Our socialist society stands on the threshold of accelerated economic and social development in the country. The task of further deepening democracy is now on the agenda; our Party and comrade Enver Hoxha have always worked and fought for it to be enjoyed, as it has in fact been enjoyed by the broad masses of the people. But this historic process, among other things, requires the improvement of legislation, so that, as before, it may be contemporary, meet the demands of the times, and regulate as well as possible legal relations in the fields of labor and family, in civil and criminal matters, and in other areas. After constructive debates, the People’s Assembly approved a series of laws and amendments that pave the way for faster progress and will contribute to the uninterrupted deepening of socialist democracy. They embodied the vital lessons and guidance of the 9th and 10th Plenums of the Party’s Central Committee, which have met with an enthusiastic response among working masses throughout the country. They also expressed and summed up the will of the people. The unanimous approval by the deputies of the People’s Assembly of the necessary legislative amendments is another expression of the people’s unity and their rallying around the Party. The decisions of the People’s Assembly will mark another major advance on the road to strengthening socialist democracy. Through the amendments approved by the People’s Assembly, the guidance of the recent plenums not only more fully adapts to the state of affairs the course of society’s development, but also to the demands and will of every citizen. The adoption of rehabilitation, or the removal of a sentence; the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution and enforcement of sentences; early release on parole; the reduction in the cases in which the death penalty is imposed (women are excluded from this penalty without exception); the improvement of provisions concerning crimes against the state; and the repeal of the decree on internment and punishment as administrative and preventive measures—all express the deepening of democracy and socialist humanism that characterize our socialist order. They also express the further strengthening of our power and the increased effectiveness of the educational work carried out by society as a whole under the Party’s leadership. The working masses not only followed the proceedings of the 7th session of the People’s Assembly with particular interest, but are also studying and examining the substance of the important decisions it adopted, while identifying the many important tasks that arise from them for every collective and every individual. The profoundly democratic spirit of the legislative amendments places everyone under a high moral, civic, and state obligation to meet the demands arising from them—to be in keeping with the historic decisions Committee. An essential characteristic of our laws is that they do not merely formally proclaim the rights of collectives and citizens, but also ensure the conditions for their implementation. Among other things, this goal is served by certain organizational measures taken by the People’s Assembly, such as the establishment of the Ministry of Justice and the reinstatement of the legal profession. With the establishment of the Ministry of Justice, the work of the justice bodies will improve. This high state body will oversee the organization and functioning of the courts and will direct and supervise the work of the judicial administration, without interfering in judicial proceedings. The ministry will also oversee the organization and functioning of the bar, enforcement offices, and notaries, and will prepare draft laws and codes relating to the organization and activity of judicial bodies, while also providing opinions on all draft legal acts prepared by ministries and other central institutions. The powers granted to this ministry by the People’s Assembly, and their exercise, will contribute to strengthening socialist legality, to the establishment of oversight and control of district and regional courts, and to the qualitative improvement of legal activity and the continuous development of legislation. Another organizational measure will also serve to strengthen socialist legality: simplifying the justice system by removing village, city, and city-neighborhood courts from the judicial system, and transforming them into bodies of a social character. All the decisions taken by the People’s Assembly in the field of legislation constitute a major work program, which must engage all the qualified forces in this sector in order to carry out the assigned tasks on time and to a high standard. These tasks are profoundly political, ideological, and organizational in character. Their implementation will further advance the processes of democratizing life in the country, thereby serving the implementation of the Party’s program and the precious teachings of the leader of the Party and the people, comrade Ramiz Alia. …ments necessary in legislation by deputies of the People’s Assembly are another expression of the unity of the people and their solidarity mark another major leap forward on the path to strengthening socialist democracy. The guidelines of the Party Central Committee’s latest plenums will continue to serve as a platform for further deepening the process of democratization and improving legislation in every area of life. Our legislation has expressed and continues to express the interests of the people, the country’s level of material, cultural and social development, and the demands of the times. The achievements in every field have made it necessary—indeed, essential—to reflect in legislation the progressive processes unfolding in our society, something that provides a powerful impetus for the country’s further progress and for expanding and deepening democracy. This means that our socialist society and state are further increasing their care for people, their material and cultural well-being, and their rights. An emancipated society must also be suited to an emancipated citizen. Thus, the improvement of legislation… the rare courage, wisdom and foresight, but also the simplicity and care for everything concerning people, life, work and their struggle, which he experienced profoundly. In this book, the reader senses at every moment Comrade Ramiz Alia’s lapidary statement that Enver Hoxha’s heart and being reacted Enver Hoxha, shared memories of meetings they had had People” was screened for those attending the meeting. (ATSH) …their many important consequences for every collective and every individual. The fundamentally democratic spirit of all the changes in legislation to meet the demands arising from it—to abide by the moral standards of our society and socialist legality, and to fulfill the duties each person has in their productive activity at an enterprise, in a cooperative and everywhere else. Such a more advanced harmonization of the individual’s interests with those of society, and vice versa, will not only have a powerful effect on increasing material and spiritual production, but will also have a considerable impact on citizens’ more conscious observance of the norms of life of our modern socialist citizen. This is in the interest of society as a whole and of every individual in particular. That is why the decisions adopted by the People’s Assembly at its latest session, which open up new and greater opportunities to carry out all the tasks in every field, have received such an enthusiastic response from the people, tasks which…

