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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 12, 1961

Report on the meeting between Delo Balili, the Albanian ambassador to Cairo, and Raúl Roa

Raúl Roa is the head of the Cuban delegation to the preparatory conference for the upcoming non-aligned countries conference. Roa invited all the diplomats of socialist countries to his mansion for lunch on June 9. He informed the diplomats about the different groups established in the conference concerning their opinions on revisionism. On one hand, was India, Cambodia, Nepal, Burma, Algeria and Yugoslavia. All of them request that there will be no display of anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist spirit at the conference. On the other hand, Cuba, Guinea, Mali, Ghana, Ceylon, and to a certain extent the UAR and Iraq, requested that there should be anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist discourse during the conference. Roa also informed that Belgrade was decided upon to be the location of the conference. At first upon hearing that Belgrade would be the location Roa hesitated, but later he decided to participate in order to create a “left-wing” group with anti-imperialist character in the conference. He received the recommendation for the creation of this group from the Soviet, Chinese and Czech delegations. After the meeting, Malile was informed that Roa has prolonged his stay in Cairo because the Arabs and Indians agreed jointly to make some changes to the conference documents during their printing. Roa intended to stay in order to halt these actions.

June 15, 1961

Telegram from the vice-minister of foreign affairs of Albania, Vasil Nathanalili, to the Albanian embassy in Budapest

The person-in-charge of the Hungarian embassy in Tirana informed Vasil Skorovoti, the Albanian diplomat in the Albanian Foreign ministry, that the Hungarian government wants to consult with the friendly governments of the socialist camp on the proposal to have the same stance on the non-aligned countries conference. The Hungarian government does not approve of the conference, but it thinks that the divisions among the non-aligned countries should be exploited by the socialist bloc in order to change the character of the conference to one of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism. The Hungarian government wants to know the Albanian government’s stance on this issue. The Albanian government asks the Albanian embassy in Budapest to gather information on this issue in order to respond to the Hungarian government as soon as possible.

June 14, 1961

Telegram from Gaqo Paze, the Albanian Ambassador to the GDR, to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Albania

The Chinese ambassador to Berlin expressed to Gaqo Paze that the participation of Cuba in the conference of non-aligned countries, which is to be held in Belgrade, is a positive act because the Cuban representatives will speak out against American imperialism. In addition, the Chinese ambassador said that the act of organizing the conference is not a positive development.

June 6, 1961

Telegram from an official in the Albanian embassy in Beijing Lilo Zeneli to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

Zeneli writes about his meeting with the 2nd Secretary in the Cuban embassy in Beijing who asked Zeneli about his opinion on the conference of non-aligned countries in Belgrade. Zeneli answered that the Albanian government greets any initiative which aims to help the struggle against imperialism and colonialism with the objective of establishing peace. He also declared that Yugoslavia is not a non-aligned state because it participated in the Balkan military pact with Greece and Turkey, both of which are members of NATO. The 2nd Secretary of Cuba expressed his hope that there will be positive results during the conference that would lessen the international tensions between the two blocs.

July 18, 1961

Telegram of Delo Balili, the Albanian ambassador to Cairo, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Balili reports that the Indian ambassador to Cairo had told him that President Nehru would participate personally in the conference of non-aligned countries because the main goal of the conference was to find a formula for rapprochement between the Soviet Union and the United States, and for disarmament in general. According to the Indian ambassador, the disappearance of the issues of colonialism and racial discrimination from the conference documents are not urgent problems. In November, Nehru would meet with Khrushchev and, later with Kennedy.

August 1, 1961

Telegram from Jovan Andoni, an official in the Albanian Embassy in Poland, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania

Andoni reports that the advisor in the Cuban embassy in Warsaw had told him that he has not received any official information from the Cuban government and, according to him, Cuba would not participate in the conference of non-aligned countries in Belgrade.

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 4, 1961

Telegram from the Albanian ambassador in Budapest, Edip Cuci, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Albanian ambassador reports that the Hungarian press published Khrushchev’s message to the Belgrade conference of non-aligned countries and excerpts of different speeches by participants of the conference. Hungarian television showed excerpts from the conference as well.

Pagination