In 1886 Gen. Kaulbars - the special commissioner of the Russia's Tsar - left Bulgaria. The relations of Bulgaria with Russia were broken off for quite a time.

In 1897 the first trade agreement between Bulgaria and Russia was promulgated in the State Gazette.

 

 

The cabinet opened the bag with Christmas presents. 2,400,000 old people will be paid Christmas pensions.

We have 100 million levs for Christmas pensions, PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha said yesterday minutes before flying off to Vienna. The decision was taken by the political leaderships of the NMS and MRF and was concerted with the trade unions, the PM elaborated. The Ministry of Finance did not say explicitly that there was no chance for Christmas wages. It will become clear in a week or so, after we pay the municipalities, hospitals and Road Agency, sources from MoF said.

 

 

200,000 highly skilled young people who work in Western firms are to come back to Bulgaria, the 'Return to Bulgaria' program of the Bulgarian Nationals Living Abroad Agency envisages. An Internet site is to inform the yuppies about the Bulgarian firms that offer jobs to graduates from abroad. This is the third government that attempts to make young people come back to Bulgaria by drafting programs. Videnov's cabinet was the first that tried to attract Bulgarian nationals living abroad. The team of Ivan Kostov tried even to make 200,000 Bulgarians return through building special residential districts for them.

 

 

Finance Minister Velchev: "IMF Mission Was Useful, Positions Are Converging"

Sofia, November 20 (BTA) - The IMF mission was useful and the sides have narrowed the difference between their positions, Foreign Minister Milen Velchev told a final news conference Wednesday after the end of the latest IMF mission here that arrived for a second review under the two-year, 300 million US dollars standby arrangement for Bulgaria.

A memorandum on the Government's economic policy in 2003 was negotiated at a final meeting Tuesday that was attended by other ministers as well.

The Government and the IMF have not yet reached agreement on some of the parameters of the 2003 draft budget. The IMF Mission does not contemplate another visit here in December but would do so if necessary, said IMF Mission leader for Bulgaria Jerald Schiff.

An agreement on the review should be reached by January, but if necessary the talks can last longer than that, said Schiff. In his words, Bulgaria will not get another SBA tranche if the second review is not completed. For his part, Velchev said that the tranches are not the most important goal of the arrangement with the IMF. "If it is transformed into a precautionary arrangement, this country will not get such tranches anyway," he said. The isssue of the transformation of the arrangement into a precautionary one was discussed during this mission, but it will be officially raised after the review is made, said Velchev.

In Velchev's words, Bulgaria has an effective arrangement with the IMF which signals to the rest of the world that the Government is pursuing a prudent fiscal policy supported by the Fund.

The IMF advises the Government against submitting the draft budget to Parliament before revising it, said Schiff. If this draft budget is approved, budget deficit may exceed 2 per cent instead of the budgeted 0.7 per cent of GDP, he added.

To continue to implement the IMF-Bulgaria standby arrangement, the current review should be formally concluded which, for its part, requires agreement on next year's budget.

Back in Washington, the Mission will keep up its active dialogue with the Government on the budget parametres on which agreement has not been reached now, he added.

"I remain optimistic that we will conclude sucecssfully this review by the end of the year, so as to make possible the approval of the programme's extension by the IMF Executive Board in January," said Velchev.

For his part, Schiff said that the economy is assessed in positive terms on the whole, economic growth is satisfactory, the external situation has imporoved since the previous mission, inflation in the real economy sector is declining, lending in the banking sector is on the rise, and prospects for the future are good.

No agreement on fiscal policy for 2003 has been reached yet, he added. In his words, the sides have alerady exchanged ideas on how to narrow the differences. "The IMF is ready to return to Bulgaria when necessary," said Schiff. The IMF mission will continue to hold talks and will try to submit the review report to the IMF Executive Board in January. Even though, for the time being, January has been set as a deadline, the report may be submitted later if the discussion takes longer, said Schiff.

For the time being, differences persist regarding the revenues to the National Social Security Institute, the revenues to the National Health Insurance Fund and VAT revenue. "The total amount is a little less than 300 million levam but I believe that with the approaching end of the year we will be able to report increase in these revenues as GDP percentage," said Velchev.

The other two moot points are about maintenance costs and the hospital sector subsidies. According to the Finance Minister, the IMF agrees with the cost-cutting policy but would like to see specific reforms next year, leading to a reduction in these expenditures.

