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CONTENTS :
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE
Short Chronology Events In Albania 1991-1997
PART TWO
Documents Relating to the Communist Party Albania . Reprinted materials Communist Party Albania; Nostra Lotta (Italy); KPD (Germany); and Evrem (Turkey);
PART THREE :
Albania, The Balkans, & The continuing Inter- Imperialist Struggle Between USA & EEC
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INTRODUCTION
We have received communications from parts of the Communist Party Of Albania, which ask that international Communists and Marxist-Leninists disseminate news of events in Albania. We readily and happily comply. In May 1996, Alliance had already analyzed the events around the fraudulent so-called elections (Please see Alliance Number 21 : Special Bulletin :'Recent Events in Albania & Kosovo').
In Issue 21, we contended, that the rapid and vicious attack upon the Red Structure in Albania, contrasted with the slow and stealthy attack on the Socialist state of the USSR. We also pointed out that the 1996 fraudulent elections, had resulted in widespread condemnation of Berisha's capitalist leadership by international bodies such as the Human Rights Watch and the Organization for Security & Cooperation In Europe (OSCE). We pointed out that the events in Kosova complicated those of the Balkans, where the inter-imperialist war by proxy of the USA and the EEC imperialists was taking place (See also Alliance Number 18 : Events In Former Yugoslavia & Roots of Great Serb Chauvinism'). We then suggested that the USA was trying to extricate itself from support of Berisha, in order to have a more 'stable' client-state situation in Albania. Finally we ended by the statement that :
"The legacy of the Hoxha years is the higher class militancy and understanding of the Albanian peoples, that will result in a relentless struggle to re-gain their socialist state... The Party of Labour of Albania is being re-built."
We believe that in large measure, the picture painted in Alliance Number 21 was right. We ourselves, were unable to confirm this directly from within Albania itself. Our own contacts had been with elements of the Communist Party Albania, who had collaborated with the initiatives of "International Struggle Marxist-Leninist" (See International Struggle Marxist-Leninist Issues 1 & 2; 1996-1997; Toronto). We were forced to deduce that our Albanian comrades were perhaps imprisoned. Since that time, events have moved rapidly. Clearly, a Civil War is now taking place in the former Socialist state of Albania. Unfortunately it takes place in the context of a State that has already viciously suppressed, at least some of leading Marxist-Leninist elements of the former Party Labour Albania (PLA).
Most of the recent information that we in Alliance were able to obtain, till that point, was from the bourgeois press. We are sincerely, doubly indebted then, to 'Nostra Lotta' ('Our Fight' - Rome, Italy), and to Rafael M (Both working with other parties and organisations of the Quito Grouping around the journal "Unity & Struggle" . [See Alliance Number 19: "Towards a New Comintern: Problems And The Trends Today", which describes our differences with the approach of the Quito grouping] ) who have made available to us, documents, signed as coming from the Communist Party of Albania (CPA). In this issue, we will :
I) IN PART 1 : Give a very simple chronology of events since 1991.
ii) IN PART 2: Reprint materials from the CPA & helpful articles and interviews by Nostra Lotta & KPD (Germany); and from the Turkish paper Evrem - printed in Germany;
iii) PART 3 : Examine how Albanian events dove-tail into current imperialist plans for a world re-division. This attempts a brief up-date, to our previous analysis of the situation in Albania.
Alliance has never shirked from its view expressed in one way or another, in all its work, that apart from the USSR under Lenin & Stalin, the world has seen only one other proletarian socialist state - The People's Socialist Republic of Albania (PSRA).
We are aware of difficulties that must face the CPA. We know, that Marxist-Leninists forces working inside war conditions of subterfuge, cannot be totally open internationally, or even, nationally (See Statement of CPA CC member to interview with Turkish paper Evrem, published in Germany- In Part Two, this issue). Although we have no access to party documents that can authenticate a Party programme, we must and do assume, that the CPA leadership, are the true heirs of the former, Enver Hoxha's, great PLA.
It should not be surprising, given the massive repression following the death of Hoxha and the revisionist take-over by Ramiz Alia, if there is some considerable confusion inside Albania. Perhaps it may even extend to genuine Marxist-Leninists. Suppression, with consequent secrecy makes open organizing communist practice difficult - if not impossible. No doubt, any such confusion is naturally greater for comrades outside Albania, who are straining to understand who exactly are the participants in the struggle. This struggle has now taken on the dimensions of a class based civil war.
Standing outside Albania, at the sidelines, we do not suggest any other path than that of Hoxha and his heirs. We believe that the party leadership of the CPA knows its own conditions best of all. But, whilst hesitating, lest we give meaningless and fatuously easy-to-give advice from the side-lines, we do urge our Albanian comrades, on only one matter. That is to make clear their Programme, as far as this is possible. This will surely have many positive effects inside Albania. For us and others outside Albania, it would lead to a better and wider sympathy of their heroic struggles - one that is tempered by an understanding of their positions. Current different interpretations exist regarding the present situation in Albania. Such an open statement of Programmes would assist clarification.
We freely state, that for some time we have not had the possibility of direct communication with elements of the CPA. However, we have to surmise, in the absence of concrete information to the contrary, that ALL elements that have operated under the names of the Communist Party Albania, are ALL in the forefront of the struggle against imperialism and internal fascism and revanchism led by Berisha.
We would sincerely like to express our wish, to all those in the Communist party, and those working with it - strength and victory in their current heroic struggles.
LONG LIVE THE WORKERS AND PEASANTS OF ALBANIA!
LONG LIVE THE HEIRS OF THE PARTY LABOUR ALBANIA! LONG LIVE ALBANIAN SOCIALISM!
LONG LIVE THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA!
PART ONE . A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF RECENT MAJOR EVENTS IN ALBANIA (1989-1897).
Two initial reminders
November 1982: Ramiz Alia replaced Haxhi Lleshi as President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly.
April 1985. Enver Hoxha dies. The USSR state message of condolence is rejected. Ramiz Alia replaces Hoxha as First Secretary of the PLA. Alia pledges to "uphold the independent policies of Hoxha". Nexhmije Hoxha (Enver Hoxha's widow) is elected Chairman of the General Council of the Democratic Front Albania.
Chronology:
February 1988 Balkan meeting of all six Balkan nations -all meet first time in 50 years.
Early 1989 Relations with Yugoslavia deteriorate rapidly, many ethnic Albanians killed in Kosovo.
November 1989 An "amnesty' for all political detainees is announced. December 1989 There are major "anti-Government" demonstrations in Skhoder. The exiled Royalist Lekha urges from his South African exile, that the"Albanians" revolt.
January 1990 Ramiz Alia announces : "Political and economic reforms" including : choice at elections; decentralization of economic planning; a reduction of capital offenses from 34 to 11.
Foreign capital allowed in establishing of "Joint Ventures".
Anti-state agitation and propaganda is no longer an offense. 'Economic reforms' also announced. Passports to be issued for all travel purposes.
July 1990 Anti-Government forces occupy streets of Tirana. Exodus of Albanian emigrants, occupy the grounds of foreign embassies demanding 'evacuation as refugees'. Multi-national agencies coordinated by the UN evacuates in total more than 5,000 persons.
November 1990 By now the Council of Ministers And the Political Bureau of the PLA has been purged. Announcement for elections to beheld in February 91.
December 1990 Announced that elections will be accompanied by "establishment of independent political parties." Nexhmije Hoxha 'resigned' from the Chairmanship of the General Council of the DFA, is replaced by Adil Carcani (who is replaced in mid 1991). Several ministerial portfolios removed from incumbents.
1991 Albania joins World bank, the IMF, and new European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD).
February 1991. Ramiz Alia declares Presidential rule, with an 8 member Presidential Council. Adil Carcani was replaced as Chairman of the Council of Ministers by Fatos Nano , a "Progressive economist". Nano was already Deputy Chairman from January. Severe street battles with anti-Hoxha forces winning streets. Elections postponed to March.
March 1990 It is estimated that some 20,000 people have emigrated from Albania and sailed to Italy. Now a further "general amnesty"is declared for all political prisoners.
July 1990 Albania and USSR formally agree to restore diplomatic relations. March-April 1991 13 March-7th & 14 April: Elections show victory for the PLA :
PLA & affiliated parties win 169 out of 250 possible seats. The Democratic Party (DPA) wins 75 sets; The Democratic Union of Greek majority (OMONIA) wins 5 seats. The DPA alleges electoral malpractice aimed at the victory of the PLA.
Diplomatic relations between USA & Albania established.
April 1991 Interim Constitution replaces the Socialist constitution of 1976. Country re-named as the Republic of Albania (Formerly the Peoples Republic Of Socialist Albania). Ramiz Alia lost his seat in the elections, but is elected to the new post of President by the People's Assembly. But President Alia resigns from leadership of the PLA to accord with the rule of the new constitution. Fatos Nano still of the PLA, now Chairman of Council of Ministers.
May 1991 Union of Independent Trade Unions (UITUA) newly established. Initiates a general strike for higher wages and reassignation of Government. June 1991 Nano government steps down. Government of "national stability" appointed led by Ylli Bufi. This is a coalition of PLA, DPA, The Albanian republican Party (ARP), the Social Democratic party (SDP), and the Agrarian Party, and 9 other 'independent parties'. Gramoz Pashko leader of the DPA appointed Deputy Chairman.
At the 10th Congress of the PLA, the PLA re-names itself the "Socialist Party of Albania (SPA).
August 1991 Arrests start of former PLA official and leaders. Manush Mytfiu, former Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers arrested for "abuse of power". New focus for demonstrators is to arrest former PLA officials.
November 1991 DPA threatens withdrawal from Coalition government unless new elections by February.
December 1991 Government collapses. Widespread food riots.
1992-1994 Average annual rate of inflation was 50.6%. The transition to "market economy" had led to steep & high unemployment. By mid 1995 this official stood at 18% of labour force with in mid-1994, official figures showing that estimated 15% labour force worked aboard.
January 1992 Assembly reads a new law on "public order" citing food riot deaths.
February 1992 New electoral law proposed with reduced seats (from 250 to 140). By new definitions, parties labeled either as 'legitimate' or otherwise. OMONIA - declared banned as partaking elections as it "represented an ethnic minority". Greek minority launches widespread unsuccessful protests.
March 1992 General Election. DPA received 62 % votes of first round and wins 92 of 140 contested seats. SPA obtains 26% votes & 38 seats, SDP 2 seats & ARP 1 seat. Official figures claim 90% participation. Ramiz Alia resigns as President. People's's Assembly votes for Sali Berisha as President. New Government introduces "extensive programme of economic reforms, providing for the transfer to private ownership of farm land, state owned companies & housing, and the abolition of trade restrictions and price controls.
May 1992 Albania & the EEC sign a 10-year agreement on trade and cooperation.
June 1992 Albania with 10 other countries sign Black Sea Economic Cooperation Group agreement, projecting an economic bloc to 'complement' EEC.
July 1992 Amendment to law on political organizations outlaws the Albanian Communist Party. CP Chairman Hsyni Milloshi arrested in Tirana charged with illegally owing a gun. Decree granting Albanian citizenship on request, to Albanians resident overseas. Multi-party local elections: SPA wins 41% votes; DPA wins 43%.
September 1992 Albanian Democratic Alliance (ADA) formed with a split in the DPA.
September 1992 18 former Communist official including Nexhmija Hoxha arrested. Also arrested was Former President Ramiz Alia
December 1992 Albania applies to join NATO. First of the "Eastern European"countries to do so.
1993-1995 Following IMF stipulations: Strict programme of high interest rates, reduced subsidies banking liberalization & trade reforms, inflation 'under control'. During 1993-1995, Albania exhibited the highest economic growth rate in Europe.
January 1993 Nexhmije Hoxha imprisoned for 9 years on grounds of "embezzling state funds".
February 1993 Attorney General Maksim Haxhia arrested , former Prime Minister Vilson Akmeti arrested; Fatos Nano arrested. Mainly these are all on charges of "abuse of power".
May 1993 Former CP members appeal for the re-legalization of Communist party to Supreme Court of Appeal. Appeal is Rejected.
April 1993 Fatos Nano trial commences. Nano convicted of misappropriation of state funds from 1991. Sentenced to 12 years.
In Kosovo, several Albanians killed by Yugoslav guards on border. Albania requests UN Peace keeping mission in Kosovo - rejected.
July 1993 Ramiz Alia pleads 'not guilty' to ' abuse of power', convicted, sentenced to 8 years.
1994 Albania reaches a visible trade deficit of $146 million on the current account of the Balance of Payments.
March 1994 Berisha asks 'international community to make relaxation of sanctions against Yugoslavia contingent upon settlement in Kosova.
April 1994 After long deterioration in relations between Greece & Albania, relations flare following border 2 Albanian guard are killed. Albania joins NATO"partnership for peace" programme of military cooperation.
May 1994 Greek minister of Foreign Affairs attacks Albania; blocks provision of funds from EEC.
July 1994 SPA deputies try to introduce a vote of no confidence.
September 1994 OMONIA members accused of high treason since July convicted to 6-8 years imprisonment. Recall of ambassadors from Greece & Albania.
November 1994 Failing to obtain a two-third's majority in the Peoples Assembly for approval of the draft Constitution, Berisha holds a referendum. The draft - & by extension Berisha opposed by SPA, grounds being that it would 'increase power of President & diminish that of the Assembly". 84.4% of the people's partake of referendum, draft Constitution rejected by 53.9% of votes. New call for elections.
1995 Privatization programme moves from small scale to large sale enterprises, under a scheme with distribution of vouchers to selected citizens. The debt load of Albania of US$500m of commercial debts had been defaulted upon in 1991. New agreement extends foreign bank penetration & loans. By Mid 1995, 96% total farm had been re-distributed to private ownership.
March 1995 Chairman DPA Eduard Selami dismissed at an extraordinary Party Congress for opposing Berisha's efforts at organizing a new referendum. Alleges corruption.
May 1995 Italy stations troops at costal borders and at sea to "stem influx" of economic refugees. 5 SDP deputies confined to house arrest on shallow charges of financial mis-dealings.
June 1995 Ilir Hoxha son of Enver Hoxha convicted of 'inciting national hatred for denouncing leaders of the DPA in a newspaper interview". Hoxha had alleged that the DPA favored by Prosecution Services, in a campaign to actively discredit the former Communists prior to elections of 1996.
July 1995 Ramiz Alia ordered released by Supreme Court. Following Ilir Hoxha's conviction, Berisha muzzles press further : announces that the distribution of newspapers & magazines was to be restricted to government owned kiosks & state bookshops. Albania joins Council of Europe, agreeing to adopt a new Constitution and to correct 'human rights' issues.
August 1995 Law allowing for the sale & purchase of land is enacted.
September 1995 People's Assembly adopted law on "genocide & crimes against humanity during communist rule, prohibiting those in power during 1944-1991 to hold public position until 2002." SP deputies abstain and denounce legislation as 'political vengeance'. Minister Justice dismisses 3 Supreme Court judges owing to their previous Communist activities. The Chairman of Supreme Court Zef Brozi, follows up his earlier accusation of 'undue pressure on judiciary', by challenging the Minister's authority to dismiss employees of the Court and refuses to accept the decision. Security forces deployed to prevent 3 judges from entry to Supreme Court. Brozi refuses to acknowledge the Constitutional Court, where earlier Government have field charges of human rights violations against him. Brozi's grounds :'Constitutional Court illegal since 19922 since no law exited to regulate its function". Brozi had recommended the review of the case of Fatos Nano earlier in the year. By amendment of the Penal Code by Berisha's Assembly, Supreme Court forced to abandon its review of Nano's case.
November 1995 Parliamentary Commission launches inquiry into findings of mass grave near Shkoder, allegations against Ramiz Alia in connection with this dating to his 1991 ordering to kill persons attempting to flee the country. Further probes into former Communist office holders are held.
May 1996 Albania's first Stock market opens. Trading limited to Albanian Treasury Bills & to Privatization vouchers for 70 state enterprises.
September 1996 Judge Mehid sentences 9 communist former officials to prison terms ranging from 15-20 years for "crimes against humanity". Among sentenced are Llambi Gregpritti Former PLA/CP chief of Tirana; and Idayet Beqiri leader of Party national Unity & formerly PLA head in Kruja. This was the fourth trial of former PLA leaders since 1991.
1996 More than eighty people infected with polio, and 11 died.
January 1997 Suspicions that Democratic Party officials & Berisha 'hand in glove', 'on cosy terms ' with "Pyramid" fund operators, of various fraudulent schemes become widespread. About $US billion (equals 43% of Albania's current GDP) consumed in fraud, about 800,000 people from a population of 3.8 million defrauded. "American financier George Soros, published the following call to arms on January 16, just as the schemes were collapsing: "The money-borrowing schemes, the failure of which is striking the major part of the population, constitutes the ideal time (for) the opposition (ie The Socialist Party) to return to life by (turning) the displeasure of the victims to the development of its policies. " Wash.Times.
February 1997 4 people die in clashes in Vlora sparked by the bankruptcy of the Gjallica pyramid scheme in which many Vlora residents had invested. "Hundreds of thousands of Albanians had invested up to $1.5 billion in several pyramid funds, which paid off initial investors with later investors deposits. Gjallica at the time of its collapse had some 400,000 depositors. Up to 400,000 people daily gathered in Vlora Feb 5-123 to demand that the Government repay their lost investments. Protests turned violent. Police shot.
