No. 64
Letter from E. Hoxha to the Central Committee of the CPSU(B) on the Background of the Kosovo Question and Methods of Its Resolution1
City of Tirana
No later than September 2, 19492
SECRET
TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE CPSU(B)
ON KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
The Albanians living in the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia in Kosovo constitute a significant national minority by their numbers. This Albanian minority is settled in regions bordering the People’s Republic of Albania. The Congress of Berlin and the Treaty of Versailles unjustly violated the interests of Albania and the Albanian national minority in Kosovo.
According to old, pre-war statistical data (falsified statistics of the royal regimes of Serbia, by which they attempted to prove that the Albanian national minority was numerically insignificant), the Albanian minority numbered about 700,000 people. In reality, the number of Albanians in Yugoslavia — in Kosovo, Metohija, Macedonia and Montenegro — reaches one million, if not more. A significant portion of Albanians in these statistics was disguised and hidden by the regimes of that time under the guise of being Muslims or Turks.
The Albanians of Kosovo, Metohija and other areas regarded — and continue to regard — their violent separation from Albania as the greatest injustice committed against them. They did not accept this resolution of the matter and do not wish to remain within the borders of Yugoslavia, regardless of its political system. Such is the reality. Their sole ideal is unification with Albania.
During the Second World War, both fascism and the Albanian reaction relied on this very factor. They raised the issue of Kosovo and “united” Kosovo and Metohija with Albania under the slogan of a “Greater Albania.” On the part of fascism, this was a grand demagogic move which resulted in the Albanians of Kosovo being neutralised in the fight against fascism. They were led to believe the illusion that their “centuries-old dream of unification with Albania” had supposedly come true, and therefore saw no reason to fight fascism.
Under the influence of the illusory “liberation” of the Albanians of Kosovo from Yugoslav enslavement and their “unification” with Albania, Kosovo became a fascist and reactionary reserve. No people’s liberation3 struggle was waged there. This is on the one hand.
On the other hand, we believe that the Communist Party of Yugoslavia already at that time — in 1941-42 and afterwards — pursued an erroneous and incorrect political line on the national question, which was in fact a disguised nationalist line of that time. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia, during the struggle, should have given particular attention to the question of Kosovo and Metohija, as these areas were inhabited by a significant national minority bordering Albania. This was a very serious issue, for which a just Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist solution had to be found, in order to prevent the Albanian population of Kosovo from becoming a support base for reaction.
Even during the war, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia should have created for the Albanians of Kosovo appropriate prospects that would have mobilised them in the fight against fascism. The Albanians of Kosovo should have had the assurance that by fighting alongside the peoples of Yugoslavia against fascism, they would be winning for themselves the right to self-determination — whether to unite with Albania or with Yugoslavia, or to remain independent. Admittedly, we believed that the latter two options would be ruled out, as the Albanians of Kosovo would fight only for the first. This was perfectly clear to the Communist Party of Yugoslavia as well, but it was evidently disadvantageous to them — hence the vagueness of their official statements, which led to the population of Kosovo not participating in the struggle, as they did not believe in the justice of the Yugoslavs, even though in this case the latter presented themselves on behalf of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. The population of Kosovo did not believe in the justice of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and due to the low political level and considerable backwardness of the masses, the fascist demagogy and the creation of a “Greater Albania,” the Albanians of Kosovo not only refrained from fighting fascism but instead fought against the people’s liberation war in Yugoslavia.
After their mass extermination by the Great Serbs, and given their low political development, the Albanians of Kosovo could not trust the Yugoslavs, no matter how they presented themselves. Yet this fact was not taken into account by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia — and this was by no means accidental. The organisation of the people’s liberation struggle in Kosovo under the leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia was conducted in a nationalist spirit. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia did not create a single special national committee for Kosovo and Metohija in which leadership would rest solely in Albanian hands. No party structure or organised struggle was established there, and the issue of the Albanians of Kosovo and Metohija was not clarified. This did not happen. What is more, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia did everything in its power to avoid raising the question of Kosovo at all, not to educate the Albanian population of Kosovo in a spirit of patriotism, and not to allow the Albanian flag to fly alongside the Yugoslav one — which would have been of great symbolic and mobilising significance for them. On the contrary, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia suppressed these aspirations of the Albanian population of Kosovo, continually opposed them and criticised us when we put forward such a proposal and expressed support for these aspirations.
