Comrade Ramiz Alia went yesterday to the city of Vlora. At 16:00, a meeting with workers from this district was held at the city’s sports palace. Those present welcomed Comrade Ramiz Alia as he entered the hall with applause and cheers. The First Secretary of the District Party Committee of the Party of Labour, Halil Hasko, welcomed him, saying that all the others, the workers from the city and the countryside, had expressed their wish that Comrade Ramiz Alia visit the district of Vlora. The two wishes coincided. And, as you can see, he is here among us, amid 3,000 representatives from all the workplaces and production centers of this district, from all the villages of the district of Vlora. Amid enthusiastic cheers, Comrade Ramiz Alia took the floor. His speech was received with great enthusiasm and was frequently interrupted by cheers for the Party of Labour and for unity. At the end of the meeting, Comrade Ramiz Alia met and warmly greeted workers, veterans, young men and young women. Also yesterday, Comrade Ramiz Alia held a discussion with district officials. (Photo: ATSH)

— From the letters sent to Comrade Ramiz Alia — During the day yesterday, many letters of support arrived for Comrade Ramiz Alia from all the districts of the country, expressing, among other things, their civic concern regarding the demands of a section of the students. Tepelena, with its communists, workers, veterans, young men and young women, is enthusiastic about the democratic developments in its district. But this time it wishes to convey to you the thoughts of its people, first and foremost, about recent events, some of which are deeply offensive and unacceptable to people. We undertook the democratic processes as a people and as a nation, and we share the responsibility for carrying them through to the end. This gives us the right to speak and express an opinion about the positions and actions of others, whoever they may be. The current student movement is also taking on burdens that it describes as its own. We, the people, decided our position toward Enver Hoxha both when we followed him in the National Liberation War for national and social liberation, and when we supported him in building the new Albania, as well as when we accompanied him in April 1985. For so long, Albania has rarely had a man and leader whom it followed and supported as it did him. We are astonished that some students dare to set us against this glorious leader. Our indignation rises powerfully and rejects, too, the ultimatum-like demands made by some for the government’s resignation. The government is ours collectively; we may have complaints about its work, but the students are the least entitled to make them. Would it not be right to support it in this situation, which calls for deeds rather than words, and more work rather than obstacles? Dear Comrade Ramiz, the people of Tepelena are standing firm and fully express solidarity with the people of Rrëshen. As parents, brothers and sisters of Tepelena’s students at this university, we call on them to distance themselves from such actions. We ask that no path be opened to demands of this kind, which gravely insult the national dignity of our people and could potentially endanger unity and provoke conflicts among the people. If, even after their legitimate economic demands have been met, the students continue to boycott classes, the university should be temporarily closed and the students sent back to their districts. We support the President’s decision on the role of the army, the bodies of internal affairs and the judiciary under conditions of political pluralism, and we demand that no one other than the people themselves concern themselves with this matter. For our army has been, and remains, the people’s army. We ask that no one play with compromising matters. Those who have never excelled in the fields of our aspirations need not worry so much; they can find them in the Party of Labour’s electoral program. Let the hand of vandalism be stopped, and let the laws be applied against anyone who seeks to create confusion, insecurity and incidents, or to destroy what stands for the people and their interests. Dear Comrade Ramiz, we assure you that Tepelena has been and remains a strong supporter of the path mapped out by the Party of Labour, a steel pillar in the struggle to defend the freedom and progress of our beloved homeland. Finally, we ask that our letter be made public. From the worker collectives of NGP, Kullotat, Ushqimore, RTSH, Miniera Nr. 1; the 100 graduating students of the «Abaz Shehu» Gymnasium; the pensioners of the «15 shtatori» and «Mustafa Matohiti» neighborhoods; the State Bank, the Agricultural Bank, the Savings Bank, and Social Insurance; the Economic Center for Education; the agricultural cooperatives of Dragot, Krahës and Tosk-Martallos, and Glavë. • • • We are in favor of criticizing backwardness, shortcomings and mistakes, but in no way of casting the past into darkness. We defend the figure of Enver Hoxha, which is linked to the 50-year history of our people. Enver Hoxha, just like the University that bears his name, belongs to the nation, and it is the nation that can judge (Continued on page 2).

