– Gjon Bruçi –
It is said that during a working visit to Paris, the new diplomat of the Ottoman Empire, the great Albanian Ismail Qemali, had the opportunity to have dinner accompanied by the French Prime Minister Clemenceau and the great writer Victor Hugo. During the dinner, among other things, Clemenceau said to him: “Mr. Ismail, you know the history of France, while we know little about Albania!” Ismail Qemali promptly replied: “Your Excellency, you French take mud and, after moulding it well, you make heroes. Whereas we Albanians have heroes, but unfortunately, we often throw them into the mud!”
I don’t know how accurate this dialogue is, but Ismail Qemali’s phrase is true. The only period that fully appreciated the merits of those who sacrificed for the national cause was the socialist period. In this appreciation, not only the heroes and martyrs of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War and socialist construction were included, but all figures, starting from our National Hero, Gjergj Kastrioti-Skanderbeg; the fighters and contributors of the National Renaissance and independence; and even individuals who engaged in international volunteer brigades. And this, the system in question, did it with special decisions of state bodies, accompanied by the erection of memorials, monuments, busts, obelisks and commemorative plaques, down to the communal graves of heroes and martyrs in the capital and every district of the country.
The self-proclaimed “democratic” system, as it quickly turned out, not only did not preserve these legal decisions and symbols of heroes and martyrs, but defiled them by challenging them with false pedestals of traitors and collaborators of the occupiers. The “famous” leader of the false democracy, Sali Berisha, went so far as to declare on an anniversary of the world victory over nazism in Paris that Albania did not have 28,000 heroes and martyrs, but only around 4,500. Following this “converted communist” into a Ballist, genuine Ballists and their descendants not only reduced the number to 2,000 or 2,500, but declared some of the heroes and martyrs of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War and the period of consolidation of post-Liberation people’s state power as bandits and reactionaries.
Of course, Berisha’s (also nicknamed “the Albanian Hitler”) stance, and the stance of old Ballists and their young descendants on this major issue, did not surprise anyone, because they came to power, or more precisely “were co-opted” into that position, with the sole purpose of degrading and degenerating socialist Albania and its inhabitants. What was unexpected, however, is the unparalleled hypocrisy of Socialist Party politicians and rulers who, while verbally defending Anti-Fascist National Liberation War and the martyrs of the Homeland, in practice act exactly like their Sali-ist and Ballist counterparts.
Note: at the end of 1990, when socialism was overthrown with violence and treachery, there were thousands of obelisks and commemorative plaques for the martyrs and events of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War and the period of consolidation of people’s state power; hundreds of busts and monuments dedicated to the Heroes of the People and other historical figures, Renaissance, independence and socialist construction; and dozens and hundreds of museums dedicated to different periods of the country’s history. Today, after 34 years of Sali and company’s “fascist democracy,” most of these objects have been destroyed and disappeared into the ground. In these 34 years, almost half the time (a full 19 years) the central power has been held by the Socialist Party, and to the same extent also the local power. And even though they have been in power almost double the time of the Democratic Party, the Socialist Party not only have not built any new objects dedicated to the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War and the martyrs but have not repaired almost any of those demolished and destroyed by the Democratic Party.
Go to Peza to see the cemetery of the martyrs, which not only “democratic” violence but also time and erosion have turned into honoured objects of the Middle Ages. Go to the Cemetery of the Martyrs of the Nation in the capital to find many tombstones blackened and broken, or the pathways between the graves degraded, etc. The same goes for the resting places of martyrs in several districts of the country. The only objects that are not destroyed and are carefully preserved even by the Socialist Party are the monuments of the fleeing king, Ahmet Zogu, and his royal family, as well as some other figures who were born “on top of the fig tree” and there realized their “work” for the benefit of Albania.
To illustrate this miserable situation of Anti-Fascist National Liberation War objects and cemeteries of the martyrs, I will briefly describe the resting place of the martyrs of Mirdita: The resting place of the martyrs of the Mirdita district was established in 1979 in the city of Rrëshen. The non-durable materials of the time, the 46-year erosion and the destruction occasionally carried out by the descendants of the chieftains, Ballists and neo-nazis have turned these graves into what seem like ancient mounds of the early Middle Ages. Of the 34 years since the establishment of “demogracy,” the local power has been run by the Socialist Party for 20 years, but not a single plaque has been repaired or replaced, no municipal worker maintains them, except for two or three members of the veterans’ leadership, who one or two days before Anti-Fascist National Liberation War events go and somewhat clean the grass and thorns that have covered the graves and their borders.
At the beginning of this year, I, the author of this brief material, conveyed my concern as a citizen and as a son of a martyr about the cemetery of the martyrs of Mirdita to local and central authorities. Initially, I met the General Secretary of the National Committee of Veterans, who reassured me by saying that “we know the situation and will act very soon.” Later, I also contacted the comrades of the National Organization of Martyrs of the Homeland, where I received a response that funds have been planned for their repair. According to the official announcement, at the end of December 2023, with a government decision, the Governmental Commission for the Celebration of the Great Jubilee of the 80th Anniversary of Liberation was established, chaired by the Minister of Defence, Niko Peleshi. This somewhat warmed me, as I learned that this governmental commission was allocated significant funds which, as they told me, would be used both for the repair of Anti-Fascist National Liberation War objects and martyrs, as well as for activities that will be held throughout the year in the framework of the Great Jubilee.
But although the first three months of 2024 passed, the Governmental Commission established at the end of December 2023 made no movement. On April 22, 2024, I sent a “recommendation” letter to the Minister of Defence Mr. Niko Peleshi, also Chairman of the Governmental Commission for the Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of Liberation, but even today after 78 full days, I received no response. I considered the Chairman of the Governmental Commission for the Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of Liberation, being at the same time the Minister of Defence, to be as strong as steel, at least like iron… But it turned out to be wool, as his surname suggests. Even after six months and eight days, the mentioned Commission has not held any meeting, has not announced the program, the realization of which should have started six months ago. Moreover, so far, it has not made transparent even the funds and repair plans for Anti-Fascist National Liberation War objects and martyrs.
And they will not do these things, as long as the central power is held by Socialist Party hypocrites led by Edi Rama, a hidden neo-nazi in the washed-out colours of socialism. As for the President, I won’t say a word, since he surely doesn’t know where Mirdita is. He didn’t even know Peza, 15 kilometres from the capital, so he couldn’t go even on the 80th anniversary of the famous Conference of Peza, which took place on September 16, 2022, when Mr. Bajram Begaj had just been appointed President!
(Translated from the Albanian original and first published in “Gazeta SOT” on July 9, 2024)
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