By DASHNOR KALOÇI
Part One
Memorie.al / Even though it was the poorest state in Europe and one of the countries with the lowest standard of living in the entire world, the communist regime of Tirana headed by Enver Hoxha and his successor Ramiz Alia, financed and spent millions of dollars to help Marxist-Leninist Communist Parties, individuals and other leftist groups from all over the world, granting them funds, for travel, airline tickets, hotel bills, scholarships and study rights, various publications, translations of books and political literature, purchase of materials and equipment, visits and vacations in Albania, etc., etc. Created in 1964, under the designation “Solidarity Fund,” (with Decision No. 190, dated 10 June 1964 of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PLA), which bore the signature of Enver Hoxha, through this secret account millions of dollars were allocated and distributed (about 12 million USD during the years 1964–1991), to finance and support communist Marxist-Leninist parties, movements and groups in various countries of the world.
Referring to some archival documents, the distribution map of the “Solidarity Fund” by the top leadership of the PLA included states from all five continents, starting from the American one: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, the USA, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, etc. On the African continent: Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Congo Leopoldville, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Togo, Upper Volta, Gabon, Egypt, etc.
On the Asian continent: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Ceylon, Japan, India, Laos, Jordan, Syria, etc. On the Australian–Oceanian continent: Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc. On the European continent: France, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Portugal, England, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Romania, Germany, Yugoslavia, etc.
According to a decision of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PLA of 1964, when the “Solidarity Fund” was created, the right to grant funds to Marxist-Leninist communist groups and parties or various individuals “friends of Albania,” was held only by the General Secretary of the Party, Enver Hoxha, while after his death in 1985, it was “inherited” by Ramiz Alia and along with him, also Foto Çami, member of the Politburo and secretary of the Central Committee for propaganda, art and culture and foreign relations.
After their decision, the distribution of funds was handled by the head of the Sector for Foreign Relations at the apparatus of the Central Committee of the PLA, Agim Popa, to whose signature was also attached that of Sabaudin Kodra, head of the Finance sector in the Central Committee and Sadik Piri. (After his retirement in 1988, Flutra Arianiti was appointed).
The “Solidarity Fund,” (or as it was otherwise known; “Account 09”) and the entire practice of its distribution, was “Top secret” and for everything related to it, no one else should have knowledge, except the above-mentioned persons and the director of the Bank of the Albanian State, Kamber Myftari, as well as partially the main heads of some of the respective Albanian embassies accredited in various countries of the world, to whom checks were transferred to distribute to certain persons, (groups and Marxist-Leninist Communist Parties), according to the decision of the Central Committee of the PLA.
For the first time about the “Solidarity Fund,” it was spoken only in 1992, after the fall of the communist regime, where in the framework of investigations into the financial favors and excessive expenses of the families of the former top leadership of the PLA, (mainly those who had lived in the “Block” in Tirana), the High State Control, at the request of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party, drafted a detailed report with all financial data and balances from 1964 to 1991. But what remained unclear even after that report, indeed a great enigma that has not yet been clarified even today after 36 years of the fall of the communist regime, was the origin of that fund?! Neither Ramiz Alia with his closest collaborators, members of the Politburo and secretaries of the Central Committee, clarified that enigma and did not speak a single word, during their investigative and judicial process, as well as serving their prison sentence in the years 1993-1997.
But, after the 1990s, some former officials and functionaries of the communist regime, have asserted in various media interviews, that the fund was granted to the Central Committee of the PLA by the Communist Party of China as early as the beginning of the 1960s, and “not a single penny” was in that fund, from the state budget, or other financial sources. This version about the origin of the “Solidarity Fund,” may to some extent have some truth, since in one of the archival documents that we will publish in this article, in January 1991, when that fund was finally closed, Ramiz Alia, among other things wrote: “The new law on elections, does not allow financing from abroad, therefore there may be noise…”!
Nevertheless, the above remains to be further investigated in the archival documents of the former Central Committee of the PLA, since as we will see also from some documents that we will publish in this series of articles about the “Solidarity Fund,” even though the destination of that fund was for: “groups, Marxist-Leninist parties, or friends of Albania,” it was also touched for other purposes, such as the purchase of a printing press for the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit,” the Palace of Congresses, etc., or were deposited in foreign banks, such as in France, etc., for the purpose of receiving bank interest, etc. For more about this, etc., these archival documents which have been extracted from the Central State Archive, (fund of the former Central Committee of the PLA), which are published for the first time and with the respective facsimiles by Memorie.al, inform us.
