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Children presented bunches of parti-colored balloons to the PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, while he was walking around Kurdjali. At the same time UDF activists tried to give the PM blue balloons with protesting slogans on them but the security guards of the PM stopped them. Photo BTA
Foreign Minister Solomon Passy met with Vesselin Nedkov (middle) and Yrii Gabrov (left), the two Bulgarians that were among the hostages held at the Theatre Centre in Moscow. Pressphoto: BTA picture: Tihomir Penov
FIRST SESSION OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT.
MIA
At its first session on Monday, the new Macedonian Government reviewed the Finance Ministry's information on the upcoming negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, in regard of the preparation of the negotiating platform.
As Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovan Manasievski said, there would be discussions on the agreement, which is to be signed by the Macedonian Trade Union Federation and the Macedonian Government, at one of the upcoming sessions, after reviewal of the Government platform and the directions of the Finance Minister for the negotiations with IMF.
According to Manasievski, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted information on the upcoming Summit of the Central-European Initiative, which is to be held in Skopje, with providing suitable obligations to the Foreign and Economy Ministries for a more successful organization of the Summit.
On the proposal of the Ministry of Interior, the Government adopted the Protocol for cooperation with UNMIK.
At today's session, the Government relieved the state secretaries of their duties in all 11 Ministries.
"Radivoe Jovanovski is the new state secretary in the Ministry of Interior. The state secretaries in other ministries will be appointed at the next session, on the proposal of the authorized ministers", Manasievski said.
Although it was a routine Government decision, the Ministry of Interior, according to Manasievski, gave an explanation for each candidate, along with their CVs, based on which the Government estimated that the people suited the positions they were given.
Director of the Bureau on Public Security is Branko Bojcevski, while Zoran Verusevski is the head of the Security and Counter-Intelligence Office.
The Government relieved the directors of Electric Power Company and Customs Offices of their duties, assigning Pande Lazarov and Vanco Lazarovski as acting directors.
Aco Gjurceski was appointed for Director of the General and Common Affairs Department. At today's session, the Government relieved Government's Secretary General Gjorgji Kotev and his deputy Alil Sulejmani.
The Government made a decision to initiate a procedure for dismissing Public Prosecutor Stavre Dzikov, reads the announcement from today's government session.
Crvenkovski has obliged all ministers to review the personnel, organizational and financial situation in their ministries within a week. The process of hiring new employees in the past year should be also reviewed and it should be checked whether the employment was in compliance with the Law on Civil Servants. The new ministers should review the laws that have passed the governmental procedure, but were not discussed in the Parliament, as well as the legal documents that are being prepared in the ministries. However, the minister has the right to withdraw or to approve their further procedure.
The government has forbidden the employment of new workers in all budget institutions until the situation in these institutions is fully reviewed.
"There is no formal power transfer is certain ministries. We also received an information that the account of the Ministry of Education is on the verge of blockade. The Finance Ministry is trying to prevent this. I hope that in a few days, when a census of all obligations of the former ministers is carried out, we will have a clearer picture", Manasievski stated.
He emphasized that the situation in most ministries "is urgent, because the budget funds for 2002 have been spent".
"A solution has to be found in the course of these two months, which will be really hard, but it is the obligation of this Government to solve all the problems it comes across", Manasievski said.
The Government also obliged the services to prepare several acts for rationalization "in the activities of the Government and the ministries".
"These are acts by which part of the privileges of the former Government will be abolished and put within a suitable framework", Manasievski stated.
At today's session, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski wished success to all members of the new Macedonian Government.
Crvenkovski emphasized that the Government should work as a team, with mutual solidarity and cooperation in order to achieve positive results. He also recommended full respect of institutions' hierarchy, which would contribute to the efficient work of ministries and government.
He pointed that all promises made during the preelection campaign must be met by hard, honorable and responsible work in order to prove the successfulness of this government.
Greater Albania: a Place, or Just a State of Mind?
Antiwar.com
by Christopher Deliso in Skopje
When a Macedonian high school student was machine-gunned to death on a Tetovo basketball court the week before last, it came as further and tragic confirmation of the unsettling reality now gripping the country: that Macedonia is more and more becoming unsafe for Macedonians. Bombings and shootings are happening more and more frequently in the hills of western Macedonia, and even in Skopje. On 22 October, three unknown nighttime explosions left deep craters near the Macedonian Armys main barracks. And Saturday, the good old Albanian National Army that mysterious wing of the NLA took credit for a mysterious bombing that was also claimed by Macedonian extremists. Indeed, the Wests forced installation of Ahmeti and the DUI in the government has set this embattled Balkan semi-state on an ethnic collision course.
Although the current trend has been visible for years, few in the outside world have had the stomach to publicly admit whats going on that Macedonia is day by day inexorably slipping away. Now it is only a matter of time before the Greater Albania becomes a reality. And the ironic thing is, it wont even have to involve the formal annexation of territory just the constant awareness of a declining standard of living will suffice.
GREATER BY THE DAY.
Many cant imagine that Macedonias international babysitters would allow the "sovereignty" and "territorial integrity" of the country to be compromised. But the quandary should not vex for too long. After all, when a political party of reformed terrorists can assume almost half of the governments cabinet positions, despite winning barely 10 percent of the popular vote, there is no need for the redrawing of borders. Ali Ahmetis great coup legitimizing thuggery was achieved with nary an objection from the internationals, nor with much protest from the Macedonian parties. They were too busy slashing each other to pieces, figuring out ways to match old corruption with new, digging for ways to reappropriate a limited set of toys in a very small sandbox indeed.
