Two persons were shot to death and other person was injured in a skirmish just outside the village of Kamenjane, near the Tetovo-Gostivar highway.
   
The incident took place earlier today at 07:00 hours. The skirmish left Ejul Rustemi and Imerzedi Rustemi dead, both were residents of Tetovos nearby village of Gorno Sedlarce. They owned an exchange office Sony, situated at Tetovos market place.
   
Preliminary reports say they were attacked by a group of armed persons, wearing uniforms and masks over their faces. The assailants opened fire from an automobile (BMW) at the road section to Kamenjane.
   
The third person accompanying the mentioned above victims, Xhemaili Selami, was transferred to Tetovo Medical Center, where he was treated for severe injuries.
   
Unconfirmed reports say the attack was of criminal nature. Police suspects it was a robbery with a fatal outcome. The traffic on Tetovo-Gostivar highway runs as normal.

 

 

By SUSANNA LOOF
.c The Associated Press

 

KUMANOVO, Macedonia (AP) - Teenagers shout ``Death to Albanians!'' at a rally of Macedonia's ruling party. Protesters block a highway to demand the release of jailed activists. A mass kidnapping rattles the country.

 

In the run-up to the Balkan country's first elections since last year's ethnic war, tensions are soaring, new violence is erupting - and the multiethnic society envisioned in a Western-brokered peace accord seems like a distant dream.

 

The six-month conflict pitted government forces against ethnic Albanian rebels claiming to fight for more rights for their minority. Under the peace pact signed in August 2001, the rebels disarmed and lawmakers changed laws and the constitution to give more rights to ethnic Albanians, who make up a third of Macedonia's 2 million people.

 

But with the approach of Sept. 15 parliamentary elections - scheduled as part of the peace deal - tensions are flaring again despite Western appeals for restraint.

 

``Desperate political figures can do desperate things, and that is the most worrying,'' said Edward Joseph, who monitors Macedonia for the International Crisis Group, an organization that keeps tabs on the world's trouble spots.

 

Two Macedonian police officers were shot dead last week in a drive-by shooting in western Macedonia, an area largely inhabited by ethnic Albanians.

 

Within days, authorities announced they had issued a warrant for the arrest of Ali Ahmeti, a former rebel leader turned popular politician.

 

Then ethnic Albanian gunmen abducted and briefly held five Macedonians.

 

Assailants, meanwhile, launched three separate attacks against Ahmeti's party offices. No one was injured.

 

``Macedonian police will defend Macedonia again, and this ministry will provide peace,'' Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski told a rally earlier this week in Kumanovo, about 15 miles northeast of the capital, Skopje.

 

In an interview with The Associated Press, Ahmeti called the arrest warrant a ``provocation, not only against me but also against the Macedonian population.'' His arrest, he said, ``could unleash a political crisis.''

 

But Ahmeti played down fears that Macedonia risks sliding into fresh conflict.

 

``There is no risk that there'll be war again in Macedonia,'' he said. ``The citizens have approved the (peace) agreement as the only solution to our problem.''

 

Other ethnic Albanians, meanwhile, accuse the government of capitalizing on ethnic divisions in hopes of gaining votes.

 

Kim Mihmeti, an ethnic Albanian author and political commentator, considers Macedonia a ``political jungle because there are no rules for the game. No one respects the rules.''

 

``The worse the situation gets, the better it is for them,'' Mihmeti said, referring to the ruling party, known as the VMRO, and the Democratic Party of Albanians, an ethnic Albanian party that is part of the current government. ``If they maintain a panic among the population, they can decrease the number of voters so they can cheat more.''

 

Ethnic Albanians aren't the only ones accusing those in power of stirring up trouble. Andrej Zernovski, spokesman for a coalition of Macedonian opposition parties, contends the government was behind the recent violence.

 

``The aim of the ruling coalition is to deteriorate the security situation and to postpone the elections,'' he said.

 

But many say support for the ruling coalition has slipped as anger rises toward leaders perceived as corrupt and interested only in stuffing their own pockets with state money.

