Fadil Hoxha's son, Sharri, was among the first to write the slogan: Kosovo Republic!

On December 13, 2013, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Bujan Conference (1943-44), under the patronage of the then Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Jakup Krasniqi, a scientific panel was held. On that occasion, Krasniqi declared: "The Assembly of Bujan, organized by the leaders of the National-Liberation units of Kosovo and Albania, are the glorious history of our modern history and are the forerunners of this Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo today"! One of the originators of Bujani was the former communist leader of Kosovo, Fadil Hoxha, for whom there are two versions of history: one negative and one positive, which is also illustrated by the reactions for and against the raising of his bust in Gjakovë. Telegraph brings you below some facts that are not well known by the masses about this figure, and that are often denied.

On January 31, 1943, during the Second World War, the Bujan Conference was held. On January 2, 1944, after considering for three consecutive days the problems arising from the war against the occupier, the Conference came out with a final document, which states: "Kosovo and the Dukagjin Plain is the province inhabited by the majority of the Albanian people, who, as always, and today, want to join Albania."

Fadil Hoxha wanted: Self-determination

In an interview for TV Klan, with Blendi Fevziu, in 2000, Hoxha said about Bujani: "The broad conclusions of the conference were that Kosovo had to decide for itself at the end of the war, normally at a close date. But when it appeared that this decision was made by the Albanians as well as the Yugoslavs, in June 1944, Milovan Gjilasi - one of the highest leaders of the Yugoslav Communist Party, one of the people closest to Tito - sent a letter to which did not reject the decisions of the Bujani Conference, but clarified that it was not the time to deal with these problems. Well, the time never came to deal with these problems".

According to him, telegrams were sent to Winston Churchill (Great Britain), Joseph Stalin (USSR), Enver Hoxha (Albania) and Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia) about the decisions of the Bujan Conference.

"We have multiplied the proclamation which we addressed to the people of Kosovo, wide and long, in several thousand pieces", said Hoxha.

In this interview, he also mentions the meeting with Enver Hoxha in Tirana, where he is looking for Albanian teachers and letters (for the Gutenberg printing system) since they had opened the Rilindja newspaper. According to him, 200 teachers immediately arrived in Kosovo, who continue the emancipation of the Albanians of Kosovo that had started earlier with the teachers sent during the Italian occupation by the Minister of Education - Ernest Koliqi. Meanwhile, he emphasizes that about the injustices done to the Albanians of Kosovo, which he had expressed to Enver Hoxha, he was spied on by the Minister of the Interior of Albania, Koçi Xoxe, to an employee of the secret service of Serbia.

According to Hoxha, when Enver Hoxha went to Belgrade in 1947, he did not ask to meet any Kosovo official, for which they felt disappointed. Enver Hoxha's only request for a meeting was with Milladin Popovic's mother. So, in this year, Enver Hoxha broke off relations with the communists of Kosovo, meanwhile after 1948, when the relations between Yugoslavia and Albania broke down, the Albanians lost support from Albania as well, writes Telegrafi.

Whether Albania has been able to do something for the Albanians left outside the borders of this country, this has not yet been clarified, as there is no correct answer as to whether the politicians of Kosovo were able to make Kosovo a republic. But, it cannot be denied that there has been indoctrination with the ideology of Albania, especially among the youth who everywhere in the world are inclined to oppose the systems.

The Albanian communists defended "Trepca" much better than others today

The former chairman of the provincial committee, Azem Vllasi, in an interview for the Telegraph, said that the organizers of the 1981 demonstrations did not seek to improve the conditions of the Kosovar Albanians, but aimed to replace Yugoslavian communism with the Stalinist one. This statement has provoked great reactions from many organizers of these demonstrations, including Vllas's statement that the arguments that the protests of 1981 have raised national consciousness among Kosovo Albanians are baseless, since "national consciousness has been constantly rising".

"We had schools, universities, media, Academy of Sciences. We were not without national consciousness. Based on that awareness, we have managed to become institutionalized", said Vllasi.

That this is true, as evidence we can take the "Trepça" Combine, which since the time it was led by Veli Deva, in the 70s of the last century, had 11 units (each with 250-1000 workers) where 75 percent of the cadres were Albanian and in leadership positions. For this, the Albanian leaders of Kosovo were under pressure. In fact, it is said that Deva had said in a political meeting: "We are narrow from the roads here in 'Trepçë'"!

Meanwhile, let's not forget that in 1978, just 24 years after the end of the Second World War, Kosovo had 400 students in secondary and primary schools. According to academician Mark Krasniqi, only from 1970-1990 over 33 thousand Albanian students graduated, 213 doctors of science, 160 masters...!

So, there was emancipation and the rise of national consciousness, and this is also evidenced by the rise of Kosovo's status in the Yugoslav federation.

