WITH FULL POWERS, OVER EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING Workers’ control is also a powerful weapon against bureaucratism. Through its direct control, the working class truly governs its own state; from this stems Lenin’s assessment of trade unions as schools of socialist experience. Therefore, the Party calls on the trade unions to take this matter firmly in hand and set workers’ control in motion, so that the working class, through its own organization, can fight even more effectively to strengthen people’s power and advance socialist victories. “It is the duty of the Party and, in particular, of the Trade Unions,” Comrade Ramiz Alia emphasized at the 9th Plenum of the Party’s CC, “to ensure that this irreplaceable weapon in the struggle against bureaucratism, favoritism, embezzlement, arrogance and various injustices is given the necessary strength. And this can be done only if workers’ control is granted full powers, over everyone and everything, just as it was conceived when it was first put into action.” Formal restrictions and so-called rules have in fact become an obstacle to workers’ control operating effectively. Clinging to them, inflating and fetishizing them, the bureaucracy has in reality confined workers’ control within regulations and lists, within “objects” and “authorizations”—things that bring to light the concepts and practices that have obstructed its operation. In particular, some cadres “advise” that workers’ control deal with certain economic matters concerning the implementation of plans; others suggest that in every case workers’ control should “get permission from the Party secretary,” or “inform the director in advance,” “draw up a work plan” and “prepare lists,” and so on and so forth. The workers themselves call these attempts by bureaucrats to shore up restrictions on workers’ control, so that it is not exercised as the Party demands: “Over everyone and everything.” When workers’ control went to the administration of the NPA in Elbasan, it refused to be inspected by it, through bureaucratic action. In Zone “D” of the Bulqiza mine, workers’ control dismissed two cultural workers for pronounced incompetence. But immediately, pressure on workers’ control began, from the managers and from some comrades in the Party organization. Workers’ control gave the accurate and clear reply: “We did not reach our conclusions by hearsay. Why didn’t you come when the collective gathered to hear the workers’ control report?” In Pogradec, workers’ control, organized in the trade sector, demanded that it put problems and tasks before the people whom trade workers serve. But some leapt up in protest: “Why before the people and the collective?” Naturally, they backed down! When workers take action, problems that have dragged on for days, weeks and months are solved in a short time. This spirit must be introduced into every workers’ control group. It does not “hold discussions” or leave one set of minutes after another; it acts, corrects and punishes. It identifies shortcomings in working and living conditions. Without entering the labyrinths of bureaucratic appearances, and with the sense of responsibility that the working class possesses, it sets deadlines for solving problems and demands a full accounting for underestimation and those responsible for it, whether they are in a brigade, a department, an enterprise, an executive committee or a ministry. The scope of workers’ control stems from the tasks facing the working class in removing every obstacle and difficulty that arises at work and in the wider sphere. Every trade-union organization knows where work is getting stuck and does not need someone from above to “recommend” the subject for workers’ control. Every instance of workers’ control arises from a need of the day, from a concern and necessity of the day. It expresses the will and the most advanced thinking of the working class. Therefore, those who make it up must be the most capable, the most honest, the most militant. If people accustomed to comfortable corners are brought into workers’ control, that is how they will conduct it. Everything alien to proletarian morality must be subjected to the force of the working class’s action— obstacle to the effective operation of workers’ control. By in effect confined workers’ control to regulations and lists, to “objects” and “authorizations” that actually weaken it, bureaucratize it and blunt its effectiveness. Workers’ control groups have often been stripped of decision-making powers, while the object of their scrutiny has become not the administration or the bureaucracy, but rather the working class—and mainly its formal discipline. Instead of taking action themselves, they produced papers, lists and inspection reports, which often remained on paper even after being written. After the 9th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee, workers’ control has been reinvigorated. In Tirana, at the Elbasan Metallurgical Combine and at the Banja hydroelectric power plant, workers’ control groups have, in a short time, brought long-stalled issues to resolution. As the work proceeds, a healthier outlook and a fuller understanding of the need for and purpose of control are also taking shape. The working class is deeply interested in ensuring that its control is exercised everywhere and over everything. Thousands of workers took part in a mass consultation on this issue organized over the course of a week by the General Council of the BPSH. The Party’s directive on organizing workers’ control is extremely important, especially in the country’s present development, when a more determined struggle is needed against bureaucratism and liberalism, and against alien attitudes toward property, work and proletarian morality. In action and discussion, people’s views on workers’ control are coming to light. “In Pogradec, the workers’ control group organized in trade demanded that the problems and tasks be brought before the people whom trade employees serve. But some shifted the responsibility: ‘Why before the people and not before the collective?’ Naturally, those who are afraid to face the people they serve are schemers, idlers and backward. Workers’ control demands that everyone account for their work, that everyone link their livelihood and well-being to their work and sweat, and to the contribution they make through control to building socialism and serving the people. Workers’ control would be highly effective if it operated independently, for a limited period, and with as much participation as necessary. For example, in Tirana it would be enough to select 100 of the most devoted and enlightened workers—people from different professions, dependable and serious—to exercise firm control wherever the situation needs to be changed and put right. Wherever workers’ control is present, the wind of socialist democracy must blow. Workers themselves know where the problems and concerns lie, where the obstacles and delays come from, and who puts their own comfort above the momentum of the workforce. They themselves are able to offer the best, most convincing, most practical and most comprehensive solutions. That is why their views must be heard and, when they are not, they should “bang their fists on the table.” This must not happen as in Elbasan, where, while workers’ control at the metallurgical combine was confronting certain NFP employees with their responsibilities, others handed out appraisal forms to these employees at various levels, to whom workers’ control had been assigned. situation needs to be changed and put right. To resolve these problems as fully as possible, control must have decision-making powers and be fully empowered. “But won’t the workers’ control group place itself above the collective?” some worry. It cannot place itself above the collective, because the professional organization itself chooses its best people for control. They act not only with the mandate of the class, but also with the “opinion of the class.” They do not shut themselves away in offices; they discuss and consult everything with the workers, and “will ultimately submit it to the collective’s test,” in small discussions or full meetings. In this way, mature opinions and sound decisions are ensured. In this way, the masses’ confidence in this powerful action of the class grows. One cannot call it genuine workers’ control if it merely observes, assigns a few tasks and leaves, thinking: “Well, now do as you please, as best you can.” The revitalization of workers’ control, and its elevation to the level of the mission the working class has in socialist society, require very broad and profound work in understanding, organization and action. As the Party has stressed and the 9th Plenum decided, it must be comprehensive, without gaps and decisive.

