— A grand rally in the capital. More than 120 thousand people are taking part — THE SPEECH OF COMRADE XHELIL GJONI Dear comrades, Citizens of Tirana, Today in this square in the capital, the heart of our homeland, to express our steadfast determination in defense of the victories of socialism, of the Marxist-Leninist line of the Party of Labour of Albania, we have gathered representatives of the people of the country’s capital, citizens, male and female workers, cooperativists, intellectuals, veterans and young people, from the enterprises and institutions of Tirana. With this grand rally, with the participation of over 120,000 citizens, we are giving a determined response to the noise and bourgeois-revisionist propaganda, to the efforts of the enemies of socialism, who, blinded by hatred toward our country, toward the Albanian people and its Party, want to disturb the situation in our country and undermine the foundations of socialism. If one takes a look at these organized actions, inspired from abroad and incited by anti-national and anti-Albanian elements, it becomes completely clear that we are not dealing with spontaneous acts, but with premeditated actions intended to strike at our socialist order, to undermine our national independence and to call into question the great historical victories of our people. The Albanian people, under the leadership of the Party of Labour of Albania, have made countless sacrifices to win freedom, independence and socialism. These victories are not anyone’s gift. They have been paid for with the blood of the martyrs, raised through the effort and sweat of the working class, the cooperative peasantry and our popular intelligentsia. Today, in conditions where imperialism and international revisionism are exerting multifaceted pressure on the socialist countries, and on our country in particular, the unity of the people around the Party gains even greater importance. We are determined not to allow anyone to touch our freedom, independence and socialist order. Our Party, with Comrade Ramiz Alia at its head, has known and knows how to lead the people with wisdom, with determination and with great historical responsibility. It has been and remains the surest guarantee of our socialist path, of sovereignty and of national dignity. Let us tighten the ranks even more around the Party! Let us be vigilant against every attempt at division, destabilization and deviation from our socialist path! Let us work with even greater dedication for the strengthening of the homeland, for the well-being of the people and for the triumph of our ideals! Long live the Party of Labour of Albania! Long live the Albanian people! Long live socialist Albania! (Continued on page 2)

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