You have probably seen such stories when police or customs officers set up others accusing them later of committing an offence. Afterwards they bargain over the fine they wish to pocket. These are well-known movie scripts.

 

The following story is not made up although it was broadcast on TV. It is a true-life story.

 

It has been five months since Apostol Apostolov was put in jail in Foggia, Italy, in consequence of the international crime, the omissions of the Italian judiciary, the indolence of Macedonia, or to be more exact, the Macedonian embassy in Rome, and the helplessness of the downtrodden man in contrast to the power of the establishment.

 

Apostol was assisted by an incompetent interpreter in the course of his trial, which contributed greatly to his sentence of three and a half years in prison and a fine of over 200,000 euros.

 

As he was sleeping in the truck in the border zone of the Igoumenitsa seaport in Greece, waiting for a ferry to be taken over to Italy, 19 Kurds and 3 Arabs hid in the trailer of his truck. Somebody had removed the lead seal at the back of the trailer, let the men in and put the seal back. Nobody, by the way, except for the Greek customs officers had lead seals. On crossing the border to Italy, where they transported ferro-nickel from Kavadarci, his colleague in the truck behind him spotted hands and towels poking out of Apostols tarpaulin. He signaled right away and the two men pulled over. His friend told him what he saw and they agreed to stop at the next petrol station to hand the men over to the Italian police. The Kurds were arrested and they told the police they had never seen Apostol before, they paid in Istanbul to be trafficked to the West and entered Apostols truck at Igoumenitsa.

 

Given that Apostol did not have a competent interpreter during his detention, hearing and trial, he could not explain that it was he himself who reported the case and had nothing to do with the human-trafficking chain. So, he was found guilty by the Italian court in Foggia. The Italian prosecutors concluded that there was no other way of getting inside the trailer without taking the lead seal off. At the time of Apostols arrest the lead seal was not ripped.

 

This story by A1 TV journalist Dragan Antonovski stirred unseen reactions in Macedonia. The trade union of truck-drivers set an ultimatum to the Macedonian Government that unless it did something to obtain Apostols release and fair trial, they would set roadblocks all over the country. President Boris Trajkovski raised concerns too. He met with the Italian ambassador to Macedonia, notified him of the case and demanded review of the circumstances under which Apostol was tried. The Italian embassy is trying to speed up the appeal process, which, however, got stuck in a dead-end. The Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pressed by the public, said it would file a note of protest to their Italian counterparts.

 

In the meantime, Apostols sister, Vera Apostolova, cautioned it might be too late for any action. This is a blatant instance of human rights violation, she said.

 

Although she is not in a position, both financially and mentally, to see the process through, she engaged a lawyer in Italy, who charged 4,000 euros for his services, but has so far done nothing. Although praised for his commendable conduct by the warden of the penitentiary in Foggia, Apostol is not allowed to stand trial on bail, housed in the Caritas shelter, which was first offered and later denied. Apostol told journalist Antonovski on the phone he had been unjustly put behind bars and was no longer able to endure the pressure because he was never punished let alone convicted of crime. Once the case got intensive publicity in Macedonia, Apostol was denied telephone conversations.

 

Fifty-year-old Apostol Apostolov is in critical condition due to the injustice he suffered and the bad treatment all foreigners in the penitentiary receive. The prison authorities keep turning a deaf ear to all appeals for medical help.

 

His family said the last time they heard of him he could no longer walk. They fear that if the proceeding carries on like this, he might not live to be tried again. Therefore they demand urgent action by all those who can help obtain fair trial to amend the blunder of the Italian court, create better conditions or bail him out.

 

On the day of Apostols arrest, another Macedonian citizen got caught with 24 Kurds in the back of his truck. They filtered in at Igoumenitsa. But competent interpreter helped him get out of prison and return to Macedonia.

