JUNE 10, 1991 CONGRESS: 10: PPSH Yesterday morning, at 9:00, the 10th Congress of the PPSH opened at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana. More than 1,400 delegates elected by the Labour Party conferences in all the districts of the country were in attendance. Present were the President of the Republi- “June 10, 1991, drës. Shagir Vukaj, on behalf of the representation, proposed a Credentials Commission consisting of 13 people, a Commission for the final drafting of the Party Program, consisting of 17 people, and a Commission for the final drafting of the Party Statute, Opening speech by comrade Spiro Dede Comrade delegates, Honoured friends and gentlemen, The first words at the 10th Congress of the Labour Party are among The Labour Party, with its 45 years in power, alongside appreciating and preserving its innumerable achievements, has the courage and honesty to acknowledge its historical responsibility for the condi- The most indisputable testimony to this. This historic destiny, this capacity of all society for youthful renewal, must belong first and foremost to the Labour Party. The 10th Congress has a special, extraordinary importance, because it will open new horizons for the comprehensive renewal of the Party. (Photo: Niko Xhufka)

Report delivered by comrade Xhelil Gjoni, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Party’s Central Committee Dear comrades, Dear friends and gentlemen, Dear comrades, Honoured friends and gentlemen, We are beginning the proceedings of the 10th Congress of the PPSH. Although it is an ordinary congress of the Party, it has particular importance, at least because it will open new horizons for the Party’s comprehensive renewal. It is convening at a time when important changes have taken place in every sphere of life in our country and in the region. The fundamental characteristics of the present moment are, on the one hand, the severe economic and social crisis and, on the other, the continuation of the process of democratizing life in the country. Externally, important changes have taken place as a result of the processes unfolding in the countries of Eastern Europe and in the countries of Western Europe. Eastern Europe, with a speed that is astonishing, has seen the collapse of authoritarian, bureaucratic regimes. These processes were carried out under slogans such as “socialist proletariat,” “freedom, not socialism,” etc.; but the rapid conclusions and interpretations made both in the East and in the West converged on one point: socialism had definitively failed as a path of development, and so had “Marxism-Leninism.” These processes influenced the pace and course of change. Naturally, not everyone has shared, or shares, the same view of the character of these processes. New forms of the contradictions of world development have emerged, along with new and diverse forms of coexistence and cooperation among European countries. Another characteristic feature of the time we live in is that the humanism of society has come to the fore, a return to the human being. In this way, the general conceptions of social progress today have become increasingly universal and civilizational in scope. The past two years will go down in history as years of rapid change, particularly in the countries of Eastern Europe. With astonishing speed, authoritarian, bureaucratic regimes collapsed in these countries. These processes were carried out under slogans such as “down with socialism,” cooperation among European countries. A rapid analysis of the processes that took place in the Soviet Union and the other countries of Eastern Europe demonstrates the failure of the model through which the Marxist ideal of socialism was implemented. The upheaval of all the structures of socialism, its unacceptable and developmental crisis in the industrialized countries of Western Europe, the level of the population’s standard of living; the marked shortage of essential consumer goods, the decline in economic growth rates, particularly during the intensive phase of development, inflation, the lack of competitiveness of most finished products; the widespread resurgence of bureaucratism; violations of human rights and significant restrictions on democracy in every sphere of life; the emergence of an administrative-command system—these are among the main indicators demonstrating the failure of the adopted model of socialism. Some of these defects are also present in our country. We are currently in a crisis situation accompanied by a continuous fall in production, severe shortages of raw materials, and a general paralysis that is accompanied by growing anger among workers and an expansion of strike activity. Political forces with aims, concerns and objectives different from those of our Party have appeared on the political scene. Their opposition has been and continues to be expressed through an intensive campaign against our Party, aimed at blackening the past and exaggerating mistakes and failures. Nevertheless, the elections of March 31 and the victory achieved by the PPSH are not only victories for our Party, but also for pluralist democracy. However, the situation that has arisen cannot pass—and is not passing—without concerns, tensions and confusion. There is no tradition of free competition among political parties or of practices within a pluralist democratic life. Likewise, there is a lack of the education, concepts and ethics needed to live this democratic life. At the same time, a series of mistakes and failures are becoming evident amid the economic crisis we are experiencing: accumulated anger and exhaustion caused by bureaucracy and despair; the alienation of a group of people, chiefly young people in positions of power and leadership in the Party and state, from the material circumstances and living standards of the broad masses; the rapid changes we made to the general line in response to domestic and international developments; and acts of violence that have been committed. As a result, distrust of the economic-social system, the Party itself and its leadership has arisen and become a cause for concern within the Party’s ranks and among its sympathizers and supporters, as well as among the working class, the peasantry and the intelligentsia. All this makes it necessary to conduct a profound analysis of our achievements, mistakes and failures, to clearly determine where and why we made mistakes, to find ways and forms to remedy the situation, and to establish a clear perspective for the Party and its sympathizers. Significant. Nevertheless, the difficult task before us is to consolidate these achievements and crown them with a comprehensive renewal of the Party in all its aspects, and comprehensive democratization. 1. The failure of “real socialism” in the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe has its causes. Explaining them is of great theoretical, as well as practical, importance. This helps us better understand our own developments, too. We believe that the source of the problem should be sought in practice, not in the ideal. The truth is that Marx’s idea was dogmatized in the Soviet Union in the efforts to build a new society. The Soviet model for building socialism was also conceived and implemented on the basis of dogmas; it contained not only the establishment of bureaucratism, as it became bureaucratized, but also other anti-democratic abuses that permitted taking into one’s own hands— (Continued on page 3)

Comrade delegates, Congress of the Labour Party are a great honour, but above all, a great obligation. The Albanian people and the Party’s 160,000 members, who have trusted and followed it for 50 consecutive years, expect us in these days to speak responsibly and with our hearts in our hands about the good and the bad, about the past, the present and the future. It depends on our ability, foresight and will to carry out the necessary analyses, without compromise or conformism, and to take the most considered decisions so as to make the 10th Congress what it deserves to be: a historic congress, a decisive congress. The extremely severe economic, political and social crisis that has engulfed the whole of society obliges this Congress to demonstrate that the Labour Party, with its 45 years in power, while appreciating and preserving its undeniable responsibility for the situation that has arisen, for the deprivation and drama being experienced, and to identify and analyse the causes, circumstances, factors and those responsible that led to this situation. At the same time, the Congress must demonstrate that the Party has the strength, ability and foresight to contribute both to overcoming the crisis and to the future of society and itself. The future has a name: Democracy. Everything has testified, and continues to testify, to the extraordinary ability of the Albanian people and the Albanian nation to survive and continually renew themselves. The events of the past year, especially those of the last six or seven months, are the most indisputable evidence of Party. At this congress we have the historic opportunity, relying on an essentially new draft program and on the will of the Party’s broad, honest and democracy-fighting rank and file, to distance ourselves and break away from everything that was wrong, unreal or unapproved, and to find ways and means to adapt and act with dignity in the conditions and structures of contemporary pluralist society. We know that this is an extremely difficult and painful process. We know that from the Party’s 50-year-old roots, from its trunk and branches spread throughout society, from (Continued on page 2)