WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THE DRAFT PROGRAM OF THE ALBANIAN PARTY OF LABOUR - DURRËS - WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THE DRAFT PROGRAM OF THE ALBANIAN PARTY OF LABOUR WITH A DEMOCRATIC SPIRIT AND CONTEMPORARY DEMANDS Comments serve the work - DURRËS - The draft program of the Party of Labour is being discussed everywhere with seriousness and interest. The first thing that stands out is the overall support for this program, which is regarded as a qualitative step toward the complete renewal of the Party, as a broad, wise and correct path toward Albania’s progress. With the legitimate concern that this draft program be presented to the 10th Congress of the Albanian Party of Labour as mature and complete as possible, various opinions and suggestions are also being offered, linking them with the practical work of the Party in the district. In several basic Party organizations, such as those in blocks 2 and 3 of neighbourhood 6, the fuel branch and the telecommunications supply enterprise, and blocks 1, 4, 5 and 6 of neighbourhood 18, etc., Party members have emphasized that there are weaknesses in the Party’s work. The tasks of this draft program cannot be carried out using the practices of the past, with the same routine and unjustified complacency that have been and continue to be present among the leading officials of the Party of Labour in the district, in the plenum and in some basic organizations. For this reason, as is becoming clear so far, most members of the executive plenum should not be elected, because they are detached from the masses and from the basic organizations. In the Party organization of blocks 2 and 3 of neighbourhood 6, the question was raised: the draft program does not make clear what kind of education is meant—[?] of those who have been inclined toward personal privileges; clear motivations should be provided for everyone. In the Party organization of NTUS, the view was expressed that membership dues should not be graduated, but equal for every member of the Party of Labour. Comments have also been made that the Party CC plenum has been far from the masses and the grassroots, especially in ensuring that the decisions of these plenums are well known. The debates and differing opinions expressed in the Party’s higher bodies should be made more widely known, so that more complete opinions can also be offered at the grassroots.

- PËRMET - In the organizations of the Party of Labour, the Party’s draft program and draft statute are being studied carefully and discussed extensively, including the duties they set for members of the Albanian Party of Labour, and comments are also being made. As is becoming clear, breaking away from the working methods of the past is not easy. In the Party of Labour organization in Odríçan, the discussions strongly emphasized that renewal requires, first of all, the creation of new concepts. Efforts are being made and there have been achievements. The program we are discussing calls for work to be accelerated in certain areas. The expansion of the cooperative members’ plots, said Hyrie Doti, has caused concern because of damage to cooperative property. Under these circumstances, measures to strengthen the rule of law must be reinforced throughout the entire hierarchy, from the centre to the grassroots. The fight against bureaucracy cannot be fully achieved without strengthening the village people’s council, which is the basis for enforcing the laws. The Party organization no longer needs to call the people’s council to account, as it did before, while every member of the Albanian Party of Labour should raise the problems they face and demand that the laws be enforced by the bodies responsible for this. The rapid changes that have been made and are being made do not rule out cooperation with the government bodies; on the contrary, in implementing the program this must be improved and further strengthened. In this context, in the Party organization of the village of Këlcyrë, Ba- [text as printed]—the question was raised in the blocks 2 and 3 of neighbourhood 6: the draft program does not make clear what ideological education is meant. Some comrades have proposed that basic organizations in neighbourhoods could also be formed according to branches of the economy: not all communists indiscriminately forming one organization, but separate organizations for members working, for example, in the mechanical industry, light industry, trade, communications, etc. It has also been proposed that, under the conditions of renewal and the Party of Labour’s complete distancing from careerists, armchair-seekers—

During these days, in the Kolonjë district, the committee of the Party of Labour has held several local consultations, attended by secretaries of basic organizations, Party members and sympathizers, during which the draft program and draft statute of the Albanian Party of Labour were discussed and debated. “I took part in some of these consultations,” Koco Ligori, an employee of the district Party of Labour committee’s office, tells us. “One thing is clear: Party members have welcomed the Party’s ideological, political and organizational platform. The general view is that the program fully responds to today’s circumstances and to the future. What the program emphasizes is highly valued: orientation toward the national, democratic and socialist ideal, grounded in the most important intellectual and cultural achievements of our nation and of others. This is an undeniable fact. Our Party was born as a national Party and, despite its shortcomings, tried to embody the interests of the people. I think the program frees the Party from excessive, unnecessary bureaucratic links in the organizational sphere, creating the conditions for it to act as a living organism on the real terrain of the opposition political struggle. What is important is that the program’s democratic ideas become an active consciousness for every member. From now on, each member’s authority depends not on the position they hold in Party forums or government bodies, but on their general education and the influence they have among the masses. I say that the program creates the opportunity for every Party member to be trusted in dialogue with the masses. Our Party won the election campaign because the masses had a deep-rooted trust in it. I believe that preserving this trust is an open front for every Party member.” We also spoke with the director of the cultural printing works in Ersekë, a member of the district Party committee plenum, Aleks Gjer- (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday in the People’s Assembly Yesterday morning, the People’s Assembly did not continue its proceedings with consideration of the agenda item concerning the government’s program and composition. The chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Kastriot Islami, informed the deputies that consultations with the chairmen of the parliamentary groups had shown that it was necessary to discuss the issue of the government’s structure in smaller groups, since the Prime Minister’s proposal creates new ministries, as well as the composition of the government. “In the Presidium’s view,” he said, “together with the chairmen of the parliamentary groups, we propose that the session be postponed until 12:00.” However, consultations between the parliamentary groups were not completed. The proceedings of the People’s Assembly will begin today at 9:00. (ATSH)

