The days leading up to 31 March are bringing with them a tense political situation. The Labour Party is at the centre of attacks from every side. Attempts to deny every achievement made over 46 years, to make it responsible for everything, and to saddle it with mistakes and shortcomings that never existed are running rampant. Attacks against the PPSH have gained particular momentum because the economic situation is currently difficult. It is worsening not only because of the difficulties in supplying raw materials and shortages of imported materials, but also because people are giving up working in the state and in the city. The strange mentality that from now on the rest of the world will work for us has spread widely and is having extremely serious and ruinous consequences for the country. For Albanians, historically bound to their soil and homeland, emigration has become an epidemic of extraordinary proportions. The general frenzy to emigrate led to violent assaults on ports and the seizure of trains, ships and other vessels. Tens of thousands of people—men, women, young people and children—have set out, or want to set out, on the road to foreign lands, although everyone knows that nowhere is everything rosy. It is true that this is the main factor behind the rise in emigration, but also behind the [illegible] of emigration. But the use of [unclear] and lies, the lack of restraint and, subsequently, the massive and unimaginable dangers faced by those who, from the events of 2 July last year, [??] on foot—[?] towards the Greek border, to the ports and back towards the embassies, clearly show that these are not isolated events or phenomena. On the contrary, they represent scenarios similar to those in Eastern countries which people want to stage in Albania as well. Their directors want to discredit popular power, politically and economically destabilize Albania, and obstruct its uninterrupted progress along the road to democratization. For all these reasons, the work of the communists is becoming more difficult. There are ways to overcome the difficulties. But work is needed. More work than ever. Nothing comes to us from the sky. We must sow now in order to reap and harvest fruit and vegetables. We must produce and export so that we can import. Through our commitment, discipline and ability, we must earn the confidence and trust of foreigners in economic cooperation in all its forms. The communists’ task is to understand that work is [unclear]; unless everyone stands up—the worker and the farmer, the civil servant and the scientist—nothing can be achieved. Through their conviction and example, they must win the masses over and draw them into work. This has been and remains a sacred duty for the communists and the PPSH. The Labour Party’s programme for the electoral campaign is the clearest, best-argued, ambitious and achievable one. Alongside it, the new draft constitution has also been presented to the people. These documents contain clear objectives showing how our Party intends to overcome the difficulties and stabilize the economy. It is the communists’ duty first to familiarize themselves with these documents and use them to explain and convince the people of the optimism and prospects opened up by the Labour Party programme. They bear the burden of confronting the pressure brought to bear on communists, the Party itself and its programme in every form, from hysterical anti-communist calls to acts of vandalism. It is true that there have also been mistakes along our road. The Party itself has acknowledged this and has undertaken comprehensive reform to democratize. But passion must not prevail or cloud anyone’s vision. Why should the Albanian communist alone feel guilty? For the freedom and independence that his Party, at the head of the people, brought to the homeland? For the reclaimed, developed land equipped with modern machinery and technology? For the powerful hydroelectric plants and the complete electrification of the country? Or for Lukova and Myzeqeja? For the University and the Academy of Sciences? For guaranteed pensions in the countryside and the cities, for life expectancy having doubled and for the population’s young age? For the unified language, culture and literature at world-class levels? The Labour Party and the Albanian communist have an entire glorious history that no one can darken. Their contribution to the country’s democratization process will enrich and further develop this history. It is characteristic that women, young women today ... [text corrupted]. This is being implemented, creating acute problems for unity. Therefore, I personally support the PPSH programme, says Skënderi, which preserves collective property in the countryside. JORGO ZHONGA. At a discussion among villagers held these days in Bënçë, ... [text corrupted: repeated passage] ... collective property in the countryside. (Continued on page 2)

The most realistic and most trustworthy The electoral programmes of the parties have many points in common, but they also differ on other cardinal points. Economist Ferit Meshi expressed this view at the state bank in Kukës while debating the parties’ electoral programmes. “I think,” he says, “that among the most complete aspects of the Labour Party programme are its implementation and the important changes made to adapt it to the demands of every Albanian who wants to work for their own programme, for their own benefit. I think there will be greater diversity for the countryside, although the programme sets out the possibility of different forms of cooperation. Also, the national question could have been emphasized more fully in all the programmes.” Ramazan Hasa, head of the finance section at the repair and services enterprise in this district, says that the Labour Party programme is closer than any other programme to people’s demands, as well as to the means of meeting them, and is therefore the most realistic and trustworthy. This is all the more so because the measures initiated in the economy, as well as pluralism, are presented in the programme as a natural continuation. If people work and everyone carries out their duty, the entire policy set out in this programme is entirely satisfactory and achievable, since the implementation of the new economic mechanism in our enterprises has encouraged people to work. The new forms of organization, which the Labour Party’s electoral programme opens the way for, encourages and inspires, will certainly greatly invigorate production and services, stimulate everyone’s desire for a higher standard of living, and also encourage people to work harder and become qualified, along with other examples that already exist and those who are better prepared, in ever greater numbers. Society’s need for various services and products will certainly be met under the programme put forward by the Labour Party, since the regulation of supply and demand, together with the decentralization envisaged, will put things right. There is also disagreement in various debates about particular points in the Labour Party programme, but in most cases people express complete confidence in a rapid [renewal?] in all [fields—text cut off]. (Continued on page 2)