Feb 10th State of emergency declared in Vlora. Premier Aleksandr Meksi calls on Parliament to deploy police.
Late Feb "Just as European Union foreign ministers had agreed in late February on a statement that did not support early elections - to the dismay of the Socialists - U.S. Ambassador Marisa Lino held press conference where she again called for early elections." Wash.Times.
March 1 Massive protests again in Vlora. Police shoot dead 13 people.
March 4 Albanian parliament imposes curfew, orders 'armed rebels' to surrender. Berisha sacks premier Meksi. Demonstrators take parts of Saranda & Vlora & Gjirokastra.
March 5 State TV blacked out. BBC & Voice of America broadcasts in Albanian shut down. Tanks mobilised. Foreign residents flown out by Italy. Italian & Greek officials 'spearhead' calls for EEC to intervene.
March 6 Army bases plundered by rioting civilians, & arms taken. Berisha fires army chief of staff General Sheme Kosova saying :"Gen. Kosova was failing to defend army barracks in the South against looters'. NATO Secretary Mr Javier Solana rules out NATO led actions, but leaves possibility of individual foreign country action.
March 8-9 Berisha stops all army actions and offers 'amnesty' to 'rebels' in exchange for a surrender of arms. Rebels in all parts of the country, especially South, refuse demanding "new elections, resignation of President Berisha, & formation of government of 'technocrats'".- says Colonel Tzavar 'military leader of rebels in Saranda".
March 10 'We can no longer speak of the army in Gjirokastra'.. Mr Xhevat Kociu a rebel elder. Berisha comes under pressure from both EEC & USA to resign.
March 11 Berisha agrees to : 'amnesty, and establishment of 'national reconciliation government', elections by June supervised by international agencies, elections to include participation of the Socialist Party. Rebels reject this offer.
March 13 Berisha gives premiership to Mr Bashim Fino Socialist Party , a 'move applauded by US diplomats'. Continued looting of arms depots throughout the country.
March 17 Both USA and EEC debating how and when to enter Albania. 'Signs emerging that US and other Western countries may be urging Mr. Berisha to step down, despite his insistence to stay put till June elections'. Italian, French,& Greek troops enter the country.
April 19 Leka, son of former King Zog, goes to Albania.
Sources : The Above Has Been Complied From A number of sources: The European World year Book 1996; Volume 1, 37th edition, London 1996. ISBN : 1-85743-019-0;
Keesings Contemporary Archives 1996;
Facts On File 1996-1997;
'The Australian'; March 4-17;
Globe And Mail;
Guardian Weekly;
Washington Times.
CIVIL WAR - IN ALBANIA
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PART TWO : SOME DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE COMMUNIST PARTY ALBANIA .
DOCUMENT 1 : COMMUNIQUE OF THE CC OF CPA : "ABOUT THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN ALBANIA".
The present situation in Albania shows the total economical, political and social crisis caused by the anti-people and anti-national government of Berisha. This shows the development of the "democracy" in Europe and USA, the policy and interference in the future deeds in countries from Eastern Europe. This situation brought absolute poverty and destruction. As is known, this rage and explosion of the people came as indignation accumulated during the government of Berisha. This rage and the peoples' explosion were caused by the robbery of the people's money which were in several big firms, "pyramid" organisations: this sum comes to 3 billion dollars. After that, the ruling Mafia used a great amount of this money to strengthen the regime and the dictatorship, the activity of the Democratic party and to enrich the rulers. Some of the managers of such firms are already in prison, so they cannot tell the truth. The uprising of the people started with peaceful strikes and demonstrations, strikes in which took part students in hunger strike from the towns of Vlora and Girokastra, who were supported by all students and many schools. All the attempts of the regime to suppress the movement led to its spreading all over the country. The state of emergency established by the Parliament of the Democratic party inflamed the people in the towns of Vlora, Ljushna, Fieri, Saranda, Tepelena, Girokastra and the whole of South Albania the people armed themselves and chased away the representatives of the institutions situated in their territory. The uprising of the people and the sound of arms forced the media and the diplomats of Europe and USA to start to talk about Albania and to think of some political solution of the problem. This forced the president to listen to the opposition, which did not exist for him up to this moment. The opposition, which didn't have the trust of the people, was striving to win over that movement of the people, but forgot what the opposition wanted and was looking for the people. And the result came: a compromise between the opposition and the president-bandit along with a signed declaration which did not include the new requests of the rebels: the resignation of the president and the return of the money. The rebels answered that they will not surrender their weapons until their decisions and requests are accepted. The most important thing for them is to be accepted at the round table as a basic opposition force. After the announcement of this declaration, the opposition and the international diplomats declared it for a great achievement but the people did not accept it and started to capture new towns; Permet, Berat, Skrepar, Kuchova, Ghpamsh... The most important thing in the people's movement are the political requests. The army and the police joined the people. The only armed forces which supported and still supports Berisha are the armed bands and the special services "SHIC" and two divisions of hired soldiers from Serbia and Kosovo. The ex-military communists who governed the quarters and the council for salvation of the people also take part in these events. The Communist party and the communists gave orientations about the main slogans and political requests. As it is well known, the CP worked very hard to organize everything. Of great importance are the revolutionary steps of the people The rebel shows the power of the people and the rottenness of the fascist regime. The only support of this regime was the imperialist powers."
DOCUMENT 2 : Interview with Ubaldo Buttafava Secretary of the Central Committee of the Organization for the Communist Party of the Proletariat of Italy. "On the Albanian Events" Rome, March 22, 1997.
Q. The bourgeois press in the United States only says that there is anarchy in Albania, and that the rebellion was due to the pyramid money schemes. What are the real facts, and what is the situation in the last days?
A. The popular rebellion in Albania is the product of an economic, social and political crisis which has matured over the last year. It is the result, in the first place, of the reformism of Ramiz Alia and Fatos Nano inaugurated in 1991 at the Xth Congress of the PLA with the expulsion from the Party of political office of those faithful to Enver Hoxha and the defense of socialism; and in the second place to the "Democratic" politics of Sali Berisha who has demonstrated a neo-colonial policy subservient to the U.S.A. and to Italy. The popular rebellion in its internal force has diverse politics, among them those of the new Communist Party of Albania.
Q. What are the perspectives of the struggle, and what is the possibility that this struggle will lead to the re-establishment of socialism in Albania?
A. The Albanian crisis will not be brief, it will be a component of the revolutionary movement which is arising in all the Balkans and the ex-USSR. The perspective of the struggle in Albania is linked to the possibility of giving a stable character to the movement; to the creation of a united and long-term political leadership; to the foreign intervention and to the unmasking of the reformism of the Socialist Party linked to Europe. The main obstacle to the socialist perspective in Albania is represented by the Socialist Party. The Communist Party of Albania is rapidly developing, a necessity considering that in the last years it has been in a state of complete illegality and was subject to fascist repression; recently two members of the Central Committee were condemned to three and a half years in prison for the simple possession of political documents.
Q. What is the role of the Communist Party of Albania in the struggle?
A. The Communist Party of Albania, which held its Congress in the summer of 1996, follows the general line outlined by the great Marxist-Leninist Enver Hoxha, the line of revolution for socialism and whose aim is to bring the struggle of the patriotic forces under the baton of liberty, independence and sovereignty. Certainly during the last 15 years reformism and capitalist ideology have created much confusion, but in Albania there is a strong national sentiment and a spirit of struggle.
Q. What has been the role of the Socialist Party?
A. The Socialist Party is a typical social-democratic party which openly supports capitalism, bourgeois democracy, integration into Europe and NATO. It is the true obstacle to the revolution and the principle counter-revolutionary force; but in these days it is being unmasked in the eyes of the masses.
Q. To what extent have the U.S. and European imperialists been militarily involved, and what do you think is the possibility that, if the struggle threatens to overthrow the Berisha government, that they will send in troops in mass?
A. There is a united front against the popular rebellion: Berisha, the Socialist Party, Europe and the United States. If the government of Berisha and Bashkim Fino are not able to halt the rebellion there will be massive military intervention from Europe supported by the United States. There will be a new Vietnam which will ignite the Balkans. At this moment Italy has intervened at Durazzo and Valona to encircle the popular rebellion.
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DOCUMENT 3 : INTERVIEW WITH A COMRADE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA (1st Week of March, beginning of the great mass movement). FROM LA NOSTRA LOTTA - ITALY.
Q : What are the causes that have provoked this great movement of struggle?
A : The collapse of the financial schemes is due to the enemy of the people, Sali Berisha, but this has only been the spark of the crisis. This past year the social climate has become explosive due to the collapse of almost all economic activity, the crisis of education, the failure to pay pensions, the mass unemployment, the lack of goods of prime necessity, the fall in living standards in general.
Q: What is the political content of this popular movement?
A: We are undoubtedly dealing with a popular struggle against all the pro-U.S. policies of Sali Berisha. Certainly in this movement all the anti-Berisha forces are represented, however this is a struggle which on the economic and social level pursues popular objectives, it is a defense of the fundamental interests of the masses. On the political level, freedom, national sovereignty, real democracy for the people.
Q : What is, in general, the situation of your party?
A: Last summer, the party held a Congress (as did its youth organization) in the conditions of absolute illegality imposed by Berisha who has used all possible means of violence. Two comrades of the Central Committee were arrested for the simple possession of political materials and sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment .The Communist Party of Albania follows the line of Comrade Enver Hoxha, for socialism, liberty and independence. Lately the party has been greatly strengthened and is present throughout the country, especially in the south and in the big cities in general, and it is increasing its membership among the youth.
Q: What is the ideological situation of the Albanian masses?
A: It has undergone a major change. We had an optimal situation, despite some negative phenomena, in 1985 at the time of the death of Comrade Enver Hoxha. With the transformation of the PLA (Party of Labor of Albania) into the Socialist Party, reformism has been spread, which opened the way to the "democratic" reaction of Berisha. There were great illusions about what capitalism would bring, but after the fraudulent election of Berisha in 1992 the masses very quickly changed their minds.
Q: What role is the Socialist Party of Albania playing?
A : This party has betrayed the ideals of Socialism and Communism and the interests of our homeland. This party is linked to big European capital and has good relations with U.S. imperialism. It also has unofficial relations with the party of Berisha (who these days is using Serbian mercenaries) and is engaged with the counter-revolution. This is becoming ever more evident to the people. Nonetheless the Albanians love liberty and our homeland, and the immortal examples of Skanderbeg and Enver Hoxha are in our hearts and memory.
Q: What is the perspective of this struggle, which serves as an example to all the peoples of Europe and the world?
A : The important thing is that this movement should extend to all countries. Our people should get rid of the influence of the traitors of the Socialist Party, that conspires with every intrigue, the world reaction is preparing a foreign military intervention. Our Communist Party should become the leading force of the Albanians, ... in the name freedom and social justice.
Published in La Nostra Lotta (organ of the CC of the Organization for the
Communist Party of the Proletariat of Italy), March 1997.
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DOCUMENT 4: "DESTRUCTION IN ALBANIA - A TRAGEDY"; BY SOKOL SHKODRA, COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA, MARCH 13, 1997. From KPD-Roter Morgen, Germany.
The years 1991-97 in Albania were years of destruction in the name of the fight against communism. This was also transformed into deeds. The foreign powers determined and wrote up the plan of destruction. The practical execution of the plan fell to the Albania politicians of the "Democratic" Party. One of the Theses drawn up and circulated at the beginning of the 1990s was that everything, that had been built up in the 50 years of communism, must be destroyed and that work must be begun again from zero point, since everything that had been built was worthless. A leader of the Democrats, the economist Gramoz Pashko, said that the zero point theory must be carried through and that we must begin the work with a blank check that the West would write for us. The tragedy of the destruction and the burning down was done under the slogan: "We are destroying Enverism and communism in Albania down to the roots.!"
Dozens of the factories, hospitals, social and cultural organizations, modern stock-breeding complexes and warehouses, which were robbed from the people, were destroyed. Thousands of hectares of vineyards, plantations of tropical fruit, greenhouses, were burned and destroyed, the telephone networks in the villages were destroyed, as were irrigation plants, land reclamation projects, the electricity network, etc....
In many regions of the country the graves of the fighters of the national liberation war were destroyed. The memorials to the heroes and heroines of the people in all of Albania, including the memorial to the legendary Enver Hoxha, were torn down. The justification was:
We are fighting against communism and Enver Hoxha, so that the European and American world will like us and help us. This was what the politicians of the Berisha clique declared. The damage and destruction to the Albanian economy between 1991 and 1997 amounted to billions of dollars. The reason: "the fight against communism." Many patriotic people, regardless of their party membership, are asking correctly: "What is all this?" "Is this in the interest of Albania?"
There are a number of reasons why all this came about. The current ruling politicians with President Berisha at the top know the reasons very well. But they do not tell the truth. The truth is that the capitalist world does not want Albania in the present situation to be a strong and independent state, as it was in the previous 50 years under Enver Hoxha. The foreign policy of Albania must be that of the open door, without any control and discipline of a constitutional state.
Albania is passing through an unforeseen situation. There is no constitution, since the party in power does not accept an agreement with the other political powers. The result of the path pursued in these years by the Meksi regime and President Berisha, of the closing of the great national enterprises, of the demolition of the construction work on the hydro-electric plant at Banja, on the railroad line Milot-Reshen-Klos and other objectives, that were foreseen in the five-year plan, was that innumerable people took the path of emigration or exile into the world to search for work (in Italy, Greece, the whole of Europe and America) . Over 600, 000 young Albanian men and women are emigrants today.
The noteworthy events of the year 1997 are the throwing of stones and the burning to the ground of the headquarters of the Democratic Party, of the building of the police and secret service, the city halls and other state organizations, as well as the collapse of the so-called pyramid money businesses of the companies of Gjallica, Xhaferi, Populli, etc. Thousands of Albanian citizens lost money and their houses which were put up for sale. The rebellion of the people has now developed into the climax of a forcible protest against the Berisha regime. This popular anger began on May 26, 1996, as the elections took place under the influence of the state force and condemned the current parliament as illegal, and it developed into a massive protest against the Democratic Party and the President. The severe protests in Vlora, Berat, Lushnja, Gjirokaster, Saranda, Fieri, Kavaja, Korca and Tirana, accompanied by hunger strikes of students of the universities of Vlora and Gjirokaster, supported by the people, all these protest actions have sharpened the situation. The theft of weapons from arms depots has alarmed the public and great insecurity has resulted. The deaths of more than ten people, some civilians and some police, the opening of the prison in Saranda, the prison revolt in Shenkoll near Lheza as well as the execution of a condemned person have led to great tensions. The political shocks in Albania on the basis of the demonstrations have stirred up the fear of a new unforeseen exodus towards Italy and Greece. In this oppressive situation, in which Prime Minister Mexi resigned, President Berisha proclaimed a state of emergency by which he placed the whole country under the control of the army, the secret service SHJK and the police. This has only sharpened the situation in the whole country. In this gloomy moment the political struggle between the Democratic Party of President Berisha and the opposition has also increased. Without any justification the President indicted the Communists, and that at a time when the Communist Party of Albania had been banned by the parliament of the Democratic Party (which has 2/3 of the seats there).
Albanian communists were dismissed wholesale from their work-places, under the pretext that these were democratic reforms. The parliament and the president passed a law, that prohibits any communist, Enverist or Marxist-Leninist activity in Albania. A large number of supporters of the opposition have been arrested under the charge that they had taken part in organizing demonstrations. In other words, the political opposition has been persecuted. The working class, which had worked in the plants, factories, state enterprises, social and cultural organizations, stands at the crossroads. The metallurgical combine, the auto and tractor combine Enver Hoxha in Tirana, the copper factory and combine have been shattered. The copper and coal mines have been closed down...
In the difficult situation that the country is passing through, the left opposition and the center have come together to form a group called the Forum for Democracy, in which the society for the formerly politically persecuted and the students take part. The demonstrators are demanding with this revolt to get back the money from the pyramid businesses. It is emphasized that the pyramid money businesses stand in connection with the great voting fraud of the Democratic Party in the election of May 26, 1996, which was carried out under the dictate of the Berisha regime. During the years in which the Democratic Party government has been in power, the former communists, the heroes of the people, the political opposition have been slandered, persecuted and imprisoned. There was the tragic death in prison in Tirana of Shefqet Peci, the hero of the people, the former chairperson of the National Committee of Veterans of the Albanian liberation war. There was also the tragic imprisonment of the former Albanian State President Haxhi Lleshi, Hero of the People and of the anti-fascist war. Also the imprisonment of Nexmije Hoxha, widow of Enver Hoxha and the former Chairperson of the Democratic Front of Albania and former fighter in the Albanian war against fascism. Ilir Hoxha, the son of Enver Hoxha, was also imprisoned, just because he has written in a newspaper in favor of his father. The journalist Sami Meta, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Jehona, was also imprisoned as a political enemy as were also the journalists Perparim XhiXha, Aleksander Frangaj, Martin Lekha.
