Louis Zanga

Nearly half a Century of Albanian communist history

On November 28th Albania, a country that traces its roots back to ancient II- lyria, marked the 75th anniversary of its independence and emergence from 500 years of Ottoman rule. The fact that Albania has existed a mere 75 years as a unified nation, a period marred by renewed foreign invasions, partitions and encroachments, explains in great part its politically anachronistic and al­ most paranoid fear of the outside world. The next day, November 29th, this small Balkan country marked the 43rd anniversary of its liberation from Nazi occupation and the communist seizure of power. The country came under the iron rule of Enver Hoxha, whose mis- trust of the outside world became a matter of national policy embodied in the Stalin-inspired slogan: “Albania’s savage revisionist-imperialist encirclement.” Communist Albania became a unique model of isolationism, an extreme ex- ample of the price that small but strategically placed countries pay for inde­ pendence. Its Strategie location has been responsible for a history of foreign occupations: first the Romans, later the Ottomans, and finally the Axis occu­ pation during World War II. After the war, Albania’s experimental alliances with larger and stronger communist countries playing partners-cum-protectors were all judged to have failed. Hoxha first defied Yugoslavia, then the Soviet- led communist bloc, and finally post-Mao’s China. Nor did he fail to tum his back on the noncommunist world, though his defiance took a bizzare shape through the assertion that it was the rest of the world that had isolated Alba­ nia. After Hoxha’s death and under the new leadership of Ramiz Alia, Alba­ nia began to modify its it incongruous political behavior by claiming that it was part of Europe after all.

Hoxha and Albanian Communism

Communist Albania remains inseparably linked with the name of Enver Hoxha. He was the creator, organizer, and executor of the Albanian brand of communism for nearly half a Century: and whatever form Albanian commun­ ism takes in the future, his name will loom large. He was bom in October 1908; and when he died, on 11 April 1985, he was the longest serving leader of a communist country, a feat made all the more remarkable by the wide array of distabilizing forces that he survived: Albanian tribal intrigue, traditional Yugoslav coercion, Anglo-American Subversion, Kremlin plotting, and Chi­ nese political and economic pressure. Despite the new nuances in the present-day Albanian domestic and foreign Nearly half a Century of Albanian communist history 691 policy, H oxha’s presence in the daily life of the country rem ains undim in- ished. H is successor Ram iz A lia never fails to rem ind his audiences in alm ost religious term s of the continuity w ith H oxha’s line. A nd in his latest speech he w ent so far as to refute predictions abroad that A lbania w ould go the “revi- sionist” w ay, an allusion to the changes that took place in the Soviet U nion after Stalin, in China after M ao, and in Y ugoslavia after Tito. H e drew the conclusion that history had no general, inevitable rules applying to all coun­ tries, clearly im plying that there w ould be no de-Hoxhaization in A lbania un- der A lia’s authority. A fter H oxha’s death, som e of the m ost im portant institutions and places in the country w ere nam ed after him , including the state university in Tirana; the m ain port city of D ürres w as renam ed and so w ere m ajor industrial Centers. To m ark his 80th anniversary of his birth, a huge H oxha m onum ent facing that of the national hero Skanderbeg in Tirana’s central square w ill bei un- veiled in 1988. H is W orks continue to be published, and now they num ber 56 volum es containing his m aterials for the period up to 1976. Since these vol- um es are issued at an average of tw o per year, the 10 rem aining volum es should be out by 1992. H oxha’s W orks are obligatory reading for party activist since they provide the guidelines for political action in every aspect of the country’s daily life. In the late seventies, in addition to his W orks, Tirana be- gan to publish a series of H oxha’s m em oirs on foreign relations and develop- m ents covering the w hole period from the Second W orld W ar through A lba- nia’s successive alliances w ith Yougoslavia (“The Titoites”), the Soviet U nion (“The Khrushchevites”), M ao ’s China (“Reflections of China”) and so forth. The prolific record of H oxha’s flood of m em oirs, w ritten in an intelligent, cul- tured and very observant m anner, but heavy on invectives, self-righteousness and Stalinist-style allegations, has yet to be equalled by any other w orld lead- er, com m unist or non-communist.