 

"Apostol Apostolov is innocent, we no longer have money to pay lawyers or phone calls, which are too costly for us," says Vera Apostolova, who works as librarian in Skopje. "He sustained his family with that money. People started calling, people who were convicted and served time in prison in Italy. They want money to help us bring him back. They say everything in Italy is possible with cash under the counter, but we were never criminals and have always stuck to the rules. Is anyone going to help us and show that truth and justice win in the end?"

 

[This is the first article in a series that covers the plight of Apostol Apostolov. More information coming soon.]

 

 

Reality Macedonia
By Irina Gelevska

 

Bunardzhik, near Skopje - Task Force Fox obtained a permission from the Macedonian Government to deploy in some of the biggest cities and villages in the whole territory of Macedonia during the elections, up until September 17.

 

According the Commander of TFF Brigadier General Jan Harm de Jorge, TFF have already opened Coordination Centres in Shtip and Bitola, located in the barracks of the Macedonian Army (ARM).

 

"We are talking about 40 to 45 men who will observe the elections and make contacts with the local population, local government and other institutions in the areas out of the crises regions," said General de Jorge adding that in these places some 30 soldiers will be deployed to protect about 300 observers from OSCE and EU.

 

In the forthcoming days, 6 cargos of equipment and medical materials will arrive for TFF in Petrovec Military Airport. A couple of Dutch cargo helicopters will be also send to Macedonia.

 

"I don't expect serious incidents during the elections in Macedonia and I think that TFF will be called to evacuate the international observers only in a case of traffic accident or medical problems," said General de Jorge adding that the primary protection of the observers is responsibility of the Macedonian security forces.

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Additional information:

 

In the last couple of weeks, OSCE advertised the open position of resident medical nurse, with competitive salary and benefits, in the major daily papers such as Vest and Dnevnik.

 

 

 

"The poetry is one of the greatest human and spiritual treasures, its estetic value comes from the deep intimacy of the poetic feeling," she said, adding that "the poetry today is perhaps the last bastion in the defense from the process of globalization."

 

She stressed that the poetry has another power - to bring the people closer together and to build bridges among them. In that context she pointed to last year's festival when besides the "vandalism" that Macedonia faced with the SPE marked its 40th anniversary.

 

"I believe that the poetry besides all challenges that the modern information society offers, still has its future, because its mission is nobel, same as the word pronounced by the poets," Minister Samoilovska-Cvetanova said.

 

At the opening, a greeting note from Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski was red, whereat he expresses his regret for not being able to attend this formal moment.

 

"May the festival flames remain forever, in honor of the Struga Poetry Evenings festival, a bridge that connects the poets from all over the world," reads the note from the Prime Minister.

 

Struga mayor Romeo Dereban and president of the SPE Council Bratislav Taskovski also hailed the present at the opening of the festival.

 

The poets' gathering in the past 40 years had for a goal, as Taskovski said, "to make the world simpler and more bearable."

 

He stressed that so far the festival was attended by almost 5,000 poets from 140 countries. "It is a small army of miracle workers, but also of friends of Macedonia," Taskovski said, recommending "may the love and reason prevail among the people. Everything else will mean defeat."

 

At the traditional poetry reading titled as "Meridijani", poets from 16 countries red their lyrics in their own languages. The audience had a chance to hear lyrics red by poets from Spain, Macedonia, Sweden, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Serbia, Turkey, France, Germany, Russia, Romania, Morocco, Great Britain, Croatia and Latvia.

 

 

Libyan Minister: Case of Bulgarian Medics Is Legal, Not Political Matter.

 

Sofia, August 22 (BTA) - Libyan Foreign Minister Abd Al-Rahman Shalgam said in the Topical Issue broadcast of the national television that the case with the detained Bulgarian medics has always been a legal and not a political matter, a matter that has been and is only within the competence of the judiciary. The political formations in Libya do not interfere in any with legal matters, he said. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy was also a guest of the program.

 

Six Bulgarian medics are standing trial under charges of intentionally infecting with AIDS hundreds of Libyan children.

