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It was inevitable that Mrs. Nexhmije Hoxha, the widow of Albania’s communist dictator, would avoid interviews after her release from prison. What she did for the press in this interview was a kind of tendency that seemed to stem from an instinct to protect her husband and, perhaps even more, her comrade-in-arms. While this may be considered normal, Mrs. Hoxha’s statements are not at all convincing. Among other things, she said that Hoxha should not be blamed for everything that had been done, since he did not know about or agree with the abolition of religion, the banning of the 11th Festival, and so on. In this way, Hoxha’s widow seems still to live with the old illusion, widespread among some Albanians, that “Enver knows nothing about the injustices.” This concept was summed up in the proverb, “The water is clear at the top and becomes muddy below.” But Mrs. Hoxha must not forget the essence of communist rule in Albania, its governing philosophy. Given how the system built by E. Hoxha was structured and how it functioned, Mrs. Hoxha’s attempts to relieve her husband of the burden of the monstrous crimes committed during his rule are hardly convincing to those hearing them today. It seems that even the people closest to Enver Hoxha lived in fear, haunted by dreams that the next day they might be exposed as foreign agents and then end up before a firing squad. Among other things, Mrs. Hoxha “revealed” that “Enver had not agreed with the abolition of religion.” It is known that religion was abolished in 1967, more or less when the so-called “Cultural Revolution” began in China. Hoxha, whose main principle was to imitate his great allies, launched in Albania what was called the “revolutionization of the country’s life,” as part of which he declared a crusade against God. He, and he alone, was the author of the closure of places of worship, and even children in Albania know this. Even if Mrs. Hoxha may have been affected by senility, all she needs to do is open the photo albums to see how Enver imitated his temporary idols in the way he dressed. In Stalin’s time he dressed in military uniform; during Khrushchev’s period he wore a republican cap, replacing it with a military cap during his flirtation with Mao Zedong. On the other hand, even if the idea that “Enver knew nothing” about the evils committed might be acceptable, it is absolutely impossible to accept that he “knew nothing” about the execution of his closest associates and the exile of their families. The other way to make Mrs. Hoxha’s claim—that many things were done without Enver’s knowledge—credible would be for her to accept as true the claims circulating especially after 1973 that the dictator was mentally unwell. But Hoxha does not seem to suffer from senility or mental problems. She has communicated with the Albanian and foreign press, spoken clearly, and demonstrated memory and logic in the statements she made. Her attempt to defend the statements being made has been exposed in broad daylight; there is very little chance it will gain traction with public opinion. Moreover, adopting the “lack of information” version, still widely used by Enverists today, is cynical coming from a person who knew better than anyone else just how well-informed the man at the heart of Albanian communism was about everything happening in the country called Albania. Now that she is past 75, Nexhmije Hoxha should be more honest with herself and others. Since she no longer risks going to prison, she can allow herself to tell some truths that history is taking from her lips. In her capacity as a witness and, why not, as an accomplice too. GAVROSH LEVONJA

Bashkim Driza shows the chart of his bank deposits Photo: G. Shkullaku Bashkim Driza shows the chart of his bank deposits. Photo: G. Shkullaku

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