RealityMacedonia
By Irina Gelevska

 

Skopje - On Monday, the winning party at the 4th parliamentary elections Social-Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) will announce the Government Coalition with the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanians in Macedonia (PDP), claim sources from within the SDSM.

 

It is almost certain that the leader of SDSM Branko Crvenkovski (and former Prime Minister) will be the new Prime Minister, and the leader of PDP Abdurahman Aliti will be the new Speaker of the Parliament.

 

PDP won only two seats in the Parliament and the coalition "For Macedonia Together" of SDSM and the Liberal Party, after the final results has 59 seats.

 

Thus, the future Government Coalition SDSM-LDP-PDP would hold 61 seats in the Parliament.

 

The plan is that, in the middle of next week, for [allegedly moderate] PDP to make a coalition will Ahmeti's party Democratic Party for Integration (DUI), [representing the amnestied "terrorists," AKA former "thugs and murderers" of the "disbanded" NLA,] which won 16 seats in the Parliament.

 

Our sources claim that, in line with previous decisions, DUI's Vice President Mrs. Teuta Arifi will be the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of DUI will be the new Deputy Minister of Finance.

 

A wide coalition SDSM-PDP-DUI would have 77 MPs in the Parliament, which makes a majority, but three MPs short for the two-thirds-majority [required for changes of the Constitution, for example].

 

Unofficial SDSM sources predict the following shuffle:

 

The new Minister of Interior will be Nikola Popovski (SDSM) and the new Minister of Finance will be Harry Kostov, the present general manager of the Macedonian Commercial Bank.

 

The Chief of Diplomacy will be Ilinka Mitreva (SDSM) who was a Minister of Foreign Affairs in the wide Government coalition of VMRO-DPMNE, PDP, DPA and SDSM during the conflict in Macedonia last year.

 

The new Minister of Defence will be Vlado Buchkovski (SDSM), who also was a Minister of Defense during the last year's conflict.

 

The ministries of Justice, Economy and Local Self-government are also reserved for the Albanian parties in the new Government Coalition, according to our sources.

 

It seems that VMRO-DPMNE of former Prime Minister Ljubcho Georgievski [and its allies] will hold 34 seats in the Parliament as opposition party.

 

DPA (Democratic Party of Albanians in Macedonia) of Arben Xhaferi will have 7 seats in the Parliament and it will be opposition party as well.

 

The only Socialist in the parliament, Ljubisav Ivanov-Dzingo will be opposition too, because he is not in a good relationship with the prospective Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski.

 

Another MP, the rich businessman Trifun Kostovski, who is a part of the winning coalition, is not in a good relationship with Branko Crvenkovski also, because of the seemingly doomed pre-election deal which was to make him the new Prime Minister.

 

It is also not known weather Petar Goshev from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will be the new Vice Prime Minister, because the LDP leader Risto Penov, current Mayor of Skopje, might take this position.

 

The new Prime Minister will receive the mandate from the President Boris Trajkovski this week, and after the new Parliament starts functioning, he will have 10 days to present the new Cabinet.

 

The new Macedonian Government will be known in the first week of November.

 

In the middle of November, there will be a new census in Macedonia. The last registration was in 1994, and won internationall approval even though it yealded virtually the same results as the 1992 census, to which the Albanian parties objected. The observers from OSCE/ODIHR might stay on in the country until the end of the census.

 

 

Blagoevgrad (Southwestern Bulgaria), September 23 (BTA) - MPs, representing the Blagoevgrad region, representatives of the political forces and of state and municipal institutions, the Regional Directorate of the Interior and the District Prosecution Office in Blagoevgrad noted the need of adopting legislation to counter any type of anti-Bulgarian events on the territory of the region and the country as a whole. Round-table talks on these problems were held in Blagoevgrad Monday.

 

The discussion was prompted by the successive public anti-Bulgarian rally organized by the illegal United Macedonian Organization Ilinden (OMO Ilinden) in Blagoevgrad on September 12. It prompted social discontent and tension and was condemned in declarations, issued by all major political forces in the town.

 

"Part of our laws, including the one on rallies and processions are outdated and can be amended," said Stanimir Ilchev, MP of the Simeon II National Movement and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy, Defence and Security. In connection with the September 12 developments he said that it is necessary to contact directly the European Court on Human Rights, that should be informed by the Bulgarian authorities on this event.

 

Rositsa Totkova, MP of the right-of-centre United Democratic Forces, described the rally of OMO Ilinden as an "impudent and openly challenging act".