The remains of the heroes of the people, the commanders and commissars of the war such as Enver Hoxha, Myslim Peza, Gogo Nushi, Hysni Kapo, Josif Pashko, Alqi Kondi were torn out of their graves. The anniversary of the Liberation of Albania from the Nazi fascists, November 29, 1944, for which 28,000 partisan men and women gave their lives, has been stricken from the calendar. November 29, 1944, however, is the greatest and most glorious day for the Albanian people. In these days through which Albania is suffering, there are emerging dangerous contradictions on the side of the state power, namely that the state power made decisions that conflict with Albanian reality, in which heroes are labeled as criminals and criminals as heroes. Everything that has been described here, all the crimes of the last 6 years have brought out a great deal of hatred in the Albanian people, in all Albania. The latest incident, the collapse of the fraudulent pyramid companies, in which the Albanian people lost their savings and houses, and the consequent revolt of the entire people has taken on the character of an insurrection. Without new elections under an agreement of all political forces the situation in Albania will develop even more difficulty and dramatically.
Published in Roter Morgen: Postanschrift:Zeitungsverlag PM, Postfach 401051, 70410 Stuttgart Tel. : 0711/8702209. Fax: 0711/8702445 Vertrieb: Literaturvertrieb, zeitungsverlag PM, Postfach 1942, 61289 Bad Homburg v.d.H
E-Mail: KPD-Roter-Morgen@t-online . de.
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DOCUMENT 5 : "The defeat of Berisha means the defeat of the system!" Seyit Aldogan -- Interview with a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania
Q: Can you briefly describe the general development up to the uprising?
A: The rulers, after the dissolution of socialism, acted in the interests of the imperialist countries. They destroyed everything that had been constructed during the socialist period, and thereby brought the entire economy to ruin. All those who had brought about this situation gathered into Berisha's party. While they equated communism with fascism, they carried on their attacks against the Albanian people on all levels. While on the one hand the "market economy" was portrayed as a panacea, they closed the enterprises, unemployment increased by leaps and bounds, and the persons fled en masse to the capitalist countries. To put it briefly, the social problems became worse from day to day. Moreover, the history of Albania was also manipulated by the new rulers. So, for example, the resistance of the Albanian people against fascism in 1944 was declared to be a civil war in which allegedly much blood was spilled between "brothers." The Albanian people were promised that they would quickly attain a prosperity comparable to prosperity in the USA. The younger generation was especially taken in by this propaganda. As an agent of this propaganda, Berisha was able to determine the internal politics during this period. Berisha's party represented a policy that contradicted the interests of the Albanian people. The country was sold the foreign capital, and this party claimed that there is no working class in Albania. Throughout the country, little stores and buffets were opened through which the free market economy was to be introduced. A large part of the population became unemployed, and a part of them went abroad as refugees. Meanwhile phony enterprises, mainly of US and Italian mafia organizations, were established in Albania. The regime spread the idea that these firms would become the foundation of Albanian capital. The people's wealth was squandered in such enterprises. Berisha claimed that the country would prosper through these enterprises. The country was thoroughly plundered, the population lived in poverty and misery and at the same time became conscious of the oppressive measures of the rulers, who were symbolized by Berisha.
Q: Why is the name of Sali Berisha always being put in the foreground?
A: The uprising of the people against Sali Berisha means an uprising against the consequences of this system. Hundreds of thousands of people filled the plazas and the streets of the country and armed themselves. Berisha symbolized the imperialist exploitation, the selling off of the country, unemployment and oppression. Therefore the fury, that is apparently directed against Berisha, is directed at the same time against the system that Berisha represents.
Q: Is this a revolution?
A : Without a doubt. The organizations and the administration of the system are no longer functioning. The military and the police apparatus are themselves incapable of functioning, with many members of these institutions joining the Rebellion Committees. This uprising is directed not only against the bankers, but against the Berisha dictatorship. The bankers are also pillars of this system. The uprising certainly did not arise overnight. On the contrary, since 1992 the people have expressed their discontent in various forms. In 1994, there were mass demonstrations in Tirana, Kusk, Rusen, Bals, Malakastras and Skapri. Political demands, such as freedom of expression, freedom of organization and speech against suppression, became the focal point of these actions. Moreover the demands of the present uprising are the following: a) the resignation of Sali Berisha; b) dissolution of the parliament c) holding new elections. Two of these demands have already been achieved. These are undoubtedly political demands that could be realized by this armed uprising.
Q : What were your proposals at the beginning of the uprising?
A : Our proposals were the dismissal of Berisha and holding of new elections. As you see, these proposals are largely accepted by the people. Even the bourgeois parties as well as the current Prime Minister Fino support these demands.
Q : Which role is the government of Fino playing?
A : The government of Fino and other parties can only lead the country to new elections, nothing more. None of the existing parties is in a position to solve the problems of Albania. I also do not believe in a quick solution. Only on a long-term basis can the existing problems, which are connected with struggle and difficulties, be solved. This uprising will bring our people numerous experiences and self-assurance. A people, that lived for decades under socialism and places great importance on independence, will not simply put up with everything.
Q: Tell us about the committees?
A: The committees were chosen directly by the people in public meetings. Earlier the committee members may have voted for one or the other party, but now they represent the people and are recallable at any time. I can add without exaggeration: no other party has such an effect on the masses, because the people do not stand behind the parties, but rather behind the committees. That means therefore that the people do not feel represented by any party.
Q : What would happen in the case of a foreign invasion?
A : The Albanian people would not permit any foreign invasion and would defend itself against it. It would give no one the right to do this. That is, moreover, a point on which we place great value. Those, who previously supported Berisha and made him a puppet of their interests, were formerly able to defend him. However, when the people armed themselves to prepare to put an end to this system and the exploitation and oppression connected with it, all of a sudden they were concerned about our security and well-being. That is an internal matter; moreover the people have risen up precisely in order to create security and well-being.
Q : Why haven't the people marched to Tirana?
A : The uprising is presented in all the imperialist media as a north-south-conflict. If we were to march to Tirana, this would have only served Berisha's propaganda and would have provided only further bases for a foreign invasion. THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH WILL NOT KEEP BEING QUIET.' Berisha has not yet been removed.
Q : What will happen at the end?
A : If Berisha resists longer, it will draw still larger circles into the uprising, for the Albanian people know that he is responsible for their abuses. The demonstrations will begin again and the mass organizations will continue. The people in the north will also no longer keep quiet. THE PEOPLE TRUST US!
Q : What role did your party play before the uprising and what role is it playing today?
A : We must clearly explain here one thing. We had already counted on such an uprising. Therefore we intensified our activities in this direction. Our party members were involved in all actions on the spot. Already in the development of the first committees, our adherents played an important role. At present, our members take part in all the committees, and they can determine their direction in most cases. In the actions, the party does not appear by name, because it is not legal. But the people know well that we stand on their side and represent their interests; therefore they trust us.
Q : Isn't the situation ripe that the party appear in its own name?
A : Not yet. The time is not yet ripe for that. We can also in this way establish our conceptions and carry out actions. The illegal structures will continue further.
Q : The uprising offered you many possibilities...
A : Yes, this was indeed so. We are now in a position to reinforce our organizations and to carry out actions, that previously we were not allowed. It is our goal to expand the possibilities of legal actions so that we can better bring our program to the people.
Published in Emek (Daily newspaper published in Turkey and Europe)
1st April 1997 Published & Translated in Germany, Otto-Hahn-Str. 44a, 63303 Dreieich-Sprendlingen
Tel.: (0 61 03) 3 53 33; Fax: (0 61 03) 3 53 98 E-mail: u.altun@asco.nev.sub.de
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DOCUMENT 7 : ARTICLE BY SEYIT AYDOGAN - EMEK.
The uprising of the Albanian people against the Berisha dictatorship continues. The imperialists have pushed the puppet Berisha into the background and are trying to push Prime Minister Fino into the foreground. Fino is shuttling back and forth between the Rebellion Committee in Vlora and the imperialist countries and is trying by means of empty promises to end the uprising. As the first requirement for further negotiations, he demands that they lay down their weapons. But the people are determined that they will not lay down their weapons until its demands are fulfilled. The Rebellion Committee recently gave an ultimatum to Berisha and at the same time warned the government [of Prime Minister Fino] not to take Berisha's side. Meanwhile, there was a meeting between Prime Minister Fino and the members of the Rebellion Committee of Vlora. There the demands were again passed on to Prime Minister Fino.
Session of the Rebellion Committee in Vlora.
Within the Committee in Vlora the influence of the people and that of the Communist Party of Albania is very great. In meetings that take place twice daily, Thousands of people meet and discuss further ways of proceeding. At yesterday's meeting (March 23, 1997), tens of thousands of people took part. After the meeting I was able to speak with representatives of the Committee. 'The reporting in the foreign press about us is entirely manipulated. We will not lay down our weapons. If Prime Minister Fino coalesces further with Berisha, we will not recognize him either." I was able to clearly see that the people supports only the Committee and that they are firmly decided to deprive Berisha of power. In this discussion, I asked why they have not taken the capital Tirana, although Berisha has still not resigned. The answer was: "Berisha and the foreign powers are continually trying to create an artificial separation between the south and the north. They are trying to provoke a war between the south and the north. For this reason we decided that a march from the south to Tirana is not sensible. Such a march would reinforce this attempt of Berisha and the imperialist countries." The chairperson of the National Unity Party, Hidayet Besiri, who was recently freed by the people, made a speech calling on the people to "seize the initiative." Besiri described the uprising as a revolution and declared that the people should not lay down their weapons and should seize the initiative.
In Vlora, control is completely in the hands of the Rebellion Committee. There is neither chaos nor looting nor arbitrary shooting. At the mass meeting no weapons were carried except by people designated to carry them. Many people with whom I spoke said that the followers of Berisha were responsible for the nightly "shooting into the air." In their opinion these people were planning a provocation. Emek (Daily newspaper published in Turkey and Europe) 01. April 1997, Germany : Oto-Hahn-Str. 44a, 63303 Dreieich-Sprendlingen
Tel. : (0 61 03) 3 53 33 F ax : (0 61 03) 3 53 98
PART TWO : SOME DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE COMMUNIST PARTY ALBANIA .
DOCUMENT 1 : COMMUNIQUE OF THE CC OF CPA : "ABOUT THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN ALBANIA".
The present situation in Albania shows the total economical, political and social crisis caused by the anti-people and anti-national government of Berisha. This shows the development of the "democracy" in Europe and USA, the policy and interference in the future deeds in countries from Eastern Europe. This situation brought absolute poverty and destruction. As is known, this rage and explosion of the people came as indignation accumulated during the government of Berisha. This rage and the peoples' explosion were caused by the robbery of the people's money which were in several big firms, "pyramid" organisations: this sum comes to 3 billion dollars. After that, the ruling Mafia used a great amount of this money to strengthen the regime and the dictatorship, the activity of the Democratic party and to enrich the rulers. Some of the managers of such firms are already in prison, so they cannot tell the truth. The uprising of the people started with peaceful strikes and demonstrations, strikes in which took part students in hunger strike from the towns of Vlora and Girokastra, who were supported by all students and many schools. All the attempts of the regime to suppress the movement led to its spreading all over the country. The state of emergency established by the Parliament of the Democratic party inflamed the people in the towns of Vlora, Ljushna, Fieri, Saranda, Tepelena, Girokastra and the whole of South Albania the people armed themselves and chased away the representatives of the institutions situated in their territory. The uprising of the people and the sound of arms forced the media and the diplomats of Europe and USA to start to talk about Albania and to think of some political solution of the problem. This forced the president to listen to the opposition, which did not exist for him up to this moment. The opposition, which didn't have the trust of the people, was striving to win over that movement of the people, but forgot what the opposition wanted and was looking for the people. And the result came: a compromise between the opposition and the president-bandit along with a signed declaration which did not include the new requests of the rebels: the resignation of the president and the return of the money. The rebels answered that they will not surrender their weapons until their decisions and requests are accepted. The most important thing for them is to be accepted at the round table as a basic opposition force. After the announcement of this declaration, the opposition and the international diplomats declared it for a great achievement but the people did not accept it and started to capture new towns; Permet, Berat, Skrepar, Kuchova, Ghpamsh... The most important thing in the people's movement are the political requests. The army and the police joined the people. The only armed forces which supported and still supports Berisha are the armed bands and the special services "SHIC" and two divisions of hired soldiers from Serbia and Kosovo. The ex-military communists who governed the quarters and the council for salvation of the people also take part in these events. The Communist party and the communists gave orientations about the main slogans and political requests. As it is well known, the CP worked very hard to organize everything. Of great importance are the revolutionary steps of the people The rebel shows the power of the people and the rottenness of the fascist regime. The only support of this regime was the imperialist powers."
DOCUMENT 2 : Interview with Ubaldo Buttafava Secretary of the Central Committee of the Organization for the Communist Party of the Proletariat of Italy. "On the Albanian Events" Rome, March 22, 1997.
Q. The bourgeois press in the United States only says that there is anarchy in Albania, and that the rebellion was due to the pyramid money schemes. What are the real facts, and what is the situation in the last days?
A. The popular rebellion in Albania is the product of an economic, social and political crisis which has matured over the last year. It is the result, in the first place, of the reformism of Ramiz Alia and Fatos Nano inaugurated in 1991 at the Xth Congress of the PLA with the expulsion from the Party of political office of those faithful to Enver Hoxha and the defense of socialism; and in the second place to the "Democratic" politics of Sali Berisha who has demonstrated a neo-colonial policy subservient to the U.S.A. and to Italy. The popular rebellion in its internal force has diverse politics, among them those of the new Communist Party of Albania.
Q. What are the perspectives of the struggle, and what is the possibility that this struggle will lead to the re-establishment of socialism in Albania?
A. The Albanian crisis will not be brief, it will be a component of the revolutionary movement which is arising in all the Balkans and the ex-USSR. The perspective of the struggle in Albania is linked to the possibility of giving a stable character to the movement; to the creation of a united and long-term political leadership; to the foreign intervention and to the unmasking of the reformism of the Socialist Party linked to Europe. The main obstacle to the socialist perspective in Albania is represented by the Socialist Party. The Communist Party of Albania is rapidly developing, a necessity considering that in the last years it has been in a state of complete illegality and was subject to fascist repression; recently two members of the Central Committee were condemned to three and a half years in prison for the simple possession of political documents.
Q. What is the role of the Communist Party of Albania in the struggle?
A. The Communist Party of Albania, which held its Congress in the summer of 1996, follows the general line outlined by the great Marxist-Leninist Enver Hoxha, the line of revolution for socialism and whose aim is to bring the struggle of the patriotic forces under the baton of liberty, independence and sovereignty. Certainly during the last 15 years reformism and capitalist ideology have created much confusion, but in Albania there is a strong national sentiment and a spirit of struggle.
Q. What has been the role of the Socialist Party?
A. The Socialist Party is a typical social-democratic party which openly supports capitalism, bourgeois democracy, integration into Europe and NATO. It is the true obstacle to the revolution and the principle counter-revolutionary force; but in these days it is being unmasked in the eyes of the masses.
Q. To what extent have the U.S. and European imperialists been militarily involved, and what do you think is the possibility that, if the struggle threatens to overthrow the Berisha government, that they will send in troops in mass?
A. There is a united front against the popular rebellion: Berisha, the Socialist Party, Europe and the United States. If the government of Berisha and Bashkim Fino are not able to halt the rebellion there will be massive military intervention from Europe supported by the United States. There will be a new Vietnam which will ignite the Balkans. At this moment Italy has intervened at Durazzo and Valona to encircle the popular rebellion.
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DOCUMENT 3 : INTERVIEW WITH A COMRADE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA (1st Week of March, beginning of the great mass movement). FROM LA NOSTRA LOTTA - ITALY.
Q : What are the causes that have provoked this great movement of struggle?
A : The collapse of the financial schemes is due to the enemy of the people, Sali Berisha, but this has only been the spark of the crisis. This past year the social climate has become explosive due to the collapse of almost all economic activity, the crisis of education, the failure to pay pensions, the mass unemployment, the lack of goods of prime necessity, the fall in living standards in general.
Q: What is the political content of this popular movement?
A: We are undoubtedly dealing with a popular struggle against all the pro-U.S. policies of Sali Berisha. Certainly in this movement all the anti-Berisha forces are represented, however this is a struggle which on the economic and social level pursues popular objectives, it is a defense of the fundamental interests of the masses. On the political level, freedom, national sovereignty, real democracy for the people.
Q : What is, in general, the situation of your party?
A: Last summer, the party held a Congress (as did its youth organization) in the conditions of absolute illegality imposed by Berisha who has used all possible means of violence. Two comrades of the Central Committee were arrested for the simple possession of political materials and sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment .The Communist Party of Albania follows the line of Comrade Enver Hoxha, for socialism, liberty and independence. Lately the party has been greatly strengthened and is present throughout the country, especially in the south and in the big cities in general, and it is increasing its membership among the youth.
Q: What is the ideological situation of the Albanian masses?
A: It has undergone a major change. We had an optimal situation, despite some negative phenomena, in 1985 at the time of the death of Comrade Enver Hoxha. With the transformation of the PLA (Party of Labor of Albania) into the Socialist Party, reformism has been spread, which opened the way to the "democratic" reaction of Berisha. There were great illusions about what capitalism would bring, but after the fraudulent election of Berisha in 1992 the masses very quickly changed their minds.
