Yesterday, on May 5, our entire people commemorated with deep respect their sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the country, and bowed respectfully before those who spared no blood for Albania and for these happy days we enjoy today. As a sign of gratitude for the martyrs’ immortal deeds, thousands of residents of the capital—workers from workplaces and production centers, institutions and departments, veterans of the war and of labor, military personnel, members of martyrs’ families, young people, and Enver’s Pioneers—went to the National Martyrs’ Cemetery, where they paid tribute and laid bunches of flowers. At 10 o’clock, Party and state leaders also arrived: Comrade Adil Çarçani, member of the Political Bureau of the Party’s Central Committee and Chairman of the Council of Ministers; members of the Political Bureau and secretaries of the Party’s Central Committee, Comrade Hekuran Isai and Comrade Lenka Çuko; members of the Political Bureau of the Party’s Central Committee, Comrades Rita Marko and Simon Stefani; candidates for the Political Bureau of the Party’s Central Committee, Comrades Kiço Mustaqi and Llambi Gegprifti; Shefqet Peçi, chairman of the National Committee of Veterans of the Albanian People’s War; Lisen Bashkurti, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Albanian Labour Youth Union; and others. The Party and state leaders met and exchanged greetings with members and relatives of the families of heroes and martyrs, and with residents of the capital who had come here to honor the fallen. Wreaths were laid beside the monument “Mother Albania.” On behalf of the Party’s Central Committee, the wreath was laid by Comrade Adil Çarçani and Comrade Lenka Çuko; on behalf of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, by Comrade Rita Marko and Sihat Tozaj, secretary of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly; and on behalf of the Council of Ministers, by Comrade Simon Stefani and Enver Halili, minister and secretary-general of the Council of Ministers. Wreaths were also laid on behalf of the General Council of the Democratic Front of Albania, the Party Committee and Executive Committee of the district People’s Council, the Ministry of People’s Defense, the General Council of the Trade Unions of Albania, the General Council of the Women’s Union of Albania, and the Central Committee of the Albanian Labour Youth Union. Comrades Adil Çarçani and Hekuran Isai laid bunches of flowers on the grave of Comrade Enver Hoxha. The Party and state leaders stood in silence and honored, with fists raised, the memory of the legendary commander, architect of the new Albania, the sacred and unforgettable leader, Comrade Enver Hoxha. They also paid tribute and laid bunches of flowers on the graves of Comrades Hysni Kapo, Gogo Nushi, and Qemal Stafa. Then, with fists raised, they passed by the graves of the sons and daughters who laid down their lives on the altar of the nation. During the ceremony, the brass band played funeral marches and the National Anthem. Military personnel and Enver’s Pioneers stood guard of honor. (ATSH)

This year, May 5 was quite special for Tepelenë. The people of Tepelenë, who had known since the day before yesterday that Comrade Ramiz Alia was in their city, eagerly awaited the chance to see him, greet him, and talk with him. It was Martyrs’ Day, and the leader would go with the people to honor the unforgettable memory of the sons and daughters (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday, on Martyrs’ Day, commemorative activities were held in all the districts of the country. Rallies and tributes were held in the martyrs’ cemeteries, and wreaths and bunches of flowers were laid on the graves of the fallen. Meetings martyrs, visits to their families, meetings and conversations with war veterans, musical programs, etc., were also organized. - TIRANË - Yesterday morning, on the occasion of May 5, Martyrs’ Day, meetings were held in the capital war martyrs who fell in the four regions of the Tirana district. Comrades Adil Çarçani, Llam bi Gëqerfti, Shefqet Peçi, and other comrades also attended the meeting held in one of the rooms of the “Enver Hoxha” Museum; Comrades Hekuran Isai, Nexhmije Hoxha, and Haki Tosk[a] were present at the meeting in the National Historical Museum; Comrades Lenka Çuko, Kico Mustafa, and Pilo Peristeri were also present at the meeting in the hall of the League of Writers and Artists; Comrade Rita Marko attended the meeting at the Palace of Culture; Comrades Simon Stefani and Qirjako Mihali were present at the meeting in one of the halls of the Central House of the People’s Army; Comrades Pali Miska and Xhafer Spahiu were present at the meeting in one of the rooms of the Palace of Congresses; and Comrades Pirro Kondi and Hazhi Lleshi, together with other comrades, were present at the meeting in one of the green spaces of the “Myslim Peza” agricultural cooperative in Peza. Tributes were paid and wreaths and bunches of flowers were laid at the Peza Martyrs’ Cemetery. At these meetings, they expressed the Party’s and the entire people’s feelings of respect and deep gratitude for the immortal deeds of the martyrs, who gave their lives for the liberation of the country and the victory of the people’s revolution, for the happiness of the people and the prosperity of our socialist homeland. It was also emphasized that the greatest tribute to the martyrs’ deeds—in whose blood the roots and the security of our progress along the socialist road were established—is the work and effort that every person must undertake to carry out the tasks set by the 10th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee and Comrade Ramiz Alia’s instructions in the sectors of life and production. The Party and state leaders, leading cadres of the central mass organizations and departments, Party and government bodies and mass organizations in the district, deputies of the People’s Assembly, etc., also visited the families of people’s heroes and martyrs. Meetings and conversations with war veterans were held at workplaces and production centers, institutions, military units, agricultural enterprises, schools, etc., in the district, as well as beside the busts of people’s heroes Qemal Stafa, Josif Kushi, Ali Demi, Misto Mame, Mid’hat Toskë, and the memorials dedicated to the martyrs. (Continued on page 2) The diplomatic corps lays a wreath and pays tribute at the National Martyrs’ Cemetery On the occasion of May 5, Martyrs’ Day, the diplomatic corps accredited to the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania laid a wreath and paid tribute at the National Martyrs’ Cemetery. Kostaç Çifligu, head of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was present at the ceremony. (ATSH)