 

Shalgam said the Libyan court has proven it is objective and unbiased. In his view, the case of the Bulgarian medics here grew into a headline news story and then into a political issue which has overshadowed somewhat bilateral relations. Shalgam said they could not find a Bulgarian partner with a clam attitude towards the issue before Passy but the latter's appointment touched off an open and frank dialogue and relations renewed their progress.

 

Shalgam expressed the wish of his country for a quantum leap in bilateral relations in all possible spheres of cooperation and noted that the will to do that was in evidence from both sides.

 

The two sides should jettison their prejudices towards one another so that the best in bilateral relations could be restored, Passy said, adding that the trial in Libya of the Bulgarian medics served as a catalyst of bilateral relations. "We witnessed how tragedies can bond people sometimes," he said.

 

Shalgam arrived on a two-day visit here on Wednesday at Passy's invitation in what is the first trip to Bulgaria of a Libyan diplomat in the past 17 years.

 

 

 

Decision on Destruction Method for SS-23 Missiles Expected Shortly.

 

Sofia, August 22 (BTA) - "The method of destruction of Bulgaria's SS-23 missiles will be determined on Friday, or on Monday at the latest," Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov told reporters before Thursday's meeting of the Council of Ministers.

 

He did not provide further details.

 

"The armed forces are ready to take action in the event of floods, but we hope no such need will arise," the Defence Minister said.

 

 

 

President Georgi Parvanov met Wednesday with Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov, Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Boiko Borissov and Prosecutor General Nikola Filchev to ask them for an explanation for the high number of criminals who have been apprehended and then released. At the meeting President Parvanov said he would demand a report on the cases where criminal bosses have been released. He asked about the progress of preparing a counter-crime strategy and wanted to know what happens with the pending cases against criminals and what police is doing to collect strong evidence against them. While he described as "fast and impressive" the ongoing Interior Ministry operation against the underworld, and praised the resolve of the ruling majority for fast changes in the legislation, the President said that it was high time the Interior Ministry dropped the campaign strategy in its work and started acting persistently. He reconfirmed his commitment that the agenda of the first meeting of the National Security Consultative Council in the new political season will be the combat against drugs. Emerging from the two-hour meeting, Prosecutor General Nikola Filchev told reporters that the prosecution is determined to take "firm and unrelenting action to take criminals behind bars and take away from them any property they have acquired illegally". Interior Minister Georgi Parvanov said that the counter crime strategy is ready and will be submitted to the Government in early September. Later in September the Government will put to the vote a strategy on drugs. Petkanov would not accept criticism that what the Interior Ministry is doing is campaign-like and inconsistent. Neither he nor the prosecutor general would name any specific underworld bosses they had discussed. In a statement for the press Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said that another 330 people with records for drugs use and dealing and other crimes, have been taken in police custody in the last 24 hours. Of these, 231 will remain in custody for 24 hours, 18 for 72 hours and six for longer than 72 hours. In the course of the operation police identified and apprehended five people with effective sentences and 16 against whom there is a nationwide search effort. 329 drugs hubs have been raided.

 

 

 

Defence Officials Back from Afghanistan.

 

UPDATE ONE: updated with a general comment by the Defence Minister on Afghanistan's reconstruction (the second paragraph).

 

Sofia, August 22 (BTA) - A delegation of the Bulgarian Defence Ministry and the General Staff of the Armed Forces, headed by Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov, returned late Wednesday night from Afghanistan. Chief of General Staff Gen. Nikola Kolev was on the delegation. The first Bulgarian military unit of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also came back.

 

"Afghanistan has all chances of rebuilding its state establishment. I hope the country will succeed because this will be a success for all Asia and the world," Svinarov said.

 

He told reporters at Sofia Airport that the Afghan authorities did not request additional military assistance from Bulgaria. He does not rule out the possibility for future requests to this end.

 

Svinarov said that he and the General Staff had issued instructions on the use of reserve funds to improve the sanitary and living conditions at the Bulgarian camp in Afghanistan.

 

Back in the Asian country, the Defence Minister met with Brigadier General Manfred Schlenker, Commander of the German-led Kabul Multinational Brigade, the larger structure which incorporates the Bulgarian force.

 

Svinarov also conferred with his Afghan counterpart Marshal Mohammad Kasim Fahim and the ISAF Commander, General Hikmi Zorlu. The visiting Defence Minister was received by Afghanistan's Chairman Hamid Karzai.

 

The sides signed a protocol on the Bulgarian arms and ammunition donated to the Afghan Army.

 

The members of the first Bulgarian unit received honorary insignia "for faithful service under the colours," third and fourth grade, as well as binoculars. The Defence Minister presented the Senior National Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Milko Berner, with a Makarov pistol.

 

 

 

Government Tells Privatization Agency to Go Ahead and Pick Buyer of Bulgartabac Without Asking Offer Improvement.

 

Sofia, August 22 (BTA) - The Government has told the Privatization Agency to go ahead and name a buyer of tobacco holding company Bulgartabac.

 

"The bidders will not be asked for improved offers for Bulgartabac," Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev told a news conference Thursday after a closed-door meeting of the Government. At this meeting the ministers approved unanimously a report of the Privatization Agency (PA) on the Bulgartabac sale procedure and adopted an ordinance telling PA to proceed further and rate the offers without asking for improvements on them.

 

Vassilev explained that there are no legislative or other grounds for demanding improved offers and prices higher than those already offered by the prospective buyers.

 

"If now we ask for improvement of the offers, the bidders in other privatization deals such as the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, will have a reason to demand the same," said he. He added that the competition for Bulgartabac is being held under the effective privatization law and an ordinance on competitive bidding. The prospective buyers of Bulgartabac had a chance to offer a higher price between the first and the second stage of the procedure - between the indicative and the final offers, and some of them did that and have better parameters in their final offers.

 

PA has already analyzed the additional information bidders had provided on their offers in response to a list of questions by PA. A PA report on that will be made public Friday.

 

According to Vassilev, this decision has been coordinated with the coalition partner of the ruling Simeon II National Movement, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. Taking a question, he said that Agriculture Minister Mehmed Dikme was at the Thursday meeting of the government that voted the Bulgartabac decisions. He also said that the results of the Bulgartabac audit by the international accounting standards had not been due at that time and therefore cannot be a reason for a change in the offers.

 

Agriculture Minister Dikme could not be reached for a comment on the Government decision.

 

 

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Tasha Schwikert of the United States and Bulgaria's Jordan Jovtchev won the women's and men's all-around championships at the International Gymnastics Challenge on Thursday night.

 

Schwikert scored 9.888 in two events, uneven bars and floor exercise, for a total score of 19.776. The United States' 14-year-old Carly Patterson finished second at 19.688 after earning a 9.9 in the floor exercise.

 

Jovtchev, an Olympic bronze medalist in the floor exercise and rings in 2000, compiled a total score of 19.726. His 9.988 on the rings was the best individual score overall Thursday.

 

Paul Hamm of the United States finished second in the all-around with 19.688 points. Teammate Sean Townsend's 9.913 on the parallel bars was the best individual American performance at the Anaheim Arena.

 

The U.S. women's team of Schwikert, Patterson, Ashley Postell and Hollie Vise scored 78.453 points to defeat the World team, which compiled 76.827 points.

 

Leading the World women was Russia's Svetlana Khorkina, two-time Olympic champion on uneven bars. Khorkina scored 9.85 on that event and 9.688 on floor exercise.

 

But the World men defeated the United States by more than 10 points. The United States' Morgan Hamm strained a tendon while performing his first event, the floor exercise, and had to withdraw.