A H istory Full of Purges

From the beginning, the A lbanian com m unist pary w as beset by purges reach- ing from the highest to the low est party levels. N o com m unist leadership has experienced such repeated purges and decimations as A lbania’s. Right from the beginning in 1941, there w ere constant struggles for pow er on both person­ al and ideological grounds. The first great purge occurred in 1943 and affected A nastas Lulo and Sadik Prem te, tw o early representatives of A lbanian com - m unism accused of Trotskyism. Then during the im m ediate post-w ar period, the “Y ugoslav period” betw een 1944 and 1948, a battle for pow er ensued be- tw een the H oxha-led group of intellectuals and the proletarian group headed by K oci X oxe, w hich w as supported by the Y ugoslavs. The crisis reached a culmination follow ing the Stalin-Tito break in 1948, w hen H oxha’s opponents w ere defeated and K oci X oxe w as executed (in 1949) for “treason” in conspir- acy w ith the Y ugoslavs. The A lbanian com m unists quickly approved the Com m in- 692 Louis Zanga form Resolution against Tito, and the way was paved for the Yugoslav-Albanian conflict and the longest lasting rift between two communist countries. The ensuing years, the “Soviet period” (1948-61), witnessed further purges and by 1955 Hoxha remained the sole surviving member of the founding Cen­ tral Committee group. This enabled him successfully to meet the 1955-56 challenge of Khrushchev’s destalinization campaign and the subsequent Moscow-Belgrade rapprochement, which planted the seed for the Soviet- Albanian break of 1961. The two main victims of this momenteous event in Albanian communist history were the pro-Soviet Politbüro member Liri Beli- shova and the CC party secretariat member Koco Tashko. Albania’s next communist alliance was with Mao’s China, the “Chinese period” (1961-78), whose early cracks became visible following the US-Sino ping-pong diploma- cy in 1972; it ended with further major purges in the Albanian leadership. Thus, in early seventies, the axe feil on the intellectuals Fadil Pacrami and Todi Lubonja, accused of excessive liberalism. In 1974, it was the tum of the top military ranks to be wiped out: Politbüro member and Minister of De­ fense Beqir Balluku, along with his key aides Petrit Dume and Hito Cako, for alleged putchist crimes and too much pro-Chinese sympathy. This was fol- lowed by the purges to the highest administrative ranks in 1975, affecting the Politbüro members Abdyl Kellezi, Koco Theodosi and a number of ministers, accused of “revisionist” practices. In December 1981 the most spectacular downfall of all occurred: the al­ leged “suicide” of long-time Premier Mehmet Shehu followed by Hoxha’s paranoid denunciation of him as a “multiple agent” of foreign secret Services. Widespread purges reaching into the highest party ranks followed Shehu’s de- mise, which included that of Politbüro member and Minister of Defense Kadri Hasbiu in 1982; and in the process most of the house that Hoxha had built collapsed. Building almost from scratch, the new one was erected around the oldtimer Ramiz Alia whom Hoxha picked as his successor. A few months before his death, Hoxha told a warm French supporter of the Albanian brand of communism that he was ready to die peacefully because the question of succession had been settled. And it seems that Hoxha had good reason to sound so self-assured. Had he failed to get rid of the Shehu clique, he prohably would not have died in such a peaceful frame of mind. Shehu’s presence at the heim in the post-Hoxha period would almost certainly have created an explosive Situation in the country, both within the party and among the public, for it would be not too far-fetched to say that if Hoxha is referred to as Albania’s Stalin, then Shehu was Albania’s Beria. Under his rule, Albania would have quickly become prone to great internal upheavals. Alia has shown his appreciation of Hoxha’s far-sighted decision to pick him as his successor by calling his maker “the greatest historical flgure of the Alba­ nian nation,” placing him above even the country’s national hero Skanderbeg. Nearly half a Century ofAlbanian communist history 6 9 3