The special feature of this winter: it is among the driest of the past 40 years. Temperatures are reaching over 23°C, the highest in the past 200 years for periods like this. We are doing worse than last year in ploughing the land. In some places they say there is no superphosphate; elsewhere, no fuel. These delays show that the value of getting an early start is being forgotten, even though this year nature has given it to us as a gift. Apparently, the seasons have become badly mixed up. Two months ago, on the eve of New Year, an article about spring in Vrinë was published. Two months later, one could say that summer has arrived. Only tradition keeps people from putting away their winter clothes. We climbed the steps of the Hydrometeorological Institute with a sense of curiosity about this untimely heat. The corridors and the director’s office are cool, but from what he and Myzejen Borici, head of the climatology section, tell us, we can see how the situation is taking shape in the charts, through the figures. Here are some extracts from the extensive information we receive: this year’s winter (October–February) is among the driest of the past 40 years. Precipitation during these months has been 10–30 percent below the long-term average. Here is one figure from January 1990: Pogradec recorded the lowest precipitation, 1 mm of rain; Shkodër the highest, 66 mm of rain (!). The long-term average for Pogradec is 78 mm; the highest is in Gjirokastër: 280 mm. That is a huge difference, ranging from 77 to 214 mm. We all feel it too in the low flow of the rivers. This winter has seen a significant decline. Only the Vjosa now has 30 percent less water than the long-term average. Except in the Alpine region, where snowfall has been at the normal level, it has been almost 50 days without rain everywhere. Temperatures are going above like this, as has been recorded in neighboring countries. February normally has temperatures between 5 and 15°C. But we are used to seeing figures at zero, and frost. Those who planted tomatoes, potatoes and other crops early have had reason to regret it. This year, February is turning the calendar’s final pages without our having felt a single day of February weather. These, then, are a few extracts from the extensive information at the Hydrometeorological Institute; everywhere one finds comparisons with June—a hot, dry, real June in the month of February. Let us also mention this fact: —High temperatures mean more evaporation. That means rain in the future. Perhaps March will bring a lot of precipitation. Everyone who works with river water, soil and air temperatures, humidity and drought draws conclusions. They draw further conclusions, and either cope with these conditions or benefit from them. We think about this as we walk toward the Ministry of Agriculture (we are not stopping at the directorates or the energy sector). We have meanwhile learned of facts such as these: the Lushnjë district planted 1,200 hectares of sunflower in one week. It could have planted another 600 hectares of alfalfa. It could have, but... It did not plant it because superphosphate was missing. And perhaps by the time it arrives, rain will be missing. That’s how it is... (Continued on page 2)