We considered it inappropriate to raise the question of the unification of Kosovo with Albania in the midst of the struggle. In our view, the Albanians of Kosovo were to fight against fascism within the framework of the Yugoslav state, and only after victory should this issue be resolved between the two fraternal communist parties and the people’s democratic regimes that were to be established in Albania and Yugoslavia following the defeat of the enemy.
In order to achieve the greatest possible mobilisation of the Albanians of Kosovo, we believed that the Yugoslavs ought first to resolve the question of securing the broadest possible participation of Kosovar Albanians in governing bodies, of the flag, as well as the issue of the closest cooperation of Kosovar Albanian partisan units in the country’s people’s liberation struggle under the command of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. Officially, we also requested permission to send one of the Albanian partisan units to Kosovo, with the aim of supporting the widest possible mobilisation of the local Albanian population in the fight against fascism.
It must be emphasised that at that time in Kosovo and Metohija there was no party work being carried out among the masses, nor was there any organisation of resistance against fascism. We expressed this view to Vukmanović Tempo, who at that time was the representative of the Central Committee of the CPY for organising the struggle in Macedonia. In response to our official request, Milutin Milutinović, a member of the CPY Central Committee and organiser of the struggle against fascism in Montenegro, replied to us as follows: “There is no need to send your people to Kosovo — our division will be sent there, which will resolve all the issues of Kosovo.”
Later it was confirmed that a punitive expedition had been sent to Kosovo, spreading terror there. For holding such a view — expressed by Miladin Popović and myself — Tito, in his letter addressed to Miladin Popović, accused him of national deviation and harshly condemned him.
Thus, the Albanians of Kosovo never accepted the decision imposed on them by the CPY — neither during the struggle itself, nor afterwards. The creation of the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija is nothing more than demagogy. It convinced not a single Albanian in Kosovo, and their ideal — unification with Albania — remained unfulfilled.
Following the persecution and massacres under King Aleksandar, the Albanians of Kosovo were also subjected to mass killings immediately after the liberation of Yugoslavia. These mass executions were carried out by units of the People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia.
If there had been any trust in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia during the liberation struggle, then after these unjustified repressions — which reflected the truly chauvinist views held by the CPY leadership even at that time — the Albanian population of Kosovo lost all illusions, and it no longer places any trust in the CPY. To them, the Great Serbs and the CPY leadership are one and the same.
The Albanians of Kosovo reacted sharply to all these repressions and fled to the mountains. But the CPY suppressed this movement with iron and blood, presenting it as a reactionary uprising. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia never once sought to study the specific situation in Kosovo and Metohija, and continued to apply the same old brutal methods of suppression. Kosovo and Metohija might have become centres of war within the newborn People’s Republic of Yugoslavia had Albanian partisan units not arrived there for one reason or another. The arrival of Albanian army units in Kosovo brought calm, cooled the inflamed passions, revived faith among the Albanians of Kosovo that all questions would be resolved peacefully, and created confidence that our forces would protect the Albanian population — which they indeed did.
Our forces acted as a barrier against Yugoslav attempts to impose repressions on the Albanians of Kosovo.
Thus, from the very beginning of the struggle through to liberation and beyond, the CPY maintained a chauvinist position on the question of Kosovo and Metohija.
Even under people’s rule in Yugoslavia, the issue of Kosovo and Metohija has not been resolved justly. It is being resolved on the basis of nationalism. The opening of Albanian schools in Kosovo and Metohija is nothing but demagogy. Only a few Albanians were elected to governing bodies. But these measures deceive and satisfy no one in Kosovo and Metohija. The democratic and national rights of the Albanian national minority in Kosovo and Metohija are entirely ignored. There are no ties with Albania! What is more, the CPY skilfully and persistently creates all sorts of obstacles in this regard.
We believed that the issue of Kosovo could not be brought up for discussion during the people’s liberation struggle, and therefore the line taken by our party on this issue — as stated above — was correct. During the people’s liberation war, Yugoslavia was our ally, and of course we could not align ourselves with the position of Albanian reaction. Our party maintained a clear stance on the Kosovo issue and effectively countered fascist demagogy. It joined with the CPY in issuing a joint declaration — an appeal to the Albanians of Kosovo, urging them to fight against the common enemy.
