THE ANTI-COMMUNIST RESISTANCE

In the foreign press, at intervals that are sometimes long and short, there is a lot of talk about the anti-communist resistance in the mountains of Albania. Lately, articles on this subject have also appeared in some major South American newspapers. By now, in the opinion of the Western countries, the idea is strengthened that the Albanian sector remains one of the prime nerve centers of the huge chessboard where the forces of the two western and eastern blocs face each other in the so-called cold war.

Albania, for the Russians, means an outlet in the Mediterranean. Consequently, the attention of Western powers also converges on the small nation.

Is there an effective armed resistance inside the Albanian territory? We consider it appropriate to highlight some aspects of this delicate question, especially for the helpful foreign readers.

It is well known that, six years after the establishment of the Bolshevik regime in Albania, the overwhelming majority of the people remained tetragonal to the fallacious allurements of both communist doctrine and practice. Tenaciously tied to the ancient rituals of his traditions, too protective of his personal freedom, preserved for centuries under the most varied dominations, the Albanian, after a few months of expectation created more out of curiosity than of hope, gave in his most heartfelt way a negative opinion about the new situation and a yearn for rapid change.

The communist harassments, which were increasing at a fast pace from year to year, exacerbated the soul and so began that deaf passive resistance which worries the emissaries of Moscow, absolute masters of the country, in which they hold all the levers of power.

As for armed resistance, it must not be portrayed as organized and conducted with Western criteria. Albania was always, together with Macedonia and the Balkan countries, the classic country of the “comitagi“; type of guerrilla agents against the constituted authorities that, in Eastern Europe, were foreign occupation forces. The type of the “comitagi” originated the partisans in the West, where before the last war they were not known.

The freedom guerrillas were never lacking in Albania, facilitated in their action by the mountainous nature, full of inaccessible areas of the country. Since November 1944, a time when communism took complete possession of the state, the struggle against the red government did not cease and the ignored papers, of a splendid era, wrote in all corners of the country the brave who did not want to bow to the new bloodthirsty masters. But in the mountains there remained and remain only those who are not in good standing with the authorities, those who fear not being able to save themselves from serious convictions. The rest of the anti-communists avoid unnecessarily increasing the ranks of the armed resistance, which costs immense sacrifices to the populations, both for its supplies and for the inevitable reprisals that the presence of fugitives, in case of discovery by the government, causes the villages in the area. The people support and provide what is necessary and often hide them in their homes, exposing themselves to terrible dangers, nationalist partisans and, if necessary, temporarily swell their ranks with valid elements. These elements, then, after the necessary action of almost always defense and rarely of offense, return to their homes, covering up all traces of their clandestine activity. The patriarchal rhythm of mountain life facilitates all this; the traditions of hospitality and silence create the right atmosphere and conditions for the work of the heroic troops who oppose the consolidation of Muscovite imperialism on the eastern shores of the Lower Adriatic.

Therefore, those who fantasize about expeditions from abroad into the interior of Albania to create new nuclei of armed resistance within the “inaccessible mountains”, completely ignore the situation and present it under a false aspect.

There is no need to increase the work of the nationalist partisans, on the contrary, it is sometimes necessary to moderate it. There is no need to make propaganda in the country against the current regime, since ninety-five percent of the population hates it and yearns to punish those responsible as soon as the hour of the inevitable recovery comes. Numerically, the armed resistance does not feel the need to grow with exiled elements, since its ranks are already sufficient on the spot.

On the contrary, necessities of other forms are needed. It is necessary to maintain the links between the political leaders operating abroad and the group leaders of the resistance, who await information and instructions inside. Since, as has been said at other times, the question of liberation from the Soviet game is neither easy nor devoid of subsequent complications.

An untimely insurrectionary movement could motivate armed interventions from the north and south of the national borders and open the door to worse solutions than the current situation. Enver Hoxha takes credit for it. But we know that today, guarding the Albanian territory, he defends not the borders of his homeland but those of the area of ​​direct influence of Moscow communism. If the hellenic regime and the Tito regime were Comniformists, would he defend them with such ardor? However, the borders are defended even if the contingencies have no roots in the love of homeland of the red rulers of the Albanian state.

This combination makes the activity of nationalist guerrillas and their inspirers abroad cautious. The former want to sacrifice themselves for the ideal of a liberated homeland, not for the interests, albeit currently concomitant, of Western powers. The latter meditate deeply on the future of the small nation and advise caution until the propitious moment for definitive action is clear and precise on the horizon of international politics.

The Albanians, both those wandering on the hard roads of exile and those who await the day of liberation in the oppressed homeland, will not throw the size of their forces into the anti-Communist struggle, modest perhaps, but certainly decided and devoted to extreme sacrifice, unless they will first obtain from the Western powers the official recognition of their country’s independence and the integrity of the national territory.

Preparing for action is duty. But in order to act, the unspeakable rights of the Fatherland must be ensured and guaranteed first and foremost.