Asked whether a smaller revenue side would be budgeted if the IMF rejects the Government's projections on the disputed items, Velchev said that everything possible is being done to avoid this.

He specified that the draft budget will be passed basically unchanged, except for some possible amendments between first and second reading and amendments that the Government would move if it makes a deal with the IMF in the meantime. "We excpect that the budget will be passed in due course, " Velchev added.

"However, even if the budget remains the way it has been presented, we are absolutely sure that it will be utilized, otherwise we would not have submitted it to Parliament," said Velchev.

"If we fail to reach an agreement with the IMF for a long time, this would probably affect the foreign debt Euro-bonds," the Finance Minister admitted. This effect, however, would be begligible and would be offset by the favourable effect of the forthcoming invitation to NATO membership and the fixing of a date for EU acecssion at the Copenhagen Summit, he added.

 

 

2003 Budget Bill to Pass on First Reading Thursday, SNM Floor Leader Says.

Sofia, November 20 (BTA) - "The 2003 National Budget Bill will pass on first reading tomorrow, even if we'll have to stop the parliamentary clock before midnight," Simeon II National Movement Floor Leader Plamen Panayotov told journalists after Parliament failed to open a debate on the draft budget because no quorum was present. Independent MPs and MPs of the opposition United Democratic Forces (UtdDF) and Coalition For Bulgaria stood out of the debating chamber after the interval.

Deputy Prime Minister Lidia Shouleva, Finance Minister Milen Velchev, Agriculture Minister Mehmed Dikme, Energy Minister Milko Kovachev and Transport Minister Plamen Petrov came to Parliament for the budget debate.

"We have witnessed a demonstrative act of political irresponsibility on the part of the opposition," Panayotov said, referring to the absence of the opposition from the debating chamber. He said that meeting Wednesday morning, the National Assembly Board, on which all parliamentary parties are represented, unanimously decided that a debate on the draft budget open after the interval.

"When you leave the opposition without arguments, it feels bad and it showed that today," acting Prime Minister Lidia Shouleva told journalists. "The Government has exceedingly strong arguments, and this was to be demonstrated even today," she added. "There is lots of good news in Bulgaria these days, and such cheap scandals merely seek to obscure this good news," she argued.

"When it lacks argument, the opposition already routinely resorts to cheap procedural tricks which are doomed to failure," Finance Minister Milen Velchev said in Parliament's lobby. "I hope this day will not be fatal, but the necessary arrangements must be made because there is not much time left before the end of the year," Deputy Finance Minister Kiril Ananiev said in the lobby.

"By staying out of the debating chamber, we state that we will not be part of the farce that we are offered," UtdDF Deputy Floor Leader Mouravei Radev said. He noted that the UtdDF will attend the plenary sitting when they are certain that the representatives of the institutions of state will be present at the debate. "We suggest that the Prime Minister and the National Assembly Chairman be present at the debate of the draft budget, that the issue of the pending court case on the budget be addressed, as well as the relationships with the IMF, and then next year's draft budget be debated in a businesslike manner," Radev said.

The Left also insisted that the Prime Minister attend the budget debate. "When a quorum gathers in the debating chamber, Coalition For Bulgaria will take part in the debate," said Mihail Mikov.

 

 

Standartnews
Albena Atanassova

A sword and 60-year-old whiskey for IM Chief Secretary.

On November 30, at a posh ceremony which is to bring together the jet set at the Army Club Boyko Borissov will be presented with a 'Caesar' sword and a bottle of 60-year-old 'Johnnie Walker' whiskey. IM Chief Secretary Gen. Boyko Borissov won the award "Man '2002", sources from 'Club M' magazine announced yesterday.

 

 

Standartnews
Ralitsa Krasteva

The Ministry of Education introduces mandatory exams for all school leavers.

All last year pupils will sit matriculations, said yesterday Atanas Gerdjikov, Deputy Minister of Education. The Ministry of Education won't comply with yesterday's rule of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). "The journalists misinterpreted the rule of SAC. It doesn't say that matriculations will be canceled", Gerdjikov was explicit on the point. If the Ministry of Education, headed by Vladimir Atanassov, would not comply with the rule of the court, it may be fined from 100 to 500 levs, commented men of law.

 

 

Standartnews
Yuliana Uzanicheva
Elitsa Ivanova

Cigarette addicts to be examined for free.