"For Fadil Hoxha, communism was the building of the country, schools, university, electrification, industrialization, roads, hospitals, eradication of tuberculosis, filling the belly with bread. While others, such as imprisonments, murders, persecution of free thought, censorship - all were distortions, they were Stalinism. Communism for him was Maxim Gorky's 'Mother', Engels' 'Anti Dyrringu' and in particular Lenin's theses on the national question, namely his evocation of self-determination., the book says "Fadil Hoxha in the first person", with notes and forewords by Veton Surroi, in the interview that Hoxha gave to Rexhai Surroi through the tape recorder in August 1963.

Of course, it should not be forgotten that Hoxha is quoted in this book as having also spoken about the resistance in Drenica, where he says that with the liquidation of Shaban Polluza's group, Drenica has calmed down. This statement, even though it does not have many details, does not leave a good impression on Albanians, therefore this period of his life also requires additional clarifications.

Hoxha removed Metohija from the name of Kosovo, while he also demanded the republic

Vllasi in the interview for Telegrafi mentions that "We discussed the republic openly even when there were constitutional changes, in 68 and 69." This is also said by Serbian historians. Because, after the Brione Plenum (1966), i.e. after the fall of the Yugoslav Interior Minister, the anti-Albanian Aleksandër Ranković, the position of the Albanians in Yugoslavia began to advance, especially after the constitutional changes of 1974.

The Serbian media, citing TIto's archive, have written that Hoxha in 1966 requested that Metohija be removed from the name of Kosovo, which has already happened, and that Kosovo should bring its own laws, including the Supreme Court. So, to be equal to other units of Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the Serbian historian, Milosh Mishovic, in his book "Ko je trazio republiku: Kosovo 1945-1985" (Who demanded the Republic: Kosovo 1945-1985), wrote that on April 22, 1968, at the meeting of the Presidency of the Executive Commission of Kosovo, Fadil Hoxha requested: "The flag of Kosovo should not be a fictional flag... In Kosovo, the majority are Albanians and the flag should be Albanian". "Hoxha", it is said there, "requested that Kosovo have its own official flag, coat of arms and national holiday. This is where the Republic of Kosovo was requested".

The position of the Albanians advanced after 1974, but things changed after the demonstrations of 1981, for which it must be admitted that no one knows how to give a clear explanation, especially about their organization.

"The main slogan on March 26, at the Student Center, where I was also present, was: 'Glory to Marxism-Leninism'." says Vllasi in the interview for Telegrafin.

It is true that the slogans of the Albanian demonstrations often contradicted each other. Thus, Branko Horvat, in his book "Kosovsko fatje" (The issue of Kosovo), wrote that in the demonstrations of 1981, the slogans and groups are divided as follows: I. "We want the Republic, here's to hate, here's to war", "We are Albanians, not Yugoslavs", "Kosovo of the Kosovars"; II. "'Trepca works, Belgrade builds"; III. "We love our fellow prisoners", "Long live Adem Demaçi"; IV. "Long live the brotherhood of the Albanian people", "Union of Albanian lands"; V. "Long live Marxism-Leninism", "Down with revisionism"; VI. "Someone in the armchair, someone without bread", "Until when in the basement", "There are no talks with the red bourgeoisie", "Long live the working class", "We demand better conditions"!

So, as can be seen, there was indoctrination with the Stalinist doctrine of Albania represented by Enver Hoxha, about whom there are also different opinions: for and against it?

Fadil Hoxha had not hesitated to mention the national union either

Historian Shaban Braha said that "Koçe Xoxe in Tirana and Aleksandër Rankoviqi in Belgrade knew better about the tragedy of Tivar". Also, according to him, in February 1945, Fadil Hoxha told Tito: "You know what promises you gave us during LANÇ and you must keep them, otherwise Yugoslavia will be at war with the Albanians for a long time".

On the occasion of Braha's death, Hashim Thaçi - who had a political advisor, Azem Vllasin - sent a condolence telegram in 2013, with the following content: "The work and figure of Shaban Braha will remain an unforgettable example of tireless activity and patriotism whose commitment and love for the country is unending and constant".

So, the figure of Braha is respected, which does not put Enver Hoxha's system in a positive light, and even less Fadil Hoxha in a negative light.

On the other hand, the former Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Jakup Krasniqi, who honors the Bujan Conference, in an RTK show in 2008, "A coffee with the politicians of Kosovo", it can be seen that he keeps the photograph of Enver Hoxha in his library. He says that this was a gift and that he did not have time to organize the library. Krasniqi has claimed that he is quite connected with Albania, but as a politician who was for the union of Kosovo with Albania, he has changed his mind.

"Even I have the right to change my mind", he said.

They connect Vllas here. "It is untrue what the organizers of the protests say that the demonstrations (1981) also aimed at national unification... Yugoslavia, which was an obstacle to national unification, was destroyed and unification did not happen. Why?”, Vllasi pointed out in an interview with Telegraf, which is precisely related to these changes in the attitudes of those who are considered organizers of the 1981 demonstrations.