In Peshkopi, last autumn, we noted an event in our notebook because of what made it so unusual. Just two months after Bardhyl Bardulla and Natasha Mazari got engaged, they were told to get ready for their wedding. “But haven’t we set the date for a year from now?! What about the preparations, the invitations for the wedding guests, what about...!” It was a special occasion. A relative had come from among their friends. “When I came the previous time,” he said, “I saw all the good things because I had come. I told my mother too. She cried. She was happy and her longing was eased. There was only one wish I couldn’t fulfill: I wanted to see a wedding in Albania. We had weddings too. We have kept our customs. We take the bride with a flag. When they return, the wedding party and the bride take a different road... Perhaps you no longer do that, but we have kept that custom from the time of the priests. The wedding took place, and I saw a wedding in Albania—back in Albania, I think I saw all the good things you have: the celebrations, the customs, the language and the songs. It was my mother’s dying wish. She told me that what you see at a wedding, you cannot see even if you spend a year in Albania...” As the wedding unfolded at its own pace, we were struck by the fact that Flore Toska only began the songs. Izet Hasani and Afrim Lleshi, and then the groom and bride too, were in every room. Perhaps more than in any other region, weddings in Dibër are a small festival of dances. Pogoni, Devolli, Golloborda, Kukës, Central Albania—all the dances are performed, from South to North. This too is a sign of unity. At a wedding, the celebration itself is there.

Anyone who spends even one night at the hotel in Bulqiza will get to know Beglia, who welcomes and farewells the guests arriving in this mining town. She stands there by the hotel door. “Those who are speaking loudly must have done well with the chrome today,” she says. But sometimes some come in slowly, heads bowed, and enter the restaurant like that. Even this is enough for Mother Beglia to understand how things have gone for them. She feels distressed by one person’s troubles and rejoices at another’s smiling eyes. Look, right there in front of her, on the promenade, Xhevzat Elezi, Hero of Socialist Labour, throws his arms around a teacher, Sejfulla Kata. “Where have you been, Xhevzat, that you’re embracing him like that?” Mother Beglia says, almost to herself. The teacher too is taken aback by the embrace. “Chrome, chrome... two months of hard work and he’s set!” Xhevzat cannot contain himself. His eyes smile, and so do Mother Beglia’s. Someone, a young man who has just arrived, asks her about the town, and then about her impressions. “In ’93, Mother is due to retire. I think I’ll be leaving with a debt. This hotel keeps going up by thousands of lek. When I passed through two months ago, I think it was 1,000 lek here. Bulqiza grows every day. And I think that more and more Albania and Albania and where Albania and the other Albania is in the—see everything. Where have I turned...” When even Beqia Uka feels indebted, others should feel even more so—for a beautiful playground for children, and for all the things a growing town of miners like Bulqiza needs... FRANO ÇAKA