T h e A lia L e a d e rs h ip

A lm o st th re e y e a rs h a v e p a s s e d s in c e H o x h a ’s d e a th a n d th e re a re n o s ig n s th a t th e A lb a n ia n W o rk e rs ’ P a rty is in a s ta te o f d is a rry w ith o u t th e m a n w h o w a s its le a d e r fo r s o m a n y y e a rs. T h e re h a v e b e e n n o ru m b lin g s o f d is c o n te n t fro m e ith e r th e p u b lic o r w ith in th e leadership. N o p u rg e s h a v e ta k e n p la c e in th e to p p a rty h ie ra rc h y s in c e 1 9 8 2 , th e lo n g e s t s u c h p e rio d in th e h is to ry o f A l­ b a n ia n c o m m u n is m . T h e m ilita ry , o f c o u rse , c o n tin u e s to p la y a c ru c ia l ro le . In a n e ffo rt to n e u tra liz e a n y c h a lle n g e fro m th e m ilita ry ’s o ld g u a rd , H o x h a a p p o in te d a n a lm o st e n tire ly n e w a n d y o u n g e r m ilita ry leadership, a n d h e p u t th e w e a k e s t m a n h e c o u ld fin d a t th e h e a d o f th e D e fe n s e M in is try , n a m e ly , P ro k o p M u rra , nonmilitary m a n w h o w a s p ro m o te d to fu ll P o litb ü ro m e m b e r- s h ip in 1 9 8 6 . In th e p re s e n t A lb a n ia n p a rty leadership, w h ic h is m a d e u p o f 1 2 fu ll m e m - b e rs a n d 5 c a n d id a te m e m b e rs o f th e P o litb ü ro , 5 b e lo n g to th e o ld g u a rd : R a m iz A lia , A d il C a rc a n i (a ls o P re m ie r), R ita M a rk o , M a n u sh M y ftiu a n d P ro k o p M u rra . M a rk o a n d M y ftiu h o ld second-rank administrative p o s ts a n d M u rra d o e s n o t g iv e th e im p re s s io n o f b e in g a p o te n tia l riv a l to th e n e w g u a rd . It is a m o n g th e n e w g e n e ra tio n o f le a d e rs th a t riv a ls to th e p re se n t p o - litic a l ru lin g g ro u p c o u ld d e v e lo p , s o m e th in g w h ic h is n o t to b e e x p e c te d in th e fo re se a b le fu tu re . T h e y a re F o to C a m i (a le a d in g lib e ra l), S im o n S te fa n i (considered a hard-liner), L e n k a C u k o , H e k u ra n Isa i (a lth o u g h M in is te r o f In - te rio r, n o t a hard-liner), H a jre d in C e lik u , B e s n ik B e k te s h i, M u h o A s lla n i, P a li M is k a , a n d th e c a n d id a te m e m b e rs V a n g je l C e rra v a , L la m b i G e g p rifti, P irro K o n d i, Q u irja k o M ih a li a n d R ic o M u s ta q i, a ll o f w h o m , e x c e p t th e m ilita ry m a n M u s ta q i, a re e c o n o m is ts a n d administrators. O f th e 1 8 m e m b e rs o f th e P o litb ü ro , 9 a re e c o n o m is ts b y profession, c le a rly s h o w in g th a t A lia h a s g iv e n to p p rio rity to th e e c o n o m y . O f th e 1 3 1 m e m b e rs o f th e C e n tra l C o m m itte e e le c te d a t th e N in th P a rty C o n g e s s , 2 2 w e re a p p o in te d fo r th e firs t tim e ; th e re w e re 3 3 n e w c a n d id a te m e m b e rs . T h is s h o w s th a t th e rejuvination p ro c e ss s ta rte d in 1 9 7 6 h a s b e e n c o n tin u e d b y A lia . In 1 9 7 6 H o x h a h a d in itia te d th is p ro c e s s a t th e S e v e n th C o n g re ss o f th e A lb a n ia n W o rk e rs P a rty w ith s e v e ra l c h a n g e s in th e P o litb ü ro c a n d id a te m e m b e rs h ip a n d in th e p a rty secretariat; a n d n o le s s th a n 4 3 o f th o s e e le c te d to th e 7 7 -m e m b e r C e n tra l C o m m itte e w e re n e w c o m e rs . A n influential ro le c o n tin u e s to b e p la y e d b y H o x h a ’s w id o w , N e x h m ije , a CC m e m b e r a n d s in c e 1 9 8 6 P re sid e n t o f th e D e m o c ra tic F ro n t, a n O rg a n iz a ­ tio n in C h a rg e o f e le c tio n s a n d o f fu rth e rin g “ party-people u n ity ,” th a t is , maintaining in te rn a l s e c u rity . S h e re m a in s a s y m b o l o f H o x h a ’s le g a c y a n d is b e lie v e d to h a v e b e e n instrumental in g ro o m in g A lia fo r th e leadership. S o fa r, A lia s e e m s to h a v e d o n e w e ll in consolidating h is p o w e r b a s e , in d ic a tin g th a t in th e foreseeable fu tu re th e re w ill b e s ta b ility in th e A lb a n ia n leadership. 694 Louis Zanga