Chances are theyll be fighting over the scraps, oblivious to the continuing expansion of the Albanian opportunists, long after the time to do anything about it has passed. When such an inexorable decline happens to great empires, it is tragic; but when it happens to small countries who only distantly recall bygone days of empire, it is just pathetic.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS.
Ahmetis new ministerial nominees are all quite respectable older, suited, even well-spoken. Well, all except the hapless Musa Xhaferi. The nominee for Vice-Prime Minister is a citizen of Albania, and does not speak Macedonian. Can any American or German, Italian or Brit, for that matter imagine electing a parliamentarian with such great qualifications? No worries, however Xhaferi has pledged to start taking language classes soon.
The most interesting connection is that no less than four of Ahmetis new ministers were educated in Pristina, Kosovo. During Yugoslav days, this city was the epicenter for Albanian radicalism, a place where young revolutionaries were inculcated with the ideology of a Greater Albania, though they often had little in common with their countrymen trapped behind Hoxhas iron curtain.
Doubtless, the Kosovo Albanians often had reason to chafe under Belgrades rule. But whether or not the creation of a pan-Albanian super-state follows logically from this is, or justifies bloody retribution, is sheerly a matter of personal opinion. However, very few non-Albanians share it. Those who do are generally wacko Islamic fundamentalists (see the "Albanian Islamic world" website) who regard territorial expansion as their religious duty. Yet despite the shiny, Saudi-funded mosques decorating many villages in Macedonia and Kosovo, Albanians are by and large not religious extremists. They have just learned to recognize a gift horse when one appears, whether it be a soft-hearted Western NGO or a deep-pocketed sheik of the desert.
In the end, what Ahmetis victory represents is the triumph of Kosovos "intellectuals" over the peaceful Albanian population of Macedonia. Ahmeti himself, his assistants and his ministerial nominees, all bear the ideological mark of Pristina. The hatred of Serbs preached there has simply been transferred to the much more hapless Macedonians.
Inured with the values of a different population, egged on and funded by radicals from further away in the diaspora, Ahmeti and Co. brought Kosovo first through war, then through politics to Macedonia. And their victory means nothing other than the imposition of a foreign element (the Kosovo Albanian intellectual programme) onto that little country.
CAUSE-AND-EFFECT GOES OUT THE WINDOW.
Indeed, since there are plenty of Albanians in Macedonia who dont seek secession, not to mention the other Muslims (Turks and Bosniaks) who dont seek Jihad, isolating the problem is quite clear. But rather than tackle this thorny issue head on, the West has chosen to happily ignore it. To do otherwise, as critics have been saying for almost two years, would be tantamount to admitting that the 1999 Kosovo intervention was flawed. And not just that that it was a failure, a grievous mistake planned and executed by Western leaders having their own malevolent ulterior motives. And then, of course, the whole tightly-clustered ball of yarn would unravel. But this cannot be allowed to happen not until the genteel memoirs of Clinton, Blair and Co. have had sufficient time to sink beneath historys harmless layer of dust.
Of course, the press had to ease us in gently to the idea of NLA thugs pontificating in Parliament. In any other context, it would just seem too strange, too abrasive a possibility. The pre-election coverage therefore followed the "golly gee, what a surprise" slant, when it came to chronicling Ahmetis rise to power. Western reporters actually pretended to marvel at the transformation, ending up sounding as if theyd been living under a rock for the past year. Or perhaps, they just hoped that their readers had been doing so.
DEMOCRACY, BALKAN STYLE.
The latest proceedings are surreal, even for Macedonians who have lost all faith in the political process (for despite what the OSCE bravely affirms, they have). Macedonias coalition-style government means that a party can represent almost none of the population but still receive much of the power. This has proved to be an ideal breeding ground for parasitic left-wing enablers.
Indeed, one wonders how all the Wests "democracy-building" was hijacked by interventionists from so far on the left. In the end, the admixture of an extremist dogma of democracy with an extremist ideology of nationalist expansion has proved to make for a very lethal cocktail indeed.
The victors are now testing the waters, sticking in a toe to see just how deep they can take things. If they had their way, of course, the answer would be as deep as possible.
EMBRACING DISASTER.
Ahmeti would like to have mandatory positions for Albanians guaranteed at every level of government, regardless of whether they win a vote or not. This affirmative action gone wrong is a mockery of everything encapsulated in the idea of democracy. If parity required a safeguard, one would think a better system would be to award each party a fixed number of ministries proportionate to the percentage of votes it received. But, since the Albanians would inevitably cry foul, this idea will never gain currency not, that is, until the place has been sufficiently Albanized, and selective democracy has run its course. Then they may warm to the idea.
The depressing thing about the DUI is that this outfit does not even represent any new idea, any "third way." Rather, they seem to be just a combination of Xhaferis rhetoric and (Hashim) Thacis guns. If the one fails, they can always go back to the other.
During the 2001 war, Ahmeti was mentored by DPA boss and yesterdays Western favorite Arben Xhaferi, at one point deciding nothing without the elder statesmans approval. Now Ahmeti seems to have eclipsed his master, despite Xhaferis attempts to radicalize the DPA and thereby "out-Albanize" the former fighters. It didnt work, and the onetime media darling can now only muse weakly on the benefits of direct rule from Tirana.