 

Underscoring the country's instability, on Wednesday masked assailants sprayed a car with bullets in the tense northwestern region, killing two ethnic Albanians and wounding a third man. Police described it as an attempted robbery.

 

Voters picked VMRO in the last elections in 1998 because they hoped for a less corrupt leadership than the previous Social Democrat-led government, said Saso Kekovski, executive director of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation.

 

``In 1998, this government promised it would be honest and change things. Instead, there is less honesty and more involvement in crime,'' he said.

 

Ahmeti's emergence as a candidate has caused the biggest stir. Although he is immensely popular among ethnic Albanians, who hope to increase their presence in the 120-member parliament from 24 seats to 28, ``for the Macedonians, he is a terrorist who really doesn't deserve much credence,'' the ICG's Joseph said.

 

Adding to the tensions is the ruling party's insistence that it will not govern with Ahmeti.

 

Meanwhile, many citizens doubt the elections will bring a better life.

 

``Nothing will change,'' said Liliana Kerstoska, 46, as she waited for customers at her shop at the market in Tetovo, the country's second-largest city. ``It will stay the same, even if a new government comes. Corruption will remain.''

 

 

 

The High School Dormitory "Boro Menkov" was host to sixty high school youth from the cities of Kumanovo, Kochani, and Kriva Palanka in the first annual Regional Democracy Camp "Municipality Green City" that ran for 10 days from August 21st to August 30th, 2002. The camp, which was organized by the Civic Initiative "Friends of Macedonia" based out of Skopje, was the first ever of its kind in the Republic of Macedonia.

 

The uniqueness of The Regional Democracy Camp comes from its characteristic of being an instructional camp where students were taught by practical means and not by theory or lecture, in three components: Preservation of Local Environment, Local Business, and Civic Education. Even more interesting was that the participants of the Regional Democracy Camp were lead through a simulation of a municipality, or what was termed as "Green City". To add to professionalism and to meet the needs of the youth, each component was lead by two well-motivated facilitators (totaling six) who held session in every component each of the 10 days.

 

Firstly, the component Civic Education oversaw the main feature of the program, in which the facilitators motivated and walked the youth through the aspects of local institutions, local campaigning, preliminary elections, and the local elections themselves. The result of this instruction was running of the local election process with campaigning and debates, and then the actual elections, where the students elected their very own mayor and five council members. To ensure fair and democratic elections, an Election Committee formed by four students, one camp organizer, one facilitator, and the actual Mayor of Kriva Palanka, Dr. Ljupcho Petkovski oversaw the elections. For the remainder of the camp, along with attending the other components of the camp, the newly elected mayor and city council, and the citizens of "Green City" were lead through practical local level problem solving, such as conflict resolution, civil society, and responsibility towards your community.

 

In addition, the Local Environmental component also produced positive results. Through practical lessons in environmental consciousness, the participants were guided through environmental problem solving, organizing Eco-patrols; participants took a hike on the beautiful Osogovo Mountains atop Kalin Kamen where they learned about local herbs, medicines, and mushrooms, including the positive business aspects of organic farming. Later they held sessions and had lunch in the Monastery Complex of St. Joakim Osogovski. As one fun activity, participants even learned how to recycle paper.

 

Likewise, the sessions in Local Business Development were lead by a professional team of facilitators, where they motivated the youth in business development, the circle of economic growth and investment, and the possibilities of these youth becoming future businesspersons. Through their work, participants designed business projects, which could someday very well develop into business plans and even successful business of their very own.

 

Next year, The Regional Democracy Camp plans on extending its work outside of Macedonia. Along with students from Macedonia, participants from Bulgaria and Serbia will also take part in "Green City".

 

The success of this camp should also be attributed to our partnership with Miss Shannon Martinez at Confidence Building Initiative (CBI) Kocani, the local NGO Regional Agency for Development Kriva Palanka and the Office of the Mayor at the Municipality of Kriva Palanka.

 

Chris M. Purdef
Friends of Macedonia

 

 

Earthquake Registered in Sofia.

