The moments our country is going through are such that they call for the contribution of every Albanian, every honest patriot. At this time, the people especially look to the Party of Labour, which, by reforming itself, guides the country morally so as to be the bearer of progress. The Party of Labour has clearly declared in its electoral programme that it will renew itself in order to meet the tasks of the times. But one thing must be clear to everyone: renewal cannot be carried out by just a handful of people in the apparatus of the Party’s Central Committee or in the apparatuses of the district Party Committees, however well-disposed or firmly decided they may be. The renewal of the Party, as an urgent necessity, is and must be the concern of all communists, from the most ordinary member upwards. Precisely because it is everyone’s concern, the theoretical and practical work to achieve this renewal must involve everyone. Enough of fantasies from offices; enough of ideas—and, in a way, of people with «special brains»—who graft things onto the workers, while using their lives only for bureaucratic records and reports rather than maintaining lively, direct contact with them. But what does it mean for the whole Party to be involved in renewing itself? It means that at Party-organization meetings we openly ask: What do you think, brothers, how should we renew the Party, how should we abandon dogmas and postulates? Surely opinions will pour forth. But there may also be some who remain silent, some who show indifference, and some who, fearing change, cannot speak the truth. Those who do not take part in this great «circulation» of the Party’s blood may gather outside its ranks as «atrophied cells». Other sons and daughters of the people will fill the Party with new blood—not simply because they are young in age, but because their convictions will inspire them to carry out and implement the Party programme. Of course, renewing the old Party of Labour, now entering its 50th year, is no easy matter. Renewal encompasses concepts and structures, theory and practice. These things cannot be done in a day or a month, nor can they be achieved merely by erasing everything with the «eraser». But one thing is plainly an urgent necessity: what must be rejected today need not be buried until tomorrow; what should be upheld as a value of the Party must be affirmed forcefully today, without allowing any other political force to trample on it. This is the dialectics of renewal, the dialectical method. It operates in every cell of our society and, for society’s benefit, lies at the heart of the Party’s electoral programme. In reality, renewal has begun; the Party apparatuses are being streamlined. This is positive—a concrete step, as the Party itself gives up cumbersome bureaucratic structures. But even in this area there is still hesitation: «Where will X go, and where will Y go?» We cannot give any prescription, but one thing is quite clear: people would be pleased to see X and Y in jobs they are capable of doing. It would not be at all difficult, for example, for an instructor or perhaps even a Party Committee secretary, according to their training, to work at an ordinary job in their profession. On the other hand, the Party’s moral right to be the bearer of progress cannot in any way be separated from distancing itself from the privileges that some Party cadres have enjoyed and still enjoy. When ordinary people stand in queues to buy foodstuffs, it is truly unforgivable that some Party officials do not have to queue, finding these goods by all sorts of means. If you were to give yourselves ...

- Excerpts from letters to the editorial office - It is to the credit of the Albanian Party of Labour that we are moving towards Europe The processes of democratizing life in the country, I say with complete conviction, are a major qualitative step undertaken by the Albanian Party of Labour, which is fighting on every front so that our state may keep pace with the times and move towards civilized Europe. Yet there are many words and comments about the democratization of the country, human rights, etc., presented as a fundamental and indispensable condition; about the role and outcome of the Helsinki Final Act, about the changes in our country and elsewhere in the East, and about other slogans, while denying what the Albanian people themselves are, together with the Party born and raised by this people, in building democracy—not through foreign influence. I think that even the great economic difficulties our country is facing and living through today cannot be overcome with empty words and fine talk, but only through selfless work and the all-round mobilization of all the forces and resources at our disposal. VJALI ALIU Forestry Enterprise, Vlorë Every nation knows that every work of art, monument, bust, museum or any other work is its product, the outcome of the struggle, work and sacrifice that make up that nation’s history. No policy, no law, no authority has the right to desecrate a monument belonging to its nation or destroy a museum, even a simple memorial column. They should live on with the nation for as long as the nation itself lives. Every cultured nation should preserve them forever, because their destruction would mean the self-destruction of that very nation, especially in the case of small nations like ours. It would be disastrous if, whenever a nation’s regimes, systems or policies changed, its sculptures and all those things in art, culture, history, sculpture, architecture and politics belonging to that era were destroyed as well. Nations and their countries would thus be reduced to ruins. LLESH NIKOLLË DUDI, LEZHË

