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Thousands of kids took part in sprint competitions held in Bulgarian cities yesterday. They joined the running festival staged in Plovdiv, Sofia, Varna and Blagoevgrad. Photo: Vasko Hadjiivanov
Hand grenades thrown in Skopje.
BBC
Two explosions rocked a residential area of the Macedonian capital, Skopje, early on Monday, destroying a car belonging to a bodyguard of the outgoing Prime Minister, Ljubco Georgievski.
Police say that two hand grenades were hurled at the car in the early hours of the morning, wrecking the vehicle and damaging more than 20 others.
No-one was hurt in the blast.
PRESIDENT TRAJKOVSKI ORGANIZES RECEPTION FOR PARTICIPANTS AT PEN CONGRESS.
MIA
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski organized a reception Sunday in Ohrid for the participants at the 68th World Congress of the International PEN Center.
In his welcoming speech, Trajkovski said it was a great honour that Macedonia had a chance to organize this congress, which along with the presence of a great number of delegates, presents a proof that the country, where democracy and law are ruling, is recognized and highly-respected by the world.
"I wish to point out that is a place where communication, trust and cooperation may be established, which has been confirmed by the last week parliamentary elections," Trajkovski said.
He also referred to the beauty of Ohrid, saying it is kind of a center of Macedonia's cultural history, from which Slavic literacy, culture, church music and art had been spread in other Slavic countries.
"Therefore, holding of the International PEN Congress, which is focused on 'Borders of Freedom - Freedom of Borders,' is significant for the region, as it fosters and supports the efforts for peaceful future, freedom of creativity and of intellectual dialogue," Trajkovski said.
He believed that the congress would support Macedonia's efforts for development of democracy, which will enhance and confirm its role as significant factor of the regional peace and stability.
Trajkovski also extended his gratitude to the Macedonian PEN Center for its activities in regard with affirmation of the Macedonian literature, culture, language, and protection of the cultural identity of national minorities in the country.
The 68th World Congress of the International PEN Center, bringing together 290 delegates and guests from all over the world, began Thursday in Ohrid.
The Congress is the most important event in the literature and culture, offering strong support and recognition to the Macedonian PEN - Center, which celebrates its 40th anniversary.
President of Macedonian PEN Dimitar Basevski reminded in his welcoming speech that due to the conflict in Macedonia, the World Congress was postponed. However, it was unanimously decided on London Conference the Congress to be held in Ohrid.
"Although fragile to some extent regarding the peace, Macedonia remains to be a place, in which the communication and the mutual cooperation can be established," Basevski said.
According to him, "the presence of the International PEN at the Congress, which is focused on 'Borders of Freedom - Freedom of Borders,' will confirm the Charter's principles and will support the efforts for peaceful future. "It will also remind us of the borders within us, in our imperfect mind and the borders outside us, but drawn by ourselves in our imperfect world. The freedom is motive for good actions, although sometimes a foreword for many atrocities.
But when we speak of freedom, we always think of a model of duties," Basevski said.
"For many generations in Macedonia we live in the sprit of one credo, according to which the world is understood as field for cultural competition among the nations. We have not abandoned this credo even in the critical times, because it was our support. This credo perfectly fits in the spirit of the World Congress, starting from the central topic on freedom of borders and the other topics that contain the symbol of freedom, which opens before us," Basevski said.
He also emphasized that the visitors from all over the world hoped that in the globalization, the small national languages and cultures would not lose their identity, and that the subtle details characteristic for every art and culture would not disappear.
President of the International PEN - Center Homero Aridjis said that the view of soldiers and military equipment on Skopje Airport has recalled in his mind the dark memories of past developments in the northwestern part of the country, but also reminded him that Macedonia succeeded to avoid the brutal terrors of the civil war.
"It was difficult year for Macedonia and the hostilities not only took their toll in the cultural life, but also destroyed many historical monuments, which were warehouse of the collective memory of several cultures in a row," Aridjis said.
"It is extremely exciting that we have met in the place where the alphabet was born, along the coast of Ohrid Lake where brothers Kiril and Metodij composed the Cyrillic alphabet. In Macedonia we have the feeling of being on a crossroad. The threat of the hostility was always present along with the friendship and co-existence," Aridjis said, adding that "this multiethnic region was often called 'the bellybutton of the world,' just like the title of the awarded novel by Venko Andonovski."