Q: What role is the Socialist Party of Albania playing?
A : This party has betrayed the ideals of Socialism and Communism and the interests of our homeland. This party is linked to big European capital and has good relations with U.S. imperialism. It also has unofficial relations with the party of Berisha (who these days is using Serbian mercenaries) and is engaged with the counter-revolution. This is becoming ever more evident to the people. Nonetheless the Albanians love liberty and our homeland, and the immortal examples of Skanderbeg and Enver Hoxha are in our hearts and memory.
Q: What is the perspective of this struggle, which serves as an example to all the peoples of Europe and the world?
A : The important thing is that this movement should extend to all countries. Our people should get rid of the influence of the traitors of the Socialist Party, that conspires with every intrigue, the world reaction is preparing a foreign military intervention. Our Communist Party should become the leading force of the Albanians, ... in the name freedom and social justice.
Published in La Nostra Lotta (organ of the CC of the Organization for the
Communist Party of the Proletariat of Italy), March 1997.
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DOCUMENT 4: "DESTRUCTION IN ALBANIA - A TRAGEDY"; BY SOKOL SHKODRA, COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA, MARCH 13, 1997. From KPD-Roter Morgen, Germany.
The years 1991-97 in Albania were years of destruction in the name of the fight against communism. This was also transformed into deeds. The foreign powers determined and wrote up the plan of destruction. The practical execution of the plan fell to the Albania politicians of the "Democratic" Party. One of the Theses drawn up and circulated at the beginning of the 1990s was that everything, that had been built up in the 50 years of communism, must be destroyed and that work must be begun again from zero point, since everything that had been built was worthless. A leader of the Democrats, the economist Gramoz Pashko, said that the zero point theory must be carried through and that we must begin the work with a blank check that the West would write for us. The tragedy of the destruction and the burning down was done under the slogan: "We are destroying Enverism and communism in Albania down to the roots.!"
Dozens of the factories, hospitals, social and cultural organizations, modern stock-breeding complexes and warehouses, which were robbed from the people, were destroyed. Thousands of hectares of vineyards, plantations of tropical fruit, greenhouses, were burned and destroyed, the telephone networks in the villages were destroyed, as were irrigation plants, land reclamation projects, the electricity network, etc....
In many regions of the country the graves of the fighters of the national liberation war were destroyed. The memorials to the heroes and heroines of the people in all of Albania, including the memorial to the legendary Enver Hoxha, were torn down. The justification was:
We are fighting against communism and Enver Hoxha, so that the European and American world will like us and help us. This was what the politicians of the Berisha clique declared. The damage and destruction to the Albanian economy between 1991 and 1997 amounted to billions of dollars. The reason: "the fight against communism." Many patriotic people, regardless of their party membership, are asking correctly: "What is all this?" "Is this in the interest of Albania?"
There are a number of reasons why all this came about. The current ruling politicians with President Berisha at the top know the reasons very well. But they do not tell the truth. The truth is that the capitalist world does not want Albania in the present situation to be a strong and independent state, as it was in the previous 50 years under Enver Hoxha. The foreign policy of Albania must be that of the open door, without any control and discipline of a constitutional state.
Albania is passing through an unforeseen situation. There is no constitution, since the party in power does not accept an agreement with the other political powers. The result of the path pursued in these years by the Meksi regime and President Berisha, of the closing of the great national enterprises, of the demolition of the construction work on the hydro-electric plant at Banja, on the railroad line Milot-Reshen-Klos and other objectives, that were foreseen in the five-year plan, was that innumerable people took the path of emigration or exile into the world to search for work (in Italy, Greece, the whole of Europe and America) . Over 600, 000 young Albanian men and women are emigrants today.
The noteworthy events of the year 1997 are the throwing of stones and the burning to the ground of the headquarters of the Democratic Party, of the building of the police and secret service, the city halls and other state organizations, as well as the collapse of the so-called pyramid money businesses of the companies of Gjallica, Xhaferi, Populli, etc. Thousands of Albanian citizens lost money and their houses which were put up for sale. The rebellion of the people has now developed into the climax of a forcible protest against the Berisha regime. This popular anger began on May 26, 1996, as the elections took place under the influence of the state force and condemned the current parliament as illegal, and it developed into a massive protest against the Democratic Party and the President. The severe protests in Vlora, Berat, Lushnja, Gjirokaster, Saranda, Fieri, Kavaja, Korca and Tirana, accompanied by hunger strikes of students of the universities of Vlora and Gjirokaster, supported by the people, all these protest actions have sharpened the situation. The theft of weapons from arms depots has alarmed the public and great insecurity has resulted. The deaths of more than ten people, some civilians and some police, the opening of the prison in Saranda, the prison revolt in Shenkoll near Lheza as well as the execution of a condemned person have led to great tensions. The political shocks in Albania on the basis of the demonstrations have stirred up the fear of a new unforeseen exodus towards Italy and Greece. In this oppressive situation, in which Prime Minister Mexi resigned, President Berisha proclaimed a state of emergency by which he placed the whole country under the control of the army, the secret service SHJK and the police. This has only sharpened the situation in the whole country. In this gloomy moment the political struggle between the Democratic Party of President Berisha and the opposition has also increased. Without any justification the President indicted the Communists, and that at a time when the Communist Party of Albania had been banned by the parliament of the Democratic Party (which has 2/3 of the seats there).
Albanian communists were dismissed wholesale from their work-places, under the pretext that these were democratic reforms. The parliament and the president passed a law, that prohibits any communist, Enverist or Marxist-Leninist activity in Albania. A large number of supporters of the opposition have been arrested under the charge that they had taken part in organizing demonstrations. In other words, the political opposition has been persecuted. The working class, which had worked in the plants, factories, state enterprises, social and cultural organizations, stands at the crossroads. The metallurgical combine, the auto and tractor combine Enver Hoxha in Tirana, the copper factory and combine have been shattered. The copper and coal mines have been closed down...
In the difficult situation that the country is passing through, the left opposition and the center have come together to form a group called the Forum for Democracy, in which the society for the formerly politically persecuted and the students take part. The demonstrators are demanding with this revolt to get back the money from the pyramid businesses. It is emphasized that the pyramid money businesses stand in connection with the great voting fraud of the Democratic Party in the election of May 26, 1996, which was carried out under the dictate of the Berisha regime. During the years in which the Democratic Party government has been in power, the former communists, the heroes of the people, the political opposition have been slandered, persecuted and imprisoned. There was the tragic death in prison in Tirana of Shefqet Peci, the hero of the people, the former chairperson of the National Committee of Veterans of the Albanian liberation war. There was also the tragic imprisonment of the former Albanian State President Haxhi Lleshi, Hero of the People and of the anti-fascist war. Also the imprisonment of Nexmije Hoxha, widow of Enver Hoxha and the former Chairperson of the Democratic Front of Albania and former fighter in the Albanian war against fascism. Ilir Hoxha, the son of Enver Hoxha, was also imprisoned, just because he has written in a newspaper in favor of his father. The journalist Sami Meta, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Jehona, was also imprisoned as a political enemy as were also the journalists Perparim XhiXha, Aleksander Frangaj, Martin Lekha.
The remains of the heroes of the people, the commanders and commissars of the war such as Enver Hoxha, Myslim Peza, Gogo Nushi, Hysni Kapo, Josif Pashko, Alqi Kondi were torn out of their graves. The anniversary of the Liberation of Albania from the Nazi fascists, November 29, 1944, for which 28,000 partisan men and women gave their lives, has been stricken from the calendar. November 29, 1944, however, is the greatest and most glorious day for the Albanian people. In these days through which Albania is suffering, there are emerging dangerous contradictions on the side of the state power, namely that the state power made decisions that conflict with Albanian reality, in which heroes are labeled as criminals and criminals as heroes. Everything that has been described here, all the crimes of the last 6 years have brought out a great deal of hatred in the Albanian people, in all Albania. The latest incident, the collapse of the fraudulent pyramid companies, in which the Albanian people lost their savings and houses, and the consequent revolt of the entire people has taken on the character of an insurrection. Without new elections under an agreement of all political forces the situation in Albania will develop even more difficulty and dramatically.
Published in Roter Morgen: Postanschrift:Zeitungsverlag PM, Postfach 401051, 70410 Stuttgart Tel. : 0711/8702209. Fax: 0711/8702445 Vertrieb: Literaturvertrieb, zeitungsverlag PM, Postfach 1942, 61289 Bad Homburg v.d.H
E-Mail: KPD-Roter-Morgen@t-online . de.
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DOCUMENT 5 : "The defeat of Berisha means the defeat of the system!" Seyit Aldogan -- Interview with a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania
Q: Can you briefly describe the general development up to the uprising?
A: The rulers, after the dissolution of socialism, acted in the interests of the imperialist countries. They destroyed everything that had been constructed during the socialist period, and thereby brought the entire economy to ruin. All those who had brought about this situation gathered into Berisha's party. While they equated communism with fascism, they carried on their attacks against the Albanian people on all levels. While on the one hand the "market economy" was portrayed as a panacea, they closed the enterprises, unemployment increased by leaps and bounds, and the persons fled en masse to the capitalist countries. To put it briefly, the social problems became worse from day to day. Moreover, the history of Albania was also manipulated by the new rulers. So, for example, the resistance of the Albanian people against fascism in 1944 was declared to be a civil war in which allegedly much blood was spilled between "brothers." The Albanian people were promised that they would quickly attain a prosperity comparable to prosperity in the USA. The younger generation was especially taken in by this propaganda. As an agent of this propaganda, Berisha was able to determine the internal politics during this period. Berisha's party represented a policy that contradicted the interests of the Albanian people. The country was sold the foreign capital, and this party claimed that there is no working class in Albania. Throughout the country, little stores and buffets were opened through which the free market economy was to be introduced. A large part of the population became unemployed, and a part of them went abroad as refugees. Meanwhile phony enterprises, mainly of US and Italian mafia organizations, were established in Albania. The regime spread the idea that these firms would become the foundation of Albanian capital. The people's wealth was squandered in such enterprises. Berisha claimed that the country would prosper through these enterprises. The country was thoroughly plundered, the population lived in poverty and misery and at the same time became conscious of the oppressive measures of the rulers, who were symbolized by Berisha.
Q: Why is the name of Sali Berisha always being put in the foreground?
A: The uprising of the people against Sali Berisha means an uprising against the consequences of this system. Hundreds of thousands of people filled the plazas and the streets of the country and armed themselves. Berisha symbolized the imperialist exploitation, the selling off of the country, unemployment and oppression. Therefore the fury, that is apparently directed against Berisha, is directed at the same time against the system that Berisha represents.
Q: Is this a revolution?
A : Without a doubt. The organizations and the administration of the system are no longer functioning. The military and the police apparatus are themselves incapable of functioning, with many members of these institutions joining the Rebellion Committees. This uprising is directed not only against the bankers, but against the Berisha dictatorship. The bankers are also pillars of this system. The uprising certainly did not arise overnight. On the contrary, since 1992 the people have expressed their discontent in various forms. In 1994, there were mass demonstrations in Tirana, Kusk, Rusen, Bals, Malakastras and Skapri. Political demands, such as freedom of expression, freedom of organization and speech against suppression, became the focal point of these actions. Moreover the demands of the present uprising are the following: a) the resignation of Sali Berisha; b) dissolution of the parliament c) holding new elections. Two of these demands have already been achieved. These are undoubtedly political demands that could be realized by this armed uprising.
Q : What were your proposals at the beginning of the uprising?
A : Our proposals were the dismissal of Berisha and holding of new elections. As you see, these proposals are largely accepted by the people. Even the bourgeois parties as well as the current Prime Minister Fino support these demands.
Q : Which role is the government of Fino playing?
A : The government of Fino and other parties can only lead the country to new elections, nothing more. None of the existing parties is in a position to solve the problems of Albania. I also do not believe in a quick solution. Only on a long-term basis can the existing problems, which are connected with struggle and difficulties, be solved. This uprising will bring our people numerous experiences and self-assurance. A people, that lived for decades under socialism and places great importance on independence, will not simply put up with everything.
Q: Tell us about the committees?
A: The committees were chosen directly by the people in public meetings. Earlier the committee members may have voted for one or the other party, but now they represent the people and are recallable at any time. I can add without exaggeration: no other party has such an effect on the masses, because the people do not stand behind the parties, but rather behind the committees. That means therefore that the people do not feel represented by any party.
Q : What would happen in the case of a foreign invasion?
A : The Albanian people would not permit any foreign invasion and would defend itself against it. It would give no one the right to do this. That is, moreover, a point on which we place great value. Those, who previously supported Berisha and made him a puppet of their interests, were formerly able to defend him. However, when the people armed themselves to prepare to put an end to this system and the exploitation and oppression connected with it, all of a sudden they were concerned about our security and well-being. That is an internal matter; moreover the people have risen up precisely in order to create security and well-being.
Q : Why haven't the people marched to Tirana?
A : The uprising is presented in all the imperialist media as a north-south-conflict. If we were to march to Tirana, this would have only served Berisha's propaganda and would have provided only further bases for a foreign invasion. THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH WILL NOT KEEP BEING QUIET.' Berisha has not yet been removed.
Q : What will happen at the end?
A : If Berisha resists longer, it will draw still larger circles into the uprising, for the Albanian people know that he is responsible for their abuses. The demonstrations will begin again and the mass organizations will continue. The people in the north will also no longer keep quiet. THE PEOPLE TRUST US!
Q : What role did your party play before the uprising and what role is it playing today?
A : We must clearly explain here one thing. We had already counted on such an uprising. Therefore we intensified our activities in this direction. Our party members were involved in all actions on the spot. Already in the development of the first committees, our adherents played an important role. At present, our members take part in all the committees, and they can determine their direction in most cases. In the actions, the party does not appear by name, because it is not legal. But the people know well that we stand on their side and represent their interests; therefore they trust us.
Q : Isn't the situation ripe that the party appear in its own name?
A : Not yet. The time is not yet ripe for that. We can also in this way establish our conceptions and carry out actions. The illegal structures will continue further.
Q : The uprising offered you many possibilities...
A : Yes, this was indeed so. We are now in a position to reinforce our organizations and to carry out actions, that previously we were not allowed. It is our goal to expand the possibilities of legal actions so that we can better bring our program to the people.
Published in Emek (Daily newspaper published in Turkey and Europe)
1st April 1997 Published & Translated in Germany, Otto-Hahn-Str. 44a, 63303 Dreieich-Sprendlingen
Tel.: (0 61 03) 3 53 33; Fax: (0 61 03) 3 53 98 E-mail: u.altun@asco.nev.sub.de
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DOCUMENT 7 : ARTICLE BY SEYIT AYDOGAN - EMEK.
The uprising of the Albanian people against the Berisha dictatorship continues. The imperialists have pushed the puppet Berisha into the background and are trying to push Prime Minister Fino into the foreground. Fino is shuttling back and forth between the Rebellion Committee in Vlora and the imperialist countries and is trying by means of empty promises to end the uprising. As the first requirement for further negotiations, he demands that they lay down their weapons. But the people are determined that they will not lay down their weapons until its demands are fulfilled. The Rebellion Committee recently gave an ultimatum to Berisha and at the same time warned the government [of Prime Minister Fino] not to take Berisha's side. Meanwhile, there was a meeting between Prime Minister Fino and the members of the Rebellion Committee of Vlora. There the demands were again passed on to Prime Minister Fino.
Session of the Rebellion Committee in Vlora.
Within the Committee in Vlora the influence of the people and that of the Communist Party of Albania is very great. In meetings that take place twice daily, Thousands of people meet and discuss further ways of proceeding. At yesterday's meeting (March 23, 1997), tens of thousands of people took part. After the meeting I was able to speak with representatives of the Committee. 'The reporting in the foreign press about us is entirely manipulated. We will not lay down our weapons. If Prime Minister Fino coalesces further with Berisha, we will not recognize him either." I was able to clearly see that the people supports only the Committee and that they are firmly decided to deprive Berisha of power. In this discussion, I asked why they have not taken the capital Tirana, although Berisha has still not resigned. The answer was: "Berisha and the foreign powers are continually trying to create an artificial separation between the south and the north. They are trying to provoke a war between the south and the north. For this reason we decided that a march from the south to Tirana is not sensible. Such a march would reinforce this attempt of Berisha and the imperialist countries." The chairperson of the National Unity Party, Hidayet Besiri, who was recently freed by the people, made a speech calling on the people to "seize the initiative." Besiri described the uprising as a revolution and declared that the people should not lay down their weapons and should seize the initiative.
In Vlora, control is completely in the hands of the Rebellion Committee. There is neither chaos nor looting nor arbitrary shooting. At the mass meeting no weapons were carried except by people designated to carry them. Many people with whom I spoke said that the followers of Berisha were responsible for the nightly "shooting into the air." In their opinion these people were planning a provocation. Emek (Daily newspaper published in Turkey and Europe) 01. April 1997, Germany : Oto-Hahn-Str. 44a, 63303 Dreieich-Sprendlingen
Tel. : (0 61 03) 3 53 33 F ax : (0 61 03) 3 53 98
Last edited by RedAlert on Fri Jun 02, 2023 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PART THREE :ALBANIA BALKANS, AND THE CONTINUING INTER- IMPERIALIST STRUGGLE BETWEEN USA & EEC.
