— Greeting from the General Council of the BGSH on the occasion of March 8 — Dear comrades, mothers, sisters, Today our beautiful homeland is filled with a joyful, popular celebration. We are celebrating March 8, International Women’s Solidarity Day, the beautiful holiday of women, which has now become dear to every family and to our entire society. On this occasion, the General Council of the BGSH greets all the women of our country—workers, peasants, intellectuals, veterans and pensioners—and wishes you new joys and victories on the glorious road along which the Party leads us, with Comrade Ramiz Alia at its head. This March 8 finds the women of Albania stronger than ever, a fist of steel and ranks closed around the Party, with a more consolidated personality and a high sense of responsibility and dignity. The revolutionary situation that has arisen throughout our country, full of inspiration and all-round mobilization to put into practice the historic decisions of the 9th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee, has sent women with renewed strength into the work of construction throughout the homeland. Everywhere, the Albanian woman’s rare qualities have come to the fore as never before: her outstanding patriotism, her indomitable spirit, and her profound human feelings, which make her a passionate fighter for the cause of the Party, the Homeland and socialism. Our women and mothers are ... Albanian women forged ahead fearlessly and, surrounded by the care of all society, became an important force throughout the life of the country, esteemed, respected and full of dignity. That is why she has devoted herself to socialism and, with unshakable faith in the Party and its high ideals, fights to solve the problems posed by the times and to further revolutionize the life of the country. Everywhere, in work collectives and workplaces, women, shoulder to shoulder with their comrades, have joined revolutionary movements and initiatives to turn the final year of the 8th Five-Year Plan into a year of general offensive, making the great objectives of the Party’s 9th Congress a reality: further strengthening the economy and achieving new victories on the road to socialism. The tasks concerning the fate of the Homeland and socialism are great everywhere, and women bear a special burden and responsibility in the family and in society. Let a woman’s warm words inspire the younger generation, like a mother’s counsel and advice, to nurture the healthy shoots of this soil and prepare generations of sons and daughters, devoted fighters of the revolution. The sense of responsibility that accompanies us on every front of work and production is also present today throughout our activity as social activists. There is an even greater upsurge among the members of our organization, who are increasingly active in addressing the problems of the times, so that they may respond to every situation with their high political views, their ranks firmly closed around the Party, united in thought and action. Dear comrades, March 8 this year coincides with the 80th anniversary of this event. It has become a lasting symbol of women’s struggle and efforts for freedom and democracy, in defense of legitimate demands for a more truly human life, where capitalist exploitation, terror and violence, drugs that take children’s lives, and all the accompanying ills of the capitalist system are brought to an end. We greet all progressive and revolutionary women everywhere in the world, expressing our profound solidarity with their just struggle for democracy and freedom. We greet all Albanian women, our compatriots wherever they may be, who preserve their pure love for the motherland: Happy March 8, the beloved holiday of women. Every March 8 has its own special significance, because each year brings new achievements in every field. Our wish for this March 8 is: “Let us achieve unprecedented advances in this final year of the 8th Five-Year Plan.” These warm words come from our hearts and express all our victories. They are brought among us by the optimism of the days we are living, and by faith in the future toward which we march with complete confidence and happiness, along the road on which our glorious Party leads us. ... [The beginning is truncated] women throughout the homeland. The rare qualities of Albanian women have come to the fore as never before: their outstanding patriotism, their indomitable spirit, and their profound human feelings, which make them ardent fighters Our women and mothers are bound to socialism as flesh is to bone, because they are better able than anyone to see and appreciate its benefits. On the road to socialism, guided by the teachings of the Party and of our dear and unforgettable leader, Comrade Enver Hoxha, the woman ... [The beginning is truncated] of this land, to prepare entire of work and production is present today in all our activity as social activists as well. Greater vitality can be seen in the life of the BGSH organizations, so that they may better fulfil their role as channels for the voice of the masses, strengthen and expand their ties with working women in the city and the countryside, and avoid every manifestation of formalism, officialdom, and bureaucratism, in order to make them