 

Alexander Abadjiev, MP of the leftist Coalition for Bulgaria underscored the necessity to prepare the mayors and the representatives of municipal administrations for adequate reaction to such events in compliance with the law, the Bulgarian Constitution and the international agreements, to which Bulgaria is a party.

 

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization leader Krassimir Karakachanov said that what matters is the solidarity among the political forces when the question is about the protection of national interests.

 

 

Standartnews
Yuri Mikhalkov

 

Economy is the new key word in Moscow-Sofia relations.

 

Russia is interested in turning Bulgaria into an energy center in the Balkans. This has become clear after the visit of President Parvanov to Moscow and his talks with President Putin. Russian gas will make Bulgaria the regional energy center. Parvanov has understood what are the turns in Russian diplomacy under Putin. Business interests come to the fore now. To Russia the fact that Bulgaria becomes a regional energy distributor means strengthening of its own business position in the Balkans. To them it is significant. Western competitors invade the region offering projects for transit and energy carriers. Moscow's willingness to help Sofia with the nuclear power plant in Kozloduy or to take part in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belene serve the same cause. In our country Bulgaria's role as an energy center is not seen as a priority yet, like for instance NATO or EU membership. However, it is a strategic objective. In Moscow Georgi Parvanov brought up a sore problem of Bulgaria - customs procedures for BG exports to Russia. The result of talks is the agreement to sign the documents on standardization of our export and lifting of some barriers to our goods on the Russian market. If the next summer the number of Russian tourists in our resorts doubles up this will be thanks to Parvanov's efforts. In Moscow he has shouldered the task to introduce e-visas and alleviate border-crossing procedures for Russian tourists. The visit was accompanied by a gaffe of the BG cabinet. The government has chosen the day and hour when Parvanov landed in Moscow to take the decision about military aid for Georgia where Chechen separatists are hiding. Parvanov's response was resolute - he definitely distanced himself from the cabinet. The Kremlin in its turn also made it clear that the Bulgarian President and government are different entities. Moscow backed up Parvanov. It signaled that in the future it will give a "warm shoulder" to  BSP  when it stands for election.

 

 

 

The President agreed 4-fold increase of the Russian gas transit to Greece.

Russia will supply Bulgaria with fresh nuclear fuel for 'Kozloduy' N-plant worth of $35 million till end-year. Thus Moscow will pay off part of its foreign debt to this country totaling $88.5 million. Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered this kind of payment, despite certain difficulties Russia's facing, said Vice-Premier Kostadin Paskalev - member of the Bulgarian delegation that accompanied President Georgi Parvanov during his working visit to Russia. An agreement was reached on 4-fold increase of the gas supplies from Russia via Bulgaria to Greece, as well as the likely sealing of a contract for a transit to Yugoslavia at the negotiations with the Gasprom management. Negotiations on gas transit to Italy as well are to start soon, Vice-Premier Paskalev elaborated. Russian companies aspire to bid in the privatization tenders for BG power-distribution ventures, which should be finalized in a year. President Putin informed the Bulgarian delegation about the wish of Russian business to invest also in energy-generating ventures: the power plants in Varna, Bobovdol and Rousse and in the construction of Belene N-plant.

 

 

 

Sofia Mayor, Florida Governor Discuss Anti-Drugs Measures.

 

Sofia, September 23 (BTA) - Anti-drugs combat was high on the agenda of a meeting between Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofiyanski and Florida Governor John E. Bush.

 

One of the achievements of Governor Bush is the tangible curtailing of the illegal drugs business in Florida, Stefan Sofiyanski said back from a visit in the US Monday. He believes that this achievement has been the result of hard work in schools.

 

Bush and Sofiyanski also talked about the local elections in Florida in early October and the reelection campaign of John E. Bush, the brother of President George W. Bush. Other issues they discussed were corruption, the work of the administrative structures and the role of local self-government.

 

Sofiyanski briefed Governor Bush on the economic and political situation in Bulgaria and invited him to come on a visit.

 

During his visit Sofiyanski also had meetings at a leading banking corporation where the two sides discussed a project for development of the software of the Sofia Municipal Bank.

 

 

 

Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic Arrives on One-Day Visit.

 

Sofia, September 23 (BTA) - Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic arrives on a one-day visit here on Monday, the Interior Ministry's press office said.

 

An intergovernmental agreement on prevention and fight against crime is expected to be signed. It is the result of lengthy expert negotiations and exchanges of drafts.

