, the other dismissed official, Tuk Jakova, is reported to have been in Moscow in the fall of 1948 to receive the orders for Xoxe’s removal and to replace him as party secretary. On the other hand, both of these men began to fall out of favor starting in 1951. Their dismissal was part of the personal difficulties of both within the party.
Regarding the Hoxha-Shehu rivalry, the evidence for their involvement with each other is mostly based on rumors. The strongest evidence concerns the elevation of Hoxha’s loyalist, Spiro Koleka, to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, signaling that other moves may be expected from Hoxha to strengthen his positions. The Italian Foreign Ministry also claims that the changes come after the removal of anti-Tito elements, and that the time has come for the USA to raise the issue of Albania’s impartiality.
The proposal indicates Italy’s desire for more maneuvering in Balkan affairs and suggests that perhaps Rome is exaggerating the risk of Yugoslav-Albanian moves. The Yugoslavs have shown little willingness to undertake unusual steps towards Albania and in fact appear more interested in what can be done with Bulgaria.
The Education System, December 1950
The education system in Albania functions as follows: The Minister of Education, Karaman Ylli, is also a member of the Central Committee of the Party. He is about 30 years old and has proven his loyalty to the party. In 1947, he was a member of the Albanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.
Upon his return, he became Minister of Education, replacing Naxhie Dume, a woman about 35 years old, the wife of an army general who was dismissed after the wave of purges and arrests following the execution of Koçi Xoxe. Informants say that the Minister of Education is under the supervision of a Soviet advisor, with an office inside the ministry. These advisors never intervene personally but pass instructions to the minister. / Memorie.al
Continued in the next issue
