13, Sept-2002.

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13, Sept-2002.

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13, Sept-2002.

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Bulgarian people did not feel the reforms, said Baron Daniel Jansen, running the Belgian company Solvey C.A. He arrived in Bulgaria accompanied by European industrialist to meet the Cabinet. Photo Kiril Petrov

President Georgi Purvanov, who is New York to attend the 57th session of the UN General Assembly, met with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. Pressphoto-BTA photo:Dimiter Anestev

Former ethnic Albanian rebel leader Ali Ahmeti addresses a press conference in Mala Recica, just outside Tetovo, some 40 kms (25 miles) west of Skopje, Friday, Sept. 13, 2002. Fearing violence ahead of key elections, Ahmeti's DUI-Democratic Union for Integration cancelled its final rally in Skopje Friday. The cancellation came a day after the nationalist Macedonian VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity) party held its rally in Skopje and its leader Ljube Boskovski, the current interior minister, again pledged to arrest Ahmeti. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

An ethnic Albanian boy waves national flags during a pre-election rally of the DPA-Democratic Party of Albanians in Tetovo, some 40 km west of Skopje, Friday Sept. 13, 2002. Parliamentary elections in Macedonia are scheduled for Sept. 15, 2002. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis) [NOTE: the name of the xenophobic terroristgroup UCK]

An ethnic Albanian boy is wrapped in an Albanian flag during a pre-election rally of DPA-Democratic Party of Albanians in Tetovo, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Skopje, Friday, Sept. 13 2002. Parliamentary elections in Macedonia are scheduled for Sept. 15, 2002. Flag left reading "We are ours". (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis) [NOTE: the name UCK & of the Albanian Fascist NLA Commander Leka]

Albanians prefer rebel leader's party.

Washington Times
By Joshua Kucera

MALA RECICA, Macedonia The leader of the Albanian rebellion last year has come down from the mountains and formed a political party that is a key contender in parliamentary elections on Sunday.

"The past is a bitter lesson to us, not to be repeated," said Mr. Ahmeti, sporting a suit in place of the fatigues he wore when his National Liberation Army (NLA) threatened to turn Macedonia into another Balkan battleground.

"We want to open a new page in our history, a page of reconciliation."

But most ethnic Macedonians remain distrustful of Mr. Ahmeti, whose office in a suburb of the main ethnic Albanian city, Tetovo, displays a small statue of an Albanian eagle attacking a Macedonian lion.

The interior ministry has threatened to arrest Mr. Ahmeti for war crimes after the election, and angry crowds recently blocked a convoy bringing him to an election rally in the capital, Skopje.

The U.S. Embassy also refuses to have any contact with Mr. Ahmeti, who is on an American blacklist of outlawed Albanians drawn up last year by President Bush.

The major Macedonian parties are loath to cooperate with him, despite a political tradition that the leading Macedonian and Albanian parties form a ruling coalition.

"No Israeli party would make a coalition with the [Palestine Liberation Organization], and the Republicans or Democrats in America would not cooperate with the political structures of [former Taliban leader] Mullah [Mohammed] Omar," said Vladimir Gjorcev, a spokesman for VMRO, one of the ruling Macedonian parties.

But Mr. Ahmeti is enormously popular with ethnic Albanians, who constitute a third of the country's 2 million inhabitants. The war was ended last year by the Ohrid agreement brokered by the United States and the European Union. The pact brought language rights for Albanians and integrated the police.

"In six months, [Mr. Ahmeti] got Albanians more rights than the other Albanian politicians did in 10 years," said Iso Rusi, editor of the Albanian-language newsweekly Lobi. "It was obvious that Albanian political parties died the day the NLA appeared."

Analysts warn it would be a mistake to deny the DUI a role in government if it is the top vote-getter among Albanian parties.

"If they dominate, leaving them out is not very smart. You are marginalizing the winners, who have a record of being able to organize themselves with weapons. Is that very wise?" asked Ed Joseph, head of the Skopje office of the International Crisis Group.