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - An earthquake of an intesity of 3.5 points on the Richter scale was registered in Sofia at 22:49 hours on Tuesday, the Civil Protection State Agency said. The earthquake was felt on the territory of the Region of Sofia.

 

No casualties or damages have been reported.

 

 

 

Right-Wing Opposition Will Move No-Confidence Vote If Bulgaria Is Not Invited to NATO This Autumn, Any Attempt at Political Destabilization Against National Interests, SNM Claims.

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - At the beginning of the new parliamentary session the right-wing opposition announced that it will move a vote of no-confidence in the Cabinet if Bulgaria is not invited to NATO this autumn.

 

"For the UDF [Union of Democratic Forces] a failure to receive an invitation to join NATO would mean not only that the incumbents have failed but also that a historical chance for Bulgaria has been missed," UDF leader Nadezhda Mihailova, former foreign minister, said.

 

Simeon II National Movement (SNM) Floor Leader Plamen Panayotov said this is the time for the opposition to show whether it sets national interests higher than the opportunity to push up its popularity rating by as few points.

 

"Let us discuss this country's real problems: its economic development, social policies and the fight against crime and corruption," Panayotov urged, addressing the National Assembly at the opening of the new political season.

 

In his words, what Bulgaria needs now more than ever is consensus and unity of action among the political forces on the national priorities, good interaction among the institutions and stepped up efforts of the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.

 

Lyutvi Mestan of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF, of the Bulgarian Turks, a coalition partner of the ruling SNM) also stressed the need for political stability. The NATO Summit in Prague and the EU Summit in Copenhagen stand above all narrow party interests, Mestan said.

 

According to the MRF, Bulgaria's problems in its progress to NATO and EU membership are not political but rather economic. "Regardless of all political juggling, if we fail to meet the economic standards, membership in the EU will remain a dream," Mestan said. That is why, as a coalition partner in the Government, the MRF prioritizes on speeding up economic development in this country.

 

"An abyss has emerged between politicians and the people which may turn into a front line of an undeclared civil war sweeping us all away in a wave of public discontent by the end of the winter," Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Sergey Stanishev said. According to him, the Socialists will not speculate with the growing confidence in the left-wing against the backdrop of the dwindling prestige of the SNM and the UDF. "We are not supporters of non-democratic action but we will not stand by and watch the situation in this country deteriorate further," he said.

 

"The second year of the term of the 39th National Assembly will be the most important of the past 12 years. Decisive steps will be made in the realization of this country's topmost domestic and foreign political priorities," National Assembly Chairman Ognyan Gerdjikov said, opening the new parliamentary session.

 

The National Assembly's legislative programme this session concerns key areas like raising living standards, decreasing unemployment, increasing investment and the fight against crime and corruption, improvement of the functioning of the judiciary, development of agriculture, the health reform and meeting all requirements of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Gerdjikov said.

 

This session the legislative programme of the National Assembly gives priority to bills related to Bulgaria's preparations for EU and NATO membership, broadening the legislative basis for encouraging economic growth and completing the reform in the judiciary, SNM Floor Leader Plamen Panayotov said.

 

The MRF expects the 2003 national budget to guarantee macroeconomic stability as well as establish better conditions for economic growth. Lyutvi Mestan of the MRF said that this session the National Assembly will make changes to tax laws and laws regulating fiscal and investment policies which should conform with the prospect of Bulgaria's integration into the European market economy. Radical improvement of the investment climate in this country, overcoming disproportions in the development of the economically backward regions, assisting agricultural producers and the fight against crime are among the other priorities of the MRF.

 

The Socialists will insist that this summer the National Assembly work out a new state strategy and national framework of priorities and an emergency crisis management programme. BSP leader Stanishev called for consensus on this issue.

 

This parliamentary session the UDF will demand greater powers for the local authorities, the introduction of some aspects of the majority voting system and an efficient judiciary, UDF leader Nadezhda Mihailova said. "Our greatest concern today is that people are defining their life as insecure," Mihailova said.