the sons and daughters. (Continued on page 2) A VICTORY THAT DESERVES THE HIGHEST AWARD - FROM COMRADE RAMIZ ALIA’S SPEECH TO MEMBERS OF THE FAMILIES OF THE MARTYRS OF THE HOMELAND At the beginning of this meeting, Comrade Ramiz greeted those present and asked about their health. “During these days that I have been in the southern district, I have had many meetings and conversations with the people,” he said. “Of these events, I had two in mind even while I was in Tirana: celebrating May 1 in Korçë and commemorating Martyrs’ Day in Tepelenë. These two events were also the main purpose of my coming to this area. Of course, as things progressed, the program, as you have seen in the press and on television, was enriched. Comrade Ramiz then spoke about the historical importance of the deeds of the martyrs of the Homeland and the contribution of the district of Tepelenë during the National Liberation War. Then Comrade Ramiz said: For centuries, history has placed our people before the choice of whether to exist or disappear, to live free or be enslaved. In these historical circumstances, with the nation and country constantly at risk, freedom and independence have been the Albanians’ greatest aspiration. The Albanian has consciously accepted paying any price for freedom and independence, even the highest price—even with his own life. Rather than submission, he has chosen the struggle for freedom, unafraid even of death. Human and material sacrifices have been beyond counting. The river of blood Albania shed during the Second World War was not shed in vain. But the 28,000 martyrs were not spared: young men and women in the flower of their youth, who laid down their blood at the foundation of the Albania we see before us today. It was a painful sacrifice, but a necessary one to open the way to the future. The martyrs of the National Liberation War repeated an epic written time and again on this soil. They followed the glorious footsteps of the people’s traditional heroism and, under the leadership of the Party and Enver Hoxha, forged themselves as sons and daughters of fighters, as a generation prepared to take history’s burdens upon themselves. Our Party and people recall the past as a mark of remembrance and respect for the great ideals that sprang from it. We, who took part in the war, undertook to build an Albania belonging to the people, free of foreign yokes, oppression, and exploitation of any kind, where everyone could live honorably and fully enjoy the fruits of their labor. Such is the Albania of today. Its ideals, the ideals of its people, come directly from the war. That is why May 5 has been and will remain a day of commemoration, a day that strengthens national consciousness and heightens the awareness of the Party and the people of their obligations to the past and their commitments to the future. The freedom and independence we enjoy today, and citizens’ political, social, and economic rights, are incomparable with those of the early years, and even with those of two decades ago. They have been strengthened and consolidated by economic independence and the comprehensive development of the individual’s personality. In Albania, the people hold power; all its wealth goes to the people, to their well-being and happiness. The days when others decided our country’s fate are gone. Albania looks after its own interests within the country and also in the international arena. The Party and the people have always proceeded from the premise that national freedom and independence are the fundamental and decisive condition for free development and the full realization of the rights belonging to our citizens. It is essential and an illusion to speak of freedom and citizens’ rights without state freedom and independence. Only a truly free and independent state—even in adapting its political positions and the framework of its relations with others—can guarantee social justice and the broad development of the individual. a continuation of the heroism of wartime. We will always need that creative energy and constructive spirit awakened by the revolution among the masses, that spiritual strength and sense of historical responsibility it cultivated in people, and the total commitment of all Albanians to the further progress of the socialist homeland. The decisions the Party recently adopted at the 10th Plenum of its Central Committee have been aimed at strengthening Albania’s international position, increasing its authority among the community of nations, asserting its interests in global issues, neutralizing the activities of its enemies, and affirming the country’s commitment to Balkan, European, and world processes and contemporary developments. Freedom, independence, people’s power, and socialism cannot be separated. The great work of the martyrs whom we commemorate today with respect cannot be separated from these cardinal victories; that work underpins every advance and every development we achieve. In conclusion, Comrade Ramiz spoke about the enthusiastic atmosphere prevailing throughout the country following the 10th Plenum. The National Liberation War and socialist construction constitute one epoch, he said—the epoch of the Party and socialism. Therefore, gratitude for the deeds of the martyrs of the Homeland will be everlasting. The testament of the fallen lives on in the progress of the new Albania. Glory to their memory!

The struggle for national freedom and independence never ends. Today’s sweat is like yesterday’s blood; militancy in construction work is a continuation of the heroism of wartime.