By DASHNOR KALOÇI

The events of the spring of 1981 in Kosovo, which began at the beginning of March with protests and demonstrations by student youth and then the people of Kosovo, who rose up to demand their legal freedoms and rights, as well as the status of the republic, just as all other peoples and ethnicities that were then in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had and enjoyed, led by the Bosniak Cvijetin Mijatović (Chairman of the Presidency, May 1980, May 1981), as is now known, had a harsh reaction from official Belgrade. The high leadership of Serbia at that time, headed by Prime Minister Ivan Stambolic (Chairman of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Serbia), on which the Autonomous Socialist Province of Kosovo depended at the time, sent armored forces there and violently suppressed those protests, not only with police forces, but also by bringing the army and tanks into the streets and squares of Pristina and other cities where those peaceful protests took place, where during all those days (March 11 - April 11, 1981), there were a total of 12 victims.

These events, which became headline news in all the world media, as well as the public reaction of official Tirana, are now very well known from dozens of articles and archival documents that have been published mainly after the 90s, but what still remains a great enigma and has not been made known to this day is; how did the leader of communist Albania, Enver Hoxha, initially react to those events, what was his first impact on what was happening in Kosovo and what steps did official Tirana then take to come to the aid of its compatriots in the Autonomous Socialist Province of Kosovo? Did Enver Hoxha stick to what he had said in 1970, that Fadil Hoxha and the senior leadership of Kosovo were doing very well to be against Kosovo being granted the status of a Republic within the framework of the Yugoslav Federation, or had he changed his mind and his position?!

Regarding these etc., we are introduced to some archival documents located in the Central State Archives (the personal fund of Enver Halil Hoxha) which have been unknown until today and will be published for the first time and in several issues by Memorie.al. From the documents in question, it is noted that since March 4, 1981, (when the spontaneous protests of student youth in Pristina first began), until April 3, when Enver Hoxha held a working meeting with Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu and Ramiz Ali on the events in Kosovo, that is, for a month in a row, there has been complete silence and no meeting of the Political Bureau or the secretariat of the Central Committee of the Albanian People's Party has been held, that is, no reaction from the senior leadership of the Albanian People's Party and official Tirana

Likewise, what is noticeable in these documents is the panic that has seized the main leader of communist Albania, Enver Hoxha, who has been ambivalent and undecided about the stance that official Tirana should take on the events in Kosovo, so much so that in another conversation in the Party House on April 5, 1981 with "leadership comrades" (Mehmet Shehu, Adil Çarçani, Hekuran Isai, Kadri Hazbiu, Pali Miska, Spiro Koleka, Rita Marko, Pilo Peristeri, Simon Stefani and Qiriako Mihali, Nedin Hoxha and Behar Shtylla), where they went for coffee, or to play cards, billiards, etc., Enver asks them: "What do you think about the recent events in Kosovo and what should we do? Should we take a stance and be concerned, or not?" Likewise, during another short conversation that Enver Hoxha had in his office with Ramiz Ali about a month later (on May 13, 1981), he told him: "It seems to me that our subordinates should also think about the events in Kosovo and not expect them to think only about me"!

Regarding these etc., we are familiar with these archival documents which belong to the period April-June 1981, where Enver Hoxha held several conversations and meetings, both with his two closest associates (Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu and the Secretary of the Central Committee, Ramiz Alia), as well as with the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, which are published for the first time and with the relevant facsimiles by Memorie.al.