ONE OF THE DAY’S INTERNATIONAL EVENTS Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel is in Moscow, one week after a bilateral agreement was reached on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of this Eastern European country. Havel’s arrival in Moscow coincided with the departure of the first unit of 31 tank crew members from Northern Moravia. This backdrop of developments also determined the focus of the Gorbachev–Havel talks and the statement that followed them, as well as the meeting between the foreign ministers, Shevarnadze and Dinstabl. The latter two also ratified the agreement on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia. Problems concerning economic, trade and political ties, as well as European developments in general, were secondary to the sensitive issue of the Soviet presence in this country—a presence that, for Czechoslovakia in particular, evokes a bitter and tragic event: the 1968 invasion. The Albanian government, like all progressive European and world opinion, strongly condemned the invasion of Czechoslovakia. The entry of Soviet troops constituted open interference in the internal affairs of this country and a violation of its independence and sovereignty. This proved the correctness of the Albanian position. The withdrawal of Soviet troops, which the Czechoslovak people had continually demanded, will also have a positive effect on reducing tension on the European continent. It was pressure from below by the Czechoslovak people that led to the agreement to end the Soviet presence in the country. Such a demand was forcefully expressed at many mass rallies and protests in Czechoslovakia in recent times. Thousands of people insisted on it to Havel before his departure for Moscow, urging him to reach concrete conclusions in his talks with Gorbachev. The agreement ratified by Shevarnadze and Dinstabl, which the USSR has declared it accepts and will implement, will be carried out in three phases. (Apparently, Moscow requested the phases and their duration in order to guide the transition to the new ‘military vacuum’ that will emerge in Czechoslovakia or other Eastern European countries after the Soviet withdrawal.) Under the agreement, most Soviet military forces will leave by May 31 of this year; the second phase will complete the withdrawal by December 31, 1990; and the final phase, as Radio Moscow reports, will end on July 1, 1991. SHKELQIM BEQARI

Outstanding worker at the Fier SMT, Mario Papuçiu, is praised for the quality of his work. (Photo: N. Xhufka)

The 69th volume of Comrade Enver Hoxha’s Works has come off the press and been released. This volume includes speeches, discussions, conversations and notes from the period December 1978–February 1979, some of which are being published for the first time. Of particular interest here are the comments at the 6th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania, “In the struggle to carry out the plan, let us strengthen control over the implementation of tasks”; the discussion on the Political Bureau Albania, “Before the people, the leaders of the Party and state power are responsible for failures to meet targets”; the remarks on the measures concerning “Propaganda and the Party’s work in mobilizing people in the district and at the grassroots”; and the conversations “Propaganda and the Party’s work in encouraging people to think and take the lead at work,” etc. This volume also reflects and scientifically analyzes a number of current international issues closely connected with the tasks facing our people, so that they may understand them properly and live with the circumstances. The volume is supplied with an index. (ATA)

— National conference of school youth science clubs — The Central Committee of the Albanian Labour Youth Union, in cooperation with the Korçë District Youth Committee, organized the First National Conference of school youth science clubs at the “Raqi Qirinxhi” general secondary school in the city. Members of science clubs from the country’s secondary schools and activists of the orga- (Continued on page 3)

IN BRIEF • The lumberjacks of Pukë have so far produced goods worth nearly 500,000 lekë over plan. • After several years of failing to meet targets, the staff of the fish-catching enterprise in Sarandë has exceeded its winter-season targets. • Every day, around 300 hectares of wheat are hoed in the district of Shkodër. • By exceeding its daily target by 1,500 eggs, the district of Krujë now produces twice as much as during the same period last year. (According to ATSH)