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE DECISION OF THE FIRST SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, RAMIZ ALIA, FOR THE GRANTING OF 125,000 USD TO SOME COMMUNIST PARTIES AND MARXIST-LENINIST GROUPS
PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA Top secret
SECRETARIAT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Proletarians of all countries unite!
D E C I S I O N
No. 19 Date 6.3.1986
ON THE USE OF THE SOLIDARITY FUND DURING THE YEAR 1986 FOR MARXIST-LENINIST PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS
The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PLA, on the date 6.3.1986,
Decided:
I. From the solidarity fund at the disposal of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PLA, for the year 1986, a sum of 30,000 dollars shall be placed at the disposal of the needs of Marxist-Leninist parties.
The Secretary of the Central Committee is authorized to give aid to m-l parties and organizations, judging for each concrete case, up to 10,000 dollars, within the sum of 30,000 dollars. In other cases, action is taken by decision of the Secretariat of the Central Committee.
II. For travel expenses and per diems for delegations of m-l parties and friends invited by the Central Committee of the PLA, for vacations, medical treatment, etc., 45,000 dollars shall be placed at disposal.
III. For propaganda expenses (book publications, aid for publishing houses abroad that publish our materials, subscriptions and purchase of books, etc.) 20,000 dollars shall be placed at disposal.
IV. With the implementation of this decision, the Foreign Sector of the Central Committee of the PLA is charged.
FIRST SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
OF THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA
RAMIZ ALIA
No. 1606 Prot. Date 6.3.1986
TO THE FOREIGN SECTOR
H E R E
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, FOTO ÇAMI, SENT TO THE FINANCE SECTOR OF THE APPARATUS OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, FOR THE GRANTING OF 2,000 USD TO THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHILE “PROLETARIAN ACTION”
PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Tirana, on ________ 1987___ Top-Secret
No. Prot.
SUBJECT:
TO THE FINANCE OF THE APPARATUS OF THE CC OF THE PLA
Here
Let the sum of 2,000 (two thousand) dollars be placed at the disposal of the Communist Party of Chile (Proletarian Action), for the propaganda needs of this Party, based on Decision no. 19 dated 6.3.1986.
Secretary of the Central Committee of the PLA
Foto Çami
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE REPORT OF THE FINANCE BRANCH OF THE APPARATUS OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, ON THE BALANCE AND OPERATIONS OF THE TREASURY WITH THE SOLIDARITY FUND DURING THE YEAR 1986, SIGNED BY THE HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR, AGIM POPA
BALANCE OF THE TREASURY FOR THE OPERATIONS OF THE YEAR 1986
Assets
Liabilities
Inflows Dollar Outflows Dollar
1) Bank balance on 1.1.1986 dollar….. 2,999,016.98 1) Amount of expenses 26,753.88
2) Collection from Air Agency dollar ……. 1,120.32 2) IX Congress of PLA 46,938.08
3) Exchange rate difference for date 15.11.1986 dollar 0.34 3) Withdrawal by decision of the CM 295 dt 24.9.85 730,000
4) Collection of bank interest dollar 153,437.- 4) Balance in bank on 31/12/86 dollar… 2,353,447.68
5) Collection from Embassy Ankara dollar…….. 3,565.-
total dollar 3,157,139.64 total dollar 3,157,139.64
SABAUDIN KODRA FLUTRA ARIANITI
HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR
AGIM POPA
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE REPORT OF THE FINANCE SECTOR OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, RELATED TO THE EXPENSES GRANTED FOR THE COMMUNIST PARTIES AND MARXIST-LENINIST GROUPS THAT TOOK PART AS GUESTS IN THE 10TH CONGRESS OF THE PLA IN TIRANA IN THE YEAR 1986, SIGNED BY AGIM POPA
EXPENSES FOR THE IX CONGRESS OF THE PLA
No. Description Dollar
1) Given to the delegation of the CP of Canada 535-
2) Airline tickets for invited friends 1966-
3) Airline tickets for invited friends 13289.13
4) Valuta given for travel expenses to the Canadian delegation 2050
5) Airline tickets 7385.59
6) Airline tickets 4623.48
7) Airline tickets 5126.03
8) Airline tickets 3016.55
9) Airline tickets 6654.06
10) Airline ticket for Ibrahim Gora 949.16