 

"We want the Government to say how and when it will cope with this insecurity," she added.

 

 

 

Prosecution indicted two of the ex-commandos for the Assaults on Petrov.

 

The former special service commandoes who were arrested in connection with recent shootouts in Sofia, were working for business tycoon Vassil Bozhkov, Interior Ministry chief secretary Boiko Borissov told reporters Tuesday. Borissov and Deputy Interior Minister Boiko Kotsev were at a conference on new strategies against international terrorism here, organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the European Institute. Vassil Bozhkov is President of the Board of Directors of Nove Holding whose businesses vary from hotelkeepers to Web design, software development, market studies, trade, bureaux de change and shooting galleries, to mention but a few. Among Bozhkov's other positions are President of the Supervisory Board of the CSKA football club, President of two other forms, Board member in four, and shareholder in a total of 34.

 

"We cannot claim that Bozhkov is in any way connected with the assaults on the owner of the Spartak sports complex Alexei Petrov and businessman Dimiter Djamov, because it would be a very serious accusation," Borissov said in reply to a reporter's question. Petrov and Djamov were assaulted by gunmen in central Sofia mid-August only a day apart. In the wake of the shooting, in which both men were injured, police arrested four people who had been with the Bulgarian special services and had left at one time or another. "We just had to arrest these people because we found lots of weapons cached in the back-yards and homes we checked," Borissov said.

 

In a series of raids on August 23, the National Service for Combating Organized Crime (NSCOC) arrested the former special services commandoes Nikolai Dobrev, Lyubomir Barov, Kiril Tsintsov and Atanas Krustev, as well as Trayan and Nikolinka Vurbanov whose house in the village of Gorna Malina (near Sofia) served as a warehouse for weapons and ammunitions, including sniper rifles, makeshift rifles, Steyr and Kalashnikov assault rifles, a submachine gun, pistols and grenade launchers. Later police said that they had found more weaponry at other locations. On August 28 a fifth former special service commando, Kiril Naidenov, was also arrested on suspicions on belonging to the same ring. Boiko Borissov said the Interior Ministry is working on several leads. Several services are involved in the investigation. Investigator/prosecutor teams have been formed, getting support from Interior Ministry experts, and the Interior Ministry technical services sift through everything that has been found. "We are working without a minute of rest because we are aware of the concern of the public over this case, and we want to complete the investigation successfully," the Interior Ministry chief secretary said.

 

He said that having grenade launchers is "serious stuff" because they can hit armoured targets. "They can be used against any statesman in an armoured vehicle or against any plane, they can do serious harm." Meanwhile a panel of the Sofia Appellate Court upheld a decision of Sofia City Court and ordered that the former special service commandoes remain in custody. On the prosecutors' request, the court sat behind closed doors. The court's decision was based on the evidence collected so far on the case, and the testimony of the only - anonymous - witness so far. Nikolinka Trayanova was bailed out for 500 leva last week. For security consideration, the whole floor with the Appellate Court offices in Sofia's Palace of Justice was sealed off by police. No reporters were allowed. Also on Tuesday, a National Council on Narcotic Substances will discuss a strategy against drugs, the Deputy Interior Minister said. He and the Interior Ministry chief secretary will be among the participants.

 

 

The Scotsman
Chris Stephen In Sofia

 

BULGARIA has been stunned by news that a gang of mafia hitmen arrested in a police dragnet have turned out to be from the countrys élite anti-terrorist commando force.

 

The six-strong team were former Barrets - Bulgarias equivalent of the SAS - who had quit the service then hired themselves out as killers to the nations drug mafia.

 

They were arrested as the government of the former king, Simeon Saxe Coburg, faces his toughest challenge since he was voted into power in elections last year. Gun battles have raged through the streets of the normally sedate capital, Sofia, for the past two weeks, leaving five men wounded and one dead.

 

Such violence, common in much of the rest of the Balkans, is almost unknown in Bulgaria, which is free of the ethnic hatred and nationalism that have scarred other parts of Eastern Europe.

