— Notes from the open meeting of the Party organization — The day the speech by Comrade Ramiz Alia, delivered at the 10th Plenum of the Party Central Committee, was published in the press—that is, on April 19—peasants from the Elbasan district took part in meetings of the Party’s basic organizations, without waiting for instructions from above, especially in several cases. In Shalës, the village of the cooperative said to be the most advanced, cooperative members, agricultural and livestock specialists, activists from the organizations of the Front and the BRPSH, and even elderly people had gathered in the village center to take part in the meeting of the Party’s basic organization. “We judged that it was not too soon to hold this meeting today and hear the cooperative members’ views,” says communist Liri Qosja. “The sooner we meet and discuss, the sooner things can be put on the road to a solution. Today we will discuss only one specific problem: improving the supply of cooperative members, so that in the coming days we can turn to the other, no less important problems.” The meeting, attended by comrades Besnik Bekteshi and Bujar Kolaneci, began as a warm conversation between communists and cooperative members. The cooperative’s leaders and specialists, although this was one of the country’s most distinguished agricultural economies, made another self-criticism, acknowledging that they had not always paid enough attention to the small livestock groups. Several cooperative members agreed, saying that they, too, had lacked the daily concern and care those animals needed. “Here the principle of voluntarism applies,” says Ymer Skënderi, “and I think that the animals in the small livestock groups, as property of the brigade itself and without touching the general herd, should be given to cooperative families. I don’t want what I say to influence the opinions of the other comrades, but I do have an argument. It is true that the small groups in some brigades were doing well and managed to grow. But this has not fully achieved its purpose. Even where things went better, the milk was not enough to make more butter and cheese. And what about the brigades where the small groups are not doing well? I say it openly to the Party: they are causing difficulties. Therefore, having considered which option is more suitable for each village—whether to keep the animals in groups or distribute them among cooperative families—we have decided to resolve quickly and once and for all how to meet our needs for meat, milk, and dairy products. “Cooperative members and communists took the floor one after another. ‘The Party always thinks of us, of our lives,’ they said, ‘of the prosperity and progress of the village. And it leaves it to us to decide and choose the best way.’ As a village, our Shalës has traditions: it has been a well-known livestock-raising area, like all of Dumreja. Each person is capable of keeping one cow or ten small livestock animals and meeting their own needs. There are about 34 hectares of canal-side and roadside land that can be used for pasture. All this village wealth lies unused, though it could provide meat and dairy products—a source of prosperity for everyone. Once, Dumreja’s land had no water, yet livestock farming flourished. Now that water comes to it from the lake of the Banja hydroelectric complex, it is easier to keep animals. But even the one dynym of land each family will have is enough to get the livestock through the winter and provide vegetables, potatoes, and beans as well.” From the many contributions, we quote a few words from cooperative member Vule Kurti: “We have not always cared for the centralized livestock group; at times we have even taken away its fodder reserves to meet the needs of the small groups. Its products, including the surplus above the plan, have also been distributed to cooperative members because their needs were not being met, instead of being delivered to the state. Now we will all devote ourselves to the general herd, so that we can supply the townspeople better, while benefiting ourselves too, because this will increase our income per workday. I have mentioned increasing income, but I do not want to leave out the protection of common property, since the two are connected. As we are discussing now, I think we should meet once more as a village and decide: anyone who damages or appropriates the cooperative’s fodder for their household livestock, or damages its agricultural produce, will have serious trouble with us. We will also decide on penalties for anyone who dares reach out toward common property…” Soon, according to what criteria will the animals from the small groups be given to cooperative families? And what about those families who do not…

. The experiment speaks of breathing space. — A factory director from Kruja writes to us — As regards the mechanism for managing the economy in enterprises, it cannot be understood without strengthening economic logic in its basic organizational cells, such as the sector, unit, brigade, and so on. In our enterprise we have extended these management methods to the social catering sector and the fruit and vegetable sector. Although they have been in effect only a short time, their impact has been to make employees more interested in all the enterprise’s problems, raise the level of service, strengthen demands for quality and standards, reduce the retail price of vegetables by about 30 percent, and strengthen responsibility, etc. Thus, the use of economic management methods gives the enterprise’s activity more room to breathe. This does not mean that we deny the role and place of administrative measures, laws, orders, and so on—in other words, administrative management. If we were previously criticized for many administrative measures and forms of enterprise management, it was because those measures often did not properly correspond to the requirements of economic laws. Ultimately, therefore, administrative management, especially now that we have moved to “self-financing,” must be subject to economic logic, because it is economic laws that determine the administrative measures required to implement them. Let us be more specific. There is an administrative rule: goods must be inspected and certified. What is wrong with this rule? If it is applied as it has been until now—take the goods from the producer, put them in warehouses, measure them, process them, pack them, and so on, and only then put them on the market—a time gap is created between production and distribution. Now, after the move to self-financing, the rule begins to be applied… According to the words of the factory director from Kruja, it should be easier to obtain fuel; with separate accounts, it must be guided by economic logic, because economic laws determine the administrative measures required to implement them. What is wrong with this rule? If it is applied as it has been until now—take the goods from the producer, put them in warehouses, measure them, process them, pack them, and so on, and only then put them on the market—a time gap is created between production and distribution. Now, after the move to separate accounts, the rule should also begin to be applied in a way that… [part of the text is illegible]. (Continued on page 2)

Literature and the arts, as important links in social thought and a precious national spiritual asset, find in Comrade Ramiz Alia’s speech delivered at the 10th Plenum of the Party Central Committee a new source of inspiration, new fields of activity, and promising horizons for the future. The measures discussed by the Plenum, as Comrade Ramiz says in his speech, are also accompanied by new standards of economic and moral education, and by a different outlook and attitude. (Continued on page 2)