— A conversation at the Korçë food enterprise — The management’s engineering and technical staff of the food enterprise discussed the indicators in the draft plan for 1991. Afterward, we spoke with some comrades. “The new law on economic enterprises, passed by the People’s Assembly,” says director Perikli Zguro, “creates the conditions for effective self-management. Now more than ever, everyone’s abilities and resourcefulness in thought and action are being put to the test. The manager is being weighed in the balance, as are the economist, financier, engineer, brigade leader, and every worker. The law gives us the opportunity to plan realistically and with greater freedom, in accordance with the district’s capabilities and the raw materials supplied by agriculture. It was not normal, for instance, for us to plan for the coming year to produce certain goods when actual supplies were not even 50 percent. Now mutually beneficial cooperation between our enterprise and the agricultural economies is being placed on a more concrete footing. The fact that 20 percent of our production capacity will remain uncovered by the plan spurs our imagination and our obligation to produce desirable goods not only for the domestic market, but also for export. I think that, as a result, material supplies will also be put more effectively at the service of production. It is not normal for us to continue keeping several hundred quintals of produce in cold storage, increasing costs because we lack sheet metal for tin cans.” They discussed the matter at length, and the shared view was that the elements of an economy operating on its own accounts should be widely extended in our factories—the brewery, the cannery, the beverage plant, and the sugar-products factory. “The enterprise law tells us that workers, too, must think like economists,” says Llambi Bardhi, brigade leader at the brewery. “Here are some of the costs, for example, that burden our factory. It is not normal for beer bottles to be made in Kavajë and transported all the way from Korçë, when we have the glassworks right next door to our enterprise. There are transport costs, breakages, and so on.” “And I would add this,” says Pandi Jorgji, head of the factory: “Operating as an economy with its own accounts will enable us to set our contractual obligations much more appropriately. For example, when buying brewing barley, we should take into account not only its weight, but above all its germination capacity. A one-percent drop in germination capacity costs our factory 50,000 lek in losses. So we should make the barley producer—the agricultural economy—interested in taking care to sell us barley with high germination capacity. With this kind of care, link by link, from raw materials to packaging, not to mention labor productivity, we will aim to increase net income as much as possible. The opportunities are there in full.” KOSTAQ DUKA

At the Morin agricultural cooperative in the district of Kukës, where, as we are told, the proceedings of the People’s Assembly were followed with extraordinary interest, a piece of newspaper can be seen in the jacket pocket of Lutfiu Cenës, head of the finance department. When we meet him, he opens the newspaper again, and we see that, among other things, he has underlined the passage from comrade Adil Çarçani’s report which says: “In order to stimulate an increase in production for the market through the price mechanism, it has been planned that the state purchase prices for agricultural and livestock products be further differentiated by zone, with the north-eastern zone being treated separately, ...” Our conversation focuses on this subject. Lutfiu is an economist and understands the value of this measure better than anyone. “The Party and the state,” says Lutfiu, “regard assistance to the north-eastern zone—a zone with more difficult soil and climatic conditions—as a priority in concrete projects. Under the new laws, assistance to the north-eastern zone will be much greater than in the past.” Last year the Morin cooperative distributed 11.5 lek per workday. It grows wheat and corn and raises goats, cows, and sheep. But what is the cost of production? It is high, and the state purchase prices for these products did not adequately reflect the planned costs. Thus, in 1989, the production cost of wheat, planned at 180 lek per dod kg, came to 199 lek. As for corn, last year, when the harvest was at its best, the cost came to 135 (Continued on page 2)

We followed with particular attention the proceedings of the 7th session of the 11th legislature of the People’s Assembly. We were especially impressed by the report “On improving and democratizing criminal legislation and certain organizational measures,” presented on behalf of the Council of Ministers, which set out the reasoning behind the changes to Albanian legislation. We, too, would like to express some views on them: We followed with particular attention of the People’s Assembly. We were especially impressed by the report “On improving and democratizing criminal legislation and certain organizational measures,” presented on behalf of the Council of Ministers, which set out the reasoning behind the changes to Albanian legislation. We, too, would like to express some views on them: Today’s developments in our society are appropriately reflected in these amendments. They cannot be called artificial or illogically grafted onto existing legislation; rather, they are its natural continuation and express its dynamism. The elimination of possible arbitrariness in the handling of criminal and civil cases through the provision of legal defense, as well as the abolition of internment and conditional punishment as administrative measures, are vivid and real expressions of the protection of human rights. The socialist principle of remuneration for ... (Continued on page 2)

In the town of Ballsh, a recital was presented by the actor Fadil Hasa, Merited Artist, prepared in collaboration with amateurs from the cultural palace of this town. The songs “I Sing for You,” “This Concern,” “Medley of Folk Songs from Central Albania,” “I Love the Spring Season,” and others, performed by amateur singers Arben Ymeri, Zhaneta Disha, and others, were also warmly received.