Many Westerners welcome Mr. Ahmeti as an incorruptible leader in a land where many politicians are seen as crooked even by Balkan standards.

Widespread anger at corruption has hurt the VMRO and the Democratic Party of Albanians ruling parties.

The two are widely suspected of involvement in a series of violent campaign incidents. Gunmen attacked a remote police station in northwestern Macedonia yesterday, killing one police officer.

Concerns over cheating have led to an unprecedented monitoring mission. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is sending 800 election monitors, who will be aided by 200 members of local groups.

"We need to be as vigilant after the elections as before," said one Western diplomat, who warned that none of the parties would accept defeat willingly.

VMRO - DECLARATION.

BTA

Blagoevgrad, Southwestern Bulgaria, September 13 (BTA) - At a news conference September 13, the Blagoevgrad chapter of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) released a declaration on what it described as a "September 12 rally of the outlawed organization OMO Ilinden in the centre of Blagoevgrad." (OMO Ilinden: the United Macedonian Organization Ilinden.)

As BTA also reported, OMO Ilinden members organized a parade and laid flowers at the local monument to Gotse Delchev to mark September 12 as a "day of genocide against Macedonians in Bulgaria." Indignant local residents and VMRO supporters reacted angrily to the anti-Bulgarian chants and abusive statements. Heavy police guard prevented possible physical violence.

In its declaration VMRO reiterated its categorical position about the "unacceptability of activities which are openly directed against Bulgarian statehood." The organization expressed bewilderment at the "inadequate actions of the central and municipal government bodies with respect to such an obvious provocation."

The declaration was publicized by VMRO-Blagoevgrad Leader Georgi Vassev, who also chairs the Municipal Council of Blagoevgrad. "Who allowed an illegal organization to conduct an anti-Bulgarian activity, and why?" Vassev asked.

VMRO will file a petition with the Prosecutor General's Office against "OMO Ilinden's activities and the ethnic intolerance and separatist ideas which it advocates."

The regional chapters of the Union of Democratic Forces, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-Popular Union and other parties came up with a similar joint declaration. They described the event as an "act of desecration of Bulgarian historical memory."

"The illegal separatist organization OMO Ilinden chanted anti-Bulgarian slogans in the presence of Bulgarian police and Mayor Lazar Prichkapov," the declaration reads.

SS-23 Fuel Used to Attack Hail Clouds.

Standartnews

Minister of Environment presents to Simeon a fragment of destroyed missile.

The new method for the destruction of engines of the most modern BG weapons allows after certain treatment to use the fuel from SS-23 missiles to attack hail clouds, said yesterday defense minister Nikolay Svinarov. The method is absolutely safe and will be applied out of test rangers. Today the US company CDI will choose a subcontractor for the operation. It will be a Bulgarian firm, there is no need to import the installations. Sappers from Belene blast 4 SS-23 warheads a day. By the end of the coming week all 80 warheads will be exploded. Then they will liquidate the special parts of Scud and Frog missiles. Before that, however, an experimental explosion is planned.

CEFTA-MEETING-BULGARIAN PM.

BTA

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Leaves for Bratislava Meeting of CEFTA Countries' Prime Ministers.

Sofia, September 13 (BTA) - Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha left for Bratislava on Friday morning for a meeting of the prime ministers of the countries of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA).

"Expectations for the forum are positive because we have quite a few things to talk about: decisions about CEFTA itself are to be made this year," Saxe-Coburg-Gotha said at the airport. The Bratislava meeting will be attended by European Commissioner Pascal Lamy, who is responsible for trade.

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from CEFTA countries during the forum.

Bulgaria became a full CEFTA member on January 1, 1999.

DEFENCE MINISTER - TURKEY - ITALY - VISITS.

BTA

Sofia, September 13 (BTA) - Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov is leaving for Istanbul Sunday to attend the second meeting of the defence ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey, the Defence Ministry said in a press release Friday. The meeting will discuss security in Southeastern Europe and NATO enlargement.

The Istanbul forum is a follow-up to a quadrilateral defence ministerial held in Athens on April 18, 2002.