 

The two ministries' services fighting organized crime have established direct contacts. The police services maintain working cooperation and the border services have established cooperation, the Interior Ministry said.

 

A Bulgarian delegation led by the interior minister visited Belgrade in April 2001 at the invitation of Zoran Zivkovic. In July of that year a protocol on the implementation of a readmission agreement between the governments of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia was coordinated, the press release said.

 

 

 

Twice Olympic Champion in Graeco-Roman style wrestling Armen Nazarian won his first Gold in class 60 weight at the 47 World wrestling tournament in Moscow yesterday. The Bulgarian wrestler triumphed over the Olympic Champion from Atlanta '96, Vlodzimej Zavadski of Poland with 3:0 points. It is the first World Gold Medal for Bulgaria in the last 13 years. Bulgarian wrestlers have won their 600th medal.

 

 

Georgi P. Dimitrov
Hristo Kanev

 

Mobsters of "Gambino" family want $60 mils from the Hollywood star.

 

Steven Segal arrived in Sofia yesterday to shoot his new film, but the producers of "New Image" tucked him away from the reporters. The precaution have been taken at his urgent request. He is supposed to be accomodated in a luxurious villa near Sofia. The shooting of the film "Out for a Kill" starts today. It is directed by Michael Oblovitz. Segal will stay in Bulgaria for 5 weeks. The shooting location are the outskirts of Sofia. For several months his name has been muddled with the Mob. It is said that the Gambino family bears grudge against him. The story goes that he fell out with film producer Julius Naso with the breaking of their preliminary contract to shoot a film. The latter got enraged and insists on $60 mils default. To make sure he gets the money, Naso sent the mobsters to racketeer the star. Segal lives in Santa Innes and his house is surrounded by 200 acres Cabernet vineyards.

 

 

Ivan Ivanov

 

Heavy investments are expected from the Islamic world, says the Premier.

 

"Don't quench hopes for the 13th pension and salary. Many things may happen before then", commented the PM the statement by the Finance Minister Milen Veltchev. On Friday the latter said that there are no funds for Christmas bonuses. "I wish we could pay the 13th salary by Christmas, however we must be realists", he said further during his visit to Veliko Tarnovo. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha came to Tarnovo for the celebrations of the 94th anniversary of Bulgaria's independence. Very soon we can expect heavy investments from the Islamic world in Bulgaria, pledged the PM before the NMS deputies.

 

 

 

Bulgaria must compete more strongly to attract foreign investments, said Prof. Geoffrey Saxe, economic advisor of President Georgi Parvanov, on bTV. To the Professor, this country will soon be member both of the European Union and NATO which is a serious reason to invest in Bulgaria. Our state should use the experience of Costa Rica and Ireland drawing in capitals. These countries are using aggressive and mass-scale advertizing. The tax stimuli are also important, Saxe commented. The situation in Bulgaria is neither desperate, nor is it brilliant one, the professor elaborated. The economic growth is sluggish and the people are not feeling it, because they cannot find jobs, Saxe said further. He recommended that the cabinet should step up the reforms and extend its deadline for EU integration. Bulgaria should work out its own development strategy, rather than listen to the IMF, or advisors from abroad. A magic recipe for solving the problems does not exist, but your state is following the right direction, the President's advisor commented.

 

 

 

 

 

NICOSIA, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Edvard Aslanyan/. -- Turkey threatens Cyprus with warfare and a new crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean should Cyprus join the European Union.

 

According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, this was disclosed to journalists by speaker of the Cypriot government Michalis Papapetru at the latest briefing.

 

The official representative of the Cypriot government underscored that high-ranking Turkish military Aytak Yalman, who is on a visit to Cyprus's northern territories occupied by Turkish troops, repeated the threats.

 

In the meantime, according to Papapetru, the Turkish government circles and top brass realise that the threats cannot prevent Cyprus from joining the European Union. The speaker of the Cypriot government noted that nothing could affect the country's entry into the EU and this should be known both on the island and outside it.

 

According to the speaker, the EU membership will help Cyprus settle the Cypriot problem on the basis of respect for the international law and allow all residents of the island to maintain the current high economic level.

 

 

Financial Times
By Eric Jansson in Belgrade

 

A report on war crimes trials conducted in Kosovo paints a picture of "meagre" jurisprudence and ethnically-tainted verdicts so at odds with international standards that  international judges are often despatched to wrest control from local prosecutors.