Continues from the previous issue

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF ENVER HOXHA WITH RAMIZ ALINĂ IN HIS OFFICE ON JUNE 4, 1981, REGARDING AN ARTICLE TO BE PUBLISHED IN “ZERI I POPULLIT”, AGAINST THE ACCUSATIONS OF BELGRADE

CONVERSATION BETWEEN COMRADE ENVER AND COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA IN HIS OFFICE ON JUNE 4, 1981 IN CONNECTION WITH THE PREPARATION OF A THEORETICAL-HISTORICAL ARTICLE IN STRONG POLEMIC FORMS AGAINST THE BASELESS ATTACKS MADE ON US BY THE FURIOUS CHAUVINISTS OF BELGRADE

COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: We must speak of the great and continuous struggle that the Albanians have waged to secure their national independence, to write in polemic form about the Albanian League of Prizren and about the great injustices that have been done to the Albanian people, by whom these injustices were done, which were the result of the great intrigues of the Serbs-greats, of the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian Monarchy. At that time, nationalism and furious chauvinism were so pronounced among them that they committed great crimes against the Albanian people in general and in particular against the entire large part of the Albanian people that the great powers left within the borders of the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom.

Here we must bring up the issue of Stojadinovic with Ciano, point out Čubrilović's theses and their application to the complete annihilation of Albanians. That is, the notion of integral nationalism on the part of the Serbs aimed at the liquidation of Albanians in Yugoslavia, who numbered in the millions, an action that resulted in mass murder against them.

We must say that these are historical truths and have existed. Then, we must point out the large-scale migrations of hundreds of thousands of Albanians to Turkey and thousands of others who came to Albania, in agreement with its regime at that time, financing the Kingdom of Zog for this purpose.

So the Albanians had great reasons to fight for the independence of their homeland and to oppose this exclusive, savage and liquidating nationalism of an entire people. We should blame these on the Yugoslavs. The Second World War came, the Stojadinović-Çano conspiracy was carried out and “Greater Albania” was created, which the Party of Labor of Albania fought for, but the Kosovars also fought for it. The fact is that at first the Kosovars did not trust the Yugoslavs and they were right. They suspected that in the future the Serbs, and whoever from the other Slavic nationalities in Yugoslavia, would give them national rights.

And, the entry of the Albanians of Kosovo into the National Liberation War did happen, but it happened late and it was not only the actions of the Kosovar ballistas in the National Liberation War, but it was the more terrible war of the Chetniks in Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia, that stopped this. In the article we point out that the Albanians of Yugoslavia understood that Mussolini's "Greater Albania" had to be won with blood, that it was not Mussolini's, but it was the Albania that should exist.

In these matters we must go on the attack, no longer stand by our previous positions, and explain these historically. And in fact, after all these wild nationalist and chauvinist attitudes of the Yugoslav bigots against the Albanian people living in Yugoslavia, in order to gain the trust of this people, Tito gave the speech that we have mentioned and let us show again what he said at that time, while at the same time pointing out that his promises were not kept.

Whereas Moshe Pijade held a more flexible, less radical position than Tito's, when he declared that after the war in Yugoslavia a republic of Kosovo should be created, but that this was not done either. Why was this not realized either? It was not realized because of the actions of Serbian chauvinism, the goals most affirmed in Jajce were changed, revenge was carried out against the Albanians, accusing them of being ballistas and the Yugoslav bigots thus committed the first genocide against the Albanians of Yugoslavia. Here it should be stated what they killed and what they did not kill, which we know, but which we must record in this document. This happened in 1945.

Then came the other genocide of Ranković in 1966, which is recorded and written in my materials and now they must be taken up again. What does this show? This shows that the chauvinism and nationalism of the Serbs and the Yugoslavs against the Albanians in Yugoslavia was terrible, to the point of genocide. From here arises the desire for irredentism on their part. This desire for irredentism was caused in them by the rabid chauvinism and nationalism of the Serbs and the Yugoslavs.

This terrible mistake was seen in 1966 and Rankovic's gang was condemned, but it was not the only one who committed this genocide, which was currently being repeated by the same people and with the same background. These inhumane, chauvinistic and furious nationalist acts continued with the same virulence even in their successor generations who call themselves socialists and who accuse Albanians of nationalism, chauvinism and irredentism.