People’s Socialist Republic of Albania

The population of Albania is just over 3 million and another 2 million ethnic Albanians live in neighboring Yugoslavia, mainly in Kosovo. Though still semideveloped, Albania has, under rigid central control, made impressive progress in social, industrial and agricultural terms, but it still remains at the bottom of the European league in terms of living Standards. Class and social distictions are kept at a minimum, and the govemment has instituted a policy of steadily narrowing the differences between the rural and urban areas. Albania today functions under the 1976 Constitution, the second Constitu­ tion since 1946 (revised in 1950) and the eighth since independence in 1912. The document changed the name of the country from the People’s Republic of Albania to the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania. By this, the Albanian communists wanted to prove that Albania had entered the stage of complete construction of socialism and to present the country as the “last bastion of so- cialism” struggling against the Soviet and other revisionist heresies. The Con­ stitution provides for a single legislative chamber: the 250 member People’s Assembly, which is elected every four years by all citizens eligible to vote. The President is Ramiz Alia, first elected to this post in 1982. The national legisla- ture ordinarily meets twice a year and rubberstamps decisions made in ad- vance by the party. Political rights, as they are known in Western democracies, are nonexistent. In the Constitution religion ist officially abolished (institution- ilized religion ended in 1967); non-acceptance of surrender or occupation of the country is proclaimed; Marxism-Leninism is declared the country’s sole sanctioned ideology, that is, pluralism is rejected; Albania is termed a state in which the dictatorship of the Proletariat is practiced; and loans and Capital from abroad are forbidden. The 1976 Constitution has no equal in the socialist world as a doctrinaire document. Prewar Albania was a very backward agricultural country with practically no industry. Although it was rieh in mineral resources, such as oil, copper, chromium, iron-nickel and coal, they were, with the exception of oil, underde- veloped. Under communism, Albania has set up a fairly sound agricultural-in- dustrial base. The Albanian leadership has made industrialization the princi- pal aim of its economic policy, and a highly centralized economic System has been in effect throughout the Hoxha era. Some decision-making powers be- gan to be transferred in recent years to the lower levels of administration. Pri- ority has always been given to the development of heavy industry, but since Alia came to power more attention has been given to the consumer sector. A policy of distributing industry as evenly as possible throughout the country has been put in effect and wherever possible industrial centers have been founded close to the sources of raw material-electric power and minerals. Albania’s rugged and mountainous terrain has limited the development of agriculture. Moreover, the area of arable land per capita is declining on ac- count of the country’s steadily growing population and industrialization. Soon Nearly half a Century ofAlbanian communist history 695 after the communist take-over, Tirana began a gradual transformation in agri- culture by replacing privat ownership with the collective System. The Law of Agrarian Reform was passed in 1945 on the principle that “the land belongs to the tiller,” which in effect eliminated the landlord dass. Collectivization started in 1946 with the establishment of the first agricultural cooperatives in the country, but the process of collectivization was relatively slow. In 1955, only about 13% of agricultural production came from the socialist sector. The pace began to accelerate in 1956, and by 1960 85% of agricultural land was collectivized; by 1970 no privately owned land was left. The regime Claims that the collectivization of agriculture was carried out on a voluntary basis, but references to “the sharp dass struggle” faced in this process indicate that a populär resistance was encountered. A historic achievement in agriculture was claimed in 1976 when Albania became for the first time self-sufficient in wheat production, an event hailed as Albania’s second liberation. Folio wing the complete electrification of the country in 1971, Tirana set out to modemize agriculture through the expansion of the arable area and above all through the intensification of farming. Fifteen years have elapsed, and it does not seem that a way has been found to making the country completely self-sufficient in food production. In fad, because of inefficiency, adverse weather conditions, and greater demands for consumer goods by a steadily growing population, there is evidence of some shortages in food products in Albania today.