Svinarov is expected to hold separate talks with Defence Ministers Ioan Pascu of Romania, Yiannos Papandoniou of Greece, and Sabahattin Cakmakoglu of Turkey.

On Monday, Svinarov will leave Istanbul for Italy to pay a working two-day visit there at the invitation of Defence Minister Antonio Martino. Svinarov will outline Bulgaria's defence priorities and the results of the country's efforts towards its principal strategic objective: NATO membership.

Svinarov is scheduled to confer with Martino as well as Luigi Ramponi, President of the Defence Committee with the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rolando Mosca Moschini.

The Bulgarian Defence Minister will give a talk at the Centre for High Defence Studies in Rome.

GREECE-COOPERATION.

BTA

Varna (on the Black Sea), September 13 (BTA) - Professor George Hronis and Dr. Hristo Slabakov, heads of the Athens-based National Centre for Marine Research with the Development Ministry and the Institute of Oceanology with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, signed a Memorandum for Cooperation Thursday evening on board the "Egeo" research ship.

The beginning of good professional relations dates back to the early 1990s.

Five years ago the first agreement on exchange of information and researchers' visits was signed.

"These are two of Europe's best marine research institutes and I think they are playing a growing role in the research of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean," said Dr. Evstatios Balapoulos, member of the international oceanography committee with UNESCO.

Thanks to the good interaction the two institutes are implementing a project - Initiative for Bulgarian-Greek Cooperation for Joint Research of the Black and the Aegean Sea - within the Elite Centre for Sustained Development and Management of the Black Sea Region project. It was launched two years ago, to run for another two years. The Bulgarian and Greek oceanologists are working together with their colleagues from Austria, Greece, Germany, Romania and Hungary.

Within the project the "Egeo" ship, which was built in 1985 and was especially equipped for marine research in 1997, conducted research at the mouth of the Danube.

Problems with Bulgartabak Looming.

Standartnews

Stoyan Alexandrov

Stoyan Alexandrov is Finance Minister in the Prof. Lyuben Berov-led cabinet. Now he is CEO of 'Tokuda Credit Express Bank' and Economic Advisor to President Georgy Parvanov.

The gaffes during the privatization of Bulgartabak have been on the line from the very start of the holding's sale. The fact that minimum buy-out prices of tobacco are not specified is extremely worrisome. This will enable the buyer to corner producers offering all sorts of prices. In our case the livelihood of thousands is at stake, these are people who don't have a chance to find other means of sustenance. In my opinion, a Russian firm would have been a better option, because they provide natural and steady market for the Bulgarian cigarettes. It only has to be developed. They say what not about Chernoy. Be as it may, but he is one of the serious investors and he sponsors the favorite BG football team.

RUSSIA-BULGARIAN PRESIDENT'S VISIT-FORTHCOMING.

BTA

Bulgarian President to Make Working Visit to Russia on September 19-21.

Sofia, September 13 (BTA) - President Georgi Purvanov will make a working visit to Russia on September 19-21, his Press Secretariat said. The visit will take place at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During the official talks, the two presidents will discuss the state of Bulgarian-Russian relations and ways to intensify them. Special attention will be paid to trade and economic relations, the press release said. Other subjects of discussion will be foreign policy issues of current relevance, such as the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Balkans, conflict settlement and integration processes in Europe.

Purvanov has been invited to read a lecture at Moscow State University. He will meet with the chairmen of the two houses of the Russian parliament, Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia, governors, business representatives, etc. The Bulgarian state leader will address the participants in a Bulgarian-Russian business forum, at which Bulgaria will be represented by more than 30 companies doing business in Russia.

Purvanov has invited government representatives, MPs of all parliamentary forces, prominent figures in culture, education and science, representatives of the National Association of Municipalities, business people and journalists to join his delegation.

Individual members of the delegation will meet with Russian partners during the visit.

BGL 3,000 Salary for Receivers.

Standartnews

The Bank Deposits Guarantee Fund will appoint and dismiss bankruptcy managers.