All the demands of the Albanians, who during the period from the League of Prizren until now, have been killed by the hundreds of thousands, have been oppressed and persecuted, they are evident and necessary, because they have not been recognized with any rights, except for the very limited right to education issues that was granted to them late, but in this regard too, the tendency for further restrictions is now being observed, etc., etc.

Here we must conclude that here on the Albanian side there is not a single thread of nationalism, nor chauvinism, nor irredentism, but irredentism takes this form, which was caused by integral nationalism and Serbian chauvinism, which has been and is condemnable. The Albanians are therefore completely innocent in this situation and, being not at all guilty, they are oppressed and killed in a so-called socialist regime, which is nothing but a barbaric regime.

Albania, for its part, has demanded, continues and will continue to demand until the end, that the rights that are constitutionally due to our brothers in Yugoslavia be granted. In particular, we would say that the minimum that the Kosovars have demanded is that Kosovo be granted the status of a republic. This has been defended by Albania, which could have said even more and has the right to speak more, and here we will explain why, since we are not dealing with a mere minority issue.

For a small minority, when it is given all democratic rights, etc., in the country where it lives, it may and should not become a problem, but if this minority, no matter how small it is, is oppressed, then their brothers who have gained freedom, independence, who have created their own sovereign state, have a duty to protect it. Meanwhile, the Albanians in Yugoslavia are not a minority, they number in the millions, they are an entire people, almost as large as the People's Socialist Republic of Albania itself.

In this regard, it seems to me that we should make an attack, because the Yugoslav bigots have put their arms around us, that is, they want to put us with our shoulders against the wall, with the aim that, if we speak in defense of our brothers in Yugoslavia, they will call us irredentists, nationalists, chauvinists, and whatever you want.

We must turn this attack against them, explain what chauvinism and nationalism are, whether or not we have been chauvinists and nationalists, and argue this issue with facts, with our positions, and point out that they were like that, also argue with universally known facts about how the Yugoslav greats acted and that it was precisely their barbaric position that gave rise to irredentism among Albanians, absolutely necessary for the defense of their existence.

COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: These positions of the Yugoslavs have precisely caused the reaction to demand rights on the part of the oppressed Albanian population, which has taken the form that you contemptuously call irredentism, but which we do not accept as such, because it is a legal right.

COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: Because it is their right, because the Albanians who live in Yugoslavia are our brothers, they are part of one nation. We have said this and we say it again.

However, it should be noted that we have wanted and desire friendship and good neighborly relations with the Federal Yugoslavia, without interfering in its internal affairs, but when we see that all these bloody massacres are being committed there and in a marked continuity against the Albanian population living in this country, then this issue can be called whatever you want, but it has a name like we say.

It seems to me that this should be an important article, theoretical and historical, in the form of a fierce polemic, so that the Yugoslavs, when they use the terms "chauvinism", "nationalism" have it clear that they are talking about themselves, that they know that we do not call this nationalism and chauvinism in the theoretical sense of the word, we call it that this is Albania and that you have separated a part of this Albania. We tell you why did you not hold the referendum at the right time, so that Kosovo could decide for itself? We tell you why you do not give Kosovo the status of a republic, when it has been said that this should be given to it? You call this nationalism to us, but no, this is not nationalism and this should be proven theoretically that it is not nationalism.

COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA: It's good and we should do this article, because it's of great importance.

COMRADE ENVER HOXHA: This seems to me to be of great importance. In it we should also raise the issue of why "Nini", as he understands it, lists all the crimes that have been committed against the Albanian people and finally closes his lecture with the thought that "what was done in the past was done, the Helsinki meeting put a lid on it, it established a status quo". No, Helsinki did not put a lid on this problem at all.

No unjust treaty signed by the imperialists can cover such a big issue, as half of an entire people, who unjustly remains within the framework of another state, when adjacent, very close to it, exists their motherland. In the article we also emphasize that these are not the reasons why we did not participate in the Helsinki meeting, but, since you accuse us of not having gone for this reason, we are giving you the answer on this issue as well./ Memorie.al