History has taught us to live by the sweat of our brow, to defend our freedom with our blood Numerous letters and telegrams continue to arrive at the Central Committee of the Party and for Comrade Ramiz Alia from all over the country—from groups of workers in towns and villages, cooperativists, young people, veterans, members of the armed forces, and others. They express the readiness of the entire people and their strong support for the Party’s political line, for the decisions of the 11th Plenum, for our path of freedom and independence, as well as their deep indignation at the recent events at several embassies in Tirana. People also report on their achievements and commitments to advance the victories already won, further strengthen the economy, and consolidate the unity of the people around the Party and Comrade Ramiz Alia. “Like all the youth of our country, we young people of Kalaja e Dodës here on Mount Korab,” write the young people of this cooperative in the district of Dibër, “welcomed with enthusiasm the decisions of the 11th Plenum, which continue the work of the 10th Plenum in further perfecting democracy. We condemn the disgraceful actions of certain hooligans and vagabonds, which have outraged our entire people. The youth of Kalaja e Dodës will work and raise the fighting spirit higher; they will strengthen their determination and enthusiasm here at the gates of Korab, and will be a steel fist around the Party and Comrade Ramiz Alia.” The members of the committee of veterans of the War in the district of Vlorë write, among other things, that, as always, they stand by the Party and support the entire process of revolutionizing the life of the country. blood and sacrifice.” The workers of the agri- [text continues outside the frame] Comrade Ramiz. The lecturers and communists of the “Aleksandër Xhuvani” Higher Pedagogical Institute in Elbasan write, among other things: “With our minds and hearts, and through all our positions, we support the Party’s political line and the measures it has taken to further democratize the life of the country. Those who, through their base actions, play into the hands of the enemies of our life, both external and internal, are people who dream with their eyes open, people without dignity, without national culture or personality, and without any value to anyone.” The workers of the food enterprise in Sarandë write that about 95 percent of them are young men and women. They go on to emphasize that they produce entirely for export, and that so far they have fulfilled their targets at 125 percent and are improving the quality and standards of their products. “As you spoke at the 11th Plenum, dear Comrade Ramiz, we felt prouder than ever to be Albania’s younger generation, its future; to be the sons and daughters of parents who waged and won the war, who transformed our Homeland ... [text cut off]. Our love for the Homeland today, we understand, is closely bound to the sweat we shed in our wor... and to the powerful message left to us by generations: to defend, love, and advance our beloved Homeland.” “In the decisions of the 11th Plenum, we once again saw the great care the Party shows for the continuous improvement of our people’s material and cultural well-being. This increases our enthusiasm and makes all our work more fruitful,” write the workers of the “Enver Hoxha” agricultural enterprise in Plasë, Korçë. “We have fulfilled the six-month targets for milk production. We have also achieved satisfactory results in wheat production. The actions of certain dregs of society outrage us, but we say that they stain themselves, not the people, because the people are us—honest workers and peasants—and above all we have the interests of the Homeland at heart.” “We gathered in a mountain meadow,” say the cooperativists of Berishë in the district of Pukë, “where the trenches and traces of past battles are still preserved, to discuss our concerns and duties. The decisions of the 11th Plenum [text continues outside the frame] lift our spirits and strengthen us to increase yields and production, so that we may have plenty of bread and courage for our friends, and gunpowder for the enemy.” Other letters, too—from the workforce of the energy enterprise in Ballsh, the geological enterprise in Korçë, the collective of the nickel-cobalt plant in Elbasan, the personnel of the reserve-officer training school in Ballsh, the lighting brigade at the agricultural enterprise in Pukë, and others—express deep feelings of love for our beloved Party and for the First Secretary of the Party’s Central Committee, Comrade Ramiz Alia. They express their great readiness to advance the victories already achieved and to defend, at any cost, the freedom and independence of the Homeland. ...raise the culture and quality of our beloved homeland, once untamed, with marshes and swamps, malaria and ignorance, but who always stood with honor and dignity before history.» We felt that the new Albania belongs more to us, the youth, than to anyone else. The new situation and the educational attitudes of those who shamefully take the road abroad outrage us and increase our sense of responsibility at work. We are also fellow citizens of a tourist and border town; enemy propaganda is active, but we stand united and alert. Among other things, the volunteers and workers on the Rrëshen–Klos railway emphasize their full support for the decisions of the 11th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee, and report that these days, as never before, we have announced several [?], are exceeding quotas by more than 120 percent, and are organizing fine activities in our free time—

A view of central Tirana. (Photo: N. Xhufka) A view of central Tirana. (Photo: N. Xhufka)