"When I first came here in 1975 at Struga Poetry Evenings, I thought of this country as an umbilical cord to the world of poetry. The Golden Wreath was presented then to Leopold Sengor, a vice president of the International PEN, who died recently. Numerous poets from around the world read poetry on the bridge, which is a symbol of the civilizations that by-pass here since ancient times," Aridjis said.
Secretary General of the International PEN Terry Carlbom said that fourty years ago in the time of former SFRY, a group of writers from Macedonia expressed their ambitions to place their beloved country on the map of international writers and created the Macedonian PEN.
"The motive for the establishment was their dedication towards the literature and poetry. Its first President Tome Momirovski is here with us today," Carlbom said, adding that "Macedonia shows that its pride with its own identities matches with the one of the other democratic multicultural societies, proud of its own identity, language and tradition, but never against someone else."
The World Congress of the International PEN - Center will continue its work with the literature session and debate on the central topic "Borders of Freedom - Freedom of Borders" and the session of the Writers in Prison Committee. As it was pointed out Wednesday over 700 writers and journalists were prosecuted worldwide.
INDEPENDENCE DAY-CELEBRATIONS.
BTA
Bulgaria Marks 94th Anniversary of Declaration of Independence update.
Veliko Turnovo (Northern Bulgaria), September 22 (BTA) - Independence, the national ideal attained by the heroic Bulgarians, is a continuation of the traditions of Bulgarian statehood, Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha said in his speech at the opening of the national celebrations of the 94th anniversary of the declaration of Bulgaria's Independence.
"We need the example set in those days today, when love for Bulgaria is the irresistible force leading us to the European families. What we need for this is not demagogy and ostentation, but everybody's dedicated daily work in the name of the motherland," the prime minister said.
"The declaration of Bulgaria's independence in September 1908 is a dignified act on the part of all Bulgarians and the country's leaders at that time, an act which raises Bulgaria's prestige in Europe and boosts our national confidence," President Georgi Purvanov said in his speech at the celebrations in Veliko Turnovo Sunday evening.
By declaring their independence Bulgarians showed they had a clear political will not to be a mere object but an active subject in European history, the president noted. "On a day like today we should realize that the Bulgarian cause was successful when politicians acted like true national leaders, ignoring petty party schemes, personal and group affiliations [...] and when we found the strength and the will to place the Bulgarian question in a categorical and well-grounded manner, defending our national interest, on the European diplomatic table" On September 22, Bulgaria marks the 94th anniversary of the declaration of its independence. In 1908, the United Principality of Bulgaria was proclaimed an independent state by a manifesto of Prince Ferdinand I Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Turnovo.
Metropolitan Philip of Veliko Turnovo crowned the first Bulgarian king after an interruption of five hundred years.
Independence was declared 30 years after Bulgaria's Liberation in 1878. It was independent in its economy, art and culture, but its status as a vassal principality posed difficulties to its diplomatic relations with the other countries.
At a well-chosen moment, Prince Ferdinand cast off the last vassal links with the Ottoman Empire. The Sublime Porte was the first to recognize Bulgaria's independence on April 9, 1909. The Great Powers followed suit.
This is the fifth time Independence Day has been celebrated as an official holiday since the National Assembly made a decision to this effect on September 10, 1998.
New Scandal about Bulgartabak.
Standartnews
Detsche Bank doesn't guarantee that it will finance the deal.
Tobacco Capital will give up Bulgartak, predicted Sergey Sharicho, chairman of the Association of Cigarettes' Distributors in Russia on Radio NET. It is not too late yet for the Bulgarian government to correct the mistakes and mend the situation, he said further. If the conclusion of the deal is delayed, the state, and the Ministry of Economy in particular, being the present owner of the holding, will do their best to save the tobacco buy-out campaign, assured vice-premier Nikolay Vassilev.
Passy Links up Bulgartabak with NATO.
Standartnews
Judicial system reform, that the magistrates thwarted, and the privatization of Bulgartabak are the touchstone NATO officials will use weighing up our chances for membership, said Foreign Minister Solomon Passy at the conference in Boyana residence yesterday. Thus, he hinted that Bulgaria is not going to get an invitation to join the Alliance provided the judicial authorities do not report directly to the Premier. The link between the Bulgartabak deal and the Prague summit is something new in the NMS. The idea perplexed the foreign participants in the conference. Danish expert declared that the criteria a country is expected to meet for NATO membership have nothing to do with privatization.
BULGARIA-ROMANIA-YUGOSLAVIA-FOREIGN MINISTERS.
BTA
Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia to Meet in Vidin on September 24.