On the other hand, academician Mark Krasniqi, in an interview for KTV, had said that after the conflicts Hoxha had with Stanoje Aksic of Lipjani, who was a high official in Serbia, he had said in private (to Krasniqi): "There is no other solution for Kosovo, except for union with Albania". Meanwhile, Milan Vučinić, in his book "Zašto Kosovo ne može da bude republika" (Why Kosovo cannot be a republic), says that Fadil Hoxha said in 1958: "Since it is the majority of Albanians in Kosovo, anyway this will go to Albania". So, unlike today's Kosovo politicians, Hoxha, in a monist system, nevertheless dared to mention the union with Albania.

Fighters of two blocs: Fadil Hoxha hugs Hysen Tërpeza

However, we have many versions of history, for and against Enver, for and against Fadil, as we have for and against many other figures, since Skanderbeg. But, no one can deny that there was a tendency from some communist personalities to, as Kaçusha Jashari told the BBC, change the system within the existing Yugoslav system for the benefit of the Albanians.

Jakup Krasniqi was arrested after the demonstrations of 1981. Of course, no one can agree with this arrest or the suffering he went through. However, he and everyone should be open to debates about historical circumstances and changes, such as the 1981 demonstrations.

For this, Hysen Tërpeza and Fadil Hoxha should be modeled. For the vast majority of the population of Kosovo, of both camps, in the new version of history, the first was and remains a model of resistance, of the movement for freedom and liberation, while the second is a model of the poltronist of Yugoslav communism. The version that Hoxha could have been more alert to the powerlessness of the Albanians and that he tried to realize their rights through the system that was imposed, is not very convincing for Tërpeza's former and current comrades-in-arms and supporters. However, the embrace of Hoxha and Tërpeza, after the liberation of Kosovo and shortly before the death of both, is an example that destroys many prejudices. They proved that political rivals in the transition stages are not always rivals of patriotic concepts on one side and concepts of treason on the other, writes Telegrafi.

In his interview, Vllasi stands for the convictions he once had. But, of course, as he asks the organizers of the 1981 demonstrations "the truth about who instigated those protests", it should also be clarified about the term counter-revolution and ideo-political differentiations. Because, in 1981, Mahmut Bakalli, as the head of the Communist Party in Kosovo, resigned from all functions as a sign of disagreement with the positions of the leadership in Belgrade that these events were counter-revolutionary. Bakalli was a deputy in the first legislature of the Assembly of Kosovo during the years 2001-2004, from the ranks of AAK, and at one time an advisor to the former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj. But, even in these years, it was declared that he was against the demonstrations of 1981 and also against the counter-revolution label.

Fadil and Sharr Hoxha, both hated by Serbian politics

Fadil Hoxha has been accused since the Bujan Conference until his death as an enemy of the Serbs. In 1986, he was dismissed from all posts. While, in 1991, Slobodan Milosevic's regime accused him of treason.

The slogans said by the demonstrators during 1981 were mentioned above. Many of the participants of these demonstrations, prisoners or not, after the war had leadership positions in Kosovo. However, one fact should not be forgotten: in front of them, the slogan against the system of Yugoslavia was written by the son of Fadil Hoxha, Sharri. This is precisely why, during the 80s, the Serbian press wrote that Sharri at the "Bozhur" hotel in Pristina had asked the waiter to serve him a "Serbian head". While this statement may be part of propaganda, what is known is this: Branko Horvat wrote that in 1963 Sharr Hoxha and a group wrote the slogans: "Down with Tito", "Down with Yugoslavia", "Long live Enver Hoxha", "Long live Albania".

As evidence, the Telegraph brings you parts of the "Report of the Commission of the Secretariat of the Provincial Committee of the LK of Serbia for the investigation of the political responsibility of the members of the Provincial Committee, who worked in the State Security service in the Province". This Commission was formed after Penum Brioneve. Meanwhile, Stanislav Gërković, head of the State Security Service of the District and Municipality of Pristina, testifies for Sharri.

A part of Gërković's testimony given on July 16, 1966, is this: "Two years ago, as far as I remember, on the occasion of discovering the hostile activity of a group of young people - high school students - we also found the name of one of Fadil Hoxha's sons (Sharri). It was established that he had known about this activity and to some extent had himself participated in it. We did not follow this group, as far as I remember, not even in a criminal way, since we had agreed that Comrade Fadil should be informed about all this...".

According to the documents in the Archive of Yugoslavia, the UDB also installed microphones in the houses of Ismet Shaqiri, Ymer Pula, Mehmet Hoxha and Fadil Hoxha. In this campaign, the work of Albanian intellectuals, such as Mark Krasniqi, Gjon Shiroka and Enver Gjergjeku, has been followed. The suspicions are that Veli Deva, Xhevdet Hamza and Drita Dobroshi were also intercepted.

Academician Mark Krasniqi, in a statement for Telegrafin, says that he was aware of the wiretapping that was done to him and that he was warned about this by Fadil Hoxha.

"I have respect for the work of Fadil Hoxha, because he demanded more rights for Albanians. He mentioned the right of Albanians to self-determination". said Krasniqi.

Which version should be believed before and after 1981, whether it is accurate and whether history should be revised and we should be more open in debates, for this we need studies and... studies. /Telegraph/