The Party’s concern for young people is one of the most sensitive and tangible realities in our entire life, throughout the period of building socialism in the country. To work with young people, to care for their preparation, means working with those rightly called the Party’s fighting auxiliary, with the most active force in life; it means caring for the present and future of the country. For, as comrade Ramiz Alia said at the meeting with a group of young schoolchildren after the 9th Plenum of the Central Committee: “As the youth are today, so will the Fatherland be tomorrow.” It always remains an object of concern and a current topic how Party bodies and organizations work with young people, and what new perspectives are found. The achievements in this field are fruitful, just as there is abundant experience demonstrating close work with this mass organization. But from time to time, every process that the life of the country goes through dictates that we change in keeping with the conditions of society-wide change, enrich or set aside many forms of work that time has left behind. Like everything else, our work with young people, too, must change and improve so that we may advance. This makes all the work with young people by Party organizations at district and grassroots level more interesting and productive. In all this work, the most important thing is the substance of the relations between organizations, and between Party organizations and youth organizations. These are close, warm, benevolent and equal relations. First and foremost, a young man or woman is your comrade, where you work, at the lathe or in the mine, working for progress and changes that improve life in the country. Relations with this organization, in which more than half a million energetic, spirited and passionate young people are active, should be just as warm and benevolent, and no different. There is a familiar practice in relations with the youth organization: the secretary of the Party committee, bureau or basic organization summons the secretary of the youth committee or organization. The latter, as a rule, have to report on their work, may raise problems and, finally, take notes on the tasks assigned to them. Are such relations still appropriate? Is this a kind of bureaucratic concern—or even, to some extent, a kind of dictation? Of course, the youth will report, and they will also be given tasks. But first and foremost, one must approach young people and their leaders differently: explain “the concerns of the Party in the district, enterprise, cooperative, army and everywhere,” and ask their opinion on what young people can do so that this or that concern, this or that aim or Party objective, can be resolved as well and as promptly as possible. There is no dictation or tutelage here, but equal relations, so that we may line up side by side on one front, moving work and change forward. Whenever things are done this way, the youth are on fire and there is no need to instruct them: “Do it this way, do it that way!” Was anything imposed on young people in secondary schools when they discussed their right to study at their own schools and continue on to higher education? Was anything imposed on them when students discussed and decided on the appointments of young cadres? Not at all. On the contrary, this is an opportunity to further democratize relations with this organization and increase its sense of responsibility for greater efforts and sound judgments. Young people have an age of their own, which belongs to them and no one else; they have their own interests and growing demands. These make up their life. These are discussed and decided on in the organization; they emerge at school, at work and outside it, in the family and in society. These demands and the efforts to meet them determine the youth’s capacity for self-activity. The more active they are on their own, the more independent they become. Does this weaken relations between the Party organization and the youth organization? On the contrary, it enriches them. This must be properly understood. At every level, the Party is interested in and works persistently to ensure that mass organizations—youth, trade unions, the front, and so on—as well as state and economic bodies, each carry out their own duties within the rules and powers they have. If someone fails to do so, it often means that something is wrong in this complex mechanism of social activity, and the Party intervenes—and must intervene. If, for example, the youth organization does not meet, can the Party organization stand aside? No, of course not. If this organization, the youth committee itself, leads a poor organizational life and a lackluster cultural and spiritual life, the Party organization or committee cannot remain indifferent. If, at a workplace, in a village or a neighborhood, there are young people who behave badly and refuse to work, the Party organization there must make it a matter for the masses and public opinion, seeking especially to mobilize their peers against them. And this is not interference in the affairs of the youth or tutelage, but necessary concern; it is attention to ensuring that this organization leads a lively and dynamic life, as befits the age of its members; that it is creative, as befits their cultural preparation; and that it is clear-minded, as befits the ideological and political consciousness of a youth like ours, for whom the ideals of the Party and socialism are their own ideals. [The final sentence is duplicated in the source.] In all this, the main thing—the most important thing—is the substance of the relations between Party bodies and organizations and those of the youth. These are close, warm relations, full of goodwill and based on equality. A young man or woman is first and foremost your comrade, where they work, at the lathe or in the mine gallery, in the field or in the office. As young people, they need guidance and the voice of experience, but they should not be led by the hand. They need to talk with them, to discuss their concerns and worries calmly, to help them understand and live through the circumstances, difficulties and demands of the times, and to urge them to put the energy of their youth and the courage to take on difficult work to use, as the only way forward proves in this way that youth is a fire, and there is no need to give it instructions: do this and do that! Has anything weakened the youth in secondary schools when they discuss the rights to study at higher-education institutions? Has anything weakened them when students discuss and decide on the appointment of new cadres? Not at all. On the contrary, the life of the organization has grown stronger. How good it would be if this practice were extended further to questions concerning the substance of schooling and the struggle against unethical activity! It should be extended to the problems of strengthening and protecting public state and cooperative property, of proletarian discipline at work, and even to the active mastery of the new economic mechanism, etc. There are many

