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Documents

June 26, 1964

Report on the 1st and 2nd Conference of Non-Aligned Countries

According to this report, the African and Asian countries were not satisfied with the 1st Belgrade conference and were trying to call what is known today as the 2nd non-aligned conference in Bandung. Tito and Nehru also reiterated the need for the 2nd conference of non-aligned countries in order to undermine the attempts of the former in initiating the effort. According to the Western press, Nehru took the initiative and sent his Vice-Foreign Minister, Dinish Sing, to Cairo and Belgrade where he met Nasser and Tito, both of whom were expecting him. Tito called for more participants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. According to Tito’s recommendation, on March 23, 1964, in Colombo, Ceylon, the preparatory meeting was held on the ambassadorial level of Asian, African, and Latin American countries about the upcoming conference. The Soviet Union expressed its support for this conference in Soviet media. The report reveals the following to be discussed topics at the conference: peace, peaceful coexistence, resolution of disputes without the use of force, disarmament, etc. The Albanian government supports the conference of non-aligned countries in principle, but it does not show enthusiasm and avoids promoting the conference in Albania, in the media, and in the international arena. In addition, the report stresses that Albanian diplomats are ordered to follow the Ministry’s guidelines in order to maintain specific policies targeted at each Asian and African country individually.

July 26, 1961

Report on the 1st conference of the non-aligned countries of September 1st, 1961 sent by Tahmaz Beqari, the Albanian ambassador in Belgrade, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

The conference of non-aligned countries in Belgrade was organized when Indonesia and other countries of Asia and Africa were attempting to organize a Second Bandung Conference. Tito and Nehru, trying to minimize the influence of China in the Asian and African countries, initiated a conference that they called the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade. The document discusses the 24 participating countries, the agenda, the proceedings, the different groups among the delegation and the two main documents that the conference adopted: the manifesto and the declaration. The manifesto, titled “The Danger from the War and the Call for Peace,” according to the Albanian ambassador, was adopted in a revisionist spirit, calling on Khrushchev and Kennedy to maintain peace. Meanwhile, the declaration criticized colonialism and imperialism. The Belgrade conference did not decide on any specific issues and did not reach any important conclusions. In Albania, a week after the conference, the journal “Zeri i Popullit” (Voice of the People) wrote an article in which it identified Tito as an agent of imperialism and stated that Yugoslavia was not an non-aligned country as it participated in the Balkan Pact.

September 3, 1961

Telegram from the Albanian ambassador in Belgrade, Tahmaz Beqari, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

The ambassador reports on the proceedings of the Belgrade conference of non-aligned countries, and about the differences and nuances of the stances of various delegations. Except India, Libya, and the United Arab Republic, all delegations were in favor of China’s participation in the United Nations. In addition, Nehru pointed out that colonialism is in agony while the Ghanaian, Cuban, Iraqi, Nepalese and Ethiopian delegations claimed to the contrary. When Dorticós, the Cuban President, began unmasking American imperialism, the diplomats of Western countries left the conference. The diplomats of friendly countries, according to Beqari, called the speeches of the conference “80% positive.”

September 21, 1968

Telegram from Haxhi Lleshi to Gamal Abdel Nasser

This document is a telegram from the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Albania, Haxhi Lleshi, to the President of the United Arab Republic (UAR) Gamal Abdel Nasser. Lleshi declares in the letter that the Albanian government sees the situation in the Mediterranean as insecure. The factors that contribute to this state are the hegemony and forceful policies of the United States and the Soviet Union. He adds that both countries deployed their fleets in the Mediterranean. According to various sources, the Albanian government knows that the belligerent Soviet fleet is deployed in various sea bases in the UAR, a “freedom-loving” country and a friend of Albania. The Albanian people are ready to defend their sovereignty and, especially, their coastline from any aggression. Albania supported the struggle of the Arab people against the Israeli attacks of June 5, 1967. Lleshi expresses confidence that the government of the UAR will not allow the use of its ports as bases for aggressive actions against the People’s Republic of Albania.

May 20, 1969

Letter from Gamal Abdel Nasser sent to Haxhi Lleshi

This document is a letter from the United Arab Republic President Gamal Abdel Nasser to Haxhi Lleshi, the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Council of the People's Republic of Albania. President Nasser appreciates the support of the People’s Republic of Albania for the UAR struggle against imperialism and Zionism. Nasser reveals that the policy of the UAR is based on the principle of non-alignment in order to decrease the chance of hostilities between the two blocs and to increase the prospect of peace. In addition, the UAR objects having foreign bases or foreign troops on its territory and asks for their liquidation elsewhere. In the case of a Soviet ship anchoring at a UAR port, this does not imply that the Soviet Union uses that port as its own base. Nasser also adds that the United States openly supports Israel and its 6th Fleet is a sign of an American guarantee to Israel in its ventures directed against the UAR. On the other hand, the presence of Soviet fleet units in the Mediterranean has hindered the transformation of the region into an American lake. As a consequence, the Soviet presence in the Mediterranean establishes equilibrium there. This document contains both the original Arabic letter and the Albanian translation of the original.

November 14, 1968

Report on a meeting between the Ambassador of the United Arab Republic Gamal Eldin Sabet with Reiz Malile, the Albanian Ambassador to China

This report documents a meeting between the Ambassador of the United Arab Republic (UAR) Gamal Eldin Sabet with Reiz Malile, the Albanian Ambassador to China. The Ambassador declared that there are no Soviet bases in the UAR and that his country would never accept the fact that military sea bases in the UAR would be exploited for aggression against the People’s Republic of Albania, with whom the UAR has friendly relations. Nevertheless, the ambassador stresses that this is his opinion and not the official opinion of the government of the UAR.

June 10, 1961

Telegram from Delo Balili to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

Balili writes that the location of the upcoming conference of non-aligned countries will be a contentious issue for the participants. The UAR and India have proposed Belgrade. This location is supported by the British and Americans.

June 19, 1962

Fifth Official Meeting Between the Delegation of the Albanian Labor Party and the Delegation of the Chinese Communist Party

Albanian leaders Hysni Kapo and Ramiz Alia meet with a Chinese delegation to discuss industrialization in Communist countries, specificallyAlbania's five-year plan. The Albanians complain about being excluded from international meetings of the socialist countries. The Chinese update the Albanians on their position of supporting Jiang Jieshi over the "Two Chinas" objective of the United States and their relations with other countries throughout Asia, while encouraging the Albanians to reach out to the Muslim nations of Africa.