Yesterday morning, in the lecture hall of the National Historical Museum in Tirana, the First National Geophysics Symposium opened, organized by the Geophysics Section of the Association of Geologists of Albania. Members of this association, directors and specialists from the country’s geophysical and geological enterprises and expeditions, researchers from research institutes, representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, the Tirana Seismological Centre, lecturers and students of the Faculty of Geology at the University of Tirana, etc., were in attendance. Thirteen scientists from various countries around the world attended the symposium as guests. Also present was the rector of the University of Tirana, Prof. Dr. Nikolla Konomi, and other comrades. The symposium was opened by the chair of the organizing symposium, Prof. Dr. Alfred Frashëri, who said, among other things, that over the two days, 45 papers prepared by groups of 82 geophysics and geology specialists from the country’s enterprises and scientific institutions would be presented on the application of various geophysical methods in the search for deposits. Eight papers by foreign scientists would also be presented. Welcoming the participants, the chair of the Association of Geologists of Albania, Doc. Aleksandër Gjina, emphasized, among other things, that it was no coincidence that the country’s geophysicists were represented by a separate section in our association, and indeed played an important role in it. We are witnesses to the rapid advances made by geophysics in our country, which are the result of the conscientious work, great passion and determination of geophysicists, not only in carrying out fieldwork, sometimes under difficult conditions, but also in theoretical preparation and in improving their ability to interpret data. On behalf of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Deputy Minister Llavdo Hamejaj delivered greetings. Among other things, he said that the other geophysics workers, together with the members of the Geophysics Section and those of the Geology Section of the Association of Geologists of Albania, had also contributed to the work that gave life to geophysical scientific studies. On this occasion, he personally thanked the scientists and friends from Austria, Bulgaria, France and the USA for the honour they had done us (Continued on page 4)

Addressed to the President of the Republic, Ramiz Alia His Excellency Mr Ramiz Alia, President of the Republic of Albania. His Excellency Mr Ramiz Alia President of the Republic of Albania On the occasion of your election to the post of President of the Republic of Albania, I send Your Excellency my congratulations and best wishes. I wish Your Excellency success in your responsible office and activities in the service of the interests of your nation. ARPAD GONCZ President of the Republic of Hungary

Yesterday a number of deputies from the Socialist Group of the European Parliament made a brief tourist visit to our country. On this occasion, a group of deputies of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Albania met with them. The conversation focused on parliamentary relations, as well as current developments in our country. Members of the European Parliament expressed interest in recent developments in our country, the future of the process of democratizing life in Albania and in the Balkan region. The deputies, guests, of legislation, education and culture, etc. They also expressed interest in the assessments made by the country’s various political formations regarding the March 31 elections, the functioning of the first pluralist parliament and the main tasks before it, as well as issues of cooperation between Albania and the European Community. Thanking the deputies of the People’s Assembly for the warm welcome they gave them and the writing of (Continued on page 4)

Comrade Ramiz Alia, President of the Republic of Albania. Comrade Ramiz Alia President of the Republic of Albania. Dear Comrade, President of the Republic of Albania, allow me to send you my warmest congratulations. I wish you good health and great success in carrying out your high mission. Please accept the assurance of my highest regard. HENG SAMRIN Chairman of the State Council of Cambodia

The ministries are holding things up - VLORË - Privatization has now become the topic of the day. But there is a lot of talk and little else. There is a damaging delay that brings work to a standstill and destroys material value.