USE THE BACK DOOR PLEASE, YOUNG MACEDONIAN.
Besides the upsurge in violence following last weeks Tetovo murder, recent months have seen an increasingly aggressive Albanian campaign to "acculturate" Macedonia. This has involved the renaming of streets and civic places, as well as the erection of patriotic statues (one recently put up in a city square of Tetovo by Albanians keeps getting knocked over by Macedonians). The end result has been a hardening of attitudes which does not bode well for the future. An Albanian elementary school principle in Tearce airily said that Macedonian students "can use the back door" if the statues of NLA heroes offend them. In Skopjes internet cafés, little children of both ethnicity play violent combat games, blissfully unaware of their portent, only concerned with "killing" their ethnic foe on the next computer.
OHRID FORMALIZING THE WHITEWASH.
Ohrid, the lakeside resort and chief town of southwestern Macedonia, is also the place most treasured by Macedonians. It once boasted 365 churches (one for every day of the year) and has historical significance going back thousands of years. It is one of the few places in the country in which Macedonians take great pride. And this partially explains why, when a large house in the citys old town was purchased for an exorbitant amount by an Albanian, the neighbors stood around and threw stones and shouted. After a few weeks, the new owner decided to sell.
"It seems extreme," conceded one Ohrid man, "but we have learned that if you give them an inch, theyll take a mile. In Tetovo, Gostivar, and now Skopje and Kumanovo, Albanians pay big money for Macedonians houses and shops just in order to make the areas exclusively Albanian. They would love to do that here, if we only let them... but if the economic situation does not improve, it might start happening."
This reasonable paranoia seems oddly fitting, in the town where Macedonias constitution was irrevocably altered in the summer of 2001. The Ohrid Framework Agreement, which proved that violence can get results, was just the first step in the formalization of the NLAs political goals. Since the West has chosen to come along for the ride, the crucial thing is to elevate the Ohrid agreement, its mandates and its decrees, to the level of scripture. The good folks at the IWPR have obliged by putting out the official whitewash in the form of a book. It is good to know that everyone will finally have the true version of recent Macedonian history. And we can all sleep better at night knowing that the future is in the safe hands of erstwhile "freedom-fighters" and their complacent enablers.
BUT WHO HAS WON?
In these circumstances, its hard to tell who the real victors are. Could they be the West-leaning media crew, as they are writing the history? Or perhaps the former NLA gang in the DUI, since they have grasped the reins of power?
It is hard to believe that any Macedonian no matter how "liberal" is very happy about Ahmetis big win. It is also equally doubtful that the locally-employed interventionists are overjoyed about it either; the new reality represents just one more headache for them. It would seem, therefore, that only Ahmeti and Co. should be celebrating now. But perhaps they are starting to realize just how uncomfortable overt political power can be, if the recent inter-Albanian bomb attacks are anything to go by.
The next few months and especially after Novembers controversial census will most likely be marred by inter-Albanian fighting of the kind witnessed last Spring in Tetovo. And, as the rival groups get hungry for bigger and bigger slices of the pie, the accompanying violence will also grow accordingly. And so the anarchy that was once limited to northern Albania, the street wars that were once limited to Kosovo and after, that which spread to Tetovo and the west of Macedonia will spread further.
It was Ahmetis decision to base his party in Skopje that brought violence to that fair city. Now, I suppose because the political aspirations of militants must come first, its citizens will be subjected to their imported gang wars.
AS USUAL, A LACK OF FORESIGHT PORTENDS RUIN.
The scariest thing is that the situation may soon prove beyond the control of not just the Macedonian authorities, but of the Albanian parties themselves. No act of confidence-building, no dictates from aged diplomats, and no amount of legislation can control a movement which is directed, funded and ideologically indoctrinated from outside. It was a delusion for the West to imagine that any military/ideological campaign beginning from Kosovo would have any other result than simply that: more Kosovo.
In the spring of 1999, when the bombs began to fall on Serbia, the Albanians "liberators" should have understood the results of their actions that theyd better be prepared to go all the way with the liberation. The recklessness and short-sightedness of the Kosovo intervention will come back to haunt the very people who started it and unfortunately, all of Europe will suffer from the "contained" instability of the Balkans.
Most ironic is that it is not even in the best interests of the Albanians themselves to take over Macedonia. And besides, for all the enormous cost and effort of an intervention that refuses to die, the ethnicities have never been more alienated, never been more polarized from one another. This weekends bombing claims by two rival groups the "Macedonian Peoples Front" and the "Albanian National Army" show this clearly.
In short, every "solution" presented by the West has been either a whitewash or just a stop-gap measure. Now, with the elevation to power of hardcore nationalists like Ahmeti, the changes are being forced suddenly and with force. If the country really does descend into gang war between rival ethnic extremist groups, will it really be such a surprise? Will it really be something that couldnt have been predicted?
Fortunately for the representatives of the foreign powers in charge, they unlike the locals will get to continue their careers somewhere more attractive, when it all goes to hell.
November 4 in History.
Standartnews
In 1881 in Rousse the first Bulgarian ship 'Bot 1' was built and that gave the start of the Bulgarian shipbuilding.
In 1912 King Ferdinand orders Chataldzha to be attacked. Bulgarian army looses the battle. On the same date the Supreme Administrative Court was established and Filip Filchev became its chairman.
A Baby Burnt in a Trailer.
