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), belonging to 1968, where the Director of State Security, Feçor Shehu, through several reports -information with the logo “Top secret”, informs the Central Committee of the ALP and personally, Hysni Kapon, the secretary who covered the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of People’s Defense, etc., regarding the “hostile comments” made by elements different in some districts of the country, such as: in Tirana, Durres, Lushnje, Lezha, Tropoja, Saranda, Kukes, Elbasan, Gjirokastra, Përmet, etc., for the military aggression of the Soviet Union against Czechoslovakia! How did the political prisoners, such as: Halim Xhelo, Maqo Çomo, Kin Dushi, Vangjel Xhomaka, Abdulla Sallaku, etc., comment on those events in Burrel prison, as well as some members of the foreign diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana, who were intercepted by the ‘House with Leaves’?!
“Anti-party elements serving sentences in Burrell Prison have commented on the events in Czechoslovakia: ‘Halim Xhelo said; “Since the Soviets started it in Czechoslovakia, they will continue to take turns from Yugoslavia, Romania and Albania, to establish order once and for all.” Maqo Çomo said: “The military intervention in the Czech Republic is an encouragement to the opposition forces in China, it also raises hopes for an opportunity for Soviet intervention in China. Dubcek’s entry into force and the tendency to secede from the camp have to do with a major international conspiracy, involving the Chinese, the imperialists, the Yugoslavs, the Romanians. The Chinese support every force and country, only with the conditions to be against B.S. In a conversation Maqo Çomo had with Vangjel Xhomaka, Maqua told him: ‘I will be an enemy of the leadership of our party and state, as long as it opposes the Soviet leadership, and in case they agree among themselves, I have no claim to the present leadership of our country. It would be wrong to ask the Soviets to come as a condition for the normalization of relations with Albania, the entry into force of persons convicted by the party, such as Bedri Spahiu, Liri Belishova, etc. Those who speak in this way against the Soviet Union must be an agency of imperialism, otherwise there is no way to understand it. ‘ This is stated, among other things, in a report-information with the initials ‘Top Secret’ of 1968, of the Director of State Security, Feçor Shehu, sent to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the ALP, Hysni Kapo, regarding the “hostile comments” which took place in different districts of the country, in the ranks of the Army, in Burrel Prison, in the diplomatic corps accredited in Albania, etc., in connection with the military aggression of the Soviet Union against Czechoslovakia. For more about this, let us know the archival documents that Memorie.al is publishing in full, starting from the previous issue.
Continued from the previous issue
Information report of Feçor Shehu for Hysni Kapo
THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA VERY SECRET
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS ECZ, No.1
FIRST DIRECTORY Tirana, on 22 / IX / 1968
Nr. 1786 Prot.
Subject; On comments made by enemy element and by foreigners
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF P.P. ALBANIA
SHOKUT HYSNI KAPO
Tirana
Hostile comments
From the announcements made these two days by the Branches of Internal Affairs of the districts, on the hostile comments, the most important are;
- In the district of Tirana
“Our country is a small country and does not carries any weight. The Soviets did not pay attention to these words, now that we have left the Warsaw Pact, in case of danger there is no one to help us, before even if we spoke badly against the treaty, they would help us in case of danger, they lie to them that China will come to their aid, with the measures that are being taken, the general mobilization is taking place, but who will they face, the Russians who invaded Czechoslovakia within 3 hours ?! The Czechs did well not to fight; because blood would be shed in vain, here we will shed blood, since when we broke up with BS, we remained in the tunnels and we were left with rifles on our side, no one is fighting against the Soviets, they are even waiting impatiently, especially those who have studied in BS, etc”.
- In the district of Durrës
The speech of the Prime Minister in the People’s Assembly is threatening and bombastic, it is not clear where the aid from China will come from, because it is the geographical factors that make it impossible, the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia shows the great military potential they have, I also show that Areas of influence have been divided between the Soviet Union and the United States, and we will suffer as Czechoslovakia, since Albania belongs to the sphere of influence of the Soviets, etc.
- In the district of Shkodra
Now that the Soviets have started, they will save us from these too and will show the place to those who have left nothing to be done, these duals from the Warsaw Pact, but even though the Soviets do not ask for such a thing, so do we. we will suffer the fate of Czechoslovakia, etc.
- In the district of Gjirokastra
War will break out, our country is besieged, we are a small country, one day they will catch us like that rabbit in the thorns, after Czechoslovakia it is our turn, there is no one to protect us, etc.
- In the district of Përmet
The situation is good for us, the war will break out in the Balkans, they will attack us too, but we must think to save our heads, as it seems the cup is full, we no longer live with this party and government, the paratroopers, (paratroopers) will jump into our country with the utmost secrecy, & c.
- In the district of Lushnja
The situation in Czechoslovakia has stabilized, in their area of influence the Soviets do not let their position change and that is right, they will definitely attack us too, they are very strong, they have very modern weapons and equipment, we cannot afford them., apparently the day is coming for us and then we will know what we are going to do to these.