Observation “So, the bread has arrived here?” asks an irritated customer who comes to unit 259 near the centre of Tirana. The saleswoman shrugs, as do her colleagues in the centre and suburbs of the capital, at this request, so simple and yet so necessary. And the connection is quickly made: the bread factory is to blame! But it turns out that there is no supply arrangement for distribution crates with the plastics factory in Lushnjë. They are not coming; because of a shortage of raw materials, not a single crate has arrived since January, and bread continues to be distributed loose. The lack of crates affects the deterioration of the bread’s quality, delays its distribution and leads to returns for re-baking, and that is simply how things are. The staff of this factory, headed by Koci Kocibelli, raise the lack of distribution crates as an issue. At the planning department, Engjëllushe Jaupi explains to us: the factory is ready at any time to meet the trade sector’s requirements. But if there have been complaints about quality, this is not due to any lack of effort on our part. What is the issue? The factory, with minor pluses or minuses, meets the plan of 1,763 quintals of bread a day. At the beginning of the year this enterprise concluded a contra- to arrange the supply of distribution crates from the plastics factory in Lushnjë. This year, distributed loose. The lack of crates affects the quality of the bread, reduces the amount distributed and leads to returns for rebaking, thereby increasing costs. This month, 650 wooden crates have been collected from the «Misto Mame» wood combine, and talks are under way to sign an agreement with a Turkish firm. The quantity collected does not by any means meet the required needs, while the contract is being held up by financial difficulties and bureaucratic delays. We have bread, but no crates! Let us not forget that, in these days we are going through, any restriction in the bread supply increases tension among the people.

SWIFT ACTION WITH CLEAR OBJECTIVES IS REQUIRED After the initial experience - The opening of private businesses is going well. - Preparation, but not delay, in implementing Council of Ministers Decision No. 138. - GJIROKASTËR - Fifty private businesses have opened in the town and countryside, in trade and crafts, mainly buffets and rotisseries, but also tailors, shoemakers, goldsmiths, radio technicians, game operators, etc. More than 100 other applications have also been submitted to the finance department. Work is under way to approve them, taking workers’ needs into account. A number of carpenters, cafés and perhaps another specialty would be more reasonable, given the circumstances. While the existing businesses in the bazaar are being restricted, various citizens—five people so far—are building their own premises, using cash or bank loans. The problem of the lack of a livestock market must be addressed, despite repeated appeals and criticism. Various citizens from the surrounding areas, as well as from Saranda, sell goods in the streets, without any normal standards of hygiene or sanitation. The executive committee has also adopted a decision to establish a market, but the district authorities are not implementing it; the work is behind schedule, and those responsible for implementing it are late and working slowly. The livestock market should be centralized and have a dedicated site. Its absence evidently affects the revival of private trade by cooperative members, which is readily noticeable in town and is also reflected on the dining tables. The old tradition seems difficult to revive. Some work was done during April on Council of Ministers Decision No. 138 concerning the development of private activity. But in trade, social catering and fruit and vegetable businesses, as well as in municipal enterprises and repair-service units, the work has been limited solely to assessing them. No business has been detached to transition to private activity. The decision must be implemented more quickly, without neglecting the economic, financial and social issues accompanying this process, which have already been discussed and written about. THANAS DINO The ministries are holding things up - VLORË - Privatization has now become the topic of the day. But there is a lot of talk and little else. There is a damaging delay that brings work to a standstill and destroys material value. What is causing this delay? The reasons become clear from conversations with various employees in local government bodies in the districts and in enterprise administrations. The truth is that the executive committee of the District People’s Council in Vlorë has work programs in every department; a price bureau has also been organized to determine the sale value of businesses, etc. Care has also been taken to brief chief accountants and enterprise directors. The aim has been to identify and assess enterprises’ fixed assets, and the relevant commissions have been established, with specialists from the departments also involved. Meanwhile, employees of the enterprises themselves and citizens have submitted requests to buy businesses. But what is preventing action? People say that instructions are missing. For example, a month has passed since the decision on privatization in transport. The same is true of the construction and trade sectors, etc. On the other hand, the bank’s General Directorate has also failed to issue instructions on credit terms, or the instructions have not yet arrived in Vlorë. Or the Ministry of Finance has sent only one third of the instructions that should have been sent during this period. It is pointed out that the ministries communicate mainly with enterprises and not with the departments; that they have made the process of transferring businesses excessively difficult, using various pretexts about the need for more careful, more qualified work, etc.—but in doing so they are obstructing implementation of the decisions. The conclusion: so far, people have heard a great deal about decisions and interviews on privatization. But in practice, they have not yet tasted the fruits expected from this privatization. There may be some truth in the claim that ministry employees, by dragging out the work and concentrating tasks in their own hands—even those that the departments could easily carry out—are seeking to prolong the life of existing staffing structures. Another concern has to do with material supplies. How, and from where, will the businesses being privatized obtain their supplies? VANGJEL STEFA