It is rare to meet cooperative members in the district of Tepelenë who do not approve of the PPSH electoral programme. It is rare to meet cooperative members in the district of Tepelenë who do not approve of the PPSH electoral programme, given the prospects it ensures for the economic development of the countryside, and who are not determined to vote for this programme. In saying this, we have in mind cooperative members who truly live from their work in the collective economy and who love the countryside. There are also those who simply sit around and smear the work of the countryside, while obtaining their financial means mainly from other sectors. Some of them do not hesitate to tell cooperative members: “Let livestock farming divide up the wheat, since we can bring it from Canada at a low price.” (As if Canada were just beyond Këndrevica or Trebeshina.) The farmers of Tepelenë who know the conditions before the war, or even in the first years after it, know very well how hard they had to struggle to secure their daily bread. That is why they call this kind of “menu” they are served pie in the sky. At a village discussion held these days in Bënçë, cooperative member Vasilika Zhupa said: —The PPSH supports cooperatives. And we support its programme. We must not leave the cooperative under any circumstances, or we will only bring ruin upon ourselves. It is characteristic that women, who make up almost 70 per cent of the workforce in the district’s agricultural economies, support strengthening the cooperative economy and improving it through new, more effective forms that stimulate production. In conversation with Rexho Malaj, who was head of the Qesarat cooperative for 25 years, he unequivocally approves of the PPSH programme regarding the development of the cooperative economy. In a short time, the collectivized economy not only fully resolved the supply of all agricultural products to its members, but earnings per workday reached as much as 16 lekë and the accumulation rate reached 30–35 per cent. Skënder Muçi, sector supervisor at the Dukaj cooperative, raises the issue that as soon as the PD programme, which envisages privatizing the land, was announced, some villagers asked for title deeds and the boundaries of the lands they had owned, even though someone might have a house there or someone else’s building might have been erected on it. If implemented, this would create major problems for unity. Therefore, says Skënderi, I personally support the PPSH programme, which preserves collective property in the countryside.

— How the advantages of cross-border trade are being used — As stated in the PPSH electoral programme, cooperation with other countries is one of the ways to reorganize and advance the economy. Nevertheless, experience is still limited. We must act so that the opportunities opened up do not turn into lost opportunities. What, for example, can be learned from the experience of trade in Gjirokastër? The state of the market and its shortages are well known; quite a few companies and traders want and are able to help meet its needs, but what is holding them back? The inability to convert lekë into foreign currency. Can this be overcome? Closer contacts and more developed business activity could bring in and encourage companies that might invest right here in factories, hotels, and so on. By creating this facility and advantage for them, we too can ease our difficulties. They would also be given opportunities for trade, investment and profit. This idea has occurred to our cross-border trade workers and has also been put to foreign partners. Let us work to make it happen without wasting time. Here is a proposal they have made, in a situation where illegal emigration has become a reality here too. In nearby border towns, people could be employed—[Continued on page 2]

At the “Naim Frashëri” House of Culture in the city of Përmet, the Labour Party committee of the district organized a meeting to explain the PPSH electoral programme. Dhimitër Shandro, an employee in the Party’s CC apparatus, focused chiefly on the tasks of renewing the Party, the organization’s structure, its methods and style of work, and the concepts of a new party engaged in active work within the framework of pluralism. The importance of improving the political system was also emphasized, with the principal role assigned to bodies elected by the people, as well as the strengthening of the rule of law on the basis of compliance with the law. (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday in Rome, talks were held between our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muhamet Kapllani, and his counterpart Xhani de Mikëlis. The Foreign Ministers of Albania and Italy discussed the progress of Albanian-Italian relations, focusing in particular on their current state. The two ministers discussed the departure in recent days of a considerable number of Albanian specialists for Italy. They stressed that this mass exodus was undesirable for both sides, but did not constitute a factor that would negatively affect relations. It was noted during the talks that Italy’s understanding approach to the matter expresses a new solidarity now emerging in international relations. Minister Muhamet Kapllani spoke about the democratic processes undertaken in Albania, which are leading our country towards democratic and pluralist elections on 31 March. The democratization process, Muhamet Kapllani emphasized, is irreversible, and no current difficulty can stop it. It is important to emphasize that the elections should take place in calm and with social peace, since any upheaval or destabilization of Albania at this moment could have serious consequences not only for our country, but also for international relations, it was stressed during the talks. (Continued on page 4)

The Minister of Trade and Foreign Cooperation, Shane Korbeci, took part in the first meeting, organized on 11–12 March in Vienna by the Economic Commission for Europe, based at the UN in Geneva. At this meeting, views were exchanged on the economic development of the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe and of the Länder of Bavaria. He will make a visit to Germany to attend the opening ceremony of the Albanian Trade Office in Munich. During his stay in Germany, the Minister of Trade and Foreign Cooperation, Shane Korbeci, together with others, held separate meetings with Parliamentary State Secretary Ridl, the Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs and Transport, the president of the Bavarian Chamber of Commerce, as well as with business representatives and those from Munich, etc. (ATSH)

