Part One
-Interview of journalist Blendi Fevziu on the Opinion show on TV Klan, with the former head of the ‘Albanian’ section of Radio “Voice of America”, about her role in the overthrow of communism in Albania
Memorie.al / Returning to Tirana on the occasion of a conference for the 20th anniversary of the change of the political system in Albania, Elez Biberaj, director of the Euro-Asia Division at Radio “Voice of America” and responsible for broadcasts for the Russian-Ukrainian language and for the Balkan countries and Albanian, shares his memories of 1991, on the “Opinion” show of journalist Blendi Fevziu on TV Klan. How did he meet Gramoz Pashko and Sali Berisha and how did he interview Fatos Nano and Ismail Kadarena and what was the opinion of the Secretary of State, James Baker, after his visit to Albania?
Mr. Biberaj! You played an important role in what is called free public information in Albania, at a time when there was almost no information, except for the official one coming from “Voice of the People”. You came to head the VOA section in 1986, if I’m not mistaken? When did you first join the Voice of America?
First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity you are giving me for this interview. Thank you also for the appearance you made. I would be very happy if I deserved only 20 percent of what you said.
I would not like to demonstrate the speeches that Ramiz Alia and Xhelil Gjoni made at that time, where they accused you and VOA of organizing the protests, but I believe that these were exaggerated…?
Absolutely. I started working at “Voice of America” in December 1980 and worked in the ‘Albanian’ service for a year and a half.
When did VOA’s Albanian service start?
The first broadcasts in Albanian from “Voice of America”, although “Voice of America” did not exist as such, were in March 1943. At that time, there may have been broadcasts in less than 25 languages and it was a sign of the importance that the USA gave to Albania. Then, immediately after the War, the broadcasting of the Albanian language was interrupted, starting on March 13, 1951. So next year, we will mark the anniversary of uninterrupted broadcasting.
Since 1951, the Albanian section of VOA has continued uninterruptedly, how is it explained then, that it gained its greatest presence in the late 1980s?! Because of the events here with you. Or because of the greater information that VOA itself began to receive in the late 1980s?
This was also one of the main factors. When I was appointed as the Head of the Albanian Section, until that time there was very little material that VOA was broadcasting about the developments in Albania. During the talks with the directors of the “Voice of America” programming, I was very interested in having the right to to give more space to the developments here. Because in reality, it was about advertising the work of the American government, to a certain extent. Not only the government, but also international news.
And you tried to get into Albanian internal events. But how would you get in, when you had no possibility of penetration?!
We had no direct contacts with Albania, but the connections existed, to report on the developments here.
How did you get this information?
Here, some changes had begun after the death of Enver Hoxha. The economic problems, at least from our point of view from the outside, seemed to be in full swing. An increasing number of Westerners were visiting Albania. Some journalists came, wrote, but our method, or the strategy that we adopted, starting in 1986, was to monitor the Albanian press.
With all its wooden language, was there information?
Yes, yes. We interviewed experts on Albania. Meetings, forums, congresses, the meeting of the Politburo of the Albanian People’s Party, we read the speeches very carefully and then made our own analyses.
Mr. Biberaj, how is your family settled in the USA?
Long story. My parents fled Albania in 1951. I was born in Montenegro, in a village between Plav and Guci, it’s an area…!
Were you opponents of the regime?
Yes. In fact, the regime was their opponent. Then I moved to the USA, since 1968.
Since 1968, you had not returned to Kosovo?
No.
And at the same time not to Albania?
Not to Albania.
As we said, VOA grew in the late 1980s. How much did the opening of telephone lines, the possibility of communication, affect?
In my opinion, that event was decisive. In my opinion, that day marked the beginning of the democratic revolution.
In what sense?
Because it gave us the opportunity to talk to people here in Tirana. Let’s start a conversation and mention the main issues that intellectuals, the government, and various experts were facing.
How did you manage to obtain the phone numbers of some of the important intellectuals of Albania at that time?
Before the establishment of the direct telephone connection between the United States and Albania, which occurred in mid-May, in the year ’90, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Perez De Cuellar, had come for a visit here, in early May, and on that occasion, a correspondent for “Voice of America”, an American…!
Laura Silber…?
Yes, Laura Silber, who was in Vienna, was given a visa to come and cover the visit of the UN Secretary-General. Before she came here, we talked and compiled a list of people that she could try to interview.
Who did you recommend?
Starting with Ismail Kadare. I read the press very carefully and tried to identify intellectuals, journalists, who in their writings presented reformist ideas.
Who had you managed to identify with reformist ideas in mid-May 1990?
We had started this long before the visit of the UN head. As far as the top state leadership was concerned, we considered Foto Çami to be one of the reformists. And among the intellectuals, there was Ismail Kadare, starting with his statements at the end of ’89, a speech at the Writers’ League at the end of ’89. Hamit Beqja, with those writings of his, when the problems with youth were addressed. But in May and June, it was the period when a wave broke out here. It was the article by Dr. Ylli Popa, Sali Berisha, etc.