Albania in the Post-Hoxha Era

The general assumption following Hoxha’s departure from the scene in 1985 was that Albania without Hoxha would remain the same and the changes, if any at all, would be of a very cautious nature, an assumption which has prov- en to be correct. The dilemma facing Alia is that by precipitating major changes he could risk destabilization and set in motion forces that the country might not be able to control. On the other hand, Alia lacks the power and the Charisma of his mentor to impose further economic sacrifices and isolation for his people, especially for a population that is the youngest in Europe and un- der constant exposure to foreign media, particularly television. Two and a half years after Hoxha’s death, ist is quite apparent that the as­ sumption that the changes would be of a very cautious nature was correct. Alia has in fact relaxed somewhat the authoritarian rule of the country. More­ over, he has given top priority to the economy with greater emphasis on con­ sumer goods and has taken a number of Steps to reduce rigid economic cen- tralization in order to make the economic Organization and management more efficient. Finally, he has pursued with considerable success a foreign policy aimed at lessening the country’s legendary self-imposed isolation by opening it considerably, especially to the West. Alia has proceeded in a very cautions manner, on the one hand stamping 696 Louis Zanga his mark on policy by instituting changes, while on the other hand claiming that he is loyally sticking to the Hoxha line. Alia’s underlying message ap- pears to be that although changes are taking place and are necessary in inter­ national and foreign policy matters, the basic tenets of Hoxha’s legacy remain unchanged. And there is a considerable measure of truth in this Claim. Nation­ al independence continues to be stressed with the same ferocity as in the past, but in contrast to the past when politics and ideology were considered impor­ tant factors for furthering independence, today it is economic performance that is seen as an overriding factor. And Tirana continues to resist incurring foreign debt and the setting up of joint enterprises with foreign firms. The Alia leadership also continues to refuse setting up diplomatic relations with the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s peres- troika and glasnost’ policies are rejected on the grounds that they are but an extension of Khrushchevian “revisionism” that pave the way to capitalism. Behind Tirana’s ideological smoke-screen, however, considerable evidence has emerged that the Albanian leadership is also engaged in a limited experi- mentation with similar reforms. Many of Albania’s basic problems are similar to those of the Soviet-bloc countries and urgently need solving. Decline in la- bor productivity, absenteeism, poor discipline among the work force, misap- propriation of “socialist property,” and a shortage of skilled manpower are among the many problems inherited from the past that have caused admitted failures in meeting plan targets and badly need exports. Some form of decen- tralization has been instituted, increasing the powers of local management; all forms of bureaucratic thinking have come under constant attack; and more initiative ist being demanded. The expansion of the role of the collective farm- ers’ private plots has been urged, material incentives are being encouraged, and there has been talk about limited reforms in wage policy, agricultural pricing, and the marketing of goods. In short, then, the Albanian leadership is making the necessary changes through a policy that mixes pragamatism in practice with public avowals of ideological purity. Also, Alia has shown to be more frank and open in dealing with the country’s numerous problems. The biggest stirrings have taken place in the field of foreign policy. Two re- cent important foreign policy events