Sofia, September 22 (BTA) - The foreign minister of Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia - Solomon Passy, Mircea Geoana and Goran Svilanovic - will meet in the Danubian town of Vidin on September 24 at the invitation of the Bulgarian chief diplomat, the Foreign Ministry's press office said on Sunday.
The agenda of the meeting will include aspects of the current situation in Southeastern Europe and possibilities for trilateral cooperation, with an accent on cross-border cooperation.
The participants will discuss cooperation among the three countries in the context of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The three foreign ministers will consider the possible drawing up of projects of trilateral interest in transport, the energy and elecommunications infrastructure, environmental protection, trade, tourism, small and medium-sized enterprises, and ways to ensure freedom of movement for people and goods across the common borders, the press release said. Cooperation along the Danube will also be high on the agenda.
Putin Called Parvanov "My Friend"
Standartnews
Bulgaria's membership in NATO would not improve Bulgaria's security, Russia's President said.
New Bulgarian consulates will be opened in Rostov-on-Don and Ekaterinburg, which will facilitate tourist contacts between Bulgaria and Russia, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said at a news conference after talking with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Saturday. This is the third day of Parvanov's working visit to Russia. The two state leaders met first on Thursday in Putin' residence in Sochi. The second piece of news is that Russia will support Bulgaria's bid for the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office, Parvanov said. The results of his talks in Moscow exceeded his expectations, he said. President Putin expressed satisfaction at the fact that the negotiations were held in a cordial atmosphere.
The two discussed matters of all main areas of Bulgarian-Russian relations: the economy, investment, military technical cooperation and humanitarian problems. There is every prerequisite now for more vigorous development of bilateral contacts. Asked about the obstacles to Bulgarian-Russian relations in recent years, Putin said there had been no obstacles whatsoever on the Russian side. There are favourable conditions in the new realities in the world and Europe, which allow the two countries to act in such a way as to derive a maximum benefit from their cooperation. Answering the same question, Parvanov said the predominant attitude in Bulgaria in recent years was pseudo-ideological. It mirrored pre-1989 Russian politics.
The predominant view was that Bulgaria's strategy for European orientation ruled out good relations with Russia, he said. "I, for one, hold the opposite view: European integration does not rule out relations with Russia, on the contrary, it presupposes more active relations with it," Parvanov added. Asked about the future of Bulgarian-Russian relations in the context of Bulgaria's expectations for NATO membership, Putin said this membership concerned only the North Atlantic Alliance and Bulgaria. However, it would not improve Bulgaria's security, according to him. Asked about the Russian position on the destruction of the SS-23 missiles, Putin said obligations proceeding from bilateral documents must be honoured.
Cooperation in the energy sector was high on the agenda, Putin said, adding that the two had discussed the nuclear and gas energy sectors, electricity generation and transmission. "I am glad that my Bulgarian colleagues do not rule out Russian participation in the privatization of the electricity and gas transmission networks," he said. Russia is not making claims on exclusive treatment and preferences in privatization, it wants clear rules which must be observed, Putin said. The two countries' positions on the construction of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline are closer now, according to him. He expressed readiness for Russian investment in the gas transmission system. Parvanov said Bulgaria relied on Russian support in the G-8 for the operation of the VVER-440-type nuclear reactors, which are used in Bulgaria.
He singled out as particularly important the agreements reached on increased gas supply and transit. Trust between Bulgaria and Russia and between their heads of state is the keyword, Parvanov said at the opening of Saturday's meeting with Putin. He said their preliminary talks in Sochi on Thursday formed a good basis for their negotiations. Both sides are ready to raise issues, some of which used to be sidestepped or passed over in silence, Parvanov said. At all levels he met with full understanding on the matters discussed, and expressed readiness for the same approach on Bulgaria's part. This meeting and the whole visit mark the beginning of a revival of pragmatic and mutually beneficial relations, Parvanov said, adding that he expected them to strengthen during Putin's visit to Bulgaria in connection with the marking of the 125th anniversary of the Russo-Turkish War.
At the end of his visit Parvanov met with Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia. The Patriarch expressed concern over the rift in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as well as hope that when adopted, the law on religious faiths would be instrumental in solving important problems which impede the functioning of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Parvanov agreed that the rift was a problem worrying to all Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, and thanked the Russian Patriarch for his personal commitment to the unity of the Bulgarian Church. Parvanov recalled that Orthodox Christianity played an enormous role in the survival and revival of the Bulgarian State.