Standartnews
A baby burnt in a fire in a trailer, where a Romany family lived. Six-month-old Nikolinka and her family lived in the region of Bonsovi Polyani near Sofia. At 7.40 a.m. yesterday the fire brigade was alarmed. When the firemen arrived everything was ablaze. They managed to rescue only Nikolinka's mother, who tried in vain to save her child. The woman was hospitalized in Pirogov emergency clinic.
SHOOTING-INJURED.
BTA
Two Men, Child Injured in Shooting.
Sofia, November 4 (BTA) - Two men and a child were injured by an unidentified gunman in front of a coffee shop in Sofia.
The shooting was reported to the police at about 19:15 hrs. One of the wounded man is in critical condition.
Adel S. (45), was got a bullet in his shoulder on going out of the coffee shop. He was taken to the Pirogov Emergency Hospital. There is no risk for his life.
A four-year-old child was shot by chance in the right hand. The child, who otherwise is in good condition, was admitted in Pirogov, too.
D.Z. (28), was badly wounded in the shooting. He was hospitalized in the Medical Academy with a bullet in the neck.
His situation is critical.
The scene of the shooting was examined and witnesses were interrogated to clarify the circumstances. The Sofia police has taken the necessary steps to track down and detain the gunman, the Interior Ministry said.
Dr Spas Spaskov, Executive Director of the Pirogov Emergency Hospital, confirmed that two patients with bullet wounds had been hospitalized and that they both were in good condition.
PRAGUE 2002 - DEFENCE SPENDING - RESTRUCTURING.
BTA
NATO Membership to Prompt Dramatic Restructuring of Bulgaria's Defence Spending.
Sofia, November 4 (Roumyana Mihova of BTA) - NATO membership, to which Bulgaria is aspiring, will necessitate a dramatic restructuring of defence spending which, however, will not change from 2.6 per cent of GDP (851.5 million leva in 2002). In the restructuring, spending on military equipment will increase and remuneration costs will decrease through personnel reduction.
These projections were presented at an international conference on "New Dimensions of Bulgaria's National Security," recently held in Sofia.
According to the macroeconomic indicators updated by the Agency for Economic Analysis and Forecasting in late September, Bulgaria's gross domestic product is expected at 32,607 million leva for 2002 and at 35,286 million leva for 2003.
The defence spending, as approved by the 2002 National Budget Act, amounts to 851.5 million leva or 2.6 per cent of GDP. If the public purse can afford it, the Bulgarian Armed Forces may receive up to 110 million leva in addinitional funding this year, bringing the level of defence spending to around 3 per cent of GDP.
By comparison, Slovenia has budgeted 1.5 per cent of its GDP for defence spending in 2002, Latvia 1.8 per cent, Slovakia 1.9 per cent, Lithuania 2 per cent, Estonia 2 per cent, and Romania 2.4 per cent.
Meeting on February 25, 2002, the Interdepartmental Committee on NATO Integration reconciled the estimates of the separate central-government departments for annual financing of activities involved in Bulgaria's bid to join the Alliance.
A Council of Ministers decree dated October 17 distributed 70 million leva allocated for financial support during the year of activities implementing the National Programme for Bulgaria's Preparation and Accession to the North Atlantic Alliance and the Annual National Programme of the Republic of Bulgaria under the NATO Membership Action Plan for the 2001-2002 Period.
The largest amount of the funding, 65 million leva, went to the Ministry of Defence for preparation to perform Ally duties, achieve better interoperability and attain the partnership objectives assumed by Bulgaria, finance the participation of Bulgarian elements in international missions, the Multinational Peace Force Southeastern Europe, operations SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina and KFOR in Kosovo, and operation ISAF in Afghanistan. The money is also provided for political dialogue, consultations and activities within the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and Partnership for Peace.
The rest of the funding has been distributed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2,170,000 leva), the Ministry of Interior (1,472,000 leva), the Ministry of Transport and Communications (800,000 leva), the Ministry of Economy (130,000 leva), the Ministry of Justice (38,000 leva), the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (50,000 leva), the State Agency for Civil Protection (200,000 leva), the Council on Security with the Council of Ministry (20,000 leva), and the Administration of the President (120,000 leva).
These allocations are for Bulgaria's participation in the dialogue with NATO on matters concerning the Membership Action Plan, active bilateral and multilateral consultations with NATO Member States, as well as joint activities on cooperation with the NATO aspirant countries. The money pays for consulting and intermediation services, including lobbying in favour of Bulgaria's bid to join NATO.
Financial support is also provided for the costs of classified information safeguarding and security and for the drafting of the requisite regulatory framework and procuement of up-to-date equipment for exchange and storage of such information.
Upon Bulgaria's accession to NATO, defence spending will be restructured so as to dispose of surplus supplies and infrastructure, reduce the numerical strength of the Armed Forces, and develop a system for management of civilian resources for defence and emergency management. The companies in which the Minister of Defence exercises the State's ownership rights are to be restructured, and the Armed Forces are to be relieved of extrinsic economic activities.
International cooperation and integration are epxected to expand opportunities for implementation of the programmes and plans in military technology with NATO donor countries (Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom etc.), under a financing scheme of the US State Department, from the Partnership for Peace Trust Fund etc.
This will offset, to a certain extent, the shortage of funding from the national budget and ensure modernization of the armament and materiel remaining in service, improvement of the condition of infrastructure and maintain a dual-use infrastructure and, in the longer term, acquisition of new weapons systems.