It is no longer any secret that the USA world bloc led North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is an imperialist bloc at economic war with the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Japanese led Association South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). In Alliance 3 (Dated October 1992), we outlined how this new manifestation of an inter-imperialist economic war, inevitably reflected the current day failure of various economic maneuvers to heal the fatal capitalist wound - the falling rate of profit. These failed attempts included the failure of Keynesian economics, ie the 'expansion of the economy by deficit financing'. It failed because it exacerbated inflation and eroded the profits of the financial oligarchy. But the alternative strategy of 'supply- side' Friedmanite-Thatcherite-Reaganite economics did not work either. This brand of economics failed because it eroded the profits of manufacturing capital and boosted unemployment dramatically, and created social unrest. This unrest arose as the hard won reforms over the past decades were withdrawn from an increasingly impoverished working class.
What was capitalism to do? It was forced to amalgamate into even larger power blocs. Like so many future developments, both Lenin and Stalin had envisaged these developments in some form. Thus Lenin in "Imperialism - Highest Stage of Capitalism", discusses the prospects of future super monopolies developing. Lenin approved Hobson's "appraisal of the significance of a "United States of Europe", citing Hobson's' comments :
"We have foreshadowed the possibility of even a larger alliance of Western States, a European federation of great powers which so far from forwarding the cause of European civilisation, might introduce the gigantic peril of Western parasitism.."(Lenin, Ibid, Chapter VIII, p. 103-4).
This presaged the European Economic Community (EEC). Lenin recognised the drift towards groupings of imperialists, and commented upon Joseph Patouillet's notion of : "L'imperiliasme Americain." Patouillet had written :
"Since 1897 Wilhelm II has repeatedly put forward the idea of a policy of unification in the struggle against trans-American competition - policy based on European customs agreements, a sort of continental blockade against the United States." In the margin against this quote, Lenin wrote : "United States of Europe" (Lenin Collected Works; Vol 39 p.211 and vol 22. p. 273. Cited by M.K. Bunkina: "USA Versus Western Europe. New Trends." Moscow, 1979. p.186.)
Later, in the post second world war period, Stalin pointed out that the inter-imperialist war would inevitably get very intense, despite a temporarily dominant USA.
"Britain and France .. are imperialist countries..Can it be assumed that they will endlessly tolerate the present situation in which.. Americans are penetrating into the economies of Britain and France and trying to convert them into adjuncts of the USA economy? ..Would it not be truer to say that capitalist Britain and France will be compelled in the end to break from the embrace of the USA and enter into conflict with it in order to secure an independent position and of course high profits ? "
(J.V. Stalin, " Economic problems of the Socialism in the USSR " Moscow, 1952. p.38)
Immediately post Second World War, only the USSR, plus those countries developing into socialism under the USSR's guidance; and Albania which had already fully seized state power for the working class, were not 'in hock' to the USA. The rest of the world, all capitalist, was in one way or another in the clutches of the USA. Especially dramatic was the case of Europe, which had formerly been the home of the greatest imperialist nations.
The USA had given major loans to the British and French, which it now used as a lever to obtain the privileges of entry into the sterling and franc semi-colonial territories of the British and French. Britain, for example was now completely beholden to the USA:
"When sales of foreign investments and of gold and dollars are added in, the net change on capital account between the outbreak of war and the end of 1945 amounted to no less than Pounds Sterling 4,700 million. The United Kingdom ended the war with the largest debt in history." (A.Cairncross. Years of Recovery, British Economic Policy. 1945-51. London, 1985. p. 7).
The USA play to take over the world leadership of the capitalist-imperialist world from the British, took place at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. We will briefly summarise the details contained in Alliance 3, to enable the significance of this background to be clear, as it relates to current events in the Balkans.
The Pound Sterling had already in 1931 been taken off the Gold Standard by the British, after an international run on the pound. This reflected the decline of British Imperial power. But in 1931, the USA dollar could not yet take the dominant position. This relative weakness was not the case after the war. Accordingly, the USA now demanded that the dollar should be made the key currency of conversion of all currencies. The dollar was made on a par with gold. This gave the USA a unique position. For all other countries party to the Agreement, their currencies were traded according to their reciprocal value with either gold or the dollar. However for the USA, gold was on a par with the USA dollar. The USA was ensured that the value of the dollar was important enough that other countries would keep the exchange value of the dollar high. The USA dealt only with gold. (M.Gilbert. The gold dollar system. p. 231. In "The Gold Standard in Theory and History". Ed. B.Eichengreen. London, 1985).
The Bretton Woods Agreement eased the post war period for the USA. The USA was in an unusual position of dominance. It had funded the war for the Western capitalist allies, detonated the Atom bomb thereby showing its military dominance, and had a home base that was unaffected to a large extent by the war. It proceeded to dictate terms :
"In order to finance European and other foreign purchases from America, that is to ensure adequate financial resources to sustain US exports, ("world trade" ) the US Government had taken the lead in 1944 at Bretton Woods) to establish the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Loans were provided by the U.S. Government and US credit markets via the World Bank to European governments, which used them mainly to pay for goods supplied by American exporters. The source of the original loan funds provided by the IMF came from foreign currency and gold subscriptions by the participating nations. America's subscription amounted to almost $3 billion and entitled it to nearly 30 % of the voting power. The member nations agreed that an 80 % majority vote would be required for most rulings, thus conceding unique veto power to the US.. Europe was fully aware that it was ceding to America the option of determining its own currency values and tariffs. The US was the only nation with sufficient foreign exchange to finance a program of overseas investments, long term financing and foreign aid.." (M.Hudson. "Global Fracture, New International Economic Order"; N.York, 1977. p. 11-12).
The USA now actively hoarded gold. By 1949 the US had acquired 72 % of the world's gold. Until 1958 and the Korean war the gold stocks of the USA remained exceedingly high, in correspondence with the USA stipulations on repayment. The USA ensured that the major European powers joined the Gold Pool. This served:
"To ensure that the gold parity of the dollar would be supported by the central banks, the European ones mainly, who would thus have to sell central bank's stocks of gold as the occasion demanded. The price of gold was kept artificially low at a time when the price of goods was rising. The dollar thus stayed as good as gold and the US was freed from the threat of having to support the gold parity of the dollar by itself, or of seeing gold overtake the dollar as an international reserve instrument which remained a theoretical possibility in the framework of the Bretton Woods Agreement. The US spared no efforts in its campaign to impose and maintain the Gold Standard." (Y.Fiit, A.Faire and J-P.Vigier;"The World Economic Crisis, US Imperialism At Bay"; London, 1980; p. 83).
Now that the USA was dominant, trade was unilateral in as much as the balance of trade favoured the USA. But all payments by the USA, for their resident occupying troops in Europe, and for services, were in dollars. This meant that Europe ultimately built up a dollar surplus. Also as the Gold Pool implied, the European central bankers found their own gold stocks dwindling. They could not demand gold for dollars from the USA as they might have, because the USA made it clear that this would be considered a hostile act. Only the French defied them, and left the Gold Pool in 1967.
But the constraints of the "Cold War", and the military policeman role adopted by the USA, meant that by the 1960's the USA had a net deficit:
"The decisive reason for the sharp excess of the USA's foreign money expenditures over inflows from abroad was undoubtedly the tremendous growth of government expenditures abroad for military - political purposes.. From 1960-69, the size of all these outlays, equal to 82.9 billion dollars was 13.2% higher that from 1950 - 1959 (73.2 billion dollars). And for the entire period from 1950-1969, the total sum of these payments connected primarily with the USA's assumed role as the chief support of the world capitalist system, constituted the vast sum of 156.1 billion dollars. It was 40 % higher than all the other items of the USA's balance of payments." (S.M.Nikitin, Inflation Under Capitalism Today. Moscow, 1980. p. 110).
Furthermore, the competitor economies of Europe and Japan, formerly war torn and ravaged, had reconstructed enough, to pose a challenge again. They had used newer technology than that of the complacent USA, in order to rebuild. This meant that the costs of production in the USA were simply too high and the level of technological investment in industry elsewhere outstripped that in the USA . The USA now could only rely on the fact that the foreign nations could not cash in their dollars. It was very simple : If the foreign central banks insisted on an appropriate devaluation of the dollar, their own surplus reserves of "Eurodollars" would be worth less. So the European central banks had to accept USA Treasury bonds. The USA continued to print these as required, unable to back them with either productive or gold reserves. This great injection of money supply in the USA, fuelled inflation which in turn was transferred to the European economies. Europe was subsidising the USA deficit. The European Central Bank response was to solve their dollar-surplus dilemma, by lending out their huge surplus of dollars. This transformed the problem of the European Central Banks into a profit. This Pool of dollars was termed the Eurodollar market; or The Eurocurrency Market. This market became a major speculative force because of it was relatively freed from restrictions, unlike the USA banking system:
"The essential feature that accounts for the rising role of the Eurocurrency Market is its relative lack of regulation. Within the US for example, the Government can and does control the amount of new loans that a bank can finance with a new dollar of deposits; by requiring that banks hold a certain percentage of deposits in reserve, the Government both places a limit on the expansion of loan activity and protects the banking system from putting itself in a position where the it cannot meet the demands of depositors for their funds. Moreover, government regulators establish restrictions that limit the degree of risk that can be undertaken by banks..In the absence of such regulation, competition among banks could push them into risker and riskier loans and lead them to hold a smaller and smaller percentage of deposits as reserves. In the Eurocurrency Market such regulation, is fact virtually absent. Furthermore, without regulation, governments have much less control over the supply of their currencies. When for example, banks holding dollars abroad loan out those dollars they create new dollars; that is, new claims on goods and services in the US. " (MacEwan a. Imperial Decline and International Disorder: an Illustration from the Debt Crisis. p. 209. In The " Imperilled Economy. Book One. " New York. 1987. p. 209).
But the real underlying problems in the USA economy did not disappear. It was not long before international speculation hit the dollar violently. First in 1968, the USA Federal Reserve System, removed all gold cover. This removed the assurance of a 25 % gold cover for all paper currency issued by the USA. Now all Western countries came off the Gold Pool. But the USA engineered an odd situation, where gold was "fixed' at an unrealistic value. This "absurdly" low value, ensured that the Euro-Dollars would not be traded for gold overnight (Fitt et al, Ibid, p. 88).
Despite this temporary victory, the growing American debt led to an international crisis of confidence. By the end of 1970, the official dollar claims of foreigners was more than twice the US gold reserves. Correspondingly, the British in August 1971 requested that the US swap a portion of the Bank of England's dollar holdings for sterling. This when coupled to the growing recession in the Western world; decided the German Central Bank in 1971 to float the mark. With the following devaluation of the pound sterling, all these events conspired to force a further international speculation on the dollar.
Finally in August 1971, President Nixon announced officially that it would no longer exchange dollars for gold; and he placed a 10% surcharge on imports. This did effectively devalue the dollar. Now the USA began a policy of boosting its export trade by successive devaluations. Of course this also decreased the effective worth of the enormous Eurodollar holdings. But by now, even the US banks had moved into the European Eurocurrency markets in a major way themselves. In fact the USA banks now made their major profits abroad, rather than at home; despite a simultaneous drop in the rate of growth of US direct foreign investments (See MacEwan Ibid. p. 211).
Meanwhile, the European Economic Community had begun to come about. Jean Monnet, the post war Finance Minister of France, was one of the foremost postwar capitalist leaders in Europe to see the necessity of a coalition of European countries to defeat the USA imperialists. As early as 1921 Monnet advised Eduard Benes:
"To address the problem of the weakness of Central European economic by establishing a "federation because of the region formed a "natural economic unit"(Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991.p. 27).
In the war, Monnet wrote on behalf of the French Committee of National Liberation, of the need to form "a federation of European states" (Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991. p. 27). But it was only in May 1949, that the first steps were taken, resulting in the Statute of the Council of Europe. When the European Iron and Steel Community was established in 1950, it incorporated some of the desire for : "The building of a new Europe." (Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991.p. 33). The European Economic Community ie. the Common Market, was finally formed in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome. The activities 'undertook to eliminate tariffs' between members of countries over a period of ten years.." (Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991.p. 43).
So the EEC was organising. But the British were the European Trojan Horses of the USA. The then dominant, pro-USA British capitalist section (Represented both by the Conservative party, and the Labour party), created a rival diversionary European Free Trade Association (EFTA), designed purely as a Free Trade Zone with no political intentions. The British American policy of unity was shown by the summit between McMillan and Kennedy at Nassau in 1962, where agreement over nuclear policy for the Polaris missiles was reached. It was for these reasons that the British bid for EEC membership under Conservative Prime Minister McMillan, and Labour PM Wilson, was vetoed by France's De Gaulle in 1963.
Despite their self-delusions of grandeur, by the end of the 1980's, the majority of the British capitalist class, had finally concluded that it had 'no option', but to unite with the European capitalist class. Even now, the British capitalist class in not fully united on this question. But the formation of NAFTA had made it clear, that the USA had no interest any longer, in supporting the British as their primary ally. But the new impetus of European collaboration faced severe problems. All new attempts at forming a single monetary policy and a single currency foundered on the derailing of the German economic locomotive on the costs of integrating the former East Germany. No other European nation was strong enough to take this leadership role. However, the strength of German capital in itself was a problem, giving rise as it did to vehement jealousy.
But inevitably, the USA imperialists rejuvenated, to some extent, their own home economy. The USA reaped the advantages of an intense investment, in new technological advances based on computers. Correspondingly they made their renewed competition felt in the Gulf War. As explained in Alliance 2, (Dated April 1992; "The Gulf War - The USA Imperialists Bid To Recapture World Supremacy"); this war was contrived by the expedient of 'luring' the Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein, into a fruitless and useless foray into Kuwait. The USA then forced the UN and the European leaders into a military support, in a staged "Grand Pageant Show" of force by the USA. The USA was resurgent, and it signalled its ability to be the world leader of Capital again.
The disintegration of the former revisionist pseudo-socialist states of Eastern Europe, into an open and no longer a disguised capitalism, led to a new arena for the rivalry of the European and the USA imperialists. Both gained markets, at the expense of the peoples of the former Soviet Union and the former Peoples Democracies. But the conflict between the three great power blocks of capital - NAFTA, EEC, and ASEAN continued to heat up.
The conflict in former Yugoslavia exemplified the war by proxy that was being played out between the EEC and the USA. The conflict between the USA and the EEC, and the form that it took in the Balkans has been analysed in detail in Alliance 18 (Dated October 1995; "Events in Former Yugoslavia : Tito & Roots of Great Serb Chauvinism"). Ignoring the bodies of Bosnian and Serb, Montegran, Kosovan and all other Balkan nationalities, that were piling up - the imperialists played out their attempts to control the Balkans. The territory was a pivotal one in any future confrontation between the EEC and the USA. It was the USA's foot-hold in the European land mass. Of course the role of NATO troops was in contention also, as the most visible sign of potentially foreign controlled troops on European soil. As an attempt once more to gain the upper hand by the EEC, some key secrets of the NATO Secretary-General head, Willie Claes were leaked. These forced his resignation over charges of corruption, that dated back to allegations from the late 1980's. These revolved around bribes to his party in Belgium, in exchange for military contracts (Financial Times; October 16, 1995, p. 2).
The struggle over NATO remains a key issue, especially with the negotiations over the involvement of Russia. In regard to the situation of the former Yugoslavia, the Russian involvement was welcomed by the USA partly in order to restrain the Serbs more easily; partly as part of an overall strategy to ensure that Russia remained a market for the USA and not for the EEC.
The USA was fully aware of the EEC intent to "take back NATO". As USA Secretary of State for Defence Mr. William Perry said :
"I believe that USA security is inextricably linked with European security, and we know.. That when the USA turns its back on European instability, in the long run it is forced to return at a much greater price." (Financial Times October 18th, 1995; p. 6)..
This was redolent of the old threat of Henry Kissinger, made on 23 April 1973:
"It is not right, proper or wise for the US to make decisions about keeping troops in Europe on the basis of whether the Common Market treats soyabeans fairly. But there is no way to prevent this. The political and economic issues in Atlantic relations are linked by reality, not by choice.." (J.Palmer. "Europe without America ? Crisis in Atlantic Relations"; Oxford, 1988. p. 59).
It is in this light that the recent French atomic nuclear testing in the South Pacific must be viewed. This had the clear intent of serving a notice of independent EEC capability. The French intent was to show an independent nuclear force capability, separate from that of the USA. The French stated that their findings from the testing will be available to the EEC forces.