«I will love you if you love my Party,» Gjeshka, the writer Gjikë Kuqali (martyr), said to the girl he loved when she refused to take an active part in the struggle against the fascist occupier. Today, only the years separate us from Gjikë, but what unites us in our hearts with all generations is love for the Party, because we cannot separate this love from love for the homeland and for socialism. True love is love that accepts you even with your faults. The people express it very clearly: you cannot eat bread without making crumbs. Whoever has built a house with sweat cannot sell it or tear it down, because they feel sorrow for all the effort they put into it. VEHBIJE LOHJA Tiranë

The electoral programme of the Albanian Party of Labour reflects the logical course of constitutional achievements and raises issues concerning development, trends and new directions—not only in the social and economic life of our country, but also in the broadening, both horizontally and vertically, of the democratization of all aspects of life in our country. This programme, together with the draft Constitution, stands out for its clarity compared with the programmes of the other electoral subjects, which are fully entitled to participate in the elections to the People’s Assembly. Although intended for one legislative term, the Albanian Party of Labour’s electoral programme stands out for setting out immediate and permanent solutions to strategic tasks, each of which is interconnected with the others in the political, economic, social, educational, defence and diplomatic fields, in keeping with international processes. The programme of the Party of Labour bases the growth of prosperity on the work of the whole people; it bases progress on the foundation laid over the past 46 years. As a history teacher, I have become convinced that what the minds and hands of our people have accomplished in these 46 years has not been achieved so quickly by any other country in Europe—not by England after its revolution, France after its bourgeois revolution, or the USSR after the October Socialist Revolution—when compared proportionally with their populations and the economic and technical potential they had when they carried out their revolutions. Therefore, let us view the present realistically and patriotically, recognizing that we have everything needed to overcome difficulties and meet our economic, cultural and technical needs, as well as those in other services. PASHK PICAKU Perlat, Mirditë

I carefully follow the various articles in our newspapers, but some of them often cause indignation—indeed, a great deal of it—because I see passion, resentment and rancour in them, and here and there even denial. Mistakes are pointed out not with the sense of responsibility needed to find a way to correct and put things right, and to prevent their recurrence, but in a «battle» over whose pen writes more «beautifully» and more harshly. Some journalist comrades are in too much of a hurry; indeed, I could say that their zeal does not serve the cause, but rather the opposite. In their articles they give the impression that chaos and anarchy reigned here in Albania, and that the entire country was governed solely by malicious and ill-intentioned people, by the ignorant and the uncultured. To write like this and start writing in this manner, using the press and printing to pour out spiteful and stale articles, is to forget that today the people are not those of 1945 but of 1991; when they read articles they dislike or find unrealistic, they purse their lips and put them in a drawer to wrap bread in. Pluralism of thought means debate, and all the more so in art, but always to put things right, not to destroy. To destroy what took 45 years to build, one could swing a pickaxe for a week. But what would be gained by that? Only someone who does not love Albania would start that. THANAS MARKU Sarandë

This is a time when the nation wants to move forward, and on this path we all see that we are encountering numerous and serious obstacles. It surprises me that some people are so concerned about which parties will take part in the various elections, as though this would easily set back the democratic movement in the country. They do not realize that they are failing in their «liberating» mission, which they attribute to themselves, and in doing so they meet neither the tasks of the times nor the people’s aspirations. Albania needs democracy and calm. We will achieve these by choosing the right path and doing the work that lies before us. Failure to engage in various kinds of work means that the main focus remains on discussions and debates, on clashes of opinions or different positions, characterized by a critical tone that is directed even at everything done up to now. The many assertions and «whys» seem to weary us. What matters is finding a path to a broad transformation of life in the country—this is what should concern us all. However, an independent life of our own depends on our specialists. We must be aware that a gradual transformation is characteristic of our time. And in this transformation people must be ready to work harder. ARTAN ALI HOXHA teacher, Shkodër