 

The police response has been equally spectacular: all leave has been cancelled, the interior ministry has been put on a semi-war footing and thousands of raids have been launched on nightclubs, bars, cafés and other suspected mafia haunts. In the past two weeks, 1,049 mafia suspects have been arrested across the country, leaving jails bursting and the courts overwhelmed.

 

Spearheading the raids is Boyko Borissov, nicknamed "Rambo". As chief secretary of the interior ministry, he has dragooned his men into what is the biggest police operation seen in Bulgaria since the days of the old Iron Curtain.

 

But the arrest of the commandos - the same men who until recently acted as bodyguards for the former King Simeon, the president and visiting foreign heads of state - has come as a shock. Mr Borissov has announced a purge of the rest of this élite force.

 

The Barrets arrests are not his only success; each day sees a new haul of drugs, drug-money and firearms. Raids on addresses of the former Barrets men have unearthed an arsenal including machine guns, grenades and explosives. Another raid stumbled on what appears to be a factory producing tablets, possibly ecstasy, for sale in Western Europe.

 

None of this has stopped the mafias fighting. On Sunday in the latest battle, machine gun fire sprayed the streets of the coastal resort of Varna, with one mafia suspect killed.

 

There is much irony in all this. Under communism, the police raids under way would have inspired fear. Now, they have massive public support. Mr Borrissov has become the most popular man in Bulgaria, with 70 per cent ratings in the polls.

 

Above all, many Bulgarians feel that the authorities are at last grappling with the mafia. "It is super. For the first time in Bulgaria the police are able to catch such a big mafia group," says the TV journalist Elena Yoncheva. "In Bulgaria, we always thought that there was supreme corruption. And suddenly everything is happening, and we are thinking that maybe the police are doing their job."

 

But the drug barons remain formidable opponents. Most of the heroin bought by Western Europeans arrives from Asia through Bulgaria: last year police made a record haul, seizing 2,000kg of high-grade heroin. Just as significantly, 140 police and customs officers suspected of collusion with the drugs gangs were arrested.

 

Control of customs has been given to a British company, the recently privatised Crown Agents, because of fears that any Bulgarian company would be infiltrated by drug barons.

 

The raids may be the boost the government needs. Until now, Simeons administration, although free of corruption, was seen as weak and unwilling to take on vested interests. Thanks to "Rambo", all this may be about to change.

 

 

 

Kavarna (on the Black Sea), September 4 (BTA) - The Appellate Court in Constanta will hear the cases against five Bulgarian skippers on September 16, 17 and 19, Dr Veneta Pleshkova, mother of one of the Kavarna skippers, said.

 

Yordan Pleshkov, skipper of the "Hishtnik", and Georgi Lyapov and Georgi Atanassov, both holding captain's licences for the same vessel, the "Posseidon", will be the first to sit before the bar. The case against Krassimir Dimitrov, skipper of the Odyssey will be heard on September 17 and against Sevdalin Manolov, skipper of the "Sveti Nikolay" on September 19.

 

The five Bulgarian skippers were acquitted of the charges of shark poaching in Romanian waters in mid-July by the first court instance in Constanta.

 

However, the acquittal was appealed by the prosecution. The Kavarna fishermen were forbidden to leave Romania and remained on their vessels off Port Constanta.

 

The four fishing boats were arrested by the Romanian coast guard at the beginning of May. The eleven fishermen on the boats were released and have returned to Kavarna but legal proceedings were instituted against the five skippers of the boats.

 

 

 

Bulgaria to Tighten Control of Trade in Special-Purpose Supplies Disguised as Civilian, Deputy PM Vassilev Says.

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - The government will tighten controls of trade in special-purpose supplies disguised as civilian products, Deputy Prime Minister Nikolay Vassilev said Wednesday after the Interdepartmental Council on Military-Industrial Complex Affairs and National Mobilization Readiness met Wednesday to consider measures to coordinate the efforts of the institutions of state in the prevention and control of the illicit arms trade.