Press brigade of “Zëri i popullit” We have experienced the severe drought. We have also seen the dedication of agricultural workers in combating it, as well as their pledges to reduce the damage. Nevertheless, the consequences and shortfalls are considerable and numerous. We will not analyze them here; in agriculture, after all, things are “sown” and “harvested” again, and we feel and see this daily in the shop windows. We observe it as... 1. What is happening to shoppers? We began at the end, because in the end both the producer and trade, as an “intermediary,” have the same purpose: to meet the people’s needs. But it is September, the peak of production, the bountiful season for fruit, and fruit is at its lowest ebb in the market. We met shoppers at the New Bazaar. It was 9:30. We walked through the green hall, lined on both sides with retail outlets. The emptiness was alarming. Fruit, potatoes and tomatoes were missing. Okra, eggplants, etc., have become “delicacies”! There are no grapes for sale; they have run out. Two days earlier, at the shop near the porcelain enterprise, only one seller was selling grapes. The queue was long. “Couldn’t the grapes that are available be sold by several sellers?” “The head of the Trade sector gave an interview on television and said there are plenty of grapes. Why don’t they come to the market?” “When I can’t find grapes in the market, I’m forced to buy them from a private seller for 5 lekë.” “On Ferid Xhajko Street, at the NTSH-2 outlet, grapes are sold straight from a truck, by the crate...” “Go late in the evening to some fruit and vegetable outlets and watch! You’ll see carts and so on being ‘supplied’ from the back with crates of grapes. They make raki in apartments and gardens. What is to be done about these profiteers who have dried up the shop counters?!” Conversations like these with shoppers point to shortcomings in the work of trade employees. Cases like these are also observed: on September 15, at one NTFP-1 outlet, grapes were sold for 3.5 lekë per kg. On the same day, at other outlets, better-quality grapes were sold for 3 lekë per kg. Similar discrepancies between NTFP outlets and districts are also seen with onions, tomatoes and peppers. In light of these developments, the public wants to know why there is this irregularity in the supply of fruit and vegetable outlets in September. Is there no produce? Is there no organization? Is control lacking? Is accountability lacking? Coordination? Many questions arise. Let us try to clarify matters. 2. The state of the market. We spoke with Bujar Qoshja, director of NTFP-1. “The drought is showing its effects now. We are in a very critical period. Dry onions are lacking, and we have shortages of potatoes.” “We went to one of the fruit and vegetable warehouses.” “Since last year there has been great demand for grapes. We haven’t sent a single kilogram to the processing plants,” says the seller, Flamur Disha. “What about grapes for raki—have they been sold?” “We have dismissed four sellers for violating the rules,” says the director. At NTFP-3, we spoke with director Petrit Golemi, the head of the Trade Department, Flore Zeqo, and others. “The release of agricultural cooperatives from their contractual obligations has contributed greatly to the depletion of...” (Continued on page 2)

DIALOGUES WITH PROMINENT FIGURES ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC WORK IN THEIR VIEW Investment in science—investment in the future —With Dr. Besnik Bekteshi— —Comrade Besnik, investments in science are also investments in the future. What is your view of the work done so far in this area, and what do you suggest for the future? —The policy of our Party and state regarding investment in science is directed, first and foremost, toward training our scientists, considering this the most important investment, one that serves the fulfillment of production tasks both today and in the future. It is a significant indication that today our country has a considerable number of highly qualified personnel who solve many of the problems raised by life. We should also add tens of thousands of specialists, scientific workers and others working alongside production, as well as innovators and rationalizers, in whom our society has once again invested a great deal. In many fields, our scientists measure themselves against knowledge on the international stage. But the present time demands even more from these scientists and from science itself, because increasing productivity in industry and agriculture, introducing new contemporary technologies, reducing production costs and introducing the new economic mechanism require, among other things, even greater coordination and cooperation among all scientific disciplines. At the same time, the ministries and institutions should—and are able to—provide greater material support for genuine scientific research. Measures of this kind would also enable the scientists who teach at the University and at institutes to contribute more effectively both to the high-quality training of future scientists and to establishing direct links between them and production. The fact that investment in science is an integral part of the unified state plan clearly shows that great importance has been attached to this issue. But I believe that the new economic mechanism in particular creates concrete opportunities for enterprises and institutions to increase these investments beyond the levels planned by the state.