Bulgarians smoke more than 2,500 cigarettes per year each, said yesterday Dr. Tsveta Timcheva - expert in the Health Ministry. 3,94 kg. is the average amount of tobacco per smoker in this country. Bulgarians outstrip 2 times the average consumption of tobacco products in the other countries, specified Dr. Timcheva. Almost every second Bulgarian smokes and 35,6 % of the population are addicts. This statistics includes nearly half of the children between 15 and 16 years.

 

 

Child Parliament Call for Partnership with Adult MPs.

Sofia, November 20 (BTA) - Representatives of Bulgaria's Child and Youth Parliament delivered Wednesday in the National Assembly a call for involvement of children and young people in the development of a national action plan. The initiative has been prompted by the anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Bulgaria signed the Convention on May 31, 1990.

The governments of the countries that are signatory to the Convention have undertaken to prepare national action plans by 2003, and the Bulgarian Child Parliament is asking to be allowed to participate in the process of preparing and implementing the Bulgarian action plan.

"We ask you to accept us as partners in our common present and in taking the decisions for our future, and to provide favourable conditions for such partnership because in this century tolerance among the generations should grow into partnership," said the representatives of the Child Parliament.

National Assembly Deputy Chairperson Kamelia Kassabova said that this call shows clearly that young people have a clear vision of their future and want to be its active builders. "The National Assembly is open to your problems, and your ideas and projects will get our full support," Kassabova said.

She also said that active dialogue with the young generations of Bulgarians is among the priorities of the present Parliament and that young people should be participating on an equal footing in the social and political life of the country.

More than a half-year ago Parliament started a programme for civic education and parliamentarianism, and a youth parliamentary forum has been opened on the Parliament's Website in a drive towards more effective dialogue with young people, Kassabova said. The Web youth forum is open for comments and proposals concerning the work of Parliament, and Parliament itself welcomes visits by young people on all kinds of occasions.

The State Agency for Child Protection will mark the anniversary of the UN Convention with an Open-Door Day.

The Agency has been around for more almost two years. Among its priorities are deinstitutionalization, prevention of violence against children and child abandonment.

Local governments across the country have opened 54 departments on child protection, and these employ 304 social workers, psychologists, medics and other experts.

 

PRAVDA.Ru
Sergey Yugov
Translated by Maria Gousseva

Head of the Chechen administration Ahmad Kadyrov made an official statement. He said that Denmark must extradite emissary of Chechen terrorists Ahmed Zakayev at least for his membership in Maskhadovs government. Kadyrov considers that this fact a sufficient sin for Zakayev to be extradited, not to mention other crimes he committed.

The head of the Chechen administration says: Zakayev is a Russian citizen, and if Russian law enforcement structures provide enough evidence proving his guilt, he must be extradited to Russia.

Meanwhile,the Dannish Ministry of Justice is apparently dissatisfied with the translation of materials pertaining to Ahmed Zakayevs case that were provided by the Russian side. Representative of the Ministry Jacob Scharf said in an interview to Denmarks news agency Ritzau that the English and Danish translations of the documents have differences, which is why the formal conditions of extradition are considered as unrealized. Scharf added that Denmark asked Russia to send correct translations of the documents.

Russia sent an official demand for Zakayevs extradition to Copenhagen on October 31; additional materials were sent at the insistance of the Danish side on November 5. Connections of Ahmed Zakayev with terrorist activity are also proved by Father Philip, the Orthodox priest who was kept in Chechen captivity in 1996. The priest testified against Ahmed Zakayev and told about the horrors of Chechen captivity.

From the standpoint of Denmarks recent reaction, we cannot help mentioning the statement made by a Russian politician who said that Europe will be able to understand Russia only when it goes through a Nord-Ost hostage tragedy of its own. If this is indeed the case, it is a sad truth.

Russias news agency RIA Novosti informed today that Russia appealed to the former Soviet republics and asked them to audit the anti-aircraft complexes in the republics in order to compare them with the complexes seized from terrorists in Chechnya. RF Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov said at the opening of a session of the CIS defense ministers that the Foreign Ministry sent diplomatic notes to all former Soviet republics, the Baltic states first of all. In Sergey Ivanovs words, the anti-aircraft missile complex Igla is to be examined. Earlier, an anti-terrorist operation was held in Chechnya during which dozens of Igla complexes were seized from terrorists. Now, the RF Ministry of Defense is going to find out how the weapons appeared in Chechnya.

Lets hope that former Soviet republics will cooperate more readily than Brussels and Copenhagen.