On the occasion of the publication of the second volume of the book “Memories of Enver,” the “8 Nëntori” Publishing House and the “Enver Hoxha” Museum organized a meeting in one of the museum’s halls with comrades who had published their recollections in this volume. Also taking part were employees of the Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies and the “8 Nëntori” Publishing House, veterans, leading cadres of Party and state bodies, and mass organizations from the districts of Tirana, among others. The opening remarks were delivered by the director of the “8 Nëntori” Publishing House, docent Xhemal Dini, who presented the second volume of the book “Memories of Enver.” These beautifully written recollections, full of inspiration, love, and respect, emphasize, among other things, how they bring our unforgettable leader vividly to life—as a person, a leader, an educator, and a great leader; his powerful support, his individuality and rare courage, his wisdom and farsightedness, but also his simplicity and concern for everything connected with people, with their lives, work, and struggle, which he experienced so deeply. Throughout the book, the reader feels the force of comrade Ramiz Alia’s monumental words: that Enver Hoxha’s heart and whole being responded with profound humanism to all the feelings and concerns of the people’s lives. Discussions followed, highlighting the ideological and journalistic merits of this volume and its importance for the communist education of the masses, especially the younger generation. The collaborators and fellow fighters of the beloved and glorious leader, comrade Enver Hoxha, shared memories of their meetings with him. The color documentary film “Among Comrades, Among the People” was screened for those attending the meeting. (ATSH)

On the occasion of the visit to Albania by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, journalists from press, radio and television organizations and news agencies from the USA, England, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, France, Japan, Portugal, etc. have arrived to cover the visit. Our editor SHKËLQIM BEQARI met with some of them and gathered these views: DEJVID BAJNDER (USA: “New York Times”). My colleagues have woken me several times during the night here to provide them with information about Albania. My report yesterday on the proceedings and decision of the People’s Assembly, as well as on my first impressions of Albania, was published at the top of the front page of the “New York Times,” which shows the great interest in Albania. The United States of America The proceedings of this session of the People’s Assembly are important in economic terms, in legislation, and also regarding the issue of international relations raised at the 10th Plenum. Equally important were the positions taken at this plenum on cooperation among states, and those concerning the process of European integration, the Helsinki process, etc. In my opinion, these developments and progress make your country’s participation more active than before in all European processes. We have observed this active participation in the role Albania has played and continues to play in the process of Balkan cooperation and understanding. This too is part of the process Europe needs. The visit of the UN Secretary-General Pereç and e Kullar bëhet në OKB-së dhe Shqipëri is in keeping with and expresses Albania’s activity and desire to further expand its relations gjerë qartë rrugët shumërëndësishëm e ligjshëm në botë. I would add something about your capital: Tirana is a city ... (Continued on page 4)

JAVIER PEREZ DE CUELLAR, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS Havier Perez’ de Kuelar, Secretary-General of the United Nations since 1982, was born in Lima, Peru, on January 19, 1920. He is a lawyer and career diplomat. He began his diplomatic career at Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940, and worked as director, secretary-general and legal adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and as ambassador to Switzerland, the Soviet Union, Poland and Venezuela. He took part in many sessions of the UN General Assembly as a member and head of Peru’s delegation. In 1971 he was appointed Peru’s permanent representative to the UN, represented his country on the Security Council and served as its president during the events in Cyprus in July 1974. From 1975 to 1977 he was the Secretary-General’s special representative in Cyprus; in 1979 he was appointed United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Peace Affairs. H. Perez de Kuelar has also worked as a professor of law and international relations at the Diplomatic Academy and the Peruvian Air War Academy. He holds honorary doctorates from many universities around the world. During his diplomatic career, H. Perez de Kuelar was decorated by 25 states and received various awards for work on international security cooperation. As UN Secretary-General, he makes an outstanding contribution within the United Nations Organization in the service of peace and security in the world.

Our workers followed with great interest the proceedings of the 7th session of the 11th legislature of the People’s Assembly. The important tasks set out at the session, the fruitful debate, and the laws that were passed open new paths for the country’s overall economic development, expand our socialist democracy, strengthen the homeland, and contribute to improving the well-being of the masses. Our editors and correspondents met with workers, cooperative members, and cadres, and brought us these impressions: