This whole doctrine of backwardness aims to keep people on their knees and turn them into slaves, even though it speaks in the name of “freedom,” for working people in the agricultural cooperatives, where the common property of the cooperative peasants is supposed to pass into the hands of others. It is these same people who, through their destruction, have ruined the country, and not the cooperative farmers. They have destroyed it because they think they are doing something “new” by destroying the old. The peasants are clear that without relying on their own experience, without relying on values earned through work and sweat, one cannot move forward. When it talks about “pluralism,” about “democracy,” about “open society,” reactionary propaganda seeks to make the working person lose orientation, to stop believing in his own strength, and instead wait for “salvation” from others. It encourages laziness, profit without sweat, the appropriation of common wealth, opposition between countryside and city, and the breakdown of any work discipline. In the cooperative, organized work and common property are not an obstacle to the peasant’s life, but his only means of securing bread, seed, livestock, cultivated land, irrigation and drainage. Whoever tells peasants otherwise is deceiving them. Whoever invites them to eat today the seed of next year pushes them toward impoverishment. Whoever incites them to break up the land, seize machinery, and loot warehouses and barns brings them not freedom, but ruin. The Party and the people’s power have not left the countryside in the lurch, and will not leave it in the lurch. They have done and will do everything to guarantee seed, chemical fertilizers, fuel, spare parts, credit and technical support, so that the land is worked and production increases. But even these measures are not enough if man himself does not work, does not keep discipline, does not take care of social property, and does not stay away from calls to disorder and destruction. Nothing is achieved without working yourself. This is a simple but great truth. It applies to the individual, to the family, to the cooperative, to the country. Neither freedom, nor democracy, nor prosperity falls from the sky. They are won with thought, with work, with order, with responsibility. Whoever tries to achieve them through shortcuts, theft, anarchy, and deception loses everything. Today our countryside needs calm, work, solidarity, and faith in itself. It needs to protect every inch of land, every working tool, every head of livestock, every seed, and every means of living. It needs not to fall prey to calls that push it to sell its future today. Whoever works, wins. Whoever destroys, loses. This is the test of life and the lesson of today.

The PPSH program, presented as the political platform for the democratic development of the country, is based on preserving the fundamental social achievements and adapting them to the new conditions. It emphasizes that the path of reform cannot be the path of denying everything that has been built, but of improving it for the benefit of the working person. The document sets as a first-order task the securing of order, production, and daily life, as a condition for any real change. It points out the need to increase economic efficiency, for wise decentralization, for encouraging initiative, and for responsible social and state oversight. The PPSH believes that political pluralism must not turn into the destruction of the state or into blind war against every existing value. Its program is presented as the most realistic and the most reliable, because it preserves the balance between change and stability, between reform and the defense of the public interest. It addresses issues of property, employment, education, culture, citizens’ rights, and openness to the world, but always stressing that Albania’s development must be based on its own forces and on the preservation of national independence. The most realistic and the most reliable, this program is directed at people who want change without chaos, reform without ruin, freedom without anarchy, and progress without losing national and social identity.

PREMET In the country’s districts, many meetings, discussions, and activities are being held in support of the PPSH electoral program. Workers, peasants, intellectuals, and young people express their views on the need to preserve order, increase production, and face the difficulties of the time calmly. From the active committees and organized meetings, the main demand emerges that every social cell do its part to normalize the situation and not allow disorder, sabotage, or calls that damage the interests of the people. It was emphasized that the implementation of the electoral program requires conviction, organization, and continuous contact with the masses. Participants spoke about the necessity of turning words into concrete work in the factory, in the field, in school, and in the office, so that the elections are accompanied by an atmosphere of responsibility and civic-mindedness. (Continues on page 2)

In an assessment made after official meetings, a foreign minister described the Albanian side’s stance as “calm and clear,” emphasizing the seriousness with which issues of cooperation and political developments in the country are being handled. According to him, Albania needs a climate of stability, functioning institutions, and a clear reform-oriented direction, so that contacts with the outside world produce the desired results. It was underlined that cooperation can move forward only on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference. The statement was received as an encouraging sign for the continuation of dialogue and relations with foreign partners.

In various public discussions, the conviction was expressed that the country needs a spirit of perspective, calm, and the strengthening of civic and national unity. In the conditions of major political and economic changes, it was said that no one should seek immediate gain at the expense of the general interest. Workers and intellectuals pointed out that unity does not mean mechanical unanimity, but the will to cooperate in solving problems and defending democratic order. It was emphasized that the country needs creative energy, patience, and public honesty. Only in this way, it was said, can the perspective of development and faith in the future be built.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs gave a press conference on issues related to employment, social protection, and measures to cope with the difficulties brought by the changes of the recent period. He focused on the need to preserve jobs, support for those in need, and a fairer administration of economic assistance. According to the minister, the problems are great, but they can be faced better if calm is maintained and production is not interrupted. The conference also stated that the social consequences of the transition are being closely monitored and that measures will be taken to avoid the heaviest blows on the most vulnerable layers of society.

Under the new economic conditions, agricultural specialists and managers of rural economies see favorable opportunities for the perspective of cooperation. According to them, pooling forces, the rational use of machinery, irrigation, and the food base can yield better results than fragmentation and isolated action. It was assessed that wise cooperation can preserve the good experiences of organization while reconciling them with individual initiative and responsibility. In this sense, reform in the countryside must not become a destruction of everything, but a better way to produce and live. Representatives of rural areas called for greater technical and financial support so that the perspective of cooperation can be based on real conditions and not on slogans.

The text of this section is partly illegible in the image and many words are not clearly discernible[?]. Fragments are visible that relate to trade, cooperation with foreign countries, and developments in Korçë[?]. (Continues on page 4)