— Comrade Ramiz Alia holds a warm discussion with a group of distinguished workers from the capital — Yesterday, Comrade Ramiz Alia held a warm discussion with a group of distinguished workers from various sectors of the capital’s economy in one of the halls of the Palace of Congresses. He listened to the workers’ views on the importance of the guidelines and and on the efforts the working class is making to understand them fully and implement them resolutely. Through their mature views and work experience, the workers stressed the correctness of the Party’s line and offered valuable suggestions for strengthening the implementation of the directives in the struggle against bureaucratism and routine. They expressed unwavering confidence that the Party’s word would be made reality, because it is the word of the working class itself, the life of the people and the country’s future. The Party’s leading role in its line and policy, combined with the thought and implementing strength of the working masses, the workers stressed, is the unshakable basis of the moral unity of our socialist society. Comrade Ramiz Alia expressed his particular satisfaction and thanked the workers, on behalf of the Party, for what they had said, for their optimism and readiness to work and innovate. This, Comrade Ramiz said, is vital for the work of the Party and the country’s progress, because the workers’ thinking is the line of the masses; it is democracy in action. This is precisely the essence of the guidelines and tasks of the 9th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee. Now, Comrade Ramiz Alia emphasized, the main thing is for the line of the masses and the democratization of the country’s life to be implemented concretely and in reality everywhere, throughout all areas of social life: in production and administration, in the work of the Party and the government, in social organizations and the cultural sphere, in town and countryside. Formalism and superficial work weaken the force of the Party’s directives, feed the harmful psychology of [unclear], and are in open contradiction with the very essence of the demands of the 9th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee and the vital interests of the working class and working peasantry. The working class, Comrade Ramiz stressed, must more fully assume its role as the vanguard in the struggle to democratize the life of the country and dismantle bureaucratic barriers. It is the decisive force in the country’s entire political and social life, in the development of production and technical progress, in the struggle to raise living standards and strengthen the defense of the homeland. Comrade Ramiz Alia further pointed out that in Albania the questions of independence, national sovereignty and socialism are closely linked. Without socialism there can be no independence and freedom for the homeland, and without freedom and independence there can be no socialism, no progress in the interests of the broad working masses. If we have said that the life of our people has changed fundamentally and achieves new victories every day, this is directly connected with the fact that Albania advances resolutely along the road of socialism and has been and remains a free and sovereign country, which has advanced and will continue to advance by relying on its own forces. This development and progress are determined by the Party’s leading role, its close ties with the working masses, and the implementing force of the decisions jointly made by the Party and the people. Also present at this meeting was Comrade Pirro Kondi, candidate member of the Political Bureau of the Party’s Central Committee and First Secretary of the Tirana District Party Committee. (ATSH)

REPORTAGE A large group of girls stopped in front of Zëri i popullit. They have come from Fier to celebrate March 8. We do not know any of them personally, yet it seems one could speak about them “easily.” We are “used to” our comrades everywhere, every day. From time to time we say something about them in the press and on television news; “with figures and facts, we also present them at meeting presidiums.” And yet... We walk along the boulevard of the “Stalin” Textile Combine in the capital. The words of Comrade Enver Hoxha, spoken years ago to the women of the textile combine in Berat, echo in our ears: that a day would come when the clatter of wooden clogs on cobblestones would be replaced by the noise of machinery. A day would come, bringing a fair division of labor that would enable women to take part on an equal footing with men. This kind of emancipation arose in the first years of the War, but developed in the years that followed, and today has permeated the mentality of most of society. The more women and girls you meet here at the combine, in the capital’s largest collective, which has 5,000 women, the more this feeling grows within you and takes concrete shape in every individual. Until their lives become [unclear], the clatter of the mills on the cobblestones will be replaced by the sound of machinery. One day would come “National Martyrs.” Now we also see dozens like those girls from Fier, friends and sisters who have come out to celebrate March 8, their day. Here is the collective of the “Ali Kelmendi” food-processing combine, Institute No. 4, the women from the automotive combine... The deeper you go inside, the more you feel as though you are moving over something unknown. These women and girls are a “whole” [unclear]. General figures and words are of no use now. Each of these women has her own life, events, and character, which cannot be summed up in any “overall picture.” There is a unit of energy [unclear] and something new in their lives this year, calling for expansion and progress, always pressing forward. Each year has marked a step forward in the lives of our women: in production, in raising the awareness of workers and citizens, in the rights and duties they have as an organization, and in the democratization of relations with other strata of society. But today, what would they say to March 8? Looking back at the times But we set out along the beautiful streets of [Text corrupted] emancipation would bring women to the same height and level as men, extending to them the same rights. We try to meet in the combine with Muçe, a veteran worker at the wool-textile factory, as one of the best examples of this prediction. But she retired only two months ago. In 30 years of work, she never once missed work without a valid reason, despite being a mother of nine children. How did she manage to do this while working at one of the factory’s most sensitive posts? It is difficult to understand, but the women who knew her well tell this story: on May 1, they came and informed her that they had sent her a letter of commendation, and another to her husband, because for 30 years he had been a powerful support to her. Together they raised and educated their children, working from early [until late; text unclear]... each helping the other to distinguish themselves in their workplace. The emancipation of society, and of women as an inseparable part of it, begins first and foremost with the quality of family relationships and respect for one’s conscience. Zbuliet Elezi, chairwoman of the BGSH organization at the combine, may seem a fragile, taciturn person. But behind her gentleness lie the will and quiet perseverance to move forward. She has worked here since she was 17, for a long time. Perhaps she has also experienced the “jokes” of an opinion that is “surprised” by her father’s wish to put his only daughter to work in the combine on shifts. But Zbulietja had the perseverance to move forward and the support of the wider community. In a short time she became a Party member and completed higher education by correspondence, while raising two children and having long been active in women’s organizations. Today she is also a member of the presidium of the district BGSH and of the local council, and she fulfils all her duties well at the same time. (Continued on page 3)

— KORÇE — The Presidium of the BG of the Korçë district organized this themed celebration, “Emancipated, independence in society,” at the “Ali Kelmendi” House of Culture and Folk Creativity. War and labor veterans, workers, cooperative members and distinguished activists of the organization took part. Also present were Comrade Vangjel Cërava, First Secretary of the District Party Committee; Valentina Leskaj, secretary of the General Council of the BGSH; and others. During the afternoon, interviews and discussions were held about women’s contribution in our country, and especially in the Korçë district, as active builders of socialist society, and about the Party’s special care for their continued emancipation. Those present watched a program by professional and amateur artists. The women of this district are celebrating their holiday with new achievements. The clothing production enterprise, where they make up over 98 percent of the workforce, as well as the carpet enterprise and the enterprise producing various goods, achieved the targets set for the past months. With them, as well as with the women workers of the “Enver Hoxha” Agricultural Enterprise in Plasë, the “3 Nëntori” enterprise in Maliq, and the cooperative members of Pojan, Lumalas, Pirg, etc., work was carried out under the slogan “Women—a great active force in socialist construction and the defense of the country.” In the agricultural cooperatives of Vitkuq and Lekas, themed afternoons were organized in honor of livestock breeders who obtained over 3,000 liters of milk per cow, while in the agricultural cooperative of Dishnicë a themed event was held with women and girls who, working in a voluntary work action, completed the tobacco-planting work on time. — LIBRAZHD — Discussions about the achievements of Albanian women during the years of socialism were held with distinguished women workers and activists of the BG organization at the historical museum of the Librazhd district. A fruitful exchange took place with women working in agriculture, organized in the mining town of Prrenjas, where good practices in raising the brigades’ livestock herds were shared and new pledges were made to implement the and the instructions of Comrade Ramiz Alia. The meeting was attended by the distinguished Rozë Anagnosti and Verë Grabocka. Held on the premises of the district’s “10 Nëntori” House of Culture, participants learned about their work as artists and mothers with children. Programs featuring songs and poems for the Party, Comrade Enver Hoxha, etc., were also presented. (ATSH)

— DURRËS — On the occasion of March 7, Teachers’ Day, the Executive Committee of the District People’s Council of Durrës also organized a meeting in the hall of the “Aleksandër Moisiu” theater. Teachers from the DOP, education veterans, teachers and pupils from schools, young men and women, etc., took part. Also present were the First Secretary of the District Party Committee, Comrade Muho Asllani; the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the District People’s Council, Luan Babameto; and others. The commemorative address was delivered by Billi Bardhi, head of the education and culture section of the Executive Committee of the District People’s Council. He highlighted the work being done by the teaching collectives of the district’s schools to carry out the tasks of the Party’s 9th Congress and Comrade Ramiz Alia’s instructions to raise the qualitative level of educational work, etc. On behalf of the District Party Committee, the participants were greeted and wished happiness by the secretary of that Committee, Miko M. [unclear]. Distinguished teachers were presented with the “Naim Frashëri” medals awarded by the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. Those present watched an artistic program presented by the district’s amateur and professional groups. During this year, meetings and discussions with veteran teachers, pedagogical sessions, themed afternoons dedicated to distinguished teachers and artistic programs were held at the “Vasil Ziu,” “Naim Frashëri” and other secondary schools. — SHKODËR — Many activities were organized on this occasion in the Shkodër district as well, including scientific sessions, themed afternoons with distinguished teachers, and visits to the homes of these teachers and of veteran teachers, etc. A themed afternoon was held in one of the halls of the city’s “Luigj Gurakuqi” Higher Pedagogical Institute. Besides distinguished teachers and education veterans, those taking part included Bashkim Gjyla, the District Party Committee secretary, Qorri Grabova; and (Continued on page 2)

At the invitation of the Syrian Revolutionary Youth Union, a delegation of the Central Committee of the Albanian Labour Youth Union, headed by the secretary of that Committee, Rrapo Zguri, departed for Damascus. It will take part in the proceedings of the organization’s 5th Congress. (ATSH)

(Photo: N. Xhufka)

● THE COUNTRY’S PROGRESS IS DETERMINED BY THE DECISIONS THAT THE PARTY AND THE PEOPLE JOINTLY MAKE AND CARRY OUT. (p. 1). ● SO THAT THE EXPRESSION “UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE BASIC ORGANIZATION” DOES NOT REMAIN A FORMULA. (p. 2). ● OUR LIFE SPEAKS TO MARCH 8 EVERY DAY (pp. 1–3). ● THE MEETING OF SENIOR OFFICIALS OF THE MINISTRIES OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES BEGAN ITS PROCEEDINGS. (p. 4).