In his speech at the 10th Plenum of the Central Committee of the PPSH, Comrade Ramiz Alia addressed cooperation among the Balkan states as an important process that helps ensure peace not only in our region but also further afield, within the broader context of the present international situation. Although this process is relatively new and encounters obstacles and difficulties along the way, it is now regarded as a realistic and beneficial alternative. At meetings of senior officials from the foreign ministries, the Balkan countries have emphasized their commitment to advancing this process further and deepening the progress achieved in various fields. Balkan cooperation cannot be separated from developments on our continent. Its future is linked to the processes of European cooperation; at the same time, strengthening Balkan cooperation contributes to peace and security in the Mediterranean and in Europe. Our country, which is fully involved in the process of Balkan cooperation and sincerely wants it to move forward, will host the second meeting of the foreign ministers of the Balkan states in the second half of October this year. This meeting will undoubtedly be one of the most important events in this process. As the host country, Albania will take all necessary measures and, through ongoing consultations and exchanges of views with the other participating countries throughout this period, will contribute to the successful conclusion of the meeting. “We will do everything possible,” Comrade Ramiz Alia emphasized at the 10th Plenum, “to ensure that this meeting is successful and marks a turning point in strengthening good neighborliness and fraternal relations among our countries.” Achieving this lofty and noble goal of the peoples of the Balkans requires the commitment and contribution of all the states in our region, in the service of friendship among peoples, peace, and security. PETRAQ POJANI Coordinator for multilateral Balkan cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Andrei Luklanov, received the chairman of the Albanian government delegation, headed by the chairman of the State Planning Commission, Niko Gjyzi. During the meeting, which took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, satisfaction was expressed with the development of interstate relations between the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania and the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, and prospects for their future development were discussed. Views were also exchanged on making cooperation concrete in various fields of mutual interest, including the economic and industrial fields as well as science. The meeting emphasized that holding the second session of the Albanian-Bulgarian Joint Commission would give new impetus to relations and cooperation between the two countries. Present were Bulgaria’s Minister of Domestic Trade and Services, Ekaterina Marinova, and Albania’s ambassador to Sofia, Bashkim Rama. (ATSH)

— Protocol on economic, industrial, and technical cooperation signed — The second session of the Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation between the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania and the People’s Republic of Bulgaria was held in Sofia. The Albanian delegation was headed by the chairman of the State Planning Commission, Niko Gjyzi, while the Bulgarian delegation was headed by the Minister of Domestic Trade and Services, Ekaterina Marinova. During the proceedings of this session, which lasted a week and took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, a review was made of the work since the Commission’s first session, and it was found that … (Continued on page 4)

The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, Comrade Adil Çarçani, received the following telegram of thanks from the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Konstandin Micotakis. “I thank you for your warm greetings on the occasion of my appointment as Prime Minister of Greece. I am convinced that the friendly ties between our two countries must grow further, in the interests of our peoples and of strengthening peace and cooperation in the Balkans.” (ATSH)

This day in Tropojë (Photo: L. HOTI)

. — Conversation with a group of miners in Bulqizë — The shift crews at the Bulqizë mine have become a distinctive sight. Workers gather at the shaft entrance a few minutes before going underground. In those group conversations, with no intermediary, they discuss things as if they had just come out of a meeting. In fact, these days they have gathered there spontaneously to discuss the ideas of the 10th Plenum and Comrade Ramiz’s speech. Each person takes up a problem, a proposed solution, interprets it, and gives their opinion. In one group, miners make it easier for others to join the conversation. (Continued on page 2)

The slopes on both sides of the Shushicë River are filled with greenery and dense bleating. It is as if nature, when the plum tree sways, is saying to the cherry blossom: “Bloom, let it bloom.” In this mild, warm weather, the young goat grows by the hour, and the wheat sways and rises, beautiful in its farm-work clothes. Some of the bread [fields?] have been… especially; they are by the water, and from early morning until late at night, from early in the morning in the fields until 2 p.m., the 1-10-ësi, cooperative members, and others work, caring for it with all their strength and heart. On the other side of the Shushicë River and the hills, it is much the same, with greenery and dense bleating. It is as if nature, when the plum tree sways, is saying to the cherry blossom: “Bloom, let it bloom.” In this mild, warm weather, the young goat grows by the hour, and the wheat sways and grows tall, beautiful in its agricultural finery. Some of the bread [fields?] have… from morning until late at night, from early in the fields until 2 p.m., the 1-10-ësi work. The recent rains, after all that. A feature. Black Miro of Tërbaç, You orphan girl grown up, With burdock greens… Why should Miro have been in mourning, when she was in the prime of her life and beauty?! What fate awaited her? It was on the eve of the reforms in Tirana. The Ottoman occupiers had left their mark; they sought to spread their rule still further over the peasants. Labëria, this remote region too, together with un-subjugated Himara, had to pay. Himara and Labëria, two doors of one house. At the spring below Tërbaç, Miro was killed alone… (part of the text is illegible) Shaho Luli, the hero’s mother, together with… (Continued on page 3)

Communists and all workers must launch an offensive to accomplish and surpass their tasks everywhere, discover new reserves, and develop initiative. Every worker, peasant, and intellectual must understand that today, more than ever, the Homeland requires each person’s maximum contribution; it demands effective work and a revolutionary attitude toward one’s duty. RAMIZ ALIA

. THE STEPS OF DEMOCRATIZATION ARE ASCENDING. Topic of the day in Shalës