11) Giving valuta for travel expenses to the delegation of the Communist Party of Peru 300
12) Hotel expenses for: Ali Mohamed 77.08
13) Hotel expenses for friends, transferred to embassies 966.-
Total sum 46,938.08
SABAUDIN KODRA FLUTRA ARIANIT
HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR
AGIM POPA
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE REPORT OF THE FINANCE SECTOR OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, RELATED TO THE 1986 STATEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR GIVING PER DIEMS AND TRAVEL TO SOME COMMUNIST PARTIES, INDIVIDUALS AND MARXIST-LENINIST GROUPS, SIGNED BY THE HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR AGIM POPA
STATEMENT OF TRAVEL AND PER DIEM EXPENSES
No. Description Dollar
1) Given to Embassy Paris, paid hotel E. Pires 63.66
2) Purchase of two airline tickets for Bashir Sankaran 278.08
3) Given to Embassy Rome expenses for Mexican; Irish friends 256.16
4) Given to Embassy Rome expenses for hotel for Ecuadorian and Irish friends 495.57
5) Airline tickets for the delegation of the CP of Mexico 4236.03
6) Giving valuta for travel ticket Santos Carlos 845-
7) Giving valuta to the delegation of the CP of Spain, travel expenses 600-
8) Transferred to Embassy Belgrade for hotel expenses Indonesian Soejono 28.57
9) Airline tickets Rafael Mehija and P. Fraco 2270.77
10) Airline ticket for Daniel Bon 181.56
11) Airline tickets J. Fernandes and M. Blanko 643.83
12) Airline tickets for R. Mehia and P. Franko 1605.95
13) Visa tax for the Peruvian Perez 5.64
14) Settlement of expenses for the Portuguese friend as well as airline tickets for F. Lopez and Ch Banko 548.47
15) Airline tickets for party friends 3049.85
16) Per Diem for the Brazilian radio couple 168-
17) Travel expenses for Selim Suphi 221.87
18) Airline tickets for the Brazilian couple and K. Imdat 802.33
19) Travel ticket for S. Komla 311.56
20) Airline tickets for the friends of the CP of Suriname 871.75
21) Transferred to Embassy Rome for expenses for party friends 174.42
22) Airline ticket for Rangi Tejlor 1579.69
23) Airline ticket for the Indonesian Soejono 506.03
24) Expenses for Rosner 6.40
sum 19751.19
SABAUDIN KODRA FLUTRA ARIANITI
HEAD OF FOREIGN SECTOR
AGIM POPA
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE REPORT OF THE FINANCE SECTOR OF THE APPARATUS OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, WITH THE STATEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR THE PURCHASE OF POSTAGE STAMPS AND AID FOR THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHILE AND THE DOMINICAN ONE, SIGNED BY THE HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR AGIM POPA
EXPENSES FOR PROPAGANDA
Transferred to Embassy Rome for purchase of stamps dollar 2.69
SABAUDIN KODRA FLUTRA ARIANITI
HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR
AGIM POPA
STATEMENT FOR GIVING AID
Giving Aid to the CP of the Dominican Republic …………..dollar 5,000
Giving aid to the CP of Chile …………. dollar 2,000
total dollar 7,000
SABAUDIN KODRA FLUTRA ARIANITI
HEAD OF THE FOREIGN SECTOR
AGIM POPA
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE DECISION OF THE FIRST SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA, RAMIZ ALIA, ON THE HANDING OVER OF THE ACCOUNT OF THE SOLIDARITY FUND, FROM SADIK PIRI, TO FLUTURA ARIANITI, FOR REASONS OF HIS RETIREMENT
PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA SECRET
SECRETARIAT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Proletarians of all countries unite!
D E C I S I O N
No. 14 Date 10.2.1986
ON THE HANDING OVER OF THE ACCOUNT OF THE SOLIDARITY FUND FROM COMRADE SADIK PIRI, TO THE RECIPIENT IN HANDOVER FROM COMRADE FLUTURA ARIANITI
The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PLA, after reviewing the proposal of the Foreign Sector of the Central Committee of the Party, on the handing over of the account of the solidarity fund by comrade Sadik Piri, who retires, on the date 10.2.1986,
Decided:
To approve the taking over of this account as second signatory by comrade Flutura Arianiti, starting from the date 1 February 1986.
With the implementation of this decision, the Foreign Sector of the Central Committee of the PLA is charged./ Memorie.al
FIRST SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
OF THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA
RAMIZ ALIA
No. 1078 Prot. Date 10.2.86
TO THE FOREIGN SECTOR
H E R E
Continues in the next issue
