Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes some archival documents extracted from the Central State Archive in Tirana (fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP), which belong to 1973, where it is a report-information of the first secretary of the Committee of the District Party, Mirdita, sent to the Central Committee of the ALP and personally to Ramiz Alia (secretary covering propaganda, art and culture), regarding the numerous meetings of the party’s grassroots organizations and those of the masses held in that district in the fight against foreign performances, “in the spirit of the speech of Comrade Enver Hoxha held at the III Plenum of the Central Committee and the apparatus of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, on the problems of culture, literature and arts.” All the criticisms and accusations made in the meetings of Mirdita, not only for the problems of that district, but also for the 11th Song Festival on the Albanian Radio-Television, the magazines ‘Shqiptarja e Re’, and ‘Ylli’, as well as the newspaper ‘Zeri i Popullit’, which had published an editorial by the well-known journalist and poet, Xhevahir Spahiu, which was only recently criticized by ‘Comrade Enver’!
The kind of liberalism that appeared, or was tolerated, we say by the communist regime in Tirana in the late ’60s and early’ 70s, which affected almost the entire life of the country and stood out more in art., culture and literature, stopped as commanded in January 1973, when Enver Hoxha threw the first criticism of the 11th National Song Festival on Radio Television. This festival, which can be said to have been the “peak” of liberalism in the artistic and cultural life of the country and was received quite well and with great hopes, both by the youth and by that part of the Albanian intelligence that closely followed the steps. and the political course taken by the communist regime in Tirana, after the first criticism of the “main leader”, suddenly turned into a “shooting board” from both the top leadership and the entire party hierarchy of the system to the grassroots organizations and also by all the mass organizations that were under the auspices and under the command of the Party. The criticism or more precisely the dissatisfaction expressed by Enver Hoxha in the first days of January 1973 towards the 11th National Song Festival, continued further by him with the speech held on March 15 of the same year in the basic organization of the party of the Central Committee of the ALP and the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, to continue later in the III Plenum of the Central Committee of the ALP, where the main topic was: “The fight against foreign and liberal performances in art , culture and literature ”. As we will see in many of the subsequent chapters of this book, Enver Hoxha’s speech of March 15 and that of the Third Plenum “had a great echo” throughout the life of the country and as a result, meetings were held numerous not only from the cultural and artistic institutions of Tirana and throughout the country, but also from all party committees in different districts and departments and institutions, basic organizations, as well as from all mass organizations, such as. : Albanian Working Youth Union, Professional Unions, Women’s Organization, Veterans Organization, etc. In this context of the development of events, at that time was held the meeting of the Plenum of the Committee of the Party of Mirdita District, which took place after a series of meetings that were held in that district, both by grassroots organizations and those of the masses. The archival document that we are publishing in this part of the book is related to this, where the First Secretary of the Committee of the Mirdita District Party, Jovan Bardhi, informs the Central Committee of the ALP (these reports-information were sent personally to Ramiz Alia, the secretary of the Central Committee of the ALP, which covered propaganda, art and culture), regarding the development of that Plenum and all the issues that arose at that meeting. As we will see from the document in question, what is noticed there, unlike many other districts, where in the meetings that took place at that time on exactly the same topic (“Fight against foreign performances in the spirit of comrade speech Enver Hoxha in the III Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party and the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, on the problems of Culture, Literature and Arts ”), was not discussed and problems were raised on issues that concerned only the district of Mirdita, such as . ‘cases of theft by students in the dormitories of high schools of Rubik and Rrëshen’, ‘theft of money of a teacher by students of Rubik school’, ‘theft of the Reps shop by students of the 8-year school of that village’ , ‘fashion of long hair and favorites’, ‘failures of plans of enterprises and mines of the district’, ‘cadres who wanted to leave the district of Mirdita’, etc., etc., but also for various problems of arts and culture at the national level. Thus, according to the report of Jovan Bardhi, from the communists and the working collectives of the district of Mirdita, problems have been raised and the magazines ‘Nëntori’, and ‘Shqiptarja e Re’, the Albanian Radio-Television, and even the newspaper ‘Zëri’ of the People ‘, which “should not have published the main article of Xhevahir Spahiu, precisely after the criticism made against him by Comrade Enver”. Regarding these and other things that have been discussed in the Plenum of the Committee of the Party of Mirdita, we know the document in question, which is published with some abbreviations in this part of the book.