 

Deputy PM Vassilev, who chairs the Interdepartmental Council, said that on Wednesday the Council wrote a letter to the Minister of Finance and the National Customs Agency, requesting that special attention to be paid to the export of certain sensitive groups of products and geographical areas. He specified that the products in question are mechanical engineering articles which could be used as military equipment components and are destined for NATO non-member countries.

 

Vassilev recalled that BETA of Cherven Bryag forfeited its licence by April 29, 2002 because of suspicion of violations of the Foreign Trade in Arms and in Potential "Dual-Use" Goods and Technologies Act. The case records have already been referred to the prosecuting magistracy.

 

The Deputy Prime Minister said that a draft Government decision is being prepared to approve guiding rules for transfer of sensitive biological and chemical goods under the export control regime of the Australia Group.

 

Apart from criminal liability, it is also contemplated to impose administrative penalties and fines on violators of the arms trade law.

 

Vassilev recalled that during the last year the Government has not admitted any violations of the arms trade law and Bulgaria has one of the strictest laws in this respect.

 

Hristo Manchev, Deputy Prosecutor General and Head of the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office, assumed the commitment that the perpetrators of criminal offences in arms trade will be committed to trial expeditiously. Over the last two years, the prosecuting authorities have received between 10 and 12 tip-offs of attempted export of mechanical engineering articles which could be used as special-purpose supplies. The goods were destined for various risk regions in the world. According to the prosecuting authorities, investigative proceedings have been instituted on half of these cases.

 

Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov noted the need of the line ministries united their efforts with the customs administration in the fight against the illicit arms trade. The various institutions should exchange advance information that will make it possible to check illicit trade, and their joint efforts will thus be productive, said Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov. In his opinion, traders acting in bad faith must also face criminal liability in addition to revocation of their licences. The Interior Ministry undertook to relay promptly any tip-offs of such violations to the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office.

 

Forty-seven companies in Bulgaria are licensed for foreign trade in arms, and 54 hold licences for trade in potential dual-use goods. "The outgone year has seen a substantial increase in the export of special-purpose supplies to NATO and EU countries and zero growth of such exports to the problematic regions," Vassilev said. In his opinion, the military-industrial complex companies are in a far better condition that they were when this Government took office.

 

 

 

Germany to Grant 5 Mln Euro in Support of Bulgarian Economy in 2003.

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - Germany will grant 5 million euros in support of Bulgaria's economy in 2003 under an agreement on financial cooperation in 2002, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Nikolay Vassilev told journalists Wednesday.

 

Vassilev and German Ambassador here Ursula Seiler-Albring signed an agreement on financial cooperation between Bulgaria and Germany for 2001 under which Bulgaria is to receive a subsidy of 7.67 million euros. Four million euros will go for credits to small and medium-size enterprises, almost two million for the construction of Danube Bridge and some 1.5 million euros for infrastructure, Vassilev said.

 

Since 1998 Germany has granted Bulgaria 27.7 million euros. Some 9.2 million euros were extended for microcrediting and 9.5 million euros have been extended within the framework of technological cooperation, the German Ambassador said. Vassilev said that until the end of the year the Government's efforts will be directed towards the development of small and medium-size business.

 

Ambassador Seibler-Albring said encouragement of medium-size business is the only way to the recovery of the Bulgarian economy.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Vassilev said he will visit Germany by the end of this year. He noted that Germany continues to be the largest foreign investor in Bulgaria and one of this country's main foreign trade partners.

 

 

Victoria Seraphimova

 

Foreigners en mass buy office buildings, land plots for filling stations in high demand.

 

An upward trend in prices for the deluxe real estates has been apparent during the last year. The newly built modern houses are more expensive by 10 percent. This results from the alleviated procedure of bank crediting. The offices' prices upped by 4.5% in a year. The foreigners show higher interest in realties in this country. They purchase mainly offices and commercial sites. The land price boosted most of all - by 15 percent, in one year. Along the Black Sea, the big cities and near highways the price increase is the highest. The average price of arable land throughout the country is 10 levs per ha, while in the regions of Dobroudzha, Rousse, Sliven, Yambol the prices vary up to 20 levs/ha.