 

PRAVDA.Ru
Sergey Stefanov
Translated by Maria Gousseva

A "sensation" published in the Russian newspaper Izvestia under the title "Shadow of Father Philip" is an ordinary fraud, a forgery. The key figure of the publication, Father Philip, says that the Izvestia publication contradicts reality and that journalists lied when they wrote that he "denied his testimony against Maskhadovs emissary Ahmed Zakayev, who is detained in Denmark."

The Orthodox review Radonezh published the text of the statement given to the press by Father Philip; the Orthodox priest was in Chechen captivity in 1996 together with another priest, Father Anatoly.

The statement runs as follows: "I appeal to you (the Radonezh editorial staff is meant) in connection with the fact that the newspaper Izvestia published false information saying that the key witness had denied his testimony against Ahmed Zakayev. First of all, I wasnt a witness, but suffered, which by the way is quite a different status. Second, I couldnt deny my evidence, as I had been warned about the punishment for giving false evidence. And finally, Izvestia published that my testimony contained nothing about Zakayevs connection with my kidnapping in 1996. In fact, this statement contradicts reality and the materials collected on the case. By the way, in my short telephone conversation with Izvestia journalists, I mentioned nothing at all about pressure exerted upon me by the General Prosecutors Office. Does it make sense for the Prosecutors Office to exert any kind of pressure on me when there are lots of evidence and other proofs sufficient enough for the office to have its own opinion on the problem? I would also like to add that the text published in Izvestia was not agreed upon by me."

Yesterday, the Radonezh website republished an interview with Father Philip (Zhigulin) "Vicars Duty." "Two Orthodox priests, Father Philip (Zhigulin) and Father Anatoly (Chistousov) were kidnapped on January 29, 1996, on the way to the Chechen capital of Grozny from Urus-Martan, where they negotiated the release of a captive Russian military man. Father Philip was released only after 160 days, on April 4, 1996. Father Anatoly was killed by the Chechen guerrillas." Soon after release from Chechen captivity, Father Philip gave the following interview.

"For the first time, I saw the sun after four months of the captivity. We lived in the basements of destroyed buildings. For two weeks, when a thorough investigation was carried out under control of Johar Dudayev personally, the people were held captive in a burrow, which was very narrow, and the people couldnt stand or move. Later on, as federal troops were advancing, we were moved to the mountains and placed into blindages, where up to 100-130 people lived. This lasted for 3.5 months. The blindages were completely flooded with rain. The hostages were sitting there at a temperature of zero; the Chechens took our clothes away. It is just a miracle that the other people and I survived under those awful conditions. No doubt, we survived only thanks to Gods help. I would like to say we were in a double or even triple captivity, as we were among people belonging to criminal circles and not really very bright people as well. Those people pursued only their brutal instincts: they wanted to stuff themselves with food and even could take sugar or bread away from other people. I called upon the people for reason. I tried to make the people wise, and even resorted to awful measures: I didnt read the burial service for those who died without repentance, without considering their earthly living. And the Chechens couldnt understand why I read the burial service for some people and didnt read it for others, at the time when all of us were Orthodox. And the strict measure had its effect: sometimes, people who felt the coming of the death asked me if I would read the burial service for them or not. They felt inside their souls that their condition would soon change. Under such conditions, I had to carry out my vicar duty in a special way."

Yesterday, the RF General Prosecutors Office declared that publications in the mass media denying connection of Maskhadovs emissary Ahmed Zakayev with the kidnapping of the priests in Chechnya were a "forgery, obviously made to order." Head of the PR department of the General Prosecutors Office Leonid Troshin says that "the publications were designed to hinder the justice process."

Publications similar to that one in Izvestia are especially astonishing, because last Sunday, the Russian television channel RTR aired the program "Orthodox Priest Accuses Zakayev" by journalist Ilya Kanavin. Father Philip talked to the journalist and said that he had chanced to see Ahmed Zakayev right at the moment when Chechens led him out of the basement with his hands tied. And Zakayev, who had held negotiations with the priest just few days before that moment, couldnt but see and recognize him.

"Nowadays, he looks rather respectably. One would hardly recognize him, but its impossible to change ones eyes. I think I know the eyes of the man. I saw him just once among Chechen guerrillas somewhere in a destroyed school in Stary Achkhoy, during my captivity in Chechnya. He himself declared openly that he was in charge of the jail right at the period when we were kidnapped and placed into a concentration camp in Stary Achkhoy and later in Bamut."