The monthly remuneration of bankrupt banks' receivers will range from 10 to 30 minimum wages, envisage texts of the Bank Insolvency Act, approved by the parliament on first reading yesterday. The government committed itself before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to adopt this act. The receivers will be appointed and discharged by the Guarantee Fund for Bank Deposits, the parliament decided. So far the court was in charge with the task. Bulgarian National Bank will keep a list of attested receivers. The receiver is not allowed to lobby for anyone's financial interests in a bankrupt bank or have relations with any of the creditors.

Businessmen: People Don't Notice Changes.

Standartnews

Nevena Mircheva

Businessmen, economic team of the cabinet and PM Saxe-Coburg-Gotha held a joint meeting yesterday. 'Your country has accumulated positive experience within the 10-year period, but the people should feel it and the sooner the better, they must have jobs and prosper, Jansen said on his arrival yesterday. The businessmen advised the cabinet to hurry up with the reforms, as well as curb red-tape and resolve the problems of business more expediently. The privatization processes should be stepped up, Jansen recommended. To him, denationalization is the best way to attract fresh money, modern management and know-how.

Luciano Benetton Arrives in Sofia.

Standartnews

Albena Atanasova

I am happy with my life, says the owner of the fashion empire.

The world-famous businessman arrives in Sofia today. He will have meetings with Prime-Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Vice-Premier Nikolay Vassilev and will inaugurate his new boutique in Sofia. The opening will take place on "Vitosha" Boulevard accompanied by a spectacular fashion-show. It is the tycoon's third visit to Sofia and he claims he loves it over here.

Magistrates Open Umbrella over Criminals.

INTERVIEW Standartnews: Stoyan Alexandrov

Vladislava Peeva

Banks are like reptiles - whenever climate is favorable they come out into the sun, says Stoyan Alexandrov.

- Mr. Alexandrov, what would be you comment on the scanty foreign investments in Bulgaria this year?

- Economic crimes are the key problem. The shadow economy in this country is larger-than-life. Another serious problem is the performance of the judicial system. It is clumsy, incompetent and corrupt. You cannot hope that the judges who open umbrellas over criminals will tuck them away in jail. This blackmail is for life. Sometimes I even think that jurists deliberately make inefficient laws to secure work for themselves when they no longer hold political posts.

- A new Brady bonds deal is underway. Do we really need such frequent changes?

- We have to admit that the team of the finance ministry really knows what it is about. We cannot accuse these guys of misusing people's money. The deals are scrutinized by the IMF and World Bank. For the first time the BG foreign debt is serviced in an adequate and flexible way.

- Well, how does our banking system manage the money of the Bulgarians?

- Oh, banks are like reptiles - whenever the economic climate is favorable they come out in the sun. When it gets worse they become lethargic again.

(Abr)

U.S. will not exchange concessions with Russia on Iraq, Georgia - Diplomat.

Interfax

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton has ruled out the possibility of any exchange of concessions between Washington and Moscow as regards their positions on situations surrounding Iraq and Georgia.

The U.S. will not exchange any concessions either with Russia or any other country as regards its position on Iraq, because this position is strong in itself and is very well substantiated and reasoned, Bolton said at a press conference at the Interfax main office on Friday.

The diplomat recalled that the U.S. State Department on Thursday issued a statement of concern over Russia's possible force actions in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge.

In Bolton's view, Russia should take into account that Iraq has for years shown its contempt for the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, and this should be an important reason for Moscow while it formulates its position on a settlement in Iraq.

Shevardnadze thanks USA for support.

Interfax

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said in a speech before the faculty and students of Tbilisi State University that he is pleased with the U.S. position on the deteriorating Georgian-Russian relations and the situation on the border between the two countries.

A State Department spokeswoman said in response to a tough statement on September 11 by the Russian leadership that the United States firmly supports Georgia's territorial integrity and opposes any unilateral Russian military operation in Georgia.

Shevardnadze said that he had never doubted that the United States would take a firm and unambiguous position on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement about Georgia.

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