Throughout the last few years, and especially during the war in former Yugoslavia, the people of Kosova continued to show that they were not satisfied in Yugoslavia. In 1968 they again raised the issue and demanded status as a republic. In October 1968, during discussion on the amendments to the Yugoslav Constitution, the people of Kosova demanded once more Republic status. Tito refused a petition on this question. The crushing of the Kosovan movements after the death of Tito was the prelude to the Serbian and Croatian onslaughts on Bosnia. During the post-Tito events, Kosovan political aspirations became engulfed in the general fascist war of aggression launched by Slobodan Milosevic, aimed at a "Greater Serbia", aided by the EEC, and resisted by the USA:
"With the tacit or vocal endorsement of the former Yugoslavia's federal units, Serbia embarked seven years ago, on 28 March 1989, on a sheer 'constitutional' reconquest of Kosova. Serbia declared itself re-united, with Kosova being forcefully brought to its jurisdiction. An unprecedented military and police crackdown on the will of the people of Kosova, 90 percent of whom Albanians, has continued to this day... Albanians were posing their last ditch peaceful defence of the constitutional position of Kosova as an autonomous federal unit in what is now defunct Yugoslavia. Over 230 Albanians, most of whom prominent university teachers, intellectuals, and people with leading managing positions in the Kosova economic firms, were rounded up by the Serbian-run 'Yugoslav' police in late March 1989 .. were abducted.. kidnapped in the small hours.. underwent the most brutal Serbian police orgies of torture in jails in Leskovac and Belgrade. Milosevic had launched its campaign for a 'Greater Serbia'. 'Unity of Serbia and Yugoslavia' was the slogan behind the drive.. The Serbian Parliament adopted on 28 March 1989 what it termed 'constitutional amendments', namely changes in the Serbian constitution which amounted to a declaration of re-annexation of Kosova, a legislated occupation of a federal entity with which it was supposed to be on a par at the federal level. The legislated occupation was enacted amid a martial law which had been introduced intermittently since 1981 by the 'Yugoslav' authorities and was actually in force when Serbia celebrated on 28 March its "restoration of statehood in its entire territory", with the farcical presence of the smiling 'agent of Yugoslavia's unity', Federal Prime Minister Ante Markovic, who had been named to the premiership a couple of weeks earlier. While he joined Milosevic's cliques in a party in the Serbian Parliament to celebrate the promulgation of what later came to be referred to as the 'Constitution of tanks', Albanians were killed in broad daylight by the 'Yugoslav' forces in late March 1989. .., the Albanians .. called for upgrading of Kosova's status amounting to equal status with the rest of the units, namely removal of the possibility that Serbia has a say over its status. The "Trepa" miners had organized an eight-day hunger-strike in protest of the Serbian schemes of suspension of Kosova's autonomy. The voice of the people of Kosova was not heeded by a speedily rising Nazi-Communist nomenclature in Serbia, embodied in Slobodan Milosevic." (Alba News - Thu, 28 Mar 1996).
But the repression could not stop the drive towards Kosovan independence :
"On 27 and 28 March 1989, dozens of thousands of Albanians took to the streets around Kosova to protest against the incumbent crackdown on their legal autonomous position, their cultural identity and dignity. The death-toll was high. Yet, the peaceful resistance and the democratic movement launched the Albanians on a path of no return toward complete independence from the Serbs or a new Serb-dominated Yugoslavia. The Albanians have built and promoted their own civic society in Kosova, a democratic infrastructure with educational, welfare, health-care, and other institutions, namely a governing administration short of repressive apparatus only. Under the leadership of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, the Democratic League of Kosova (formed in December 1989), together with other Albanian political forces in Kosova, as well as the Assembly of Kosova, completed the legal framework for the institutionalization of the will of the people of Kosova for an independent country. The Independence Declaration (2 July 1990), proclamation of a republican status for Kosova and the promulgation of its constitution (7 September 1990), a popular referendum on Kosova as an independent and sovereign state conducted in late September 1991, were a prelude to the first multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections in the Republic of Kosova held on 24 May 1992. Through direct vote the people elected their representatives to the Parliament and chose Dr. Ibrahim Rugova President of the Republic of Kosova with a sweeping majority of votes. A recently conducted poll in Kosova has shown overwhelming support of the Albanians to Kosova's bid for independence. Kosova is bound to be a nation. (To counter act these events, even the - Ed) Police Obstruction of Albanian-language Classes ( is resorted to-Ed). The Serbian police has obstructed the Albanian-language teaching process in .. elementary and secondary schools in Kosova" (A l b a N e w s - Thu, 28 Mar 1996).
It is clear that following the Dayton Agreement, Kosova is another pawn in the struggle between EEC and USA imperialism. Aware of the explosive forces developing in the Kosovan Nation, both the EEC and the USA wish to control it. Since the dominant force in the capitalist state erected in ALBANIA after the death of Hoxha, was the USA, naturally the alliance of Albanian President BERISHA and the Kosovan President RUGOVA augured well for the USA. The two presidents made joint statements on the need for "resolution of many problems":
"Rugova said. "We are hopeful the coming year will see the resolution of many problems in Kosova and generally of the Albanian question", Dr. Rugova said, adding: "We hope, for we have been working hard on this, that the Kosova issue will be resolved on the express will of the people of Kosova". President Rugova of Kosova ended his message with the words: "May 1996 bring a free, independent, and democratic Kosova!". Albanian President Sali Berisha said the year 1995 brought an end to the most fierce barbarity Europe has seen since World War II. "Real prospects for a just settlement of the Kosova issue have been created".. noting that the international community has brought Kosova to an increasing attention. (Kosova Daily Report # 782 Prishtina, 3 January 1996; Internet).
This situation led U.S. Assistant Secretary of State RICHARD HOLBROOKE to hold talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, seeking permission to establish an official presence in Pristina. Although "Holbrooke stressed that the U.S. was not supporting the Kosovar Albanians' demand for independence." He went on, to " point out that "the oppression of the people there by the Serbs has been extremely bad." (Fabian Schmidt Omri Daily Digest 1-9-1996; Internet). But throughout 1996 from January, a further grim repression has set in the Province, really the nation, of Kosova.
An organization calling itself the Liberation Army of Kosova (Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosoves -UCK) arose, while escalating violence from the Yugoslav remnant states erupted. The increasing attention paid to the atrocities against Kosovan Albanians, by both the USA and the EEC, shows the importance of the Kosovan and Albanian keys to the current situation in the Balkans. The European Parliament (EU) demanded that to recognise the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, would require that the problem of Kosova "be solved". Doubtless this is because as the EU said :
"The current situation in Kosova threatens to provoke a new conflict, that might expand to the neighbouring countries, according to the European Parliament. ..it is required from Miloshevic to immediately start a negotiating process with the Kosova leader Ibrahim Rugova and other Albanian representatives from Kosova. .. the Parliament appealed to the European Commission to open its Office in Kosova as soon as possible. The deputies also expressed their concern for the situation in Vojvodina, as there were some indications that Serbia is trying to change its ethnic structure." (A l b a N e w s - Fri, 1 Mar 1996; Internet).
The pressure from the USA also grew intense also on this same issue.
"7.000 Rally for Kosova in Washington : ... Bob Dole, Senate Majority Leader, said the situation in Kosova must be resolved before any further sanctions are lifted in Belgrade. The United States must stand firm and must not give up - even if the allies are pushing another direction" ... Strong words of support for Kosova came from Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, who vowed that "Serbia will not be permitted into the company of the civilized nations of this planet until the basic liberties and fundamental freedoms of the Kosovars have been restored.." (A l b a N e w s - Thu, 28 Mar 1996 ).
Clearly Kosova had become a priority of US foreign policy. The US Secretary of State Warren Christopher met Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serechi:
"Serechi stated, ..that Christopher promised to make .. Kosova a priority issue of the US foreign policy. He also expressed his belief that the situation in the province will be solved satisfactorily by a Belgrade-Pristine dialogue, with mediation of a third party." (Alba News - Fri, 10 May 1996).
Concurrently with this, Berisha was beginning to experience problems with his erst-while strongest supporters, the USA. The USA had even criticised the Albanian regime of Berisha, before the eruption of the Pyramid provoked revolts :
"U.S. Criticizes Albania's Human Rights Record : The annual State Department human rights report on Albania said there was evidence of police beatings, pressure on the judiciary, and press restrictions, Reuters reported on 8 March. The report acknowledged that the government of President Sali Berisha generally respected human rights but concluded that serious problems remained, such as prolonged pre-trial detention, poor prison conditions, and occasional restrictions on press and speech freedom. It added that the judiciary is subject to political pressure. The report also criticized the imprisonment of Socialist Party Leader Fatos Nano, saying his case was "handled by inexperienced, poorly trained and underfunded investigators, prosecutors and judges in a highly charged political atmosphere." "Many observers believe that Nano was incarcerated because he was President Berisha's principal political opponent," the report noted."(Fabian Schmidt A l b a N e w s - Thu, 14 Mar 1996).
Alliance in Issue Number 21 said :
"The EEC and the USA are worried about the dangerous situation as it may boil over scalding them. Also since Albania was the only socialist state after the fall of the USSR at Khrushchev's accession to power, they understand the potential force of the Albanian workers and toilers. They are worried that the continued repressions will foster the re-birth of the Communist Party of Labour Of Albania. Commentators have voiced European concerns. These forces - both USA and EEC - have jointly put pressure on former Yugoslavia: 'European Stick And Carrot in The Solving of Albanian Issue' ('Dnevnik', 25 May 1996). The Albanian issue in the Balkans is becoming hotter and hotter for Europe. The European diplomats like to say lately that 'the situation in Kosova is explosive'. .. The strong connections of Albanians in Macedonia and Kosova also must not be neglected. Political leaders of Albanians in Macedonia proved that by their recent statements. Furthermore, the connections of both groups with Albania is evident. And it should be expected that Albania will be more demanding for this issue after the elections. And where is Europe, except for expressing fear from a new crisis in the region?.. Yugoslavia was directly informed that the solution of the Kosova issue is an inevitable condition in its exit from the isolation. The eventual becoming closer of this country to the European integration processes will. depend on its readiness to develop constructive relations with its neighbours... said an influential European official, adding that 'when that is done, (ie between Albania and Kosova) there will be no obstacle for Macedonia to be treated as one of the future EU member countries.'.
The situation since has in general, confirmed the analysis contained in Alliance 21. Thus the USA attempts to ditch Berisha are confirmed by several reports from bourgeois USA sources, such as that contained in the Washington Times, and reported by Albanews in electronic format (28). This reveals that the USA State Department had endorsed the view that the elections of 1996 were invalid having been interfered with by Berisha's party, that Fatos Nano should be released, and that Berisha should hold new elections:
"When State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns demanded earlier this month that Albania's President Sali Berisha "restore democracy," .. Mr. Burns demanded that Mr. Berisha's government "restore democratic rights to the opposition." ... The Clinton Administration and various European governments and organizations warned Berisha early on in the rebellion -- back when it still could have been contained -- not to use force against the rebels. They urged a political solution and Berisha listened. He began making political concessions while the rebels continued shooting. An agreement was signed with individual opposition party leaders on March 6, only to be annulled hours later by the same signatories gathered under the name of the opposition umbrella organization Forum for Democracy. The Forum itself is a front organization for Albania's unreconstructed Socialist Party... a few thousand rebels .. and military officers sacked by Mr. Berisha in the early days of the democratic transition, have taken control of the country with the political backing of the Socialist Party in Tirana. .. President Berisha, faced with an army that cannot fight after three years of U.S. military training, $100 million dollars in U.S. military aid and several Partnership for Peace exercises, had no choice Tuesday but to cave in completely to the demands of the rebels. He appointed a non-elected member of Albania's former Communist party, Bashkim Fino, as Prime Minister with the constitutional power to select his own government. The communist takeover of Albania is complete. Mr. Berisha was forced to accept the demands of the opposition, dominated by a Socialist Party .. . " (WashingtonTimes; Ibid. )
It is even considered possible that the USA directly had manipulated the events surrounding the pyramid schemes, since the obvious greed and corruption of the Berisha faction was easy to anticipate:
"The current violence in Albania has its roots in frustration over pyramid investment schemes that failed early this year. Albania's former communist and current Socialist Party President Fatos Nano predicted last summer when we visited him in prison, where he is being held on embezzlement charges, that it would be the pyramid schemes and not elections that would bring down Mr. Berisha's government. He was right, but only because his Socialists used the economic crisis to produce a political crisis and, in classic Leninist fashion, profit from the chaos that they had created... The blueprint for the takeover was not secret. The pro-rebel newspaper Koha Jone, which was saved last year by a U.S. Information Agency-brokered bail-out by American financier George Soros, published the following call to arms on January 16, just as the schemes were collapsing:
"The money-borrowing schemes, the failure of which is striking the major part of the population, constitutes the ideal time (for) the opposition to return to life by (turning) the displeasure of the victims to the development of its policies. "But the opposition...has not paid necessary attention to such a thing. First, times ago (the opposition) should have tried to make believable the hypothesis that the state is behind the money-borrowing investments. While now they could have found it easier to exploit the revolt of the money-losers to invade the squares." (Washington Times; Ibid.).
The signals for the USA change of horse, from Berisha to the Socialist Party, was the USA ambassador in Tirana's comments:
"Though Nicholas Burns singled out for repeated criticism some restrictions on the domestic press called for in the state of emergency, pro-rebel papers like Koha Jone churned out blatant calls for the overthrow of the government daily. Just two days before the beginning of the armed uprising in Vlora, Koha Jone wrote that "...in Vlora are born the first elements of the coming normal state." Orwellian, to say the least.
How did the Clinton Administration get Albania so wrong? The May 26 general elections were the stated reason behind Clinton's final break with Mr.Berisha. Though three of the four international monitoring organizations found the elections free and fair, it is this fourth organization, the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), that made the loudest noises and began framing international opinion on the elections. The U.S. Administration listened. .. in late June, the State Department announced that it was siding with the ODIHR and against all other monitors. It was official: the U.S. was demanding new elections in Albania. The Socialists, who refused to take their seats in parliament and in the same breath accused Albania of being a one-party state, felt vindicated. The slow, steady move to overthrow Berisha progressed.
The violent turn in Albania last week may have been at least partially sparked by another puzzling move of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana. Just as European Union foreign ministers had agreed in late February on a statement that did not support early elections -- to the dismay of the Socialists --U.S. Ambassador in Tirana Marisa Lino held her own press conference in Tirana where she again called for early elections.
Interviewed in Tirana last week, Albania's opposition leaders viewed the American Ambassador's press conference as a key event in their struggle... Greece, Serbia and Macedonia have all stepped up their military presence on the border. Suddenly the Balkan "peace process" seems to be unraveling. " (Washington Times; Ibid. ).
Obviously Mr McAdams approaches the question from the vantage point of a reactionary. However his article contains some pertinent information. Some have mis-interpreted the above analysis in Part Three to imply two things :
Firstly that it implies that the USA has suddenly become 'progressive'. Of course the article doe not imply this. It is however implied that the USA is astute enough to know when it is necessary to find a more 'acceptable' front for itself in Albania. If Berisha is discredited and cannot any longer 'control' the masses, why would do they wish to support him?
Secondly the analysis contained in Part Three does not deny support to the uprising. On the contrary, it demonstrates the resurgence of the mass struggle in Albania. It hopefully will be transferred into the consciously guided path to take state power. Of course that is the role of the Marxist-Leninist vanguard party.
THE SITUATION TILL MID APRIL MAY BE SUMMARISED AS FOLLOWS :
1. The USA after a period, fully endorsed the call for Berisha to hold new elections.
2. The USA fully supports the 'Socialist Party' - who are now the designated comprador agency for USA imperialism inside Albania.
3. The USA attempted to force Berisha to yield to the Socialist Party at the period of the collapse of the Pyramid Schemes.
4. The economic crisis precipitated by the collapse of the Pyramid schemes appears to have been anticipated by certain elements of USA capital (Soros) and Fatos Nano. USA agents such as George Soros specifically suggested this as an opportunity for forcing a crisis upon Berisha to unseat him. The US Ambassador played her part in fomenting further difficulty for Berisha. This was countered by EEC moves to 'protect' Berisha.
5. Irrespective of that agenda of the USA imperialists, once it was unleashed the fury of the masses was unstoppable. As a member of the Democratic Forum Mr Bundi Gonxhe explained it :
"This all began as a protest against the Government because of the pyramid schemes. Then it became a untied front against Berisha. Now it is protest against everything." ('The Australian' March 8-9; 1997; op. 15).
As arms became distributed to the masses, a potentially revolutionary situation became evident. All the imperialists - USA & EEC - agreed that this had somehow 'gone out of hand'. All would now depend upon the balance between revolutionary forces and the ability to take control of the situation, and the countervailing strength of the socialist democratic led Socialist Party, to mislead the masses.
6. Berisha's unseating and subsequent take over by the Socialist Party leader Bashkim Fino, places the USA candidate in the dominant position.
7. This is however matched by the entry into Albania of Italian troops, on behalf of the Italian imperialists and the EEC.
At the time of writing, it is as yet unclear what the short term outcome will be.
The long term outcome is clearly the victory of the Albanian people.
Mr McAdams, for the Washington Times, does not have to be concerned that, as he puts it, the USA keeps "mis-identifying U.S. interests in the Balkans". Unfortunately Communists know only too well, that the USA and the EEC know how to manipulate, and divide and rule. We do not need to agree with Mr McAdams that the Socialist Party are "Leninists" or "communists".
Marxist-Leninists know that the programme of the Socialist Party is corrupt to the core.
We await the full re-arming of the Marxist-Leninists, who are even now working to regain freedom for the Albanian people.
LONG LIVE THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE!
LONG LIVE THE HEIRS OF THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA!
LONG LIVE THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA!
