Ismail Kadare speaks up about the letter to Enver Hoxha

Writer Ismail Kadare has spoken aloud and as a figure about the numerous controversy that caused his publication of a letter, sent dictator Enver Hoxha to his sister of Albanian letters.

In an interview with Annie Vasili's Open Studio show, Kadare said that letter is the only one he wrote in the address of the absolute dictator, as he named Enver Hoxha. Kadare himself says that the letter was written by his hand but was a real shame to save the sister's life. Kadare says that he does not personally know the person who published this letter (Ilir Demaliyaj, known for the events in the 1990s) at embassies in Tirana.

INT ERVISTA:

Let's start with a letter recently published in the press about your sister, a letter addressed to the leader. Can you tell us more about this?

But I've been looking for years to open secret archives and I remember a famous French critic, who is known as the world's number one communist expert, the author of the book that can be found in Albanian “The black book of Communism” has a encyclopedia of Communist dictatorships; it interviewed me and asked: Mr. Did you think very hard about looking for this opening of the archives, that it happens that man leaves a trace everywhere, and maybe you left a document that you wouldn't want to open. And I told him in reply that I thought this very well, and I'm not just out of my mind to forget such big things. He told me it was a lovely attitude for me, and he published this.

When I published it here in Albania 5-6 years ago, a lot of people have gone through the archives that they thought they'd see what we have to do to get us out. And that's the only letter I've been making over 40 years, Enver Hoxha. There's another one, and I repeat today to you: There's no other letter that I've been addressing the absolute leader, the absolute Albanian tyrant over 40 years, is just this. This letter was written by my hand, because when I asked to make a letter to Enver Hoxha, his secretary said to me: Comrade Kadare has certain conditions he has and you must accept them. You need to write it in your hand, not keep copies, not leave copies anywhere, and leave no trace anywhere of this letter. And I wrote the letter with my hand, and I believed this, that I thought dictatorships didn't have any superhuman power to verify things, but I thought they checked maybe everything. And I saw the letter now when it was published in the Albanian press.

You remember first?

I remembered it as a letter. Sometimes Elena, my wife, in her memories she said that I made a letter because of my sister, because I was officially called to the Central Committee to inform me that my sister has been investigated by state security for years. And I, as the famous writer, of the “privileged” according to some, had to know that, and possibly be aware of that.

Before we talk about the details of the letter, how do you think it was printed? Who owned this letter?

This is the shame of our country today, which this continues. It's been weeks, the man who pulled it out doesn't know what it is, one says the former security agent, the other says it's a punk, the other adventurer, others we don't know. But where this man came from, and how he got it out.

You've come up with your idea of this?

No, I don't. This man has issued this letter with condemned ways, from people who once violated state laws. The secret service of a perfect dictatorial country in the worst sense. As I first told you, I had no right to keep copies for myself. This came out of the essence of the secret of the dictatorship and I don't know what this country does that doesn't explain it. He can't explain it.

What do you think is the purpose of this publication, this letter? Why now?

This letter from one point of view is without great meaning, that it tells me nothing. On the contrary, I'd say, maybe I'm not overreacting, it's a favor. This letter indicates that one of my family was investigated day and night by State Security. I write there that's something the state told me your sister is in constant observation. Don't take me for pride, but at that time I was the best-known Albanian writer in and out of the country, and a family member of mine was begging day and night. And I told him that it affects my whole life, my control, my daily work. And looking, I don't shout in the sky about why I get this shame or not, but I just wanted to say that you should know that this investigation is happening with me. I need to know why it's done. Does that bother me in my life or not?

Did you feel threatened by this investigation of your life for your work?

I don't know what to say, that at the time there were such dangers and that man shouldn't abuse this. All men have been endangered. It's not a breakthrough I made because they told me. It was a warning they gave me. Maybe they themselves now remember whether they are in this world or not. I don't know, I'm clear. It's a mystery that covers the work of this letter. She doesn't even touch me in my biography, she does nothing to me. What I have in charge of my sister being elected by state security. My sister and I also obeyed, and imagine how much I was begging myself. From this investigation, that group that belonged to my sister, and was arrested almost entirely, one of the women died in prison, and no one's making an investigation today, even though it should have been done. There were four or five women, one died in prison, others were released. God knows when, you know what happened to them, they were tortured. My sister is what's been spared because she's my sister. It was a very bitter thing, very sad, but that wasn't seriously taken with him.

Do you hold Albania's future hostage? This kind of past, unbroken, well-showed, manipulated.

Of course she's holding him hostage. Anything secret that is related to the crimes of a tyrant keeps a series of hostages, and in Albania there are many hostages that we screme think, kept by this thing. There are activities, people, secret currents that still abound, that we don't know where the source is, of course, is kept hidden.