International scientific conference "Albanian political emigration in the years 1944-1990"
Tirana, February 19, 2020 – The Authority for Information on Documents of the Former State Security, in cooperation with the Institute of History at the Academy of Albanological Studies, the Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism, the Institute for the Integration of Former Political Persecuted Persons, the National Historical Museum, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Europe, is organizing the international scientific conference on the topic “Albanian Political Emigration in the Years 1944-1990”. The conference and exhibition on emigration will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. near the “Shpataraku” hall, on the premises of the National Historical Museum. The activities are open to the media.
On the 30th anniversary of democratic changes in the country, the conference on political emigration focuses on the history, events, strategies and life dynamics of personalities of the time, treated through the focus of archival documents, a good part of which have been declassified for this purpose.
The exhibition with archival materials of AIDSSH and MEPJ and the opening ceremony are held in the presence of scholars, researchers, representatives of human rights associations, national universities and students, public and non-governmental institutions, representatives of the diplomatic corps and international organizations.
AIDSSH will exhibit numerous previously unopened archival documents, such as statistical overviews of fugitives, management and search files for fugitives and declassified persons, registers of persons attempting to escape, and photo albums of fugitives, belonging to various cities of the country. The archival materials belong to a rich fund on political emigration, part of which has been made available to researchers, including embassy events, the history of the Popa family, and files on fugitives.
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in this exhibition with declassified archival evidence, will present facts on the position of the Albanian state towards the activity of the so-called "reactionary emigration" abroad, the "Free Albania" Committee, a geographical map of its distribution, propaganda and counter-propaganda prepared for use in any situation, the old political emigration and the addition of its ranks with other fugitives from Albania. The original authentic documents will be presented for the first time, after their declassification.
Archival exhibitions and conferences on political emigration shed light on a surveilled and persecuted Albania, and pave the way for scientific research and in-depth studies on files and issues widely discussed over the years.
The work for the conference has been underway for months and dozens of Albanian and foreign scholars have responded to the call to participate. The evaluation committee selected a portion of the papers, organizing them into panels of scientific research and memory. During this time, the scholars have had the opportunity to use the inventories, files, statistics and various archival materials made available by AIDSSH or other archives and, through research and scientific objectivity, to enable an expanded treatment of political emigration during the years of dictatorship.
In Albania, the regime's top leaders considered Albanian political emigrants as "traitors to the homeland", due to the positions they held during World War II and their open opposition to the totalitarian regime established in Albania. In emigration, many of them became prominent voices in academic and social life and did not stop raising their voices against Albanian totalitarianism, but also for the Albanian national issue. In international institutions such as the UN, Amnesty International, the European Parliament, the US Senate, or the Council of Europe, letters and petitions were sent from time to time by individuals or organizations of the Albanian political emigration, in which concern was expressed about various issues related to Albania and Albanians.
Currently, the AIDSSH archive preserves and administers a variety of archival documents that contain and process information and data about Albanian political emigration, fugitives abroad, sabotage groups, various political organizations created by Albanian emigration in Europe, the United States of America and other countries. These documents consist of reports, statistics and information on the activity of Albanian emigration in various countries, reports and reports on gangs and sabotage groups that operated mainly in Yugoslavia, etc., reports and statistics on fugitives, data and files on political and economic emigrants, etc.
The documents are estimated to be approximately 90 thousand files and folders and belong to the period 1944-1991; a good part of them are made public for the first time to citizens and researchers, being discussed at this conference.
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AIDSSH bases its work on important principles of memory, which place historical memory at the foundation of the identity and heritage of individuals and communities, such as presenting different perspectives; avoiding deterministic expressions: avoiding generalizations; treating historical figures as individuals; ensuring a genuine historical basis; using academic-level knowledge as sources, where each content must be confronted and discussed with recognized and certified academics for specific and appropriate knowledge.
Based on these principles, scientific research and professional confrontation of facts, the Authority continues to undertake projects that focus on the reexamination of history, its reassessment, the rehabilitation of victims, resistance in personalities and communities, and encourage social dialogue, in the name of transparency and the consolidation of democracy.