- In the district of Saranda
The Soviet Union is a great power, in 2 hours I invade Czechoslovakia, ay does not even ask about our strength, we do not fight 1 in 1000, now that we have left the Warsaw Pact, wait when they attack us in three directions, the people have a crowd without culture, that applauds every person who comes out on the podium and says things out of place.
- In the district of Gramsh
It is not true that the Soviets are to blame, we are the cause of the breakdown of relations, they are not aggressors but defend the socialist camp; they are distributing weapons out of fear, with the withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact I am left alone, wait for them to send 2000 planes and then everything ends.
- In the district of Tropoja
If the Soviets want to invade us like Czechoslovakia, they will fight if we are attacked, but they will not resist because the Russians and others have great forces, until help comes from China, they tear us to pieces.
- In the district of Kruja
A person who is being prosecuted as a possible agent of the Yugoslavs, commented that: “An important man told me that the internal situation in our country is critical, we are one against all in Europe, all together coordinate actions against Albania, the goal is clear, to eliminate the party and the socialist system in Albania, to calm Europe. “Albania’s withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact was done to reduce its role, to shake Romania, or any other country, to make a sensation in the foreign press.” A person of hostile background commented that; “An officer told me that a large anti-government group has recently been discovered, even larger than that of Teme Sejko.”
- In the district of Tepelena
A person so followed by our bodies, has commented; we minorities do not love us and do not trust us, like me there are many others who have been reduced from responsibility, there are also those who have worked for a long time in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this situation if they give me a machine gun, I will take revenge against them. Albania will definitely be attacked, NATO will make a deal with the Warsaw Pact.
- In the ranks of the Army
In the last two days they have made comments; 1 officer, 2 n / officers and 33 soldiers
Officer Fatbardh Hoxha, battery commander Rep. 5832, commented that: “If our country is attacked, we do not resist for more than a month.” Others have commented;
They made a mistake that came out of the Warsaw Pact, now that we are dumbfounded by this treaty they will attack us, we do not have planes, the armament is Soviet and Chinese, but the Soviets have very modern tools, many times better than our armament, Albania in the middle of other states, is like a drop of water.
Soviet warships located in the Mediterranean, have approached Albania 30 miles away, it should not be said that we are not afraid of anyone, because China is far away and if the Soviet Union wants, they made us dust and ashes, the Greek is coming here, he comes for the minorities and they will be slaughtered, we cannot afford the war because we have an army with reservists and they are unprepared, apparently we will not enjoy our boyhood, we do not eat bread for fear that the war will break out, if it does, I will surrender.
From the above and previous comments, we draw this conclusion:
- Some anti-party elements in their comments have equated the intervention of Soviet troops in Hungary and the intervention in the Czech Republic. Their aim is to present the party line: pro in 1956 and against in 1968, as contradictory.
- Several different elements of the enemy, with certain intentions to distort the right attitude of the party, have commented that the attitude towards Yugoslavia has changed, it is no longer spoken against, and relations with it can be improved.
- Many comments from the enemy element have been made in order to instill panic, emphasizing the great Soviet power, the geographical siege, the only small country in Europe, that China is far away, and so on.
- Some enemy elements have expressed strong hatred and a desire for revenge against the party cadres. So, some of these we are taking measures to strike.
- There is an element of enemies (and some who are not politically clear) who comment on a neutral stance and then better with everyone, thus attacking the right attitude of the party.
Comments made by foreigners:
The driver of the Yugoslav legation, Dortikovic, said: “The situation is very honorable, we Yugoslavs have worse relations with the Soviets than you Albanians have with them. “We are prepared to fight them.”
From our drivers and other persons who have crossed into Yugoslav territory, they have seen that the movement of military troops continues. Important centers where military troops were previously deployed, such as Bitola, Skopje, Varazdin, etc., are now left with very few forces, which in fact perform the service of the garrison.
On September 15 in Tuz, vehicle movements with soldiers and officers were seen. Cars were climbing up a hill above the city. One of the officers of the small convoy greeted our drivers with his hand and shouted loudly: “Long live Comrade Enver Hoxha”.
On 16 September, in the area near the Austrian border, all the bridges were secured by the army, care was taken with the railway bridges, there were many military forces in these. On some highway bridges, work was underway to clear their mines.
On September 19, 7 military convoys were seen in motion, consisting of 17-18 vehicles each. These moved from Nis to Skopje and went towards the border with Bulgaria. In Struga, except for a few reservists mobilized in the border wards, no military movement was seen.
In Maribor, an Albanian who owned a confectionery told our drivers: “We heard the speech of comrade Mehmet Shehu on the radio here in the city and like our brothers in Albania, we applauded him here, the shop was full to the brim. Listeners, including Yugoslavs, and when I finished speaking, the Yugoslavs themselves said, “This is politics.” Another Albanian, for the speech of comrade Mehmet said: “We listened carefully and our heart became a mountain”.
Recently, it has been noticed that the Yugoslav border authorities at the border crossing points have changed their attitude towards our drivers, they make superficial controls and there are cases when they do not control them at all, they carry out controls faster in both customs and cities, have allowed to cross the border to Albania later than the time of closing the border, things that did not happen before./Memorie.al
DIRECTOR OF THE FIRST DIRECTORATE
FEÇOR SHEHU