The ATA correspondent learned at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Justice that the relevant measures had been taken to implement Decree No. 7471, dated 12.3.1991, of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, concerning the pardon of prisoners sentenced to imprisonment. Accordingly, on March 17, 1991, the decree was reviewed; the aforementioned prisoners, together with some people convicted of other criminal offenses, will go to their families. (ATA)

Yesterday morning, in one of the State Bank’s offices in Tirana, the working mission of the International Monetary Fund, which has come to our country to cooperate with the financial and banking authorities, as well as with the ministries and other economic bodies, on Albania’s accession to the IMF and other international financial organizations, held a press conference. Representatives of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, Radio and Television, journalists from press organizations, and employees of ministries and central institutions were present. Opening the conference, the head of the IMF working mission, Prof. Marlo Blejer, said: “I would like to make a brief statement and then answer your questions. We have come as representatives of the International Monetary Fund to gain a real understanding of the progress of the Albanian economy to date, at a time when your Government, in January of this year, requested accession to these powerful international financial organizations from the IMF and the World Bank. The IMF was established after the Second World War, in 1946, and has 155 members, that is, most of the countries in the world. We are very pleased with recent developments in Albania and with its request to join the IMF. During this visit, we have begun the process of familiarizing ourselves with the Albanian economy.”

— But let us not dampen this spirit of work with shortcomings in supplies — Midweek. The streets of the small town of Ersekë are quiet. How can that be? Have Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday not become mixed up here, as in many other towns? The explanation? It is not that the winds of democracy and political pluralism have not blown here, nor that the seed of the idea of moving toward Europe, etc., has not been sown here. The people of Kolonjë, energetic by nature, democratic in spirit and deed, have not stood apart from these important processes of the day. But the young people have not abandoned their work, and they see work as inseparable from democratization. Two telling figures: since the beginning of the year, the overall industrial production plan for the district has been fulfilled at 103 percent, while the indicator for production of goods sold stands at 112 percent. The absence of what is called “slacking off at work” is also borne out by such information: in the district’s economic enterprises, employees generally do not take unjustified absences. People mark an absence in order to work, to make sure something is entered on the payroll. “This readiness and workers’ pride in their work,” says Sotirag Gjergjo, chief engineer of the wood-processing enterprise, “make us managers feel ashamed when we become an obstacle because of some shortages that are not of the main materials, but of auxiliary ones. For example, because we lack sponge and damask, the sofas and reception-room suites remain unfinished at our plant. Every day the workers in the departments affected by these shortages really do keep busy, but only producing semi-finished goods. Isn’t the production of semi-finished goods becoming excessive? Unless production is turned into goods that are sold, even the workers’ wages cannot be guaranteed. For the period from the beginning of this year to the present, the indicator for production of goods sold at this enterprise has been achieved at 90 percent. The figure of 122 percent shown in the records also includes the stock of production carried over from last year.” “Don’t shortages of materials that are not all that difficult to obtain lead to a kind of slackening that we would call not natural, but forced?” says Sokol Selenica, head of the Planning Section at the district People’s Council Executive Committee. “For example, the two collection and processing enterprises in Ersekë and Leskovik have substantially exceeded their industrial production targets. At NGP-Ersekë the figure is 185 percent, and at the Leskovik enterprise it is 100 percent. Both enterprises have substantially exceeded the indicator for production of goods sold. And yet a considerable quantity of food products is not being sent to market within and outside Kolonjë because boxes and cardboard are lacking; these have to be supplied by the ‘Misto Mame’ wood combine in Tirana.” Let us return to that initial assessment. In Kolonjë, people are working. Here, because of unavoidable subjective circumstances at the present moment, there is no slackening. But let us not dampen this spirit of work through negligence in supplies. Kolonjë district itself has rightly responded to its obligations, since dairy products, coal, and timber are preventing it from moving forward as well as it has so far, and even better.

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs The newspaper «Rilindja Demokratike» of March 13, 1991, publishes a notice according to which the chairman of the Democratic Party’s Steering Commission, Dr. Sali Berisha, and a member of this Commission, Dr. Gramoz Pashko, had set off for the USA at the invitation of the State Department. Asked about this notice, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that, according to the information available, they had received no such invitation from the State Department. * * * The Directorate of Emigration, attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asks all families whose children have left without their knowledge to submit the necessary information to it, so that, in accordance with international regulations, we can make the appropriate contacts with the Italian authorities. Our side has already raised with the Italian authorities, on 16 separate occasions, the issue of Albanian citizens leaving for Italy, and is in continuous contact with them to resolve this problem.

You may all have heard the rumor that several embassies will open on March 15. This false news is intended to incite renewed destabilization in the streets of Tirana. What is the truth? Read some statements about this on page 4.