Did you understand that something had started to move?
No, we understood much earlier. Immediately after the fall of Ceausescu, of Romania, attention was focused on Albania, the last Stalinist domino, and the first reports of riots in Kavaja, Shkodra, etc.
Was there much attention from the US government, towards you, about Albania?
No. It is true that even the person who dealt with the Albanian issue, in the State Department, was not a person who dealt only with the Albanian issue. That person covered Bulgaria or Romania and then Albania. There was no special attention to Albania and until the beginning of 1991, since the Albanian Section of VOA was the only organ, or any other government organ, there were no more resources for Albania.
Including the American administration?
Yes.
Did Mr. Biberaj know in the USA that before 1989, regardless of the system, there was a strong pro-American mood in Albania?
I don’t think so. But one of the goals that we had as a government radio station was to serve as a bridge between the USA and Albania, to give some hope to the Albanians. We knew that you were living under a terrible totalitarian rule, so we wanted to give you a ray of hope, that the outside world, especially the USA, had not forgotten you.
Let’s go back to Perez De Cuellar’s visit and the company that the VOA correspondent gave him. You said that you had told him, in addition to other tasks, to bring a telephone directory of Albania?
It’s true, at that time, or rather this is what Laura told me when she returned, that very few people had private telephones, and there were only telephones in offices.
You didn’t know this?!
No, we didn’t know. We didn’t even own any telephones, except for the telephones of the editorial offices of “Zëri i Popullit”, “Bashkimi”, etc. Laura Sillber’s visit was very successful. She managed to interview Kadarene, Gramoz Pashko, Remzi Lanin, Arben Puton, etc. In total, about 10 intellectuals.
That you had suggested all of them?
Not all of them. We didn’t know anything about some of them. Arben Puton yes, I had read his writings, Hamit Beqjan, yes. Gramoz Pashko, she discovered it herself. I had seen some of his writings, about economic problems, but I still wasn’t attracted to his writings.
At the moment when the first phone calls were opened. So Albania could communicate directly with foreign countries with a prefix, who did you call first, do you remember?
Yes. It was the same day that the telephone connections with Albania were established and I called the editorial office of “Zërit të Popullit”.
Why?
But we didn’t have any other number.
Why did you call him?
Yes, I said why not. It was also to establish some kind of contact and to see.
Do you remember the answer?
Yes. It took me at least two hours to get in touch with Tirana, it was very difficult. I didn’t say who I was, I said I was an Albanian from the US and they said: “What are you looking for?” I told them that I needed a phone number. I had a strategy, which was to start interviews with officials. With government spokespeople. I asked this person for the phone number of the Institute for Foreign Relations, of Sofokli Lazri, and I wanted to talk to him and discuss the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations. The person who answered insisted on knowing who I was. When I told him, he said: “Mascara, traitor” and hung up on me.
And you insisted on a second call?
Yes, definitely. This continued for a week or two and we made several calls.
Always, by calling newspaper editorial offices?
Initially yes. It was a very interesting conversation. I have a special voice, which is distinctive, the northern dialect, and the American accent. Apparently this person, (even today I don’t know who he is), immediately told me; “You are Mr. Biberaj from “Voice of America” I said “yes”.
Are you calling the editorial office, or a private home?
In the editorial office. And we immediately got into a conversation about the Kosovo issue, because we were covering it and he said very good things about the coverage of the events that we were doing and I asked him; what do you think about the coverage of the events in your country? He said: “You have no idea at all, you have an hour left in 1945”, and this did not bother me, because, I kept in mind, that everything was recorded and he wanted to do it…!
And in the meantime, you started calling the homes of those who were considered more progressive intellectuals and officials. Did you try to call the officials again?
The first official I interviewed was Muhamet Kapllani, but very late, when he was in the coalition government.
But that is very late. What about the first phone call with intellectuals?
The first interview I conducted with an intellectual, It was on June 29, 1990, with Gramoz Pashko.
How do you remember this interview?
I called him. He was extremely enthusiastic; we had a very long conversation. I was prepared for a very long interview, because he had conducted an interview with Laura Siller, and that interview left a great impression on us. Then I did some research, read some other articles, he had also published some articles in English. We had a very interesting conversation, although I was very careful.
That you did not harm Gramoz Pashko?
Yes. I had very superficial knowledge.
Did it happen that Pashko’s answers were more advanced than what you had hoped for?
Yes.
And then you started with a series of intellectuals?
Yes, the second interview was with Hamit Beqjan. Then the embassy events happened and there was a break that lasted several weeks.
Did it happen that the people you called refused to give interviews, or were they scared?
Yes. Very few intellectuals agreed to speak. Ylli Popa, for example, refused to speak. But those who did speak radiated a kind of courage.
Did they give you any hope that something was happening?
Definitely. These were very brave people. In their answers, they were very careful.
Mr. Biberaj, apart from Gramoz Pashko, can you point out others who impressed you?