Patriarch Alexy II said the International Award of the Fund for Unity of the Orthodox Peoples would be conferred on Parvanov in January for his exceptional contribution to the strengthening of this unity. After the meeting, the Russian Patriarch said he had been invited by Parvanov to visit Bulgaria for the marking of the 125th anniversary of the Russo-Turkish War and Bulgaria's Liberation from Ottoman rule.
CONFERENCE-SECURITY-BRUCE JACKSON.
BTA
Bruce Jackson: Access to Secret Police Files Is Necessary for People to Learn from Mistakes of the Past.
Sofia, September 22 (BTA) - People should have access to the files of the former secret police so they can learn from the mistakes of the past, Bruce Jackson, President of the US Committee on NATO, said in his lecture on "Democracy after Prague" at the international conference on civil society and the reform of the security systems in Southeastern Europe.
Bulgaria has strong NGOs which are actively involved in creating ideas, Jackson said. The same applies to the media, though not to yellow or corrupt media.
Jackson singled out Bulgaria as a very advanced democracy in the region. He is convinced that it will be in a position to receive an invitation to become a NATO member at the Prague Summit.
Bulgaria and Romania are considered allies, it will be good when they become NATO members, but reform and integration of the Western Balkans should be encouraged, Jackson said. He predicted that there would be four NATO members in the Black Sea region, and expressed hope that the Black Sea would soon become a centre of cooperation like the Baltic Sea.
Decisions in Prague will be made on the basis of each applicant's achievements, Jackson stressed in his talk. The ratification process for the invited countries will start next February and they can expect to be declared NATO members around May or June 2004.
Neykova and Dimitrova Ranked First at World Rowing Championships.
Standartnews
Women's single sculler Rumyana Neykova of Bulgaria clocked a world record 7:07.71 to finish 4.03 seconds ahead of Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus. Lisa Schlenker of the United States fought off a lightning assault in the last 500 meters by Spaniard Maria Mas DeXaxars Rivero to claim silver in the womens lightweight single sculls. Bulgarias Viktoriya Dimitrova won in 7:28.89.
Bulgarian Belt Buckles Won the Award for Jewel'2002 in England.
Standartnews
Original Bulgarian belt buckles won the award "Jewel of the Year" at the fashion exhibition in the town of Harrowgate, England. Those who attended the exhibition were so much rapt in admiration that they proposed that the buckles be sold in the famous chain of stores "Marks & Spencer". The project was supported by the well-known businesslady Eleonora Aleksova. The designer, Mariana Mazneva, lives in Athens where she is a favourite of the Greek jet-set ladies.
Manifesto for world dictatorship.
Sydney Morning Herald
By Margo Kingston
Now we know. The Americans have spelt it out in black and white. There will be a world government, but not one even pretending to be comprised of representatives of its nation states through the United Nations. The United States will rule, and not according to painstakingly developed international law and norms, but by what is in its interests.
In declaring itself dictator of the world, The United States will have no accountability to non-United States citizens. It will bomb who it likes when it likes, and change regimes when and as it sees fit, it will not be subject to investigations for war crimes, for torture, or for breaches of fundamental human rights.
When it asks the United Nations to move against Iraq, it is not demanding agreement to a strong case for action. It now admits it has no evidence that Iraq is preapring to use weapons of mass destruction against any other country. The Americans have stopped pretending, and now demand outright capitulation to its hegemony. The world will be policed in American interests.
Full stop.
So now American history screams from background discussion to the forefront of debate. The Americans - despite their promises to be a benevolent dictatorship, do not aim to build, stabilise, and promote democracies. They aim to impose puppets, and agree to Faustian deals which brutalise and disempower citizens. They pay no heed to the disastrous results of such dictatorships when imposed in the past.
Australia's choice is to become a non-enfranchised satellite state of the United States - and thus responsible for its aggression and a legitimate target for those fighting to win back countries the Americans take by force, or to fight like hell to save the United Nation's dream of world government by negotiation.
The United Nations itself - the dream of multilateral solutions to problems only the world acting together can solve, is on the brink of collapse. This could be one hell of a debate, and I can't see Labor going for American unilateralism and the crushing of the UN. Yes, it's true, much of the sentiment against United State's behaviour is anti-American. It's also pro-Australian, French, or whatever country you feel you belong to.
The stunning New York Times scoop - publishing President Bush's new national security strategy, to be given to Congress - is a frightening document.
But as David Plumb said in The Crusade's progress, "It is time to stop being outraged by the directness and aggression of realpolitic". What can the rest of the world do?
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