Yesterday afternoon, at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, Comrade Ramiz Alia, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour and Chairman of the People’s General Council—candidate for deputy to the People’s Assembly in electoral district number 218—held an enthusiastic meeting with the voters of this district. Thousands of residents of this neighbourhood, with its distinguished patriotic and freedom-loving traditions, had come to the meeting. Among them were veterans, councillors, workers from workplaces and production centres, employees of various institutions, military personnel, young men and young women. Those present burst into enthusiastic applause when Comrade Ramiz Alia entered the Palace’s main hall and was greeted with raised fists. The ovations continued for many minutes, with cheers for the Party of Labour and Comrade Ramiz Alia. A group of young people who were voters in this electoral district embraced Comrade Ramiz Alia warmly and presented him with bunches of flowers. The meeting was opened by a resident of the district, Sokol Sinoimeri, who expressed the voters’ joy at having their beloved leader, Comrade Ramiz Alia, among them that day. “It is a great honour for us,” he said, “to vote for Comrade Ramiz Alia, the inspirer and architect of democracy in Albania.” Amid the great joy and enthusiasm of everyone present, Comrade Ramiz Alia’s speech was heard with special attention and was frequently interrupted by vigorous applause for the Party of Labour and by chants of “Party of Enver—we are ready at any time” and “Party of Ramiz—our unity moves us.” Once again, young people streamed into the hall, once again bringing bouquets of flowers. The young woman Albana Tafaj, speaking on behalf of Comrade Ramiz, said: “We will give you our votes, you, the politician and diplomat, the initiator of democracy in our country, who will carry it forward.” At the end of the meeting, Comrade Ramiz Alia met and warmly greeted the voters and workers of the capital. (ATSH) (Photo ATSH)