As soon as one enters the workshops of the “Gogo Nushi” plant in Fier, the order and exemplary discipline catch one’s attention. Each person has made an admirable improvement in their work. Here, in the machine-shop section, milling-machine operator Miranda Furrari answers the few questions we ask without interrupting her work for a moment. She has worked here for 15 years, and is still young, but highly skilled. (Continued on page 2)

1. Lumturi Harizi rests her hand on her forehead and says that she has had a difficult life. I try to discern this in her somewhat defiant gaze, in her eyes, her voice, her gestures, but nothing of the sort remains. Apparently this thought has settled in the depths of her soul, as a memory of the time gone by, when all four little brothers lived with their mother. In Lekaj, near Kavajë, she grew tobacco during the school summer holidays and darned clothes. It is hard to understand how she tells of all this and how one became a director, another an officer, a machinist, a driver ... Some things, one has to experience oneself to believe them. Nevertheless, there is something clear and entirely credible in what she says. What brought Lumturi and her brothers this far was their desire and firm determination to become capable, modern people, able to cope with every situation on their own, without friendly favors or praise. The road they travelled was certainly arduous and full of trials that cannot be recounted at just any time. But now Lumturia has become a respected comrade, a communist, and a capable director of the shoe factory here in Tirana. Looking back now, she laughs to herself and says that her life reminds her of a novel by a foreign author. That is what she says. But before me is not a literary character; it is a living human life, quite exceptional and, at the same time, shared with that of several other people—a part of the lives of those who press forward with quiet determination. And how far can a person go with such strength? 2. A month ago, a contract was signed with a foreign company at a shoe factory in Tirana. In the shortest possible time, the production line was installed, 150 new workers were taken on, and production began. The work was carried out swiftly, as if by a single hand. Now 1,500 pairs of shoes are made every day, with the aim of doubling that figure by the end of the year. People may think this is ordinary, but in other industrial enterprises they hesitate to do the same. Somewhere, the flexible cooperation mechanism is an obstacle, while time ... (Continued on page 3)

For several months now, at the agricultural cooperative of Trush and the agricultural enterprise of Bushat in the district of Shkodër, in implementation of the recent decisions of the Party Central Committee plenums on improving the people’s meat supply, the family contract has been used to raise a portion of the livestock at members’ homes. This is an effective way to increase pork production while producing it at a lower cost. Since the beginning of the year, the Trush cooperative has distributed 1,000 piglets: 500 for members to raise for themselves and 500 to be handed over to the cooperative. Meanwhile, the Bushat agricultural enterprise has so far distributed 1,500 piglets to workers’ families, of which 300 are to be raised for (Continued on page 2)

Pandi Raidhi, People’s Artist: From a young age I was a partisan and fought for my country. The people made me an artist. I have acted in many plays and films. As I write these lines, I remember when we were preparing the film «Tokë e përgjakuar», in which I played the role of Uncle Vasil. To tell the truth, when I took that clod of earth in my hands, I stepped out of character; I was moved, perhaps also by the gazes of the hundreds of villagers who lived alongside me in the heart of the land. I held back my tears; they did not. Generations have done much for this beloved land. I too join my voice with that of the people and intellectuals in condemning the repeated actions of some vagabonds, and ask: who is inciting you with malice, young men? The devil and the ogre are not confronting us; they are our enemies. As an artist, like all my fellow militant artists, I will strive to serve the people and uphold the honored name of the Albanian artist. Prof. Hysen Laçe: The steps toward democratizing our life express the will of the people. It is not the first time that the people have been the first to express their view on how problems can be solved. The Party listens to the people; that is why it said that private plots should be enlarged and livestock given to cooperative members. The decisions of the 11th Plenum are in this same spirit: improving services and raising low wages, measures that further strengthen democracy and preserve our freedom, independence, and national dignity. In implementing these decisions, I am convinced that agricultural workers, whether in science or production, will redouble their efforts to meet the country’s and the people’s needs for agricultural and livestock products as fully as possible. Ilir Kërni, Merited Artist: The decisions of the 11th Plenum find us hard at work in every sector of life. We artists aim to give the people works of art worthy of them. Our ballet company is now preparing for a series of performances in Italy with the ballet «Halili dhe Hajria». There we will represent our great art, whose principal message is patriotism. This message of our art has always been warmly received by foreign art lovers. The recent events involving some hooligans, and the amplification they have received from certain foreign propaganda outlets, do not cloud our vision of friendly relations among peoples, who have regarded art as a means of bringing them closer together. Modest about what we have achieved and optimistic about the horizons the Party opens before us, we will always stand by its side.