Regardless of the aspirations to reform all spheres of society, a realistic assessment of resoruces shows that such radical reforms in the defence system will take a transitional period until 2010, when the Armed Forces will be fully restructured, free of unneeded assets and activities, largely professionalized, and interoperable with the armed forces of the NATO partners.
Dikme: Vassilev Should Visit Tobacco Growers.
Standartnews
Galina Stefanova
There will be enough money for the buy-out campaign, said Minister of Agriculture.
Since Nikolai Vassilev is worrying about the money for buying out tobacco, let him visit the tobacco growers. This is what Minister of Agriculture Mehmed Dikme said in Kardjali. He answered a question of "Standart" about Vice-Premier's doubts that enough money will be secured for the buy-out campaign. Several days ago Vassilev said that he and Dikme would assist "Bulgartabak" in getting a loan to pay the tobacco growers but he couldn't promise it would go smoothly. The Tobacco Holding will need about $ 100 million for the campaign, the two ministers prognosticated.
MRF: We Don't Want Paskalev's Post.
Team of "Standart"
The new vice-premier will be named within a fortnight. Simeon won't change his agreement with Dogan. I have no intention to run for mayor, says the ex-vice. Today minister Kaltchev meets BSP leaders.
The new vice-premier, who will replace Kostadin Paskalev after his resignation, will be known within 14 days, sources from the government told "Standart" yesterday. For now the only sure thing is that the new vice-premier will not be from the MRF. We have not been thinking over any changes in our coalition agreement with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, said PM Saxe-Coburg. I'm not going to become either mayor of Sofia or Blagoevgrad, said Paskalev after his sole political meeting, the one with the BSP leadership. Today he and minister of public administration Dimiter Kaltchev have another appointment with the BSP leadership. The executive bureau will discuss its stand on the financial decentralization for municipalities.
Yurii Gabrov Wants To Get Bulgarian Passport.
Standartnews
Tanya Krasimirova
Rescued hostage will pass medical checkups and will be treated in the VIP Hospital.
Yurii Gabrov, who survived after the Chechen captivity in Moscow, arrived in Sofia yesterday. He was invited by Foreign Ministry for general medical checkups. Yurii and his brother have submitted documents in the Bulgarian Consulate in Moscow to apply for Bulgarian citizenship, but there are certain technicalities that have to be settled, the father of the rescued hostage Vladimir Gabrov said at the airport. Yurii will visit the VIP Hospital today where he will go through medical checkups and will receive follow-up treatment.
PRESIDENT-CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL-MEETING.
BTA
President Georgi Purvanov: Institutions Ready and Willing to Seek Joint Solution in Fight with Drugs.
Sofia, November 4 (BTA) - The institutions are ready and willing to seek a joint solution in the fight with drugs, President Georgi Purvanov said after a meeting of the Consultative Council on National Security on "Main Trends in National Policy of Fighting Drugs", which lasted over two hours on Monday.
In addition to the Council members, the meeting was attended by Health Minister Bozhidar Finkov, Education Minister Vladimir Atanassov, Justice Minister Anton Stankov and Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Boiko Borissov.
An opinion adopted at the meeting said the fight against the illegal distribution of drugs and drug abuse should become a main priority of the institutions.
Purvanov said the Council meeting, the first of its kind on this problem in the transition period, reflected concern over the scope of the phenomenon, and showed that the institutions wanted to address the real problems of Bulgarian society.
The participants rallied round the view that the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure should be amended to limit drug use and to ensure more effective investigation into drug-related crimes, Purvanov said. A more accurate definition of a single dose is needed.
Purvanov said there was a will for speedy passage of a law on confiscation of illegally acquired assets.
The required changes in legislation can be made by the year's end, according to the president.
Purvanov noted that the Bulgarian Customs and the Interior Ministry got high marks from their international partners for their efforts to limit drug trafficking.
Work in the education system is needed in the long term, according to Purvanov. There should be more to it than the programme for further training of teachers for the purposes of drug use prevention. More money should be invested in health care for the treatment of drug addicts.
Answering a question after the meeting, Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov said that if good will was there, the changes to legislation could become a fact by the year's end.
Nadezhda Mihailova, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces, said only conclusions were heard at the meeting, but no concrete ideas for solving the problem.
At the start of the meeting, Purvanov quoted official statistics showing that drug use had soared in recent years: from 1,500 officially registered heroin users in the early 1990s to between 20,000 and 30,000 now. Some NGOs cite an even larger number.
PASSY-TURKEY-ELECTIONS.
BTA
Foreign Minister Passy: Turkey Is Democratic Country, Bilateral Relations Do Not Depend on Domestic Changes.
Sofia, November 4 (BTA) - "Turkey is a democratic country and bilateral relations do not depend on domestic changes there," Foreign Minister Solomon Passy said, commenting on Sunday's parliamentary elections.
In his words, Bulgarian-Turkish relations have never been better in the past 60 years.
Turkey's Justice and Development Party won a parliamentary majority in Sunday's elections.
"It was the choice of the Turkish people and it could be no reason for concern for us, as the choice of the Bulgarian people could not be a reason for concern for Turkey," said Bulgaria's chief diplomat.
Simeon Makes Ministers Diet.
Standartnews
For two days the ministers eat only vegetables. This government also had to give up meat.