On the eve of the liberation of Yugoslavia and Albania, we once again recognised that raising the issue of Kosovo’s unification with Albania was untimely, since we were faced with the tasks of strengthening and consolidating people’s democratic power in both Albania and Yugoslavia. We believed that in the People’s Democratic Yugoslavia and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia we had a loyal and reliable ally, and therefore, in the interests of the socialist camp — and especially in the interest of Albania — it was necessary to avoid difficult situations that might arise in Yugoslavia, as it too was in the process of establishing and strengthening a people’s democratic system.
A revision of our borders with Yugoslavia in the direction of uniting Kosovo and Metohija with Albania would at any time have represented a further strengthening of the People’s Republic of Albania. But on the other hand, in the initial period after liberation, the small People’s Republic of Albania — even together with Kosovo and Metohija — would have been an easy target for imperialism, and in the event of an attack and occupation of Albania by imperialist forces, the damage to the common cause would have been far greater. Therefore, in the immediate post-liberation period, Kosovo remaining within the Yugoslav republic entailed significantly less risk. But later the situation became clearer, and the international and internal standing of the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was significantly strengthened. Treaties of mutual assistance were signed between the USSR and Yugoslavia, and between Yugoslavia and the people’s democracies. Albania’s international and internal position also improved, and the signing of the treaty of mutual assistance between Yugoslavia and Albania represented a solid strengthening of Albania’s international standing and protected it from potential threats by imperialist forces.
Thus, already at the time of signing the treaty with Yugoslavia, we believed the moment had come to raise the question of Kosovo and Metohija — and I did raise this issue with Tito at that time. Tito replied to me: “Kosovo belongs to Albania and should be joined with Albania. We desire this wholeheartedly, but at the present moment we cannot allow it, because the reaction of the Great Serbs is still very strong, and so this just act could only harm us.” It was later confirmed that these words of Tito’s were nothing but demagogy.
Under the current circumstances, after the exposure of the betrayal by Tito’s clique, we believe the question of Kosovo must be raised once again.
Tito and his cronies are agents of imperialism, harnessing Yugoslavia to the imperialist cart. They are turning Yugoslavia into a prison of nations, where Hitlerite fascist terror reigns. The question of liberating the peoples of Yugoslavia from this fascist gang and the clutches of imperialism is at the same time a question of liberating the Albanian population of Kosovo, and it presents itself to us as an urgent issue.
We believe the liberation of the peoples of Yugoslavia can be achieved only through struggle and bloodshed. There is no other way. Tito’s clique must be overthrown and destroyed. The struggle for national liberation in Yugoslavia must be led by the Yugoslav proletariat, headed by a new communist party based on Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist and internationalist foundations. Under these new conditions, we believe that we stand today where we stood at the start of the people’s liberation struggle against fascism. The struggle in Yugoslavia must be waged sharply — up to armed insurrection against the fascists, imperialism, and their internal henchmen, led by the agent Tito.
We believe that in the course of fierce struggle against Tito’s clique and the imperialists, the leadership of a new Yugoslav communist internationalist party will be forged — a party that will mobilise and lead all the peoples of Yugoslavia into battle, based on sound Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist principles, and that will also wage a sharp struggle against all nationalist tendencies that existed in the past and may emerge again during the course of the struggle.
The national question in particular must be treated as one requiring the most thorough resolution — for the fate and very scale of the struggle depend on it.
So, what must the people of Kosovo do now? We believe the Albanian population of Kosovo, Metohija, Macedonia and Montenegro must fight for its liberation just as the other peoples of Yugoslavia will. The first thing it must do is enter into a sharp and uncompromising struggle against Tito’s clique, up to and including armed uprising. This struggle should begin as soon as possible. If others begin the fight earlier, so much the better, as this will help avoid the isolation and suppression of the movement in Kosovo. The people of Kosovo must consider their struggle closely tied to the struggle of all the peoples of Yugoslavia and conducted within the framework of Yugoslavia — otherwise, it will be isolated and crushed. Therefore, the Albanian population of Kosovo must understand that its liberation, and the achievement of national and democratic rights, can only be secured through its own struggle — carried out simultaneously with the struggle of the other peoples of Yugoslavia.
The whole issue lies in ensuring that the past mistakes of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in relation to Kosovo and Metohija are not repeated.