 

Bungling behind the bench takes place in low-level courts but also in Kosovo's Supreme Court, according to the report published by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Monday.

 

Of the eleven guilty verdicts rendered in war crimes cases by Kosovo's Supreme Court since 1999, when Yugoslav control over the province collapsed and the United Nations set up a temporary regime, international judges have intervened to reverse eight of them.

 

All the reversals resulted in the freeing of ethnic Serbs who had faced long prison terms, up to 20 years.

 

While prosecutors based at the Hague for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia may pursue war crimes cases in Kosovo, so may local courts.

 

The OSCE report's authors deride the Supreme Court for issuing war crimes decisions "characterised by brevity (the average length of decisions is three to four pages), poor legal reasoning, absence of citations to legal authority, and lack of interpretation concerning the applicable law on war crimes and human rights issues".

 

They also echo a complaint registered earlier this year by the international community's ombudsman in the majority Albanian province, that the courts make public too little information about their proceedings.

 

"Public information about the manner in which these trials have been conducted and about the verdicts has so far been scarce and inconsistent, leaving both the public and most part of the local and international legal community with an incomplete image of the materials and processes of these cases," the report reads.

 

 

t r u t h o u t.org | Perspective
By William Rivers Pitt

Some will tell you the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Others will say it ended when the Soviet Union finally collapsed, when their breed of communism was cast aside in favor of free-enterprise democracy. In truth, the Cold War finally ended this past week, when the Bush administration chose to reframe the strategic posture of the American military away from the concept of deterrence.

 

Replacing that time-tested and diplomatically pliable stance are two steel fists.

 

One declares the United States supreme over all nations, now and forever, and warns the world that we will never allow another nation to come close to matching our power. The other bluntly proclaims that we will attack any nation, at any time, in a pre-emptive fashion, if we so choose.

 

The language of the document codifying this new reality, which is entitled "The National Security Strategy of the United States of America," is bland and warm and fuzzy and relatively obscure. No surprise there, as the majority of the text is culled and polished snippets of speeches delivered by George W. Bush since September 11, 2001. It calls for peace between nations, brotherhood, economic freedom, the advancement of human rights, and the unquestionable fact that we are the biggest dog on the lot, forever and ever, amen.

 

Hoo-rah. This will doubtlessly go over well with a majority of Americans, and why not? We were viciously attacked, and must warn the world that we will swing the big stick if anyone should ever think of attacking us again. Besides, we are already the greatest nation in the history of the planet, no? There should be no shame in coming right out and saying it. Pax Americana shall enshroud the globe like eagle's wings. As the preamble to this remarkable document states, "The United States will use this moment of opportunity to extend the benefits of freedom across the globe. We will actively work to bring the hope of democracy, development, free markets, and free trade to every corner of the world."

 

The devil, as ever, is in the details. "The U.S. national security strategy," reads the document, "will be based on a distinctly American internationalism that reflects the union of our values and our national interests. The aim of this strategy is to help make the world not just safer but better."

 

Consider the unrestrained arrogance of this statement. American military might and economic influence shall endeavor to make the world better...for America.

 

There is little room within these words for the wishes and values of sovereign nations such as China and Russia, or national collectives like the European Union. "Better" is in the eye of the beholder, and if any nation should come to decide that the American version of "better" is unacceptable, the new National Security Strategy leaves little doubt what our response will be:

 

"The United States has long maintained the option of preemptive actions to counter a sufficient threat to our national security," reads the document. "The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inaction - and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack. To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively."

 

Essentially, the new doctrine for American national security offered by the Bush administration erases all borders, along with several centuries worth of respect for territorial, cultural and governmental sovereignty. Despite several sunshine-filled sentences praising NATO and the United Nations, this strategy would seem to offer little say for anyone but the American government and the American military. My way or the highway. With us or against us. Pick your phrase.

 

By threatening to unilaterally attack anyone we choose, the Bush administration has threatened the entire international community. In stating that American values and an American concept of what constitutes a "better" world shall define the playing field, we cast aside respect for any nation that would dare exist within its own cultural or economic sphere. By demanding that no nation, anywhere, attempt to strengthen themselves, and by framing that demand with threats of war, we invite deadly challenges from governments that do not take kindly to having their futures dictated to them. Shot through it all is the premise that diplomacy is a waste of time, that treaties are for suckers, and that any nation that dares to try and play by American rules will have its back decisively broken.