 

 

 

Equestrian of Madara First Class with a decree singed by Georgi Purvanov. The President decorated the opera singer for his contribution to publisizing the Bulgarian and Slavonic cultures and in connection with his 70th birthday. He was born in Sofia in the family of a Whiteguard emigrant. Rubashkin has been living in Austria since 1962.

 

 

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - Official fund raising for the restoration of the Sts Constantine and Helena Church in Edirne has begun, said Radio Net Programme Director Vladimir Tanev.

 

Radio Net, folk singer Ilia Loukov and Ana Karaangelova, Director of the Pirina producer firm are the campaign organizers. At least the church's roof should be repaired by next March.

 

The walls and the roof have nearly collapsed, Karaangelova said.

 

Some 50,000 dollars will be needed to fence the church and to reinforce the roof and the load-bearing columns, said Emil Velinov, Deputy Director of the Religious Affairs Directorate with the Council of Ministers. The entire repair will cost an estimated 350,000 or 400,000 dollars, Velinov said.

 

Svetla Bozhkova of the National Institute of Monuments of Culture considers it necessary "to carry out emergency consolidation of the church under methodological guidance".

 

The church is included in a Bulgarian-Turkish programme for mutual protection of the immovable cultural and historical heritage, signed by the two culture ministers in Sofia in June, Bozhkova said.

 

Father Alexander, born in one of the two Bulgarian families in the town, has been taking care of the church for two years now. He received his theological education in Sofia, the campaign organizers said.

 

There is a Bulgarian cemetery dating from 1912 and a boys' secondary school which operated until 1913 in Edirne.

 

 

 

"Investing in Arts, Culture Emblematic of Civilized Society," British Arts Minister Says in BTA Interview.

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - Investing in culture is a sign and symbol of civilized society, Baroness Tessa Blackstone, Minister of State at the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (and Minister for the Arts), said Wednesday in an exclusive BTA interview. Baroness Blackstone is visiting Bulgaria between September 3 and 5.

 

Asked about the role of the State in a transition country like Bulgaria, bidding for EU and NATO membership, in financing and supporting arts and culture, the British Minister of State said that for Bulgaria, for the UK and for any other EU member and applicant country, investing in the performing and visual arts, in historical landmarks and museums, in the national cultural institutions is a sign and symbol of civilized society. It is just as significant to make it possible for people of all social groups to get familiar and make sense of their history, to think about creativity, she went on to say. Investment in this sphere is costly, but the expenses are worthwhile and, ultimately, pay back. Investments must come from the State as well as from private sponsors and admission payers.

 

Ideally, financing should have multiple sources.

 

Replying to a question, Baroness Blackstone said that the EU does not have a uniform model of arts and culture development: the individual countries have their own traditions and history, and what is good for one country may not work in another. Bulgaria, too, has its own history and traditions and must independently choose the best way to finance, develop and manage its culture, the Minister said. The people in Bulgaria, and its leaders have to decide which is best for them.

 

Asked to comment on the large number of young highly educated Bulgarians, intellectuals and artists who leave the country, the Baroness said she assumed that many of these young people, who are leaving in an adventourous spirit and willingness to seek fresh opportunities abroad, will return, and if they bring back new ideas and approaches, there is nothing wrong with that. If they do not return, this might be cause of concern. But it would be a pity if people are suddenly denied the freedom to travel, which is a freedom of democratic societies. Efforts should focus on the development and prosperity of Bulgaria, so that people would be willing to return.

 

The British Minister is strongly skeptical about the prospects of Europe becoming a single federal state some day. The British Government does not think that anything of the sort lies ahead. In Europe, the way it is today, variety should be encouraged and preserved. No culture minister in Europe would do anything but support and defend his country's culture. At the same time, the wealth and variety of European culture make this continent so attractive and interesting, which is precisely why Europe is a favourite destination for American tourists, the British Minister for the Arts said.