These days ministers dream of steaks and meatballs. Because the PM made them eat cheese pies and peppers stuffed with beans. This was their main course during their stay in Kurdzhaly for the sitting of the CM. PM Saxe-Coburg-Gotha rarely eats meat and it is not polite to eat steaks in his presence, one of best gastronomes in the government said. The minister did not conceal that they remained hungry after the vegetarian dinner on Saturday. The cabinet members hoped to compensate yesterday when they were invited to lunch in the home of minister Dikme in Ardino. When they arrived they discovered that all dishes were lenten, too. This is the second Bulgarian government that gives up meat to please its head. For four years Kostov's ministers didn't dare even think of stakes and meatballs in the presence of the PM.
Cooking Stove on Credit - New Hit in Hypermarkets.
Standartnews
Evgenia Angelova
Articles worth from 350 to 20,000 levs can be bought with a bank loan. Metro, Ramstore and Interservice Uzunov offer the service.
Shopping on credit is another attempt of big chain stores to attract customers. Metro, Ramstore and Interservice Uzunov offer the service. With a bank loan you can buy furniture, hi-fi and kitchen appliances as well as other goods costing from 350 to 20,000 levs.
BULGARIA-USA-EDUCATION.
BTA
Stara Zagora /Southern Bulgaria/, November 4 (BTA) - An educational seminar within a project of the Romen Rolan language school and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) US foundation begins in Stara Zagora Monday.
The school has been picked up among a total of 330 in this country. Participating in the selection was a representative of the Education Ministry, Headmaster Vanya Sotirova told BTA.
The purpose is to train teachers, parents and students how to work in team, said Sotirova.
The project that is the first of its kind for Bulgaria will last one year. It is funded by CRF. A room furnished with computer equipment of 15,000 US dollars' worth will be opened by March 2003. It will ensure a constant Internet connection.
The purpose of the second stage of the project is to establish contacts and ensure understanding among the Balkan countries.
Conflict? Yes, But with Those Who Rejoiced at my Resignation.
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Kostadin Paskalev
Next week we'll have a drink with Mr. Hassan. I'm not going to become either a mayor or patriarch. Kaltchev is frustrated, says ex-vice-premier Kostadin Paskalev on Darik radio.
- Mr. Paskalev, what are the reasons for your resignation?
- They are two - first, it is lack of understanding of my concept about things important for the development of Bulgaria. And second, lack of political confidence when it comes to concrete decisions.
- Have you had any personal conflicts with other cabinet members? For instance with your deputy Hassan Hassan?
- No, I can tell you frankly that the next week we'll have a drink together.
- Finance Minister Milen Veltchev said that money will not be sufficient if allocated the way you want it to be done.
- Yes, and in this sense it may be interpreted as a conflict. He hasn't signed the financial substantiation for the Regional Development Act and credit agreement on transit routes. And these are projects that should entail definite steps. If you call this a conflict, then I would agree with you. I do say that I have had conflicts with these people and they rejoiced when I handed in my resignation. Openly or covertly.
- Will minister of public administration Dimiter Kaltchev follow your example?
- These are strictly personal decisions. I talked with him last night. He was rather disconcerted.
- Do you have any idea about your future in politics?
- No, I don't.
- Could you become Sofia mayor?
- No, this is a preposterous idea. It would be as good as tipping me for a patriarch.
Berezovsky to buy rebel spokesman's freedom.
Gazeta.ru
Text: Yelena Shishkounova
Photo: BBC
Aslan Maskhadovs envoy Akhmed Zakayev, detained last Wednesday in Copenhagen at the request of the Russian authorities, is set to apply for political asylum in Denmark. A group of first-class defence lawyers hired by the Foundation for Civil Liberties has already begun examining Zakayevs case. ''I am convinced that the case against Zakayev is fabricated,'' a co-founder of the Foundation for Civil Liberties Boris Berezovsky told Ekho Moskvy.
A senior official in Aslan Maskhadovs pro-independence government Akhmed Zakayev is set to apply for political asylum in Denmark or in Great Britain. As envoy of the self-proclaimed independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria to Denmark Usman Ferzauli has said: ''Presently there is no possibility of Zakayev returning to Russia.''
At the same time, according to Ferzauli, the final decision on the application for political asylum is yet to be taken. The Danish DR1 television channel carried the statement of Zakayevs Danish lawyer Tige Trir, who said that the political asylum option might be discussed later.
According to the lawyer, a person may be granted political asylum if he has a well-founded fear of persecution at home. As Zakayevs lawyer said, the Russian-Chechen conflict and Zakayevs political activity constitute sufficient grounds for making an application.
In this case the Danish immigration authorities might consider Zakayev's appeal for as long as six months.
Mr. Trir did not explain why he considered it too early for the Chechen envoy to apply for asylum. Zakayevs lawyers probably want to wait until a new portion of evidence against Zakayev arrives in Copenhagen from the Prosecutor Generals Office in Moscow.
It is noteworthy, that thus far things do not seem to be as bad for the Chechen emissary as some observers have made out. On Saturday the Justice Ministry of Denmark refused to meet Russias extradition request, saying it needed more evidence before it could consider handing him over. The ministrys spokeswoman confirmed an official extradition request had been received from Moscow, but said more information was needed before action could be taken.
''We have had an official request for extraditing Zakayev but the information that we have had so far is inadequate. For instance we need an official translation and more factual evidence,'' the spokeswoman said.