 

Joining Jovtchev on the World team was Russia's Alexei Nemov, who has 11 Olympic medals, and Italy's Yuri Chechi, four-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist on rings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Townhall.com
Robert Novak

 

WASHINGTON -- Two weeks after the revelation of the extraordinary briefing on Saudi Arabia to the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, the Saudi government is still upset. It in no way is satisfied with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's disavowal of responsibility for the bizarre incident. The Saudis see a Bush administration sharply divided about them, as with much else in Middle Eastern policy.

 

Senior Saudi officials had hoped that Rumsfeld would unequivocally reject and apologize for the briefing by Rand Corporation analyst Laurent Murawiec, which described longtime ally Saudi Arabia as a terrorist nation that is "the kernel of evil" and the U.S.'s "most dangerous opponent" in the Middle East.

 

Instead, Rumsfeld separated himself from the affair, characteristically indicating what bothered him most was that contents of the briefing were leaked.

 

Few accounts of the bizarre incident paid much attention to the centrality of former Assistant Defense Secretary Richard Perle, the Rumsfeld-appointed Policy Board chairman and a staunch friend of Israel. Perle's arrangement of the Murawiec briefing is seen in both Washington and Riyadh as part of a campaign to recast long-standing U.S. policies with strong, though certainly not unanimous, support in the White House and the Defense Department.

 

Ever since the Sept. 11 attacks, conservative journalists and politicians have pounded on Saudi customs and mores that had not seriously disturbed a relationship between the two dissimilar countries over the past 60 years.

 

Beneath that buzz was a proposed new strategic concept: forcible removal of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, which in turn would undermine the Saudi regime -- the domino theory in reverse. The proposed American imperium would produce a democratic Middle East, safe for Israel.

 

As a step toward this grand design, Murawiec's briefing of July 10 lacked Perle's usual sophistication. Murawiec, a French national who was for many years associated with the extremist Lyndon LaRouche's organization, is no Middle Eastern specialist and has never visited Iraq. Yet, his identification of Saudi Arabia as the leading terrorist state drew criticism from only one Policy Board member present, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

 

The private briefing became public Aug. 6 with publication on The Washington Post's page one of a dispatch by Pentagon correspondent Thomas E. Ricks.

 

The briefing's intent became clear with the comment by former U.S. disarmament chief Kenneth Adelman, a member of the Policy Board who was not present July 10. "I think it is a mistake to consider Saudi Arabia a friendly country," said Adelman, who is on close terms with both Rumsfeld and Perle.

 

Indeed, there are high-level Saudis who do not want to be friendly to the United States. The Murawiec briefing helped not only Perle and fellow American conservatives but also anti-American elements in Saudi Arabia, whose popularity is growing. After the briefing, the mass circulation publication Okaz described the Pentagon as filled with "either Jews or allies of the Zionist lobby." Saudi officials then reiterated refusal to permit the Kingdom's use for an attack on Iraq.

 

Israeli-Palestinian violence has undermined old U.S.-Saudi ties. Ghazi Algosaibi, Saudi ambassador to Britain, raised an international uproar last April when he released a poem praising a female Palestinian suicide bomber.

 

Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi foreign policy adviser, was in Washington last week denying allegations that he represents a terrorist nation as alleged in a $116 trillion damage suit filed by families of Sept. 11 victims. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia absolutely does not fund terrorism," he said on CNN. "It goes against our faith. It's against our laws. We have done everything we can in this war on terrorism."

 

Al-Jubeir specifically denied Saudi funding of the Hamas organization conducting suicide bombing against Israel. "We have done everything we can to try to clamp down on any money going to any evildoer, including Hamas," he said. Israeli accusations of Saudi complicity in suicide bombings have been spread through Washington, but they are not substantiated by U.S. intelligence.

 

A succession of American presidents dating back to Harry Truman have balanced support for the state of Israel with friendship for Arab nations headed by oil-producing Saudi Arabia. George W. Bush faces a choice of whether he wants to continue that policy or venture down the road charted by Richard Perle.