The Tirana District Party Committee Conference, which took place from April 14 to 19, 1956, was held in the spirit of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union led by Nikita Khrushchev, which had taken place in February of that year, where the new Kremlin leaders condemned the cult of Stalin and the crimes that had been committed up to that time by the main leadership of the Party. As is already known, immediately after the Tirana Conference, Enver Hoxha and the top leadership of the ALP were totally mobilized, striking and condemning all those who had discussed or raised their voices at that conference, about the cult of the individual and the privileges of the top leadership of the ALP, mainly those who lived in the special neighborhood of the new Tirana, called “Bllok”.
Immediately after the end of the conference, by special order of Enver Hoxha, the senior leadership of the Albanian People's Party under the direction of Hysni Kapo, compiled a list of all those who had discussed or asked questions during the conference, "in opposition to the Party line", considering them "anti-party elements", the most important of which were; Pëllumb Dishnica, Hulusi Spahiu, Pajo Islamaj, Niazi Jaho, Nesti Zoto, Vehip Demi, Peço Fidhi, Vandush Vinçani, Ihsan Budo, Iljaz Ahmeti, Taho Sejko, etc.
Enver Hoxha and the senior leadership of the Albanian People's Party were not satisfied with just sentencing 21 people accused of being "anti-party elements", who were imprisoned or exiled, but continued the war and purges against "anti-party elements", to find the real inspirers and those who were thought to be hiding behind those who had discussed at that conference. All this was done, also as a preparation on the eve of the 3rd Congress of the Party of Labor of Albania, which would hold its proceedings in November of that year. Among other things, this is also revealed by this archival document with the acronym "secret" that we are publishing in this article, which is dated August 9, 1956, where the State Security continued the pursuit, wiretapping and investigations of all those communist cadres, etc., to discover and punish the "organizers" of the Tirana Conference, as well as those who had supported or shown solidarity with it.
SECRET DOCUMENT OF AUGUST 1956, WITH THE OPERATIONAL COMMUNICATION OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL WORKS, REGARDING THE REACTIONS OF SOME COMMUNIST cadres TOWARDS THE TIRANA CONFERENCE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRET
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Tirana, 9.VIII.1956
DIRECTORATE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
-Security Side –
-132
Landa: Operational Communication, dated 9. VIII. 1956
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Information Directorate
Tirana
Major Petro Vidhima, informed the basic organization of the MLKA Party that he had learned from the Party member of this organization, Captain Thoma Godelli, that according to Thoma, a plenum of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania would be convened, that a senior member would resign. This matter was told to Thoma by Pandeli Skrami, a professor at the “Skënderbeg” school.
Pandeli Skrami, during the interrogations by the investigator for several hours, did not admit anything, while later he was forced to admit, when confronted with Captain Thoman, and on this issue he declared:
"On July 23, I talked to Captain Thoman that a plenum of the Central Committee will soon convene and there will be discussions about the resignation of one of the Party's key cadres, for health reasons.
I heard these things Pandeliu said from Lili Naska, who is a private coffee shop owner by profession, a former officer of the Zogu Gendarmerie.
In the questions asked to Lili, I declare that it is true that I told Professor Pandeli Skram that, as I heard, the Plenum of the Central Committee will convene and there will be changes, after Comrade Enver Hoxha will be appointed to a position in power.
These things Lili said, I learned from Avni G., who told me that Major General Tahir Kadare has resigned and now the Plenum will convene and there will be changes in the government. Avni Goxhi, from Golemi i Kurvelesh, today a motorcyclist, for a while he was a gendarme of Zogu, former Bp of the Security organs, expelled as invalid.
From Avniu's depositions, it appears that I learned the words from two sources. It is true, says Avniu, that I told Lili Naska and I learned them in this way:
A certain Saliko Civili from Gjirokastra told me one day that he had learned that Major General Tahir Kadare was dismissed from his post, and a few days later, a man named Ali Bajram Karaj, who I worked with at a construction site and knew as a person, but did not have much contact with, told me that the Central Committee Plenum would be convened and comrade Enver Hoxha would be dismissed, as well as three or four others.
Ali Bajram Karaj from Preza and a long-time resident of Tirana, sentenced in 1951 to 6 months in political prison for agitation and propaganda, in the questions he was asked and in the confrontations with Avni Goxhi, does not accept in any way that Avni Goxhi told Ali Karaj.
Later, Ali Karaj admitted that he had told Avniu, when he asked me what we had, that he had told him that the Central Committee had met in Hungary and changes had been made, both in the Party and in the government.
Avniu said; but here in Albania, what will we have? Aliu told him that here in Albania too, the plenum of the Central Committee will convene and there will definitely be changes in the party and the Government, without specifying who would sit down and who would stand up.
These things are stated by Ali, I have said it myself, looking at the changes that are taking place in the countries of popular democracies. Ali Karaj has been detained by our side and the regular investigation is continuing with him. / Memorie.al