Dear comrades, Some time has passed since I last met with you, and I have missed you. On this occasion I greet all of you here and all the heroic people of Vlora. I wish you success at work and in your family lives. At all times, Vlora has been in the front ranks of our people’s struggle. It was so when the people fought to win back the freedom and independence seized from us by foreigners; when the Party and Enver Hoxha called for and led the construction of the new Albania; and now, as the country passes through another phase of development, that of democratizing the life of the country. At no time have our tasks been easy, and difficulties have never ceased. Yet the fighting spirit of the people of Vlora and all Labëria has never been lacking, nor their determination to move forward or their boundless loyalty to the cause of the people and the progress of the homeland. Traditions, Comrade Ramiz went on to say, are our roots; they are the people’s pride. We Albanians inherited few material advantages from the past. Albania was occupied in a wretched economic state and emerged from the war completely devastated. But poverty has never prevented Albanians from being people of strong character and true courage, from being a cultured people who know how to enjoy life and are not daunted by the storms of time. The period since the country’s liberation is also part of our tradition. The most general assessment of the values of this era and the achievements of society cannot be denied to the people who brought about Albania’s development. Looking back at the past should aim at knowing, understanding and honoring what generations created, not at counting what was lacking. Humanism begins here. One cannot speak of civil rights and human freedoms if one does not know how to honor the values of one’s forebears, the culture of those who brought us into this life, gave us schooling and culture, and made us citizens with open minds and strong character. Should shortcomings and mistakes be covered up? They, too, must be brought to light, so that they are not repeated and lessons can be drawn for the future. Our Party has never shied away from openly judging them. Indeed, it has taken the initiative not only to uncover them, but also to take measures to correct them. During the difficult years of the war, we were influenced and encouraged to wage class struggle; matters were dealt with harshly and other measures were taken, reflecting a lack of judgment about certain kinds of measures. The Party of Labour took the initiative, and so on. We rushed our decision on the matter of the cooperative yard, but did not wait to discuss how it had come about. We decided to correct this mistake and left it to the peasants to correct it themselves. We were wrong when we legally prohibited religious believers. We acknowledged this publicly and are correcting it. For a long time, while criticizing what we called socialist countries, we considered this unacceptable because it did not infringe the principle of relying on our own forces. But later, when relations with these countries broke down, we made that principle absolute, which undoubtedly hindered the normal development of the economy. We recognized this mistake and began cooperating with the outside world in the financial sphere and in obtaining loans. There may be, and surely are, other mistakes that have had consequences. They, too, can be discussed. But why forget that we emerged from the war without a single kilometer of railway, whereas today railways have been built throughout the country? Let us not ignore the fact that something we urgently sought, carrying gold in our hands through Europe in the 1960s, is now produced even by cooperatives. Albania became one of the few countries in the world and Europe whose villages were fully electrified. We began with the fight against mass illiteracy and reached secondary education for all. It was in this period that the old dream of the Renaissance figures was fulfilled: that Albania should have a university of its own. In these radical transformations, the Party of Labour and its founder and leader, Enver Hoxha, have an indisputable share of the credit. All of this is the history of the people; it is their biography. It can be treated only with goodwill. No one has the right to play with people’s feelings. No civilized people speak contemptuously of their own history. I emphasize this assessment with the demands in mind that Enver Hoxha’s name be removed from the University of Tirana. No one—not a group of people, nor any organizations—has the moral right, much less the legal right, to impose their wishes on the entire Albanian people. That is not democratic; it is anti-democratic. Anyone can understand demands for better and fairer conditions in other areas, where opportunities exist, but no one can accept that the laws of the state be imposed by meetings and demonstrations in squares and streets. Then Comrade Ramiz spoke about the current political situation prevailing in the country. At present, the process of deepening democracy is under way in our country, increasing the role of the masses in determining the country’s course. The election campaign, he said, has enlivened political life. It is a major test for all of us. In this campaign, the people must know how to judge with sound reason and decide freely whose hands they will entrust with power to exercise in their name. It will have dangerous consequences if political forces’ fair competition is replaced by manipulation. At present, only the programs have been drawn up. The problem is that they are not providing the necessary optimism for the future or encouragement to work. Now more than ever, we need to increase productive activity, rather than going around expecting everything to be solved by some miracle. The economic situation is not good. There are many shortages in the market, in industrial and consumer goods as well as agricultural and livestock products. There is unemployment, and there is inflation. We can speak without fear of a crisis situation. People are concerned because acts of hooliganism and vagrancy have increased, and insecurity has grown. More and more often, many individuals fall victim to rumors and the disorienting actions of dark forces, which surely do not wish the Albanian people and homeland well. Someone spreads a rumor that “the border has been opened,” and, as if nothing were wrong, thousands rush across, violating the law, into Greece or Yugoslavia. And although they are sent back, another rumor is believed: that several ferries will arrive in Durrës to take Albanian citizens to South Africa, supposedly because white people are needed there, not Black people. Without a second thought, thousands rush to the port of Durrës, where, when it all turns out to be nothing but a lie, they vent their anger by breaking windows, attacking the police and looting shops. Why, indeed, do these people act this way? They may be in difficult economic circumstances. But if they have decided to emigrate, why don’t they simply obtain passports through the normal channels? Or do they want to give their departure a political coloring? Then the question arises: is there any thread of patriotism left in these people? And, finally, what harm have the people’s property and concerns done to them, that they destroy them? This is an abnormal psychosis that must be brought to an end for the sake of the homeland, its future, and the freedom and independence won at such a cost in blood and sacrifice. It must not be forgotten that behind actions of this kind there is often the hand of the foreign enemies of our republic. Times are difficult, but there is a way out. Today the most urgent issue is to increase and establish stability in the economy and in the country as a whole. It is a fact that both economic and political stability have been considerably shaken. People say there is a collapse. It is better to say that people (Continued on page 2).

