The fourth part
Memorie.al – Albania was sunk in debt, and the “clearing” method used at the time among socialist countries was not enough to pull a country out of crisis. Albania produced nothing to exchange. It would be Enver Hoxha himself who, in defiance of every socialist slogan, had signed a dubious contract with a Jewish merchant, which consisted of opening a corridor for cigarette smuggling. All the behind-the-scenes of this agreement—how it was created, how “Albtrans,” the trading enterprise under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, operated—are revealed to us by its former director in the 1980s, Lorenc Nenshati, in the book “Albtrans, Top Secret.”
Continued from the previous issue
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs never had the personality that it deserved to have, as the first ministry in any government anywhere in the world. Throughout the entire period of the communist system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs played a secondary role, as it was overshadowed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
As for personnel, in the main European embassies—in Rome, Paris, Vienna, Athens, Belgrade, Sofia, Bucharest, Prague, Istanbul (the consulate)—the double-duty diplomats dominated, both in numbers and in the quality of their work. In New York, the work was different. The mission needed full-time diplomats to follow the daily proceedings of the UN, and the proportion was different.
In Italy, in 1975, the personnel consisted of the ambassador and three diplomats with double duties, and together with me we became four. A year earlier, the embassy’s counselor had been transferred and was replaced after two years with another who was poorly trained who was transferred after a year of stay.
Also in Rome, at that time, a third secretary was appointed, a diplomat from the MFA side, but not much time passed before he too returned to where he came from, on the grounds that he was unsuitable or poorly trained.
These cases and others show the underestimation in the selection of diplomatic cadres by the MFA. Not many years before I entered diplomacy, the personnel with double duties covered the work of technical staff: as drivers, clerks, etc.
Very few went to be appointed as diplomats. These cases spoke only of the heads of the group of personnel with double duties (residents), people with war merits or with “warm shoulders.” Even the Ministry of Internal Affairs was not interested in this direction.
Perhaps the directors of cadres at that time did not even know exactly what it meant to be appointed a diplomat and the level of diplomatic rank for the personality of a diplomat abroad.
Not because of the salary differences, which were so small and negligible, but they had not yet made it a working method to discuss with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the problems of appointments as diplomats and the level of diplomatic ranks for employees with double duties, so that they would have the opportunity to lead a more intensive diplomatic life.
After the defense ministry was deprived of direct double-duty tasks in embassies, the MFA began to activate more diplomats of lower ranks, because many vacancies remained.
When the problem of appointing double-duty personnel as diplomats seemed to be resolved—that is, everyone was appointed as diplomats—discrimination with lower ranks still continued. What kind of diplomatic life could be led with the rank of Attaché? I and another colleague, who was assigned to Athens, received the lowest rank in the hierarchy.
We were ashamed to request introductory meetings with our counterparts in the Diplomatic Corps, because usually the rank that dealt with politics started from Second Secretary. Just for appearance’s sake, when I passed the first phase of the mission, about six months to a year, we were forced to learn tricks; we made a ruse with our personal business cards.
At first, I covered the culture sector and presented myself as a “Cultural Attaché.” This designation meant that I could have any diplomatic rank, from attaché to counselor. For example, “Cultural Attaché” or “Press Attaché,” etc. After a year, I was assigned to the consular office and my business card became “Head of the Consular Office.”
The position changed from attaché to consul. We had heard it said that in 1938 the Balkan Games were held in Athens, in which two athletes from Shkodër with the surname Dizdari also participated: one in the 400m run and the other in the pole vault.
The runner came in third and was honored with a Bronze Medal. When asked how many runners he had left behind, he replied: “There were only three of us.” I too was the head of an office, without a single subordinate. After two years, the MFA remembered and promoted me to Second Secretary, which was a satisfactory rank.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs dominated in all aspects—in the majority of the personnel and in the quality of selection. Apart from the ambassador, who was the chosen one of the Central Committee, both in volume and quality of information, the double-duty diplomats also contributed.
They had information in their profession, knew how to choose friends and knew well how to exploit them for information. Another great plus for them was that they also had other secret sources at their disposal, which broadened their range of information.
An extremely important role in avoiding the primary role of the MFA and bringing the MIA and the Ministry of Defense to the forefront was played by the fact that these two ministries always had as ministers—formally, the aspect that stimulated personality in the communist state—high officials, members of the Political Bureau.
Meanwhile, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I am not sure if any of them was a member of the Central Committee. Therefore, the Foreign Ministers were characterized only by prudence, waiting for everything from above; the word “from above” meant the place where even the ministers of Internal Affairs and Defense belonged.
It is a fact that many storms passed from above over our country, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not significantly affected, apart from the Foreign Minister, Nesti Nase, who went through a period of arrest and emerged innocent. This shows that the MFA was always passive, always waiting, taking neither economic nor political initiatives that would put it at risk.
Ironically, later, around the 1990s, when the United States of America recognized Albania, it happened that the children of technical staff, who had been born in America, were granted the right to American citizenship, while the children of those who worked as diplomats in the mission were not granted citizenship. So, after every evil, good always comes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs never had the personality that it deserved to have, as the first ministry in any government anywhere in the world. Throughout the entire period of the communist system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs played a secondary role, as it was overshadowed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
As for personnel, in the main European embassies—in Rome, Paris, Vienna, Athens, Belgrade, Sofia, Bucharest, Prague, Istanbul (the consulate)—the double-duty diplomats dominated, both in numbers and in the quality of their work. In New York, the work was different. The mission needed full-time diplomats to follow the daily proceedings of the UN, and the proportion was different. / Memorie.al