Information report of the First Secretary of Mirdita, Jovan Bardhi, for the Central Committee of the ALP
SOME PROBLEMS THAT COME OUT IN THE DISTRICT OF MIRDITA FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST FOREIGN ACTIVITIES IN THE SPIRIT OF SHOKE ENVER’S SPEECH IN THE 3RD PLENIUM OF K.Q. AND IN THE PRESIDENCY OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY, ON THE PROBLEMS OF CULTURE, LITERATURE AND ARTS
Comrade Enver Hoxha’s speech held at the III Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party and the Presidium of the People’s Assembly on the problems of Culture, Literature and Arts, were worked on and analyzed by the comrades of the Plenum, the apparatus, the mass organizations, the secretaries org. Party bases and with delegates at the district level. At the same time, instructions were given on how I should work for their recognition, dismantling and implementation, and for organizing the discussion of these problems in the basic organizations of the Party and in the masses.
After a detailed study of the speeches of Comrade ENVER, the Bureau of the District Party Committee, in its extended meeting with the participation of the heads of the mass and sector organizations in the apparatus of the Party Committee, stopped at foreign performances, in the causes, the sources, and the work to be done against them.
There are also cases of theft from students. This breaks the sales shop by a group of 8-year-old Reps students. In Rubik there have been cases when individual or group students steal. In one case, the teacher’s money. There is theft from students to each other, as money, loot, especially in the high school dormitory, Rubik and Rrëshen. Little care is shown for the education of children by families.
There are many children who are brought to the city until late at night and the parent does not take care of them. Some children use abusive words, smoke badly, in some cases in small groups, lie down and drink alcohol. They break the lights at school, break the windows with slingshots. There is a lack of respect for teachers and for adults. This is especially evident in the city schools: Rrëshen, Rubik, Reps and Kurbnesh.
In technical, educational and health intelligence as well as among school students, performances also appear in their presentation. There are those with long hair and favorites. These are employees who have come from other districts, there are also those who are from our district, but who have finished their studies in big cities, especially in Tirana. Such manifestations, especially in the last year, have been noticed even among young people who are workers and cooperatives. Some of them who have long and favorite hair say that they understand that our opinion does not accept us, but what do we do to our friends when we go to the city, they tell us, you are malok, or how soon you became a peasant.
From the cadres of other districts that work in Mirdita, especially those of engineering-technical, education and health, there are over 90 requests to leave under various pretexts that; we have completed the “internship”, “we have stayed in Mirdita for a long time”, they consider themselves provisional, etc. Only out of three economic enterprises, such as Metallurgy and Geology in Rubik, and mines in Kurbnesh, there are 19 senior staff who have sought to leave, which in some cases does not affect the quality of work for good.
The Secretariat of the District Party Committee has stopped at these shows, dismantled them for the damage they cause, and treated them in the basic Party organizations and those of the masses for their political and ideological meaning. Despite the effect it is having again, there is pressure to leave. Another phenomenon appears in the intelligence, some of them do not get married. I have over 100 such cases that have passed 30 years and some of those who are from other districts, often times justify that they wait to transfer, then get engaged and get married.
In the field of musical creativity, not enough attention is paid to folk music. This is sometimes underestimated, giving priority to light music. In some cases, this rare, during the explanation in school, importance is given to foreign literature rather than Albanian literature. There are those who not only listen to foreign music shows, but also watch on television the shows given by Italy and Yugoslavia, and in many cases talk about ordinary things.
This and other foreign performances in the concrete conditions of our district, have their basis and source in the micro-bourgeois psychology of private property that has deep roots in the consciousness of employees, in the decline of personal interest, in the insufficient work developed by the Committee of Party, grassroots and mass organizations.
We have put more emphasis in our work in the fight against backward customs, religious beliefs, in the fight against bayraktarism and revenge. We have not always fought with the same force, at the same time against foreign appearances and liberalism. We have seen and fought these manifestations as separate phenomena in some basic party and mass organizations. Without drawing general conclusions at the district level.