PART THREE :ALBANIA BALKANS, AND THE CONTINUING INTER- IMPERIALIST STRUGGLE BETWEEN USA & EEC.
It is no longer any secret that the USA world bloc led North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is an imperialist bloc at economic war with the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Japanese led Association South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). In Alliance 3 (Dated October 1992), we outlined how this new manifestation of an inter-imperialist economic war, inevitably reflected the current day failure of various economic maneuvers to heal the fatal capitalist wound - the falling rate of profit. These failed attempts included the failure of Keynesian economics, ie the 'expansion of the economy by deficit financing'. It failed because it exacerbated inflation and eroded the profits of the financial oligarchy. But the alternative strategy of 'supply- side' Friedmanite-Thatcherite-Reaganite economics did not work either. This brand of economics failed because it eroded the profits of manufacturing capital and boosted unemployment dramatically, and created social unrest. This unrest arose as the hard won reforms over the past decades were withdrawn from an increasingly impoverished working class.
What was capitalism to do? It was forced to amalgamate into even larger power blocs. Like so many future developments, both Lenin and Stalin had envisaged these developments in some form. Thus Lenin in "Imperialism - Highest Stage of Capitalism", discusses the prospects of future super monopolies developing. Lenin approved Hobson's "appraisal of the significance of a "United States of Europe", citing Hobson's' comments :
"We have foreshadowed the possibility of even a larger alliance of Western States, a European federation of great powers which so far from forwarding the cause of European civilisation, might introduce the gigantic peril of Western parasitism.."(Lenin, Ibid, Chapter VIII, p. 103-4).
This presaged the European Economic Community (EEC). Lenin recognised the drift towards groupings of imperialists, and commented upon Joseph Patouillet's notion of : "L'imperiliasme Americain." Patouillet had written :
"Since 1897 Wilhelm II has repeatedly put forward the idea of a policy of unification in the struggle against trans-American competition - policy based on European customs agreements, a sort of continental blockade against the United States." In the margin against this quote, Lenin wrote : "United States of Europe" (Lenin Collected Works; Vol 39 p.211 and vol 22. p. 273. Cited by M.K. Bunkina: "USA Versus Western Europe. New Trends." Moscow, 1979. p.186.)
Later, in the post second world war period, Stalin pointed out that the inter-imperialist war would inevitably get very intense, despite a temporarily dominant USA.
"Britain and France .. are imperialist countries..Can it be assumed that they will endlessly tolerate the present situation in which.. Americans are penetrating into the economies of Britain and France and trying to convert them into adjuncts of the USA economy? ..Would it not be truer to say that capitalist Britain and France will be compelled in the end to break from the embrace of the USA and enter into conflict with it in order to secure an independent position and of course high profits ? "
(J.V. Stalin, " Economic problems of the Socialism in the USSR " Moscow, 1952. p.38)
Immediately post Second World War, only the USSR, plus those countries developing into socialism under the USSR's guidance; and Albania which had already fully seized state power for the working class, were not 'in hock' to the USA. The rest of the world, all capitalist, was in one way or another in the clutches of the USA. Especially dramatic was the case of Europe, which had formerly been the home of the greatest imperialist nations.
The USA had given major loans to the British and French, which it now used as a lever to obtain the privileges of entry into the sterling and franc semi-colonial territories of the British and French. Britain, for example was now completely beholden to the USA:
"When sales of foreign investments and of gold and dollars are added in, the net change on capital account between the outbreak of war and the end of 1945 amounted to no less than Pounds Sterling 4,700 million. The United Kingdom ended the war with the largest debt in history." (A.Cairncross. Years of Recovery, British Economic Policy. 1945-51. London, 1985. p. 7).
The USA play to take over the world leadership of the capitalist-imperialist world from the British, took place at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. We will briefly summarise the details contained in Alliance 3, to enable the significance of this background to be clear, as it relates to current events in the Balkans.
The Pound Sterling had already in 1931 been taken off the Gold Standard by the British, after an international run on the pound. This reflected the decline of British Imperial power. But in 1931, the USA dollar could not yet take the dominant position. This relative weakness was not the case after the war. Accordingly, the USA now demanded that the dollar should be made the key currency of conversion of all currencies. The dollar was made on a par with gold. This gave the USA a unique position. For all other countries party to the Agreement, their currencies were traded according to their reciprocal value with either gold or the dollar. However for the USA, gold was on a par with the USA dollar. The USA was ensured that the value of the dollar was important enough that other countries would keep the exchange value of the dollar high. The USA dealt only with gold. (M.Gilbert. The gold dollar system. p. 231. In "The Gold Standard in Theory and History". Ed. B.Eichengreen. London, 1985).
The Bretton Woods Agreement eased the post war period for the USA. The USA was in an unusual position of dominance. It had funded the war for the Western capitalist allies, detonated the Atom bomb thereby showing its military dominance, and had a home base that was unaffected to a large extent by the war. It proceeded to dictate terms :
"In order to finance European and other foreign purchases from America, that is to ensure adequate financial resources to sustain US exports, ("world trade" ) the US Government had taken the lead in 1944 at Bretton Woods) to establish the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Loans were provided by the U.S. Government and US credit markets via the World Bank to European governments, which used them mainly to pay for goods supplied by American exporters. The source of the original loan funds provided by the IMF came from foreign currency and gold subscriptions by the participating nations. America's subscription amounted to almost $3 billion and entitled it to nearly 30 % of the voting power. The member nations agreed that an 80 % majority vote would be required for most rulings, thus conceding unique veto power to the US.. Europe was fully aware that it was ceding to America the option of determining its own currency values and tariffs. The US was the only nation with sufficient foreign exchange to finance a program of overseas investments, long term financing and foreign aid.." (M.Hudson. "Global Fracture, New International Economic Order"; N.York, 1977. p. 11-12).
The USA now actively hoarded gold. By 1949 the US had acquired 72 % of the world's gold. Until 1958 and the Korean war the gold stocks of the USA remained exceedingly high, in correspondence with the USA stipulations on repayment. The USA ensured that the major European powers joined the Gold Pool. This served:
"To ensure that the gold parity of the dollar would be supported by the central banks, the European ones mainly, who would thus have to sell central bank's stocks of gold as the occasion demanded. The price of gold was kept artificially low at a time when the price of goods was rising. The dollar thus stayed as good as gold and the US was freed from the threat of having to support the gold parity of the dollar by itself, or of seeing gold overtake the dollar as an international reserve instrument which remained a theoretical possibility in the framework of the Bretton Woods Agreement. The US spared no efforts in its campaign to impose and maintain the Gold Standard." (Y.Fiit, A.Faire and J-P.Vigier;"The World Economic Crisis, US Imperialism At Bay"; London, 1980; p. 83).
Now that the USA was dominant, trade was unilateral in as much as the balance of trade favoured the USA. But all payments by the USA, for their resident occupying troops in Europe, and for services, were in dollars. This meant that Europe ultimately built up a dollar surplus. Also as the Gold Pool implied, the European central bankers found their own gold stocks dwindling. They could not demand gold for dollars from the USA as they might have, because the USA made it clear that this would be considered a hostile act. Only the French defied them, and left the Gold Pool in 1967.
But the constraints of the "Cold War", and the military policeman role adopted by the USA, meant that by the 1960's the USA had a net deficit:
"The decisive reason for the sharp excess of the USA's foreign money expenditures over inflows from abroad was undoubtedly the tremendous growth of government expenditures abroad for military - political purposes.. From 1960-69, the size of all these outlays, equal to 82.9 billion dollars was 13.2% higher that from 1950 - 1959 (73.2 billion dollars). And for the entire period from 1950-1969, the total sum of these payments connected primarily with the USA's assumed role as the chief support of the world capitalist system, constituted the vast sum of 156.1 billion dollars. It was 40 % higher than all the other items of the USA's balance of payments." (S.M.Nikitin, Inflation Under Capitalism Today. Moscow, 1980. p. 110).
Furthermore, the competitor economies of Europe and Japan, formerly war torn and ravaged, had reconstructed enough, to pose a challenge again. They had used newer technology than that of the complacent USA, in order to rebuild. This meant that the costs of production in the USA were simply too high and the level of technological investment in industry elsewhere outstripped that in the USA . The USA now could only rely on the fact that the foreign nations could not cash in their dollars. It was very simple : If the foreign central banks insisted on an appropriate devaluation of the dollar, their own surplus reserves of "Eurodollars" would be worth less. So the European central banks had to accept USA Treasury bonds. The USA continued to print these as required, unable to back them with either productive or gold reserves. This great injection of money supply in the USA, fuelled inflation which in turn was transferred to the European economies. Europe was subsidising the USA deficit. The European Central Bank response was to solve their dollar-surplus dilemma, by lending out their huge surplus of dollars. This transformed the problem of the European Central Banks into a profit. This Pool of dollars was termed the Eurodollar market; or The Eurocurrency Market. This market became a major speculative force because of it was relatively freed from restrictions, unlike the USA banking system:
"The essential feature that accounts for the rising role of the Eurocurrency Market is its relative lack of regulation. Within the US for example, the Government can and does control the amount of new loans that a bank can finance with a new dollar of deposits; by requiring that banks hold a certain percentage of deposits in reserve, the Government both places a limit on the expansion of loan activity and protects the banking system from putting itself in a position where the it cannot meet the demands of depositors for their funds. Moreover, government regulators establish restrictions that limit the degree of risk that can be undertaken by banks..In the absence of such regulation, competition among banks could push them into risker and riskier loans and lead them to hold a smaller and smaller percentage of deposits as reserves. In the Eurocurrency Market such regulation, is fact virtually absent. Furthermore, without regulation, governments have much less control over the supply of their currencies. When for example, banks holding dollars abroad loan out those dollars they create new dollars; that is, new claims on goods and services in the US. " (MacEwan a. Imperial Decline and International Disorder: an Illustration from the Debt Crisis. p. 209. In The " Imperilled Economy. Book One. " New York. 1987. p. 209).
But the real underlying problems in the USA economy did not disappear. It was not long before international speculation hit the dollar violently. First in 1968, the USA Federal Reserve System, removed all gold cover. This removed the assurance of a 25 % gold cover for all paper currency issued by the USA. Now all Western countries came off the Gold Pool. But the USA engineered an odd situation, where gold was "fixed' at an unrealistic value. This "absurdly" low value, ensured that the Euro-Dollars would not be traded for gold overnight (Fitt et al, Ibid, p. 88).
Despite this temporary victory, the growing American debt led to an international crisis of confidence. By the end of 1970, the official dollar claims of foreigners was more than twice the US gold reserves. Correspondingly, the British in August 1971 requested that the US swap a portion of the Bank of England's dollar holdings for sterling. This when coupled to the growing recession in the Western world; decided the German Central Bank in 1971 to float the mark. With the following devaluation of the pound sterling, all these events conspired to force a further international speculation on the dollar.
Finally in August 1971, President Nixon announced officially that it would no longer exchange dollars for gold; and he placed a 10% surcharge on imports. This did effectively devalue the dollar. Now the USA began a policy of boosting its export trade by successive devaluations. Of course this also decreased the effective worth of the enormous Eurodollar holdings. But by now, even the US banks had moved into the European Eurocurrency markets in a major way themselves. In fact the USA banks now made their major profits abroad, rather than at home; despite a simultaneous drop in the rate of growth of US direct foreign investments (See MacEwan Ibid. p. 211).
Meanwhile, the European Economic Community had begun to come about. Jean Monnet, the post war Finance Minister of France, was one of the foremost postwar capitalist leaders in Europe to see the necessity of a coalition of European countries to defeat the USA imperialists. As early as 1921 Monnet advised Eduard Benes:
"To address the problem of the weakness of Central European economic by establishing a "federation because of the region formed a "natural economic unit"(Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991.p. 27).
In the war, Monnet wrote on behalf of the French Committee of National Liberation, of the need to form "a federation of European states" (Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991. p. 27). But it was only in May 1949, that the first steps were taken, resulting in the Statute of the Council of Europe. When the European Iron and Steel Community was established in 1950, it incorporated some of the desire for : "The building of a new Europe." (Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991.p. 33). The European Economic Community ie. the Common Market, was finally formed in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome. The activities 'undertook to eliminate tariffs' between members of countries over a period of ten years.." (Cited, James Laxer. " Inventing Europe ". Toronto, 1991.p. 43).
So the EEC was organising. But the British were the European Trojan Horses of the USA. The then dominant, pro-USA British capitalist section (Represented both by the Conservative party, and the Labour party), created a rival diversionary European Free Trade Association (EFTA), designed purely as a Free Trade Zone with no political intentions. The British American policy of unity was shown by the summit between McMillan and Kennedy at Nassau in 1962, where agreement over nuclear policy for the Polaris missiles was reached. It was for these reasons that the British bid for EEC membership under Conservative Prime Minister McMillan, and Labour PM Wilson, was vetoed by France's De Gaulle in 1963.
Despite their self-delusions of grandeur, by the end of the 1980's, the majority of the British capitalist class, had finally concluded that it had 'no option', but to unite with the European capitalist class. Even now, the British capitalist class in not fully united on this question. But the formation of NAFTA had made it clear, that the USA had no interest any longer, in supporting the British as their primary ally. But the new impetus of European collaboration faced severe problems. All new attempts at forming a single monetary policy and a single currency foundered on the derailing of the German economic locomotive on the costs of integrating the former East Germany. No other European nation was strong enough to take this leadership role. However, the strength of German capital in itself was a problem, giving rise as it did to vehement jealousy.
But inevitably, the USA imperialists rejuvenated, to some extent, their own home economy. The USA reaped the advantages of an intense investment, in new technological advances based on computers. Correspondingly they made their renewed competition felt in the Gulf War. As explained in Alliance 2, (Dated April 1992; "The Gulf War - The USA Imperialists Bid To Recapture World Supremacy"); this war was contrived by the expedient of 'luring' the Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein, into a fruitless and useless foray into Kuwait. The USA then forced the UN and the European leaders into a military support, in a staged "Grand Pageant Show" of force by the USA. The USA was resurgent, and it signalled its ability to be the world leader of Capital again.
The disintegration of the former revisionist pseudo-socialist states of Eastern Europe, into an open and no longer a disguised capitalism, led to a new arena for the rivalry of the European and the USA imperialists. Both gained markets, at the expense of the peoples of the former Soviet Union and the former Peoples Democracies. But the conflict between the three great power blocks of capital - NAFTA, EEC, and ASEAN continued to heat up.
The conflict in former Yugoslavia exemplified the war by proxy that was being played out between the EEC and the USA. The conflict between the USA and the EEC, and the form that it took in the Balkans has been analysed in detail in Alliance 18 (Dated October 1995; "Events in Former Yugoslavia : Tito & Roots of Great Serb Chauvinism"). Ignoring the bodies of Bosnian and Serb, Montegran, Kosovan and all other Balkan nationalities, that were piling up - the imperialists played out their attempts to control the Balkans. The territory was a pivotal one in any future confrontation between the EEC and the USA. It was the USA's foot-hold in the European land mass. Of course the role of NATO troops was in contention also, as the most visible sign of potentially foreign controlled troops on European soil. As an attempt once more to gain the upper hand by the EEC, some key secrets of the NATO Secretary-General head, Willie Claes were leaked. These forced his resignation over charges of corruption, that dated back to allegations from the late 1980's. These revolved around bribes to his party in Belgium, in exchange for military contracts (Financial Times; October 16, 1995, p. 2).
The struggle over NATO remains a key issue, especially with the negotiations over the involvement of Russia. In regard to the situation of the former Yugoslavia, the Russian involvement was welcomed by the USA partly in order to restrain the Serbs more easily; partly as part of an overall strategy to ensure that Russia remained a market for the USA and not for the EEC.
The USA was fully aware of the EEC intent to "take back NATO". As USA Secretary of State for Defence Mr. William Perry said :
"I believe that USA security is inextricably linked with European security, and we know.. That when the USA turns its back on European instability, in the long run it is forced to return at a much greater price." (Financial Times October 18th, 1995; p. 6)..
This was redolent of the old threat of Henry Kissinger, made on 23 April 1973:
"It is not right, proper or wise for the US to make decisions about keeping troops in Europe on the basis of whether the Common Market treats soyabeans fairly. But there is no way to prevent this. The political and economic issues in Atlantic relations are linked by reality, not by choice.." (J.Palmer. "Europe without America ? Crisis in Atlantic Relations"; Oxford, 1988. p. 59).
It is in this light that the recent French atomic nuclear testing in the South Pacific must be viewed. This had the clear intent of serving a notice of independent EEC capability. The French intent was to show an independent nuclear force capability, separate from that of the USA. The French stated that their findings from the testing will be available to the EEC forces.