Neritan Ceka, archaeologist, The decisions of the 11th Plenum inspire every honest person, every patriot, because these tasks create favorable conditions for social development and for the development and refinement of intellectual thought. In this context, our cultural sciences, including archaeology, gain broad prospects for their development. As archaeologists, we see that many young men and women have a keen interest in archaeology. I notice that they do not pursue it merely out of curiosity or for the sake of culture alone. No! Through this «window», too, they see the qualities and virtues of our ancestors, such as courage, skill, honesty, love of their homeland, and determination not to abandon it. From this point of view, archaeology has served them not only as a means of culture, but also as an arena for patriotic education. For this reason, we archaeologists feel it is our duty not only to bring the younger generation closer to this field, but also to share with them more findings and lessons from the glorious past of our ancestors. One of these achievements is the fact that the high points in the history of our nation have always gone hand in hand with its cultural peaks, for the attainment of which it has never spared its material or human resources.

We have neither imported the process of democratizing the life of the country, nor has anyone imposed it on us. We began it ourselves, taking as our starting point the conditions and needs of our socialist society, and the new stage in its growth and development. RAMIZ ALIA Although our hair is gray and our foreheads furrowed, we will spare no strength or energy in standing alongside the younger generations of our beloved Homeland; we will do everything possible to defend with dignity what we have built through blood and sacrifice. The workers of the “Partizani” agricultural enterprise in the district of Berat write, among other things: “Gathered to celebrate the completion of the wheat-harvesting and threshing campaign, we inform you that we exceeded the wheat production plan by 1,000 quintals, and the milk plan by 520 quintals, with 6,000 head of livestock. Meanwhile, we have launched an initiative to achieve further results in all crops. The decisions of the 11th Plenum have increased our mobilization for work, our readiness and vigilance to withstand the pressure and interference of external and internal enemies. History has taught us to live by the sweat of our brow, to eat our own bread, and to defend our freedom with our blood. Circumstances call on us to be in the front line of work and struggle. That is where we will be, ranks closed around the Party, with you at the head.”

No. 228, dated 11 July 1990 On the reorganization of services and handicrafts The Council of Ministers, taking into consideration the conclusions of the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party concerning the need to improve the network of activities in the service and handicraft sectors, DECIDED: 1. To reorganize in its entirety the broad field of services (municipal, household and commercial) and handicrafts. To this end, work shall proceed along three parallel lines: a) To improve the work of state service and handicraft enterprises, applying, according to their specific characteristics, the requirements of the management mechanism based on independent accounting, which shall operate in every unit and shop. b) On their own initiative and according to local conditions, handicraft cooperatives may also be established. In this case, the principal equipment and tools shall become the property of the group, upon payment. c) Craftspeople, including those engaged in small-scale trade, shall be permitted to provide services individually as private operators, at home, in the street, in shops and at mobile outlets. 2. In handicraft enterprises and cooperatives, alongside planned investment and supplies, each unit shall operate independently to secure raw materials and likewise to set prices, designs, etc., in accordance with the criteria established by special regulations. The income of handicraft cooperatives shall consist of the proceeds remaining after production costs and financial obligations have been paid. 5. A craftsperson or trader working privately, alone or with a partner, may also engage family members in the work, but may not employ others. They must hold a permit to practice their profession and a health booklet, meet their financial obligation by paying tax on the income they earn, and provide for their own pension and health insurance. The tax rates on the income of individuals privately practicing various crafts and professions shall be set by the Ministry of Finance. 6. Practicing a craft or profession without a permit shall be punished as an administrative offense by a civic fine or a fine of up to 1,000 lek, and may result in the seizure of work tools by the head of the finance and audit section of the executive committee of the district people’s council. An appeal against a penalty decision may be lodged within five days of the decision being announced or notified, with the chair of the executive committee of the district People’s Council, whose ruling shall be final. 7. Handicrafts and services shall be separated from the municipal economy system and transferred to the light-industry system, while private commercial services shall be transferred to the trade system, both at the central level [text continues outside the frame] ...crafts and artisans, alongside planned investments and supplies, each unit takes responsibility for securing raw materials and likewise for setting prices, for ... [?], etc., in accordance with the criteria laid down in special provisions. 3. Relations between the units and the enterprises or the handicrafts cooperative, and between the latter and the state, are organized on the basis of financial obligations periodically set at fixed amounts. These include: the share of production allocated to society (profit tax), the depreciation fund, an insurance premium for fixed assets, and the social insurance contribution. 4. The wages of employees in each unit and shop, in the enterprises ...