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Albania Divided About Move to Open Collaborators’ Files

14 12 2006  Sceptics doubt publicising long lists of “spies” will help society reach truth about political persecution under communism.

By Karolina Risto in Tirana (Balkan Insight, 14 Dec 06)

Albania has embarked on major initiatives to reveal the crimes committed by collaborators with the secret police in the communist era.

Moves to open up the secret files on their activities and expose those who once allegedly spied on their fellow citizens follow precedents set by other states in the region, including Montenegro, Poland and Bulgaria.
 
The aim is to find out who was involved in the spying activities that led to the jailing of 27,000 Albanians for political offences, the killing of 6,000 and the deportation of 12,500 families to concentration camps.
 
Early in November, three bills were proposed to parliament, dealing with the work of former spies.
 
Each is the initiative of a different party, reflecting the desire of both government and the opposition to be seen to be tackling an issue of great interest to voters.
 
The proposal of the opposition Socialists is much more limited in scope than that of the ruling Democrats.
 
It would not, for example, permit the publication of names of former collaborators if they admit their crimes in private to a special commission. “If the person does not accept this condition, his pseudonym and file will be made public,” the bill reads.
 
The proposed legislation put forward by the ruling Democratic Party is far more sweeping, reflecting their conviction that many former collaborators lurk in the ranks of the Socialists.
 
The bills are now before parliament’s Law Commission, which will discuss them with a view to coming up with a common draft. If this is not possible, the Democratic Party bill will go to a vote in parliament, as this party holds a majority in the Law Commission.
 
However, many question whether any of the proposed laws is the right way to address the issue of former collaborators.
 
Sceptics think none of the drafts will help, firstly as those in power had more than 16 years to destroy incriminating files.
 
Important witnesses have claimed that the key files were long ago altered or totally destroyed.
 
These include former heads of the secret service and former government ministers, such as ex-interior minister in 1992-3, Bashkim Kopliku and former deputy prime minister Dashamir Shehu.
 
Shehu said the Socialists burned thousands of files in the early 1990s just after the communist regime collapsed.
 
Some non-governmental groups believe a better way to reach the truth about this era would be to create a powerful truth commission instead of passing a bill in parliament.
 
The NGO that represents former victims of political persecution in Albania, called “The organisation of the communists victims in Albania" is among the groups that oppose opening and publicising files on collaborators.
 
It says the police forced many innocent people into collaboration and if the secret files are now opened, it risks inflicting further harm on those who were in fact victims of communism.
 
Thanas, an 88-year-old former lieutenant-colonel, who was the chief military authority in several cities in the communist era, says most collaborators were not communists in any case.
 
“Police officers contacted them and forced them to collaborate in exchange for a normal life,” he said.
 
“Even those who were no use at all ended up with their name in the files.
 
“There are hundreds of thousand of files like this. There may be even as many as a million.”
 
Sami Repishti, of the organisation representing victims of political persecuted Albanians, said opening all the files might cause chaos, exposing old wounds in a society that was fiercely divided for more than 50 years between “good communists” and the enemy.
 
However, the “spy” phenomenon remains an important, unresolved issue for many Albanians. Newspapers and television news programmes address the topic almost every day.
 
A search for the word “spiun”, (spy in Albanian) on Google reveals almost 12,000 entries, while “dosjet” (files) calls up more than 80,000. There are countless websites on the issue, some headlined “Are Albanians a ‘spying’ people?”
 
The country followed with interest the condemnation of the crimes of the communist regimes by the Council of Europe in January 2006. The resolution, approved after 99 delegates voted in favour, 42 opposed and 12 abstained, called on relevant states to review their history books and erect monuments to victims. The resolution also said that there was “no essential difference between communism and Nazism”.
 
Albanian parliament ratified the resolution on October 29.
 
However, Albania’s remaining communists feel unrepentant. Many, like Thanas, formed their political opinions during the Second World War in the fight against enemy occupation and say they have nothing to apologise for.
 
Thanas likes to show off the big scar on his chest, which is the legacy of wounds in the war, and when he rolls up his trouser leg, he reveals a bullet that lodged in his leg and which doctors say has become “part of his body” and does not need to be removed.
 
Asked if he admits being part of a criminal regime, he answers, “I’m a war veteran and the Albanian people know I deserved my medals. Even this state gives me a pension for fighting the Nazis.
 
“I think I’m an hero, not a criminal.”
 
With such entrenched views on both sides of the political spectrum, it is hard to see how Albania will ever reach a consensus on communist crimes.
 
Significantly, Albania’s school history books have nothing to say on the subject. Most condense the 50 years of communism into a few lines, mainly devoted to the liberation war. “Enver Hoxha guided Albania for 41 years,” they say, as if a whole half-century never existed.
 
Whether any of the bills now before parliament can change that state of affairs remains to be seen.
 
Karolina Risto is News Editor of Vizion Plus Television. Balkan Insight is BIRN`s online publication.