EAGLES' COUNTRY: The Little Land They Are Fighting Over

The devil is not as wicked as people believe, and neither is an Albanian. --Albanian aphorism.

THE tiny nation that Russia and Red China are using to work off their ideological aggressions is tucked away in a remote corner of the Balkans. Its estimated 1,700,000 citizens have the hard choice of living in the malarial swamp-lands of the Adriatic coast or in mountain valleys cut off from everything except the sky by the 6,000-ft. peaks of the Dinaric Alps.

In their own obscure tongue, Albanians call their land Shqiperia (Eagles' Country). In the north live the Ghegs, the tallest men in the Balkans; in the south are the medium-sized Tosks. All Albanians--whether Ghegs or Tosks--have had a bad name among their neighbors. The ancient Greeks cursed them as brigands, the Romans as pirates. But some visitors brought out favorable reports. Englishmen think the Albanians resemble Scots Highlanders, probably because they wear white kilts and have a moody Celtic temperament that inclines them toward always marching off to battle. A less romantic observer, Stalin, thought Albanians "rather backward and primitive," but agreed that "they can be as faithful as a dog."

Albania's favorite national hero is Skanderbeg, a ferocious Turk-fighter of the 15th century. Another Albanian, Mehemet Ali, conquered Egypt, and it took the combined efforts of Britain, France and Czarist Russia to keep him out of Europe by sinking his fleet in 1827. Modern Albania won its independence from Turkey in 1913, and a German princeling named William of Wied was selected by the Great Powers to be its King. William could stand Albania for only six months. Ten years later, Ahmed Bey Zogu, son of a tribal chief, successively became Prime Minister, President and then King. As King Zog, he lasted until 1939, when Mussolini invaded Albania. During the war, the Albanian underground fell under the control of the Communists led by an equally ruthless pair of partisans named Hoxha and Xoxe (pronounced Hoja and Jo-je). In 1949 Hoxha, a firm Stalinist, hanged Xoxe because he inclined toward Tito.

Hoxha has since exterminated or imprisoned about 3% of his fellow countrymen, and has become brash enough to take on Nikita Khrushchev himself. This year he kicked out all Soviet military missions and closed down the Russian submarine base at Valona. The Russians are now replaced by Red Chinese, who seem to represent the kind of an ally Albanians like best--one that is 3,000 miles away.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.