Kosovo and Metohija must have their own leadership, developed in the course of the struggle — their own national liberation committee, which would define its line of struggle based on the Cominform resolution and Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist principles. During the struggle, a section of the communist internationalist party for Kosovo and Metohija must be created, organised and tempered — as part of the communist internationalist party of Yugoslavia. The Albanians of Kosovo and Metohija must fight under the Albanian flag. Partisan units must be under the leadership of Albanians who emerge in the course of the struggle, and the principle of self-determination must be clearly defined and must arise as the outcome of the sharp struggle of the Albanians of Kosovo, which they will wage against Tito’s clique and imperialism in fraternal cooperation with the other peoples of Yugoslavia. Patriotic and internationalist feelings, as well as love for their homeland — Albania — must be properly developed among the Albanians of Kosovo and Metohija. Above all, and on a sound basis, the Albanians of Kosovo and Metohija must be educated in boundless faith in and love for the USSR, the Bolshevik Party and Stalin. The population of Kosovo and Metohija must firmly grasp that without the USSR, the Bolshevik Party and Stalin, there can be neither a free Albania, nor a free Yugoslavia, nor a free Kosovo — and without them, it will never be able to realise its dreams and aspirations. The Albanians of Kosovo must clearly understand that their ruthless enemy — and the enemy of the entire socialist camp — is American imperialism, its satellites and the Tito clique, which is nothing but its agent.
We believe that unless the Albanian population of Kosovo comes to terms with this truth, it will not be able to wage the struggle — because it has lost all trust in the Yugoslav leadership. If the Yugoslav internationalist communists overlook or ignore the national question of Kosovo, the Albanian population of Kosovo will place no trust in them. The key to the successful development of the struggle in Kosovo and Metohija lies in their unification with Albania. The Albanian population of Kosovo and Metohija refuses to accept any other solution, and considers any alternative unjust — as do we.
We believe that Kosovo, Metohija and the part of Macedonia bordering Albania that has an Albanian population should, after the liberation of Yugoslavia from the clutches of Tito and imperialism, be united with Albania. Only such a path will lead the Albanians living in Yugoslavia to heroically fight against Tito and imperialism.
We believe that the position we have expressed is positive and fully in line with the Marxist-Leninist path. It will contribute to intensifying the struggle against Tito in the region of Kosovo and Macedonia,4 and to the unification of these lands with the People’s Republic of Albania — something that corresponds to Marxist-Leninist principles and will strengthen both the international and internal position of the People’s Republic of Albania. It is also of great importance for the strengthening of the socialist camp.
The People’s Republic of Albania will devote all its efforts to ensuring that the struggle against Tito’s clique in Yugoslavia continues to develop and intensify until complete victory is achieved. We believe that Albania’s official position on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija should remain restrained, as otherwise Tito’s clique may use it as a tool for mobilising the Great Serbs and accuse Albania of chauvinism, and so forth. Nonetheless, Albania will provide comprehensive support to the peoples of Yugoslavia and to the Albanian population of Kosovo, which must act and demonstrate its own initiative within the framework we have set out above.
The issue of Kosovo and Metohija has become particularly urgent in connection with the assistance our party is providing to anti-Tito Yugoslav comrades, as well as to the population of Kosovo and Metohija, who are willing and ready to fight by every possible means against the Belgrade traitors. But the Albanians of this region continually raise the question with us: “How will the national problem of Kosovo and Metohija be resolved?”
We believe this is a very important question.
However, it is possible that in seeking to resolve it we may be mistaken — and therefore, without the advice of Comrade Stalin, we shall not take a single step. For this reason, we present our point of view, and if we are mistaken, we ask that our errors be pointed out so that we may correct them.
For the Central Committee
of the Party of Labour of Albania
ENVER HOXHA
RCHIDNI. F. 17. Op. 137. D. 68. L. 64–73.
Translation from the Italian. Copy.
Notes
1 The document bears the following notes: “To Grigoryan. Prepare for distribution in the prescribed manner. G. Malenkov. 25/IX”, “Urgent. To Comrade Medvedev. 1) This document must be distributed today to members of the Politburo. 2) Review the translation editorially and send for processing. 3) Draft a short cover note as per standard procedure. V. Gr[igoryan]. 25/IX”, “To the archive. Preserve. Distributed to CC leadership. V. Grigoryan.”
2 Dated according to the cover note.
3 On page 2 of the letter and throughout the text, the editor amended the term natsional’no-osvoboditel’naia bor’ba (national liberation struggle) to narodno-osvoboditel’naia bor’ba (people’s liberation struggle). During the war and post-war years, Albanians referred to the struggle as national liberation.
4 As in the original text.