I believe that, at the present stage of political developments in our country, the democratization being led by the Party, with comrade Ramiz Alia at its head, is fully accepted by the people. Only three categories of people, a minority, may be excluded from this. First, I think there are the bureaucrats: those who have secured leadership posts and privileges not through ability and merit but through «machinations» contrary to the people’s morality. In their struggle to preserve their «careers», these people do everything they can to obstruct the new path of democratization. The second group consists of some «political idiots» who do not understand the situation and its development, who take things as static and fixed, and regard everything in the past as perfect. The third are those who have now become «ideologues» without ever having been held back before, and who have «itching tongues» because previously they could not speak. Everyone can distinguish these three types through the conversations and debates of these intense days, wherever they take place. Whatever positions or Party interests they act and speak from, they are sowing tensions and no small amount of concern among the people, who wholeheartedly want democratization and its full growth, achieved calmly and wisely. HEKURAN HYSA Elbasan

Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Reis Malile, received in his office the State Secretary of Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, domnul Neagu. During the meeting, which took place in a friendly atmosphere, the Albanian-Romanian relations—which have achieved new progress—were noted, as were the possibilities for further expanding cooperation in the economic, cultural, technical and scientific fields. Foreign Minister, Reis Malile (Continued on page 4)

Talks on receipt were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gjon Gorshi, and the Romanian delegation, headed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reis Malile, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Gjon Gorshi, and ... (Continued on page 4)

Yesterday, an Albanian government delegation departed for Switzerland, consisting of Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Fatos Nano and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Muhamet Kapllani. It will take part in the meeting of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Shvab, and participate in the work of the Forum’s 7th session, traditionally held in Davos. At Rinas airport, the delegation was seen off by Foreign Minister Reis Malile, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Gjon Gorshi, and ...

These days, two fundamental CSCE documents—the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe—have come off the press and been released. Both documents were published by the «8 Nëntori» Publishing House in cooperation with the Institute of International Relations Studies attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (ATSH)

On certain changes in the composition of the Council of Ministers Pursuant to Article 78 of the Constitution; On the proposal of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers; THE PRESIDIUM OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE’S SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA DECIDES: 1. Fatos Nano is relieved of his duties as Secretary General of the Council of Ministers and appointed Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. 2. Shkëlqim Cani is appointed Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. 3. Ahmet Kambaril is relieved of his duties as Minister of Health. 4. Sabit Brokaj is appointed Minister of Health. 5. Alfred Uçi is relieved of his duties as Chairman of the Committee for Culture and the Arts, as he is retiring. 6. Moikom Zego is appointed Chairman of the Committee for Culture and the Arts. 7. Aleks Luarasi is appointed Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. This decree enters into force immediately. Tiranë, 31.1.1991. Decree No.: 7462. FOR THE PRESIDIUM OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE’S SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRETARY Sihat Tozaj CHAIRMAN Ramiz Alia

Fatos Nano: Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Born in Tiranë in 1952. Completed higher studies in political economy. Holds the title «Candidate of Economic Sciences». He has served as Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. Shkëlqim Cani: Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Born in Tiranë in 1956. Completed higher studies in economics. He has served as Director General of the Bank for Foreign Relations. Sabit Brokaj: Minister of Health. Born in Berat, in the district of Vlorë, in 1942. Cardiologist. Holds a doctorate. He has served as dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Moikom Zego: Chairman of the Committee for Culture and the Arts. Born in Tiranë in 1949. Completed studies in language and literature and specialized as an art historian. He has served as secretary of the General Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania in the district of Durrës. Aleks Luarasi: Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. Born in Ersekë in 1941. He is a jurist. Holds the title of docent. He has served as deputy dean of the Faculty of Political and Legal Sciences.