demonstrate that Tirana has changed its past rigid position in dealing with the outsinde world: the establishment of di­ plomatic realations with the Federal Republic of Germany, which Bonn has supported since the initiative was launched in 1966 and which Tirana delayed through its precondition that Bonn pay billions in war reparations; and the re- cent decision to attend the Balkan Conference, which brought to an end Alba­ nia’s persistent Opposition to multilateral meetings. Another foreign policy achievement for Alia has been the formal lifting of the technical state of war between Greece and Albania ending a incongruous state of affairs that went back to 1940 when Fascist Italy launched an unsuc- cessful invasion of Greece from Albania. The decision of lifting the state of war has been hailed as a milestone in Greek-Albanian relations, which have witnessed a verkable renaissance in the past two years. Tirana has taken other Nearly half a Century ofAlbanian communist history 697 less spectacular diplomatic Steps through the expansion of relations with other countries, which reflect a new, more open mood in Albanian foreign policy thinking. There are only two West European countries with which Albania has yet to establish formal relations: Ireland and Great Britain. The absence of di­ plomatic relations with Ireland is difficult to explain, although it may have something to do with Ireland’s intensely Catholic heritage in the face of Alba- nia’s proud Claim to be an atheist country. Anglo-Albanian relations have been bogged down by the controversy over gold kept in London since the end of World War II to which the Albanians lay Claim. Relations with another important neighboring country, namely, Italy, 70 kil- ometers across the Straits of Otranto, could stand improvement. Both sides have expressed desire to improve relations, which have been hampered since December 1985 by the problem of the six Albanian citizens seeking asylum in the Italian Embassy in Tirana. Albania’s relationship with neighboring Yugo- slavia remains problematic since the Kosovar issue is simply too complex for an easy solution. Tirana continues to criticize what it perceives to be the hard- line Serbian treatment of the Albanians in Kosovo, a behavior that Beigrade considers interference in the internal affairs of Yugoslavia. There is evidence, however, that the Albanian leadership wants a modus vivendi with Beigrade and not a further deterioration of the political Situation of its most important neighbor. In reacting to the dispatch of federal security forces to Kosovo, an editorial stressed that Albania wants “at no case” the destabilization of neigh­ boring Yugoslavia. The changes in domestic and foreign policy matters show that a different and healthier wind is blowing in Albania today. The changes, of course, are limited in scope and are extremely selective and so far have not produced any disturbing rumblings in the party or in the society. Things may, however, change. Even during the long, firm rule of Enver Hoxha the country went through a number of weak internal liberalization tremors (in 1956 and in the early 1970s), which were swiftly suppressed when Hoxha perceived that they might threaten his authority. Times are different, however; and Ramiz Alia does not seem to have either the inclination or the kind of power that Hoxha exercised to put an abrupt and to the possible repercussions of liberalization. Albania appears on the threshold of one of the most interesting phases in its postwar history.

References

Artisien, Patrick, Albania: Recent Developments. University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, Cardiff, England, 1987. Halliday, Jon, The Artful Albanian - The Memoirs of Enver Hoxha. Chatto & Windus, Lon­ don, 1986. Prifti, Peter, Socialist Albania since 1944: Domestic and Foreign Developments. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978.