Uprising in Albania

by Lynn Walsh, March 1997

 


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Contents
 

 
The Collapse of Albanian Stalinism

From 1992 until recently, the Western capitalist powers gave every support to Berisha, turning a blind eye to his dictatorial methods and the corruption permeating his regime. The capitalist Democratic Party, led by Berisha, was an ideal political battering ram to pulverise the old state apparatus and shatter the state-controlled economy. Although profoundly shaken by the collapse of the other Stalinist regimes, especially by the bloody overthrow of Ceausescu, the leaders of the Albanian Party of Labour (the Communist Party) under Ramiz Alia clung tenaciously to power, even while they were compelled to concede some economic and political reforms. For a while, they were able to rely on the inertia of the rural population, especially in the South. Albania was the most economically backward and isolated of all the European Stalinist states. Hoxha's repressive, autarkic policies had induced an extremely claustrophobic political and cultural climate. The shattering of Stalinism appeared to be taking longer in Albania, and the Western powers were eager to accelerate the process. Berisha's Democratic Party was their vehicle.

The Stalinist transformation

In the closing stages of the second world war, Albania was liberated from the retreating Nazi forces by the mass partisan movement, led by the Albanian Communist Party. There were no Soviet forces in Albania. The social transformation, with a radical land reform, nationalisation trade and industry, and the formation a totalitarian state apparatus on the Stalinist model were carried through by indigenous forces. The Albanian Communist Party was supported by the Yugoslav Communist Party, but Tito's demand for Albania to be incorporated into the Yugoslav Federation led to a breach between Hoxha and Tito. When the Soviet-Yugoslav schism developed, Hoxha aligned with Stalin and received aid from the USSR. When Khrushchev launched "de-Stalinisation" and pursued rapprochement with the capitalist West and Yugoslavia, Hoxha then aligned himself with Mao Zedong and increasingly began to emulate the Maoist model. Hoxha presided over a brutally repressive totalitarian regime, almost completely isolated even from the other Stalinist states.

Given the previous economic backwardness of the country, the state-controlled development during the 1950s and 1960s of electricity, industry and mineral resources produced significant economic progress. The radical land reform, with the sharing out of the estates between the peasants, gave the regime a strong base. Between the mid-1950s and the mid-1960s, the regime raised the level of literacy, health, education, and general living standards. In the late 1950s, however, the bureaucratic collectivisation of the land into state-controlled "co-operatives" brought serious disruption of agriculture and left a legacy of food shortages later. Moreover, the bureaucratic economic command structure and the 1950s-technology of major industries meant that they became increasingly obsolete during the 1970s. The breach with China, when Bejing opened relations with US imperialism and the Yugoslav regime, resulted in the termination of Chinese aid to Albania in 1978, which led to a marked economic slowdown and mounting social problems. In 1990-91 Albania was still a predominantly agricultural country, with a per capita income of around $850, that is on the same level as many African countries.

The collapse of Hoxha's regime

Hoxha maintained total personal power until his death in 1985. In 1981 he had purged his main henchman and security boss, Mehemet Shehu, who appears to have been arguing for a turn to the West for aid. On Hoxha's death, Ramiz Alia took over and made cautious moves towards decentralisation and liberalisation. Events in Eastern Europe after 1989, however, and especially the sudden, violent overthrow of Ceausescu in Rumania, compelled the APL to move towards real changes. In November 1989 the regime released some political pressures, relaxed cultural controls and promised economic reforms and higher standards.

In the Spring of 1990 there was a massive wave of strikes and demonstrations. There was a deep slump in the economy and no sign of the promised prosperity. The regime used the security forces to violently disperse mass demonstrations and the Sigurimi (secret police) intensified its repressive activity against all the regime's opponents. The APL leadership promised further reforms, including bonuses for workers, greater decentralisation of economic management, and more food and consumer goods. Freedom of religion was conceded and Alia promised choice of candidates in future elections. Nevertheless, Alia still rejected the idea of a multi-party system, claiming it was not appropriate for Albania.

Mass demonstrations continued during the Summer of 1990. APL hard-liners were removed from the party leadership, but Alia's half-hearted concessions only reinforced the protest movement. Thousands began to leave the country for Italy or Greece, a flight which culminated in the mass exodus of January-March 1991. The mass protest movement against the regime intensified in December 1990, and on 11 December Alia was forced to concede the legalisation of parties for the forthcoming elections. The government ordered the removal of Stalin's statue from Tirana's main square.

 
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