The Justice Minister Lene Espersen told DR1 television that if by November 30 Russian authorities fail to furnish the Danish side with exhaustive evidence proving Akhmed Zakayevs involvement in terrorist activities he would be released from custody.
Russias Prosecutor Generals Office responded immediately saying on Saturday that it was preparing materials that would be sent to Denmark shortly in connection with the arrest of Akhmed Zakayev. Within the next few days the staff of the Prosecutor General's Office will have readied a package of documents substantiating Moscow's demand for the extradition of Zakayev, spokesman Leonid Troshin of the Prosecutor General's Office told Interfax on Saturday.
Strictly speaking, by applying for political asylum Zakayev will find it difficult to avoid extradition if the Danish court finds the evidence presented by Russia sufficient. But at the same time the team of defence lawyers representing Akhmed Zakayev is quite able to protract the examination of the request for his extradition.
A group of top-class lawyers has been hired by the New York-based Foundation for Civil Liberties to represent the Chechen envoy in court. Boris Berezovsky, one of the co-founders of the Foundation said it would cover Zakayevs legal fees.
In an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station Berezovsky said that ''a team of well-known lawyers from Holland and England have been invited'' to represent Zakayev in the Danish court. Berezovsky is convinced that ''the case against Zakayev is fabricated''.
The support that the tycoon, a sworn enemy of the Kremlin and living in self-imposed exile in London, is providing Maskhadovs emissary with, may seriously impede Russias efforts in persuading Denmark to hand over the alleged terrorist.
Yet, in the opinion of the senator Mikhail Margelov, there is still hope for a favourable outcome for Russia. He is pinning ''certain hopes'' on the forthcoming visit of the Danish Justice Minister to Moscow, as well as on the ''effective cooperation between the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Prosecutors Office and their Danish counterparts''.
''I assume that the position of the executive authorities of Denmark on that issue can, after all, be changed,'' said Margelov, evidently forgetting that in Denmark extradition is a matter for the courts, not the government.
The Language Problems of the Danish Justice Ministry.
PRAVDA.Ru
Dmitry Slobodanuk
Translated by Dmitry Sudakov
The Danes do not speak Russian. However, they can understand the Chechen language a lot better.
It deems that the Russian Federation Office of the Prosecutor General was not really shocked over Denmarks unexampled refusal to deliver the arrested Chechen terrorist Akhmed Zakayev to Russia. A spokesman for the Russian Office of the Prosecutor General Leonid Troshin stated on Saturday that there would soon be the complete package of documents prepared again. Those documents will contain the legal reasons for the delivery of the Chechen terrorist, who was previously arrested in Denmark on the claim from the Russian authorities. After the documents are all ready, they will be handed over to Denmark.
Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen has recently announced that the Russian party did not present the convincing evidence to prove Zakayevs links with the terrorist activity. The minister promised to release the arrested terrorist from arrest on November 30, if the Russian law-enforcement bodies fail to prove his guilt.
Some Russian media outlets believe that there can be a very serious problem about the whole issue. All of those documents that will be handed over to the Danish lawyers are written in the Russian language. Moscow newspapers do not rule out a possibility that the Danish Justice Ministry does not have qualified translators, who could translate all the Russian documents accordingly. At least, the press secretary of the Danish Justice Ministry said to Reuters that Denmark would like to have official translations of the documents and more facts in them. In other words, it seems that the Danes were simply unable to read all the documents from the Russian Office of the Prosecutor General.
It is worth mentioning that the English language, which is considered to be the language of international scale, does not get much honors in Denmark either. If you come up to a Dane person in a street, asking him or her for a way in English, you are not likely to get any information. The Russian tourists, who have been to Denmark, pointed out the explicit dislike of the Danish people towards any foreigners, especially to the Germans.
Lets hope that the personnel of the Russian Office of the Prosecutor General will have at least one qualified translator of the Danish language. It goes without saying that the Office could ask the Russian Foreign Ministry for help.
However, it might turn out that the Foreign Ministry does not have one either.
The relations between Russia and Denmark have been still for decades already. If there can be some specialists found, then there is a possibility that they are on their business trips or vacations.
On the other hand, all those language difficulties might eventually become simply a fake. Probably, the Justice Ministry of Denmark decided to be very slow about it. The situation is not really pleasant: Russia keeps showing pressure, Denmarks reputation might be spoiled due to its official indulgence to international terrorists. For the time being, Denmark conducts active consultations with the European parliament.
Anyway, the officials of the civilized European country of Denmark find a common language with Chechen terrorists easier in comparison with the Russian diplomats. This is a fact, and this fact is not likely to be any good for Denmark in the future.
Hague Tries Quietly to Murder Milosevic; His Defense in Financial Crisis.
PRAVDA.Ru
The Hague "Tribunal" show trial has disastrously backfired. Slobodan Milosevic has so thoroughly defeated this NATO "court" that the pro-NATO media has eliminated virtually all TV and newspaper coverage. Since, because Milosevic is brilliant and because they are lying, the Hague cannot "show" their trial, they are trying to defeat Mr. Milosevic the way they find most natural: by murdering him. Meanwhile, his support Committees have been hindered by a drastic lack of funds.
Last night Slobodan Milosevic suffered an attack of ultra-high blood pressure, typical of his malignant hypertension. This condition, requiring that a cardiologist monitor Mr. Milosevic, can easily cause heart attack or stroke.
His heart is already damaged.