Yes. An interview with Aleks Luaras. His answers were more or less standard, according to the official line, but the fact that he agreed to answer some questions, which were considered very provocative here, was important to us. At this time, we received both letters and phone calls and I have the impression that our listeners were more interested in the questions we asked than in the answers.
For example,..?
Why doesn’t Albania allow the creation of an opposition? Albanians, don’t have the same level as Montenegrins, Serbs, Bulgarians, or others?
Did you know that in Albania, your name had started to be attacked a lot at political levels?
No, I found out about this very late, in November, when a letter was published.
When a letter was published in “Voice of the People” accusing you of interfering in domestic politics?
Yes. I took that as a sign that “Voice of America” had influence.
How did you follow the embassy crisis, when the regime received perhaps one of the deepest blows. How do you remember it?
The embassy events occurred at the same time as the turbulent events in Kosovo. On July 2, members of the Kosovo Assembly declared independence from Serbia. On July 2, as far as I remember, we had maybe a very short news report about the events at the embassies, because we had no information. Then on July 3, 4, 5, 6, and for almost two weeks, all our programs were filled with this event.
Did you have inside information about the situation?
We did, but not enough. And for me, it was very important, because the greatest asset we have is credibility. I was very careful not to give any news that was not true. And I had a terrible fear that the transition here could be very traumatic, and I was very careful not to encourage the use of violence in our broadcasts.
Did you have this concern?
Yes, a lot, starting from 1989. There was also the experience of Radio Free Europe and the Hungarian revolution, where RFE was accused of inciting the Hungarians to revolt and then, there was no help from abroad. I was absolutely determined that such a thing would not happen, while I was responsible for our programs.
Mr. Biberaj, do you see a connection between the July 2nd of the embassies and the July 2nd in Kosovo?
There has been so much speculation. But I have no data that this is it. As far as I know, here too the events started a few days earlier, it is the issue of the “Popa family”.
I have followed your comments several times, in which you attempted to make an analysis, within the communist leaders of the time, to divide them into liberals and conservatives. In your opinion, after 20 years, did there really exist two currents, or was there simply only one leader, who was Ramiz Alia?
Starting immediately after the death of Enver Hoxha, in my analyses, almost always, until after the embassy events and Ramiz Alia’s visit to the United Nations, I have always presented Ramiz Alia as a reformist; this is the new leader, similar to Gorbachev, who is trying to implement some reforms, but there is opposition from conservatives. I already saw Ramiz Alia as the main problem.
So, do you think that Alia was the main problem of the reforms in the country and not their driver?
Yes. If President Alia had been a little more far-sighted and had the necessary courage, his whole theory was that he would make some changes, but that the communist system would remain intact. To survive.
Mr. Biberaj, you usually publish your phone number in your reports from Washington. Did someone call you in the newsroom to get information about what was happening in Albania, even before December 1990?
Yes. We used the phone number intentionally, publishing it.
And they started calling you? Were there any brave ones?!
Yes, there were. But it was difficult for us to confirm the news, especially in July 1990. Then, after Kadare’s escape, during November, during the beginning of December, we started to receive more reliable news.
How do you remember an interview you conducted with the future Prime Minister of Albania at that time, Fatos Nano?
It was the beginning of August. I had followed some of Fatos Nano’s writings and the Chinese issue also connected us. My dissertation was on the Albanian-Chinese alliance and in 1984, Fatos Nano published a book about China, something about capitalist reforms and I was interested and I had followed them as much as I could, I had followed his writings. Some articles in the magazine “Economic problems”, where he criticized the market economy very harshly, but showed knowledge of the market economy. In the early 1990s, probably in February of that year, he gave an interview to a Western newspaper, where he talked about the need for foreign aid and some loans. I tried to get in touch with Mr. Nano, since May. But it was very difficult to get in touch with him and I finally got in touch in early August.
Was he available?
Yes. I would call Tirana and if someone agreed to an interview, then we would go to the studio and pick them up. Half an hour, or an hour later. In the case of Fatos Nano, he was ready immediately. I was calling him from the office, so I said, excuse me, I have to go to the studio to record you.
At that time, did you manage to identify a group of people who could become the future leaders of the country?
One of the real problems with the events of August was that with those events, the communist regime should have been destroyed. But, one element that was missing was leadership. There was no leader. For the period that you are talking about, the only leader that we saw, or I saw, was Kadare.
Who did not want to play an internal role, but chose to leave…?
My opinion is that he played a very important role.
Without a doubt, but did his departure play a more important role than the one that he could have played internally, in your opinion?
The problem was that there were no other leaders here and with his statements, Kadare, starting with the interview with “Zëri i Rinisë”, where we gave a lot of space to it, were a contribution. In May, after De Cuellar’s visit, Kadare was demanding reforms. I personally experienced his escape with disappointment, because I didn’t see anyone else on the horizon.
But did you see that his escape greatly stimulated the fall of communism?
I think so. Memorie.al
Continues next issue