Who will “give us stability?”... At around nine o’clock, the other day, on Elbasan Street, one noticed a blank sheet of paper. Several groups of young people, as if in a hurry, were coming down from the city—the students—and heading toward the center. The night before, in several places, we had read the announcement of a rally to be held by the students in «Demokracia» Square to continue the boycott of classes. At just that hour, some students were leaving. Had the rally been canceled? It could not have been. In the narrow lanes leading to the university city, one saw a crowd of people hurrying along. Students, but also employees of enterprises and institutions, and pupils from various schools. We fell into conversation with two students, first-year students in the language and literature department, Liliana from the town of Librazhdi and Suzanë from Borja in Kukës, who were also on their way to the rally, about the boycott of classes, which had reached its fifth day. “We’re very fed up. Our heads are in a fog. Many of our friends have gone home. We’ll leave too. It’s better than staying like this, without classes,” said the girl from Kukës. “This isn’t right. If we all want to get involved in politics, then who will work?” added the girl from Kukës. We understood the two students’ concern when a teacher colleague, Dibran Vranici, told us: “Six buses have come from Peshkopia, twice as many as on other days. They’re full of parents. They’ve come to see their student children.” Five days without classes. Thousands of hours of lessons and lectures lost—days that cannot be made up—instead of doing something more than usual (Continued on page 2).

Yesterday, the Presidium of the Union of Journalists of Albania met, with invited guests, including heads of various press organizations, also taking part. The Organization’s chairman, Marash Hajat, presented the report “On the proceedings of the 11th Congress of the International Organization of Journalists and the tasks facing our organization in the field of foreign relations.” The Presidium discussed and approved the organization’s annual plan of activities for the professional development of journalists. The meeting also considered the request by the Editorial Board of the newspaper «Rilindja Demokratike» for membership in the Union of Journalists of Albania, and approved it, registering the newspaper’s journalists as members of the organization. (ATSH)

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Isuf Baca, explains that both the Greek border authorities and the Yugoslav authorities continue to return Albanian citizens who have crossed the border illegally. So far, the Greek side has returned 7,100 people, while the Yugoslav side has returned 411. Despite these returns, however, groups of people have again headed for the southern border in recent days, seriously hindering the border forces in carrying out their duty to protect and maintain the state borders. These unreasonable actions serve only those forces seeking to destabilize the country politically and economically. In addition, they could cause serious events and incidents at the border and endanger the lives of citizens.