Dear comrades, sisters and brothers, I have come to meet and talk with you not as a candidate meeting with voters, but as a friend and comrade who is running for deputy in the electoral district and who sincerely wants us to be of use and accountable to one another. Thank you for your warm welcome and the fraternal feelings you show towards me and our Party. Your proposal that I represent you in the highest body of state power and in the next legislature, while an expression of confidence, is also a great responsibility for me. Only two days remain until the elections. This is the time when every citizen must honestly assess their political worth and decide, with reason and heart, whom they will vote for. The fate of Albania depends on the people’s vote; the course of future events depends on it, as does the path the country will follow. I am confident that the people will pass the historic test of 31 March, demonstrating their political maturity. Their vote will be for the Party of Labour, because this party brought them out of misery and deprivation, exploitation and bondage; made them masters of their own fate and of the sovereignty of their homeland; and placed them among the peoples of civilized countries. The Party of Labour is a party with deep roots among the people. Many storms have swept over it; history has put many trials in its path, and many waves and political passions have surged over these ties. But the wars and victories we shared, our joys and losses, our common resistance and challenges can neither be separated nor undone. The political forces participating in this election have presented many programmes, but, in essence, there are only two alternatives: equality and social justice or social differentiation and polarization; security of life or insecurity; gradual positive change or upheaval and destabilization; preserving the country’s freedom and independence or putting them up for auction. We believe in the reason and profound patriotic conscience of our people as they choose their path. The Party of Labour is the only political force that ... in this field ... a sense of accountability ... which it has not ... for the first time, but for ... [partially illegible lines]. Political parties are alarmed by the programmes they present, the rules and alternatives they propose, and the ideals that inspire voters. But there is ... [partially illegible text]. We are not afraid of history, because we stand before it with our heads held high. The Party of Labour considers it an advantage, not an obstacle, in the electoral race for victory. Throughout this long history, our people have had many opportunities and faced many trials that confirmed their trust in it. Any retrospective account that can be made, and is properly made, will show that the Albanian communists stood honourably before their time and their people. If this history also includes decisions that could have been better, acknowledging them without satisfaction in no way diminishes the positive majority record of the PPSH. It took the people’s fate into its hands at a time when their very existence as a nation was threatened, and made Albania a modest state, fully established within the family of modern peoples. The people followed our Party with confidence because they saw it as their sole liberating force. They made every sacrifice demanded in the name of a free, independent Albania governed by the common people. The power that emerged from the National Liberation War was the people’s power, a fully democratic power. The feudal monarchy was buried, and the republican form of government, with a broad social and popular base, took its place. The Party of Labour was the one that stopped the annexation of Albania by Yugoslavia; it and Enver Hoxha were the ones who challenged Soviet expansionism in 1960 and removed foreign bases from the country. It deserves credit for Albania’s denunciation of the Warsaw Pact as early as 1968 and for not joining foreign military pacts. No one dares deny it these important achievements. On the contrary, many are now compelled to acknowledge that Albania deserved greater recognition for its heroic resistance. Political independence has certainly been in Albania’s interest, but it must be said that it has also made a substantial contribution to the community of European peoples. Although this independence has cost us dearly, it has been worth its price. The socialist mode of production and the economic policy we chose brought material progress to every corner of the country. Through the people’s labour, our homeland grew richer year after year. The principal funds and the economy currently amount to more than 60 billion lekë, a value equal to the consumption of the entire population for more than six years. In the first year of freedom, the whole country produced just over one billion lekë in social product, whereas today the economy produces an average of around 40 billion annually. We began this path by processing 200,000–300,000 tons of mineral raw materials a year; today, around 10 million tons are in circulation. Overall, we have a new economy, developed across its most effective and sustainable sectors, from heavy industry to light industry and social production; 20–25 of them make a net profit. Even in metallurgy, whose effectiveness has recently been widely questioned, revenues exceed expenses despite the lack of tradition. We entered life in freedom with 350 kilograms of food per person per year; today, an average of 550 to 600 kilograms is produced. Cooperativization saved the countryside from hunger, ignorance and disorder, and from social conflicts. It integrated the peasant economy into large-scale national production. Although 1986–1990 represents the period of the lowest development rates, the gross social product achieved was almost twice that produced in 1971–1975. According to the latest population census, one person in every two receives a wage or pension. Whichever way one looks at it, the material development policy pursued by the Party of Labour has proved economically justified. We have neither wasted time nor squandered any opportunity or resource for development. The value of free social services provided to the population is equivalent to about three-quarters of the total annual wage fund. It is no sign of backwardness that we have the lowest number of deaths per thousand inhabitants in Europe, or that the life expectancy of Albanians has doubled. Few countries on the continent have made secondary education compulsory for everyone by law. If we have finally succeeded in entering the path of democratization irrevocably, without great pain or injury, this is due to our culture and civilization, developed under the Party’s special care. It is well known that every history, especially a long history such as that of our Party, allows room for reassessment. But this history includes a whole series of transformations, campaigns and events that can never be re-evaluated away. Can the expropriation of the landlords, implementation of land reform, eradication of illiteracy, establishment of the foundations of the people’s economy, creation of large-scale production in the countryside, complete electrification of the entire country, founding of the University and the Academy of Sciences, development of popular culture, and standardization of the literary language be condemned? Who could deny the value or obscure the benefits of social insurance, the many vital services provided free of charge, social peace and security of life? But let us return to the present. The Party of Labour is the one that conceived the platform of Albanian democracy; it is its standard-bearer and implementer. When the well-known decisions were adopted at the Central Committee plenary session of the PPSH on the radical amendment of legislation, the transition from the administrative command system to management by economic methods, the establishment of the rule of law and separation of Party activity from state activity, and democracy ... [continues on page 9]. No opposition political party had ever envisaged the democratization of the economy and politics, culture and art, and every aspect of the country’s life. The Party of Labour entered the era of pluralism conscious of the new developments the country would experience, and entered it with complete confidence in victory. This confidence stems from the experience it has gained through its long activity, experience that has steeled it to shoulder great burdens; from its ability to move in step with the times; and from its certainty of broad popular support. The new Constitution, which subjected all structures of political power to radical democratic reform, was initiated and carried out by the Party of Labour. It was the Party that introduced a new concept into the country’s state life concerning human rights, raising them to the level of international conventions. Today, our citizens enjoy freedom of speech and thought, the right to organize and demonstrate, private property, and free movement within and outside the country. The successive pardons of several groups of political prisoners, culminating in the final release of all those deprived of liberty for reasons of conscience, illustrate this new concept. The opposition would have liked every programme, every platform and every opinion of the Party of Labour to have been adopted in full as early as 8 November 1941, with its line remaining unchanged. But when it sees the Party’s dialectical spirit, its vitality in responding realistically and promptly to circumstances and situations, and its consistency in the struggle to build a society in which everyone contributes through their work and abilities to material and intellectual causes, it tries to present this as a lack of seriousness. According to the opposition, a party that said a few months ago that it was winter cannot now say that it is spring! But the Party of Labour does not need anyone else to teach it dialectics, socialism, democracy, or how to adapt to new realities. The Party of Labour has always known how to keep pace with the times. When it undertook the reforms now being implemented, it was aware that it could not lead them without first reforming itself. It deserves credit for recognizing this need and carrying it out in every respect. The current programme of the PPSH gives it the opportunity for comprehensive political, ideological and organizational renewal, while preserving its originality and identity. This is a great encouragement to us, because remains a better and greater political force. At present, political forces and groups have emerged that are trying to convince public opinion that they have a monopoly on democracy. But the present time makes us (Continued on page 9) 2 P. 30 03/1991 The voters’ speech, electoral district 218

A party that renews itself and proves innovative and reformist in every situation, as the Party of Labour does, always remains a political force with a great mission.

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