—With Dr. Kastriot Seiti— —Do you think it is right for the social and historical sciences and the applied natural sciences to be “under one roof”? —In my view, the answer to this question should be given at a second stage. First of all, it must be made clear to everyone that the Academy of Sciences should be a dynamic workplace that responds to the scientific problems raised by the times. To achieve this objective, perhaps the Academy’s organizational structure should also be reviewed. —You studied in France for a long time. What experience do you bring back? —The way our Academy of Sciences is structured, with all the sciences included in it, resembles France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), which likewise covers everything from the natural and technical sciences to the social and historical sciences within a single structure. This structure has recently been severely criticized by various prominent figures as lifeless, highly inert and almost sclerotic. —What do you suggest for organizing our Academy? —At the technical level, I cannot suggest anything that would be more mature. A final view should emerge from broad discussions among specialists. However, the present organization of this structure is highly inert. I would emphasize that the main issue is not the form of organization. The Academy’s true dynamism is ensured by young scientists who are dynamic, self-active, broad-minded and genuinely well trained in science. Is age really a source of experience? In my opinion, the answer to this question would be: a person who is relatively old knows how to do things in a certain way. But that does not mean it is the best way. In the fi- (Continued on page 3)

To raise the standard of teaching at the “Aleksandër Xhuvani” Higher Pedagogical Institute in Elbasan... To raise the standard of teaching at the “Aleksandër Xhuvani” Higher Pedagogical Institute in Elbasan, the young linguists ... in a ... methodical way ... the active assimilation of knowledge by students. ... a system of formative questions that helps bring out the logical reasoning behind the theoretical material presented, the general principles of which are not found in ready-made form in textbooks. This has fostered a lively dialogue between the lecturer and the students. (According to ATSH)

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2,400TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF BERAT Amid the Neolithic, beside Berat’s great boulevard, little flags, coats of arms and symbols of noble families associated with the name of the castle lend color to the scene. Berat’s youngest citizens, the pioneers, begin to imitate the ancient athletic marathon, while at one o’clock at night all the city lights will go out, and torch flames will stream down from the castle. From the surrounding townspeople come even more enticing reports: for example, many prominent figures whose work over the years has been connected with Berat will be awarded the title of honorary citizen. There is other news, too. But everything will happen in its own time. Wherever you turn in the city, you will encounter the “occupation” of the 2,400th anniversary. But we have set out to write about Berat today. Here is a truly civilized man: Xhevahir Njeqari, a mature 40-year-old man, chief engineer of the water enterprise. He bends over the map once more and explains his idea emphatically: “With neighborhoods surrounded by three rivers, we achieve only 50 percent irrigation capacity! It is as if you were near the source and still had to ask for water. Only 20,000 hectares are irrigated, and even for 50 percent of this area electricity is consumed: the city’s pumping stations use 7 million kWh of electricity a year, and the water enterprise 11 million. For years, state money has flowed away like a river, because the shortest route has always been thought to be irrigation by electric pumps. This is the situation, and for eight years now the engineer has been submitting a proposal, with a study, to irrigate 20,000 hectares on the left bank of the three rivers by gravity, through a dam at Qafë-Hoxhaj or Uznova. It would require only a quarter of the expenditure for the Bajasë scheme and very little expropriation. The calculations have been made, and it turns out that gravity irrigation would save 15 million kWh of electricity, besides the imported pumps and other lines. Building the dam would require less land, and it would also generate 100 million kWh of electricity for the city and villages. The enterprises could also draw water from the pipeline, including the combine, the district’s largest consumer, and the city could expand along the riverbed, while pools could also be built for livestock.” The idea seems appealing, all the more because it is not mere fantasy but a calculation worked out persistently, intended to bring savings to the economy as well, for which the state is buying ever more millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity at a high price. The engineer has been working on this for eight years; he has consulted the best specialists in Tirana, who have forwarded his work, yet it has once again been left in silence... This is what the chief engineer says, with a certain nervousness in his voice. Ngan is an impulsive sort of man, but if you look closely, behind this “irritability” lies a strong will and patience. Now he smiles to himself, recalling sleepless nights, the long work, the districts and the enterprise, which offer him some words merely to pay lip service, as well as the anonymous letters to the committee saying that “the chief engineer doesn’t work only at night in the office.” Then, repeating himself, he says in his characteristic manner that instead of ... This is how this specialist speaks. As for us, we are reminded of so many familiar names... (Continued on page 3)

A moment at work in the wood-processing combine in Elbasan. (Photo: G. Xhengo - ATSH)

Starting at 1:00 a.m. on September 30, 1990, clocks will be set back 60 minutes. (ATSH)