For foreign performances, the pressures of foreign ideology have also influenced us, which has penetrated through various channels, especially through foreign radio and television.
From the discussions in the Bureau of the District Party Committee it emerged that foreign performances, in some cases have been spread by our radio and television, the press, publications and the little insufficient work done in some cases in the institutions of higher educational and cultural, makes some young men and women, after finishing their studies, send some foreign shows to the districts where they are sent for work. Some of the most concrete remarks were:
In the literary press such as the newspaper “Drita”, and the magazine “Nëntori”, there is no concrete criticism, but more theorizing. Criticisms of writing start more from considerations for the writer than from the content of the work he writes. Other press bodies also have shortcomings in the fight against foreign appearances. Thus, in the magazine “Shqiptarja e Re”, it happens that foreign fashion models in clothing are published, while the magazine “Ylli”, also in the second issue of this year, publishes 10 photos of European footballers with ugly appearances.
In some cases, according to us, in the newsrooms of newspapers there are displays of familiarity, this seems even in the underdevelopment of criticism for the problems of literature and art. In this context, the main article of the newspaper ‘Zeri i Popullit’, dated 18.II.1972, by Xhevahir Spahiu, “The end of the year, the end of the railway”, was told in the Bureau that not only was it not for the main article, that there were also meta, but there was no one else to write, only Xhevahir Spahiu, right after the criticism that comrade Enver made to the author.
There was criticism as to why the 11th Kanga Festival, which was broadcast on Radio-Television, was not seen before, and this is happening in other cases as well. It was said that the Committee of the Tirana Party should exercise more control and assistance in the basic organizations of educational and cultural institutions, of various editorial offices.
The problems referred to in the speeches of Comrade ENVER were addressed by us in the forums of the district mass organizations. The discussion continues in Party and mass organizations. In the basic organizations of the Party and the masses, where the problems have been more acute, more prepared comrades were sent, who knew the situation, to follow more closely the problems that arise during the discussion of the shortcomings that are noticed.
The organization of professional unions of Electrolysis at the Copper Plant in Rubik, after discussing foreign performances, took the initiative to win the individual and collective title distinguished in society and in the family, defining some of the main directions to win this title. Rubik High School began the discussion by confronting 13 third-year industrial high school students who cheated their families into changing grades sent to parents at the close of the first semester.
Previously, opinions were given through lightning bolts, 13 students and their parents were confronted by teachers. There was a lot of debate. Any parent expressed that; we have delivered the child to the school, so do whatever you want or take any action for him. The discussion deepened in the youth organization and in the professional organization of the school from the laying of the problem, the sick familiarity to the students and any teacher the development of criticism and self-criticism and other disciplines emerged.
The 8-year Rubik’s school addressed several topics with teachers about the education of children, then worked on the workers and the organization of the Neighborhood Front, linking it to the concrete cases of performances in Rubik. In the coop. agricultural Blinisht, the Bureau of the Party organization, in the fight against indifference in the attitude towards work, used lightning bolts, confrontations in the brigade and these are giving the effects of going to work and making use of lost time. They have taken the initiative, no unreasonable absences at work and meet the rate every day and month.
The main NSHN Party organization in the Kulme mine, during the discussion, criticizing the omissions, liberalism, increased demands on itself, the communists and workers took an initiative to cut 6 workers in non-productive sectors and move them to other productive sectors. During the popular discussion we are trying to fight and the shortcomings that are noticed as, during the elections there was no possibility to analyze the meetings of basic organizations, foreign appearances, so we are returning to the discussion.
In these discussions, in some cases, they have tried to blame others, especially from the center of the Tirana institution. These have been condemned, as we do not in fact depart from the general. There is little initiative in the fight against foreign performances such as attitudes towards work, property, education and social problems, we are orienting the problems not only to be raised and understood but also to be corrected.
The authorities and those of the economy entered into these problems later. These were some of the problems that arose out of this discussion in the Bureau and as the beginning of work in Party and mass organizations. The problem is being pursued, we will occasionally inform the Bureau of the District Party Committee, we will get back to you about the problems in the org. of the Party and those of the masses and for the issues that will arise we will inform from time to time the apparatus of the Central Committee of the ALP./Memorie.al
I SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT PARTY COMMITTEE
Jovan Bardhi