 

The Cold War ended with the publication of this document, and a new one was born in its place. The deterrence strategy we employed against the Soviet Union has been replaced with naked, threatening aggression against the entirety of the global community. Such a move will never bring peace, but will cause us to arm ourselves to an ever-greater degree in the face of international contempt. America, already trapped in a bunker mentality after 9/11, with be further ostracized from the international community. The walls will grow higher.

 

As always with this administration, there is more than one game afoot.

 

George W. Bush has presented to Congress a proposed resolution regarding his intentions towards the nation of Iraq. Like his recent address to the United Nations, this would seem to be a defeat - the Bush administration spent the summer declaring that they would make war against Iraq without Congressional approval, and without any sort of official UN resolution on the matter. Congressional pressure, as well as some dispiriting poll numbers which indicated that the American people were not with him on this game plan, forced Bush to back down. He went to the UN, and has now gone to Congress for approval.

 

If the Bush administration has its way, however, that seeming defeat will be a temporary thing. The new strategic plan outlined above, if acted upon, unilaterally does away with any influence the UN may hold. The resolution sent to Congress, if accepted as it stands, will effectively remove Congress as a deliberative body from any war decisions made by America, and will give Bush carte blanche to make war on any nation he wishes. Despite the gloss, the resolution is about much more than Iraq.

 

The resolution demands that Bush be given the ability to "use all means that he determines to be appropriate, including force...to defend the national security interests of the United States against the threat posed by Iraq, and restore international peace and security in the region."

 

Someone once said that laws are only as good as the people who would enforce them. If Congress passes this resolution with that purposefully opaque reference to "the region" intact, they will have given George W. Bush a veneer of legal protection for any aggressive action he might take. "Region" does not mean Iraq. "Region" means Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan for starters. We know that his foreign policy is currently being run by neo-conservative hawks like Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, men who would love nothing more than to re-write the map of that "region" by instigating total war, and damn the consequences.

 

As it always seems to do, the argument comes down to trust in motives. Peace and international cooperation is not on the agenda, as is evident by his reaction to Saddam Hussein's offer to allow weapons inspectors back into Iraq. Bush scored a major victory there - his bombast and threats browbeat a tyrant into compliance - but before the ink dried on the offer his administration dismissed it as a joke and continued to prepare for unilateral aggression. That alone exposes his motives, and they are not to be trusted in any sense.

 

The setbacks Bush absorbed by having to pander to Congress and the UN are temporary. If he gets his way on these two matters, he will have the dangerously legal ability to act in ways utterly antithetical to the best interests of this country. Another set of confrontations, with Congress and with the UN, is in the offing because of these plans.

 

Already, Democrats in the House and Senate are preparing to resist the language of the resolution as stated. Senator Patrick Leahy has released a statement that states, "The draft language is so open-ended that it could authorize anything from backing up weapons inspectors to a unilateral attack, and beyond." Leahy's statement goes on to note, "The negotiations at the United Nations are still ongoing, and we do not know what type of military action the Administration wants to take, or what costs and risks to our national interests are involved. At this point there do not seem to be answers to even basic questions about the conditions that would trigger warfare." The reference to the United Nations is telling.

 

Nineteen Democratic House members have couched their opposition to the Bush administration's plans in terms less diplomatic than Leahy's. Jim McDermott, Democrat from Washington, has said, "I am very skeptical of this whole operation and have the feeling that it has much more to do with oil than anything else." Marcy Kaptur, Democrat from Ohio, has said, "Naked aggression is not the American way. America, wake up." Many other Democrats have voiced similar concern. The likelihood that the Bush administration will be able to barnstorm this resolution through Congress is questionable.

 

Congress seems likely to link any approval for war on Iraq with a UN resolution approving of same. This will open the door for entities like the European Union to make themselves powerfully heard on the world stage. The EU's future will be badly disrupted by the new strategic plan offered by the Bush administration, and their influence would be gutted if Bush chooses to ignore the UN and push towards war unilaterally.

 

The stage is set. Congress stands on one end, the fate of its viability resting on its willingness to give Bush the ability to bypass them and the world in pursuit of battle. The European Union and the rest of the international community stands on the other, facing an America that would force its culture and imperial designs down their collective throats. The Bush administration sits foursquare in the middle of the mess it has made. If they win this confrontation, this nation will never be the same. If they lose, their credibility and standing will have been seriously diminished.

 

One way or another, though, the endgame will be played out. In the words of Robert Penn Warren, we shall go "out of history into history and the awful responsibility of Time."