Throughout the last few years, and especially during the war in former Yugoslavia, the people of Kosova continued to show that they were not satisfied in Yugoslavia. In 1968 they again raised the issue and demanded status as a republic. In October 1968, during discussion on the amendments to the Yugoslav Constitution, the people of Kosova demanded once more Republic status. Tito refused a petition on this question. The crushing of the Kosovan movements after the death of Tito was the prelude to the Serbian and Croatian onslaughts on Bosnia. During the post-Tito events, Kosovan political aspirations became engulfed in the general fascist war of aggression launched by Slobodan Milosevic, aimed at a "Greater Serbia", aided by the EEC, and resisted by the USA:
"With the tacit or vocal endorsement of the former Yugoslavia's federal units, Serbia embarked seven years ago, on 28 March 1989, on a sheer 'constitutional' reconquest of Kosova. Serbia declared itself re-united, with Kosova being forcefully brought to its jurisdiction. An unprecedented military and police crackdown on the will of the people of Kosova, 90 percent of whom Albanians, has continued to this day... Albanians were posing their last ditch peaceful defence of the constitutional position of Kosova as an autonomous federal unit in what is now defunct Yugoslavia. Over 230 Albanians, most of whom prominent university teachers, intellectuals, and people with leading managing positions in the Kosova economic firms, were rounded up by the Serbian-run 'Yugoslav' police in late March 1989 .. were abducted.. kidnapped in the small hours.. underwent the most brutal Serbian police orgies of torture in jails in Leskovac and Belgrade. Milosevic had launched its campaign for a 'Greater Serbia'. 'Unity of Serbia and Yugoslavia' was the slogan behind the drive.. The Serbian Parliament adopted on 28 March 1989 what it termed 'constitutional amendments', namely changes in the Serbian constitution which amounted to a declaration of re-annexation of Kosova, a legislated occupation of a federal entity with which it was supposed to be on a par at the federal level. The legislated occupation was enacted amid a martial law which had been introduced intermittently since 1981 by the 'Yugoslav' authorities and was actually in force when Serbia celebrated on 28 March its "restoration of statehood in its entire territory", with the farcical presence of the smiling 'agent of Yugoslavia's unity', Federal Prime Minister Ante Markovic, who had been named to the premiership a couple of weeks earlier. While he joined Milosevic's cliques in a party in the Serbian Parliament to celebrate the promulgation of what later came to be referred to as the 'Constitution of tanks', Albanians were killed in broad daylight by the 'Yugoslav' forces in late March 1989. .., the Albanians .. called for upgrading of Kosova's status amounting to equal status with the rest of the units, namely removal of the possibility that Serbia has a say over its status. The "Trepa" miners had organized an eight-day hunger-strike in protest of the Serbian schemes of suspension of Kosova's autonomy. The voice of the people of Kosova was not heeded by a speedily rising Nazi-Communist nomenclature in Serbia, embodied in Slobodan Milosevic." (Alba News - Thu, 28 Mar 1996).
But the repression could not stop the drive towards Kosovan independence :
"On 27 and 28 March 1989, dozens of thousands of Albanians took to the streets around Kosova to protest against the incumbent crackdown on their legal autonomous position, their cultural identity and dignity. The death-toll was high. Yet, the peaceful resistance and the democratic movement launched the Albanians on a path of no return toward complete independence from the Serbs or a new Serb-dominated Yugoslavia. The Albanians have built and promoted their own civic society in Kosova, a democratic infrastructure with educational, welfare, health-care, and other institutions, namely a governing administration short of repressive apparatus only. Under the leadership of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, the Democratic League of Kosova (formed in December 1989), together with other Albanian political forces in Kosova, as well as the Assembly of Kosova, completed the legal framework for the institutionalization of the will of the people of Kosova for an independent country. The Independence Declaration (2 July 1990), proclamation of a republican status for Kosova and the promulgation of its constitution (7 September 1990), a popular referendum on Kosova as an independent and sovereign state conducted in late September 1991, were a prelude to the first multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections in the Republic of Kosova held on 24 May 1992. Through direct vote the people elected their representatives to the Parliament and chose Dr. Ibrahim Rugova President of the Republic of Kosova with a sweeping majority of votes. A recently conducted poll in Kosova has shown overwhelming support of the Albanians to Kosova's bid for independence. Kosova is bound to be a nation. (To counter act these events, even the - Ed) Police Obstruction of Albanian-language Classes ( is resorted to-Ed). The Serbian police has obstructed the Albanian-language teaching process in .. elementary and secondary schools in Kosova" (A l b a N e w s - Thu, 28 Mar 1996).
It is clear that following the Dayton Agreement, Kosova is another pawn in the struggle between EEC and USA imperialism. Aware of the explosive forces developing in the Kosovan Nation, both the EEC and the USA wish to control it. Since the dominant force in the capitalist state erected in ALBANIA after the death of Hoxha, was the USA, naturally the alliance of Albanian President BERISHA and the Kosovan President RUGOVA augured well for the USA. The two presidents made joint statements on the need for "resolution of many problems":
"Rugova said. "We are hopeful the coming year will see the resolution of many problems in Kosova and generally of the Albanian question", Dr. Rugova said, adding: "We hope, for we have been working hard on this, that the Kosova issue will be resolved on the express will of the people of Kosova". President Rugova of Kosova ended his message with the words: "May 1996 bring a free, independent, and democratic Kosova!". Albanian President Sali Berisha said the year 1995 brought an end to the most fierce barbarity Europe has seen since World War II. "Real prospects for a just settlement of the Kosova issue have been created".. noting that the international community has brought Kosova to an increasing attention. (Kosova Daily Report # 782 Prishtina, 3 January 1996; Internet).
This situation led U.S. Assistant Secretary of State RICHARD HOLBROOKE to hold talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, seeking permission to establish an official presence in Pristina. Although "Holbrooke stressed that the U.S. was not supporting the Kosovar Albanians' demand for independence." He went on, to " point out that "the oppression of the people there by the Serbs has been extremely bad." (Fabian Schmidt Omri Daily Digest 1-9-1996; Internet). But throughout 1996 from January, a further grim repression has set in the Province, really the nation, of Kosova.
An organization calling itself the Liberation Army of Kosova (Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosoves -UCK) arose, while escalating violence from the Yugoslav remnant states erupted. The increasing attention paid to the atrocities against Kosovan Albanians, by both the USA and the EEC, shows the importance of the Kosovan and Albanian keys to the current situation in the Balkans. The European Parliament (EU) demanded that to recognise the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, would require that the problem of Kosova "be solved". Doubtless this is because as the EU said :
"The current situation in Kosova threatens to provoke a new conflict, that might expand to the neighbouring countries, according to the European Parliament. ..it is required from Miloshevic to immediately start a negotiating process with the Kosova leader Ibrahim Rugova and other Albanian representatives from Kosova. .. the Parliament appealed to the European Commission to open its Office in Kosova as soon as possible. The deputies also expressed their concern for the situation in Vojvodina, as there were some indications that Serbia is trying to change its ethnic structure." (A l b a N e w s - Fri, 1 Mar 1996; Internet).
The pressure from the USA also grew intense also on this same issue.
"7.000 Rally for Kosova in Washington : ... Bob Dole, Senate Majority Leader, said the situation in Kosova must be resolved before any further sanctions are lifted in Belgrade. The United States must stand firm and must not give up - even if the allies are pushing another direction" ... Strong words of support for Kosova came from Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, who vowed that "Serbia will not be permitted into the company of the civilized nations of this planet until the basic liberties and fundamental freedoms of the Kosovars have been restored.." (A l b a N e w s - Thu, 28 Mar 1996 ).
Clearly Kosova had become a priority of US foreign policy. The US Secretary of State Warren Christopher met Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serechi:
"Serechi stated, ..that Christopher promised to make .. Kosova a priority issue of the US foreign policy. He also expressed his belief that the situation in the province will be solved satisfactorily by a Belgrade-Pristine dialogue, with mediation of a third party." (Alba News - Fri, 10 May 1996).
Concurrently with this, Berisha was beginning to experience problems with his erst-while strongest supporters, the USA. The USA had even criticised the Albanian regime of Berisha, before the eruption of the Pyramid provoked revolts :
"U.S. Criticizes Albania's Human Rights Record : The annual State Department human rights report on Albania said there was evidence of police beatings, pressure on the judiciary, and press restrictions, Reuters reported on 8 March. The report acknowledged that the government of President Sali Berisha generally respected human rights but concluded that serious problems remained, such as prolonged pre-trial detention, poor prison conditions, and occasional restrictions on press and speech freedom. It added that the judiciary is subject to political pressure. The report also criticized the imprisonment of Socialist Party Leader Fatos Nano, saying his case was "handled by inexperienced, poorly trained and underfunded investigators, prosecutors and judges in a highly charged political atmosphere." "Many observers believe that Nano was incarcerated because he was President Berisha's principal political opponent," the report noted."(Fabian Schmidt A l b a N e w s - Thu, 14 Mar 1996).
Alliance in Issue Number 21 said :
"The EEC and the USA are worried about the dangerous situation as it may boil over scalding them. Also since Albania was the only socialist state after the fall of the USSR at Khrushchev's accession to power, they understand the potential force of the Albanian workers and toilers. They are worried that the continued repressions will foster the re-birth of the Communist Party of Labour Of Albania. Commentators have voiced European concerns. These forces - both USA and EEC - have jointly put pressure on former Yugoslavia: 'European Stick And Carrot in The Solving of Albanian Issue' ('Dnevnik', 25 May 1996). The Albanian issue in the Balkans is becoming hotter and hotter for Europe. The European diplomats like to say lately that 'the situation in Kosova is explosive'. .. The strong connections of Albanians in Macedonia and Kosova also must not be neglected. Political leaders of Albanians in Macedonia proved that by their recent statements. Furthermore, the connections of both groups with Albania is evident. And it should be expected that Albania will be more demanding for this issue after the elections. And where is Europe, except for expressing fear from a new crisis in the region?.. Yugoslavia was directly informed that the solution of the Kosova issue is an inevitable condition in its exit from the isolation. The eventual becoming closer of this country to the European integration processes will. depend on its readiness to develop constructive relations with its neighbours... said an influential European official, adding that 'when that is done, (ie between Albania and Kosova) there will be no obstacle for Macedonia to be treated as one of the future EU member countries.'.
The situation since has in general, confirmed the analysis contained in Alliance 21. Thus the USA attempts to ditch Berisha are confirmed by several reports from bourgeois USA sources, such as that contained in the Washington Times, and reported by Albanews in electronic format (28). This reveals that the USA State Department had endorsed the view that the elections of 1996 were invalid having been interfered with by Berisha's party, that Fatos Nano should be released, and that Berisha should hold new elections:
"When State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns demanded earlier this month that Albania's President Sali Berisha "restore democracy," .. Mr. Burns demanded that Mr. Berisha's government "restore democratic rights to the opposition." ... The Clinton Administration and various European governments and organizations warned Berisha early on in the rebellion -- back when it still could have been contained -- not to use force against the rebels. They urged a political solution and Berisha listened. He began making political concessions while the rebels continued shooting. An agreement was signed with individual opposition party leaders on March 6, only to be annulled hours later by the same signatories gathered under the name of the opposition umbrella organization Forum for Democracy. The Forum itself is a front organization for Albania's unreconstructed Socialist Party... a few thousand rebels .. and military officers sacked by Mr. Berisha in the early days of the democratic transition, have taken control of the country with the political backing of the Socialist Party in Tirana. .. President Berisha, faced with an army that cannot fight after three years of U.S. military training, $100 million dollars in U.S. military aid and several Partnership for Peace exercises, had no choice Tuesday but to cave in completely to the demands of the rebels. He appointed a non-elected member of Albania's former Communist party, Bashkim Fino, as Prime Minister with the constitutional power to select his own government. The communist takeover of Albania is complete. Mr. Berisha was forced to accept the demands of the opposition, dominated by a Socialist Party .. . " (WashingtonTimes; Ibid. )
It is even considered possible that the USA directly had manipulated the events surrounding the pyramid schemes, since the obvious greed and corruption of the Berisha faction was easy to anticipate:
"The current violence in Albania has its roots in frustration over pyramid investment schemes that failed early this year. Albania's former communist and current Socialist Party President Fatos Nano predicted last summer when we visited him in prison, where he is being held on embezzlement charges, that it would be the pyramid schemes and not elections that would bring down Mr. Berisha's government. He was right, but only because his Socialists used the economic crisis to produce a political crisis and, in classic Leninist fashion, profit from the chaos that they had created... The blueprint for the takeover was not secret. The pro-rebel newspaper Koha Jone, which was saved last year by a U.S. Information Agency-brokered bail-out by American financier George Soros, published the following call to arms on January 16, just as the schemes were collapsing:
"The money-borrowing schemes, the failure of which is striking the major part of the population, constitutes the ideal time (for) the opposition to return to life by (turning) the displeasure of the victims to the development of its policies. "But the opposition...has not paid necessary attention to such a thing. First, times ago (the opposition) should have tried to make believable the hypothesis that the state is behind the money-borrowing investments. While now they could have found it easier to exploit the revolt of the money-losers to invade the squares." (Washington Times; Ibid.).
The signals for the USA change of horse, from Berisha to the Socialist Party, was the USA ambassador in Tirana's comments:
"Though Nicholas Burns singled out for repeated criticism some restrictions on the domestic press called for in the state of emergency, pro-rebel papers like Koha Jone churned out blatant calls for the overthrow of the government daily. Just two days before the beginning of the armed uprising in Vlora, Koha Jone wrote that "...in Vlora are born the first elements of the coming normal state." Orwellian, to say the least.
How did the Clinton Administration get Albania so wrong? The May 26 general elections were the stated reason behind Clinton's final break with Mr.Berisha. Though three of the four international monitoring organizations found the elections free and fair, it is this fourth organization, the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), that made the loudest noises and began framing international opinion on the elections. The U.S. Administration listened. .. in late June, the State Department announced that it was siding with the ODIHR and against all other monitors. It was official: the U.S. was demanding new elections in Albania. The Socialists, who refused to take their seats in parliament and in the same breath accused Albania of being a one-party state, felt vindicated. The slow, steady move to overthrow Berisha progressed.
The violent turn in Albania last week may have been at least partially sparked by another puzzling move of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana. Just as European Union foreign ministers had agreed in late February on a statement that did not support early elections -- to the dismay of the Socialists --U.S. Ambassador in Tirana Marisa Lino held her own press conference in Tirana where she again called for early elections.
Interviewed in Tirana last week, Albania's opposition leaders viewed the American Ambassador's press conference as a key event in their struggle... Greece, Serbia and Macedonia have all stepped up their military presence on the border. Suddenly the Balkan "peace process" seems to be unraveling. " (Washington Times; Ibid. ).
Obviously Mr McAdams approaches the question from the vantage point of a reactionary. However his article contains some pertinent information. Some have mis-interpreted the above analysis in Part Three to imply two things :
Firstly that it implies that the USA has suddenly become 'progressive'. Of course the article doe not imply this. It is however implied that the USA is astute enough to know when it is necessary to find a more 'acceptable' front for itself in Albania. If Berisha is discredited and cannot any longer 'control' the masses, why would do they wish to support him?
Secondly the analysis contained in Part Three does not deny support to the uprising. On the contrary, it demonstrates the resurgence of the mass struggle in Albania. It hopefully will be transferred into the consciously guided path to take state power. Of course that is the role of the Marxist-Leninist vanguard party.
THE SITUATION TILL MID APRIL MAY BE SUMMARISED AS FOLLOWS :
1. The USA after a period, fully endorsed the call for Berisha to hold new elections.
2. The USA fully supports the 'Socialist Party' - who are now the designated comprador agency for USA imperialism inside Albania.
3. The USA attempted to force Berisha to yield to the Socialist Party at the period of the collapse of the Pyramid Schemes.
4. The economic crisis precipitated by the collapse of the Pyramid schemes appears to have been anticipated by certain elements of USA capital (Soros) and Fatos Nano. USA agents such as George Soros specifically suggested this as an opportunity for forcing a crisis upon Berisha to unseat him. The US Ambassador played her part in fomenting further difficulty for Berisha. This was countered by EEC moves to 'protect' Berisha.
5. Irrespective of that agenda of the USA imperialists, once it was unleashed the fury of the masses was unstoppable. As a member of the Democratic Forum Mr Bundi Gonxhe explained it :
"This all began as a protest against the Government because of the pyramid schemes. Then it became a untied front against Berisha. Now it is protest against everything." ('The Australian' March 8-9; 1997; op. 15).
As arms became distributed to the masses, a potentially revolutionary situation became evident. All the imperialists - USA & EEC - agreed that this had somehow 'gone out of hand'. All would now depend upon the balance between revolutionary forces and the ability to take control of the situation, and the countervailing strength of the socialist democratic led Socialist Party, to mislead the masses.
6. Berisha's unseating and subsequent take over by the Socialist Party leader Bashkim Fino, places the USA candidate in the dominant position.
7. This is however matched by the entry into Albania of Italian troops, on behalf of the Italian imperialists and the EEC.
At the time of writing, it is as yet unclear what the short term outcome will be.
The long term outcome is clearly the victory of the Albanian people.
Mr McAdams, for the Washington Times, does not have to be concerned that, as he puts it, the USA keeps "mis-identifying U.S. interests in the Balkans". Unfortunately Communists know only too well, that the USA and the EEC know how to manipulate, and divide and rule. We do not need to agree with Mr McAdams that the Socialist Party are "Leninists" or "communists".
Marxist-Leninists know that the programme of the Socialist Party is corrupt to the core.
We await the full re-arming of the Marxist-Leninists, who are even now working to regain freedom for the Albanian people.
LONG LIVE THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE!
LONG LIVE THE HEIRS OF THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA!
LONG LIVE THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF ALBANIA!