On July 26, Richard May, the so-called judge at The Hague proceeding against Slobodan Milosevic, made the following statement in "court":
"We have received a doctors' report which in its conclusion states that the accused is a man exposed to a serious cardiovascular risk which requires careful health monitoring in the future. The authors of the report advise a reduction in the workload of this trial and advise further treatment by a cardiologist."
Despite warnings from Yugoslav cardiologists and our committees, this was the first time The Hague permitted even non-specialists to examine President Milosevic. And despite their doctors' recommendation of "careful health monitoring in the future. a reduction in the workload of this trial and further treatment by a cardiologist," The Hague has, illegally, done the opposite:
-His "trial" day used to end at 2 PM. Now it ends at 5 PM. He is subjected to a long, tiring, absurd and humiliating security procedure going to and from the "court" room. He gets back to jail so late that he must choose: a short walk for some fresh air, or dinner.
-His cell is in an old Nazi prison. The windows are hermetically sealed. The air is so dirty his wife reports her shoes are covered with white dust after a two-hour visit.
-He is given poor quality, greasy foods instead of the vegetable-centered diet required for a heart patient.
Under international humanitarian law it is illegal to deny a prisoner necessary medical treatment. Given the requirements stated in the doctors' report, it is clear that this worsening of Milosevic's living conditions is an attempt to give him a stroke or heart attack and thus "solve" the problem that he is defeating NATO.
What We Can Do,
We urge everyone to publicize and protest this international crime. You can protest directly by calling The Hague at 3170 416 5000 or 3170 512 5334
Mr. Milosevic's support committees, the Freedom Foundation in Belgrade and the ICDSM (International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic) are in financial crisis. The Websites of the ICDSM and Milosevic's own party, the SPS, are shut down for lack of money. The ICDSM's temporary address is http://emperor.vwh.net/icdsm/index.htm
We need to bring the Quebec attorney, Tiphaine Dickson, to The Hague for consultations with Mr. Milosevic. Presently we do not have the funds even for her plane fare.
The kidnapping and "trial" of Mr. Milosevic is an attack on all of us - on Russia, for this attack is part of NATO's drive to the East; on the rule of law, for the Hague "tribunal" is modeled on the Inquisition; and on the United Nations, because this "tribunal" is run by NATO, that is, by the war criminals who attacked Yugoslavia. It criminalizes the UN.
It is thus of great importance that we not be silenced. If you have not contributed to Mr. Milosevic's defense - to our *common* defense - please consider doing so. Those of us who are directly involved have exhausted our financial resources. We cannot continue without you.
Thank you.
Jared Israel, Spokesperson, International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic, USA
Vladimir Krsljanin, Spokesperson, Freedom Foundation, Yugoslavia
Impact of illicit drugs on economic development focus of UN expert panel meeting.
unmikonline.org/
4 November -A United Nations expert panel today began discussions in Vienna on the impact of illicit drug cultivation, trade and abuse on overall economic development.
"The focus is on economic development because it is a crucial element of the process of sustainable and human development," explained Dr. Philip Emafo, President of the 13-member International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
According to the UN, the overwhelming share of profits made from illicit drug trafficking is not spent in the countries where crops are grown but in the countries where the finished products are sold and abused.
"Only one per cent of the money that is ultimately spent by drug abusers is generated as farm income in developing countries," said Dr. Emafo. "The remaining 99 per cent of global illicit drug income are earned by drug trafficking groups operating at various other points along the drug trafficking chain.
"Since its last session in May, the Board has sent missions to Afghanistan, Albania, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Namibia, Netherlands Antilles, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tunisia. The Board will review the report of these missions and examine how governments and territories are implementing the provisions of the international drug control treaties.
Through its Standing Committee on Estimates, the Board is also expected to review the worldwide supply and demand of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical purposes and establish or confirm quotas for narcotic drugs for every country in the world. A representative from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) will address the Board on health-related issues in the field of drugs during this session.
The Vienna-based Board is an independent body established by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to monitor governments' compliance with international drug control treaties. Its members are elected by the UN Economic and Social Council to serve in their individual capacities for five-year terms.
Albanian gangs are underworld threat.
timesonline.co.uk
By Stewart Tendler, Crime Correspondent
ALBANIAN gangsters are the emerging force in the British underworld, according to the latest intelligence reports from Scotland Yard and Europol.
Described by police as violent, daring, resourceful and often well armed, Albanian gangs have already made inroads into prostitution and are starting to edge their way into the heroin trade.
Few domestic criminals would contemplate a kidnap attempt on a celebrity because of the highly successful British police record in foiling them, but kidnap and extortion are common in eastern Europe.
An intelligence assessment from the National Criminal Intelligence Service this summer warned senior detectives and ministers of the dangers that the Albanians could pose. Some have entered Britain as illegal immigrants and others have posed as Kosovan Albanians to claim refugee status.
The Albanians operate in loose-knit clans based on the villages and mountains of their native lands. Many are from the poverty-stricken north and east, where guns are widely carried and blood feuds practised. Police believe that the gangs here are partly controlled by clan leaders at home in Albania. Cash is sent back to home villages.
The gangs first began to appear in Italy in the 1990s and rapidly took control of vice in many big cities. Italian police and the underworld were stunned by the violence used to gain power on the streets.
In the late 1990s Scotland Yard vice detectives noticed their growing presence in London. They are now believed to run up to three quarters of the capitals brothels and several thousand young prostitutes.
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