 

Baroness Blackstone does not see why the Cyrillic and the Roman alphabets should not continue to co-exist. At the same time, it is important that young Bulgarians learn the Roman script and be able to read other European languages. In the global world, nobody can stop the dissemination, development, modification and merger of cultures and languages. At the same time, she stressed her conviction that the tradition of the Bulgarian alphabet will live on in Bulgaria.

 

 

 

Financing of Cultural Projects with National Lottery Resources under Discussion.

 

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - Ways to finance cultural projects by setting aside funds from the national lottery were discussed on Wednesday by Culture Minister Bozhidar Abrashev and Tessa Blackstone, Minister of State for the Arts at Britain's Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

 

Projects for the creation of Europe's largest modern art gallery and the renovation of Britain's historical towns are financed with national lottery money. Baroness Blackstone and Abrashev considered the possibility of drawing up such a project in Bulgaria.

 

Many European countries do this, and Bulgaria should follow suit, Abrashev said. This will increase the financing of culture: there should be more than state subsidies to rely on, according to Abrashev.

 

Answering a question, Baroness Blackstone said Bulgaria was ahead of Britain to some extent in broadcasting modernization and regulation. Passage of a radio and television law in Britain is pending.

 

Baroness Blackstone arrived on a three-day visit here on Tuesday. She saw the icon collection at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and talked with National Art Gallery Director Rouzha Marinska about the place of icons in Bulgarian painting and the preservation of the icons in the crypt.

 

Later on Wednesday, Baroness Blackstone is meeting with Stefan Danailov, Chairman of the Parliamentary Culture Committee, and Hristo Droumev, Director of the National Palace of Culture.

 

 

ZAGREB, Sept 4 (AFP) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan Wednesday called for international arbitration to end an escalating border dispute with Slovenia, as bilateral negotiations have failed to solve the problem.

 

His Slovenian counterpart, Janez Drnovsek, meanwhile, accused Zagreb of provoking recent fishery spats in the disputed Piran Bay to show that a draft agreement reached last year by the two governments could not be implemented.

 

The two former Yugoslav republics have failed to settle their dispute over the Piran Bay, an inlet in the northern Adriatic, since they proclaimed independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, and the area is currently divided under a UN agreement, pending a definitive accord.

 

On Monday, Croatia lodged an official protest to Slovenia over "unauthorized crossings" by Slovenian fishing trawlers and police speedboats of the provisional boundary line in the Piran Bay.

 

Drnovsek charged that the incidents began after Croatia's coast guard extended its control to cover half the bay, instead of a 300 metre (yard) strip along its coast as they had been doing since 1991.

 

"Croatia did it to demonstrate that the draft deal (reached last year) is no longer valid or that it cannot be implemented," Drnovsek told a news conference in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.

 

Drnovsek and Racan signed a draft agreement last year drawing the land and sea border. But the deal was never ratified by Croatia's parliament as it is considered unfavourable to Croatia by the public and deputies.

 

Racan said in a letter to Drnovsek Wednesday that Zagreb "is ready for a new attempt to talk about" solving the issue.

 

"However, it seems that as far as the problem of the (sea) border is concerned, it is not possible to find a solution through an agreement and by ourselves," he said.

 

"Thus we have arbitration as the most reasonable solution," Racan said.

 

Drnovsek confirmed receiving the letter.

 

"We have been authorised only to find a bilateral solution... when an official proposal for international arbitration comes, our government and parliament will make a decision on it," Drnovsek said.

 

Following the latest incidents, Croatian and Slovenian fishermen agreed to meet on Saturday to try and set a separation line to define their respective fishing areas, until both governments agree on the official sea border.

 

A series of similar sea border disputes last month led both Slovenian and Croatian diplomats to fire off rounds of official complaints.

 

 

CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
By Paul Craig Roberts

 

 

Is the multicultural campaign really about diversity? Or is it about stamping out Western civilization and the "white race" itself?

 

College students will tell you that a university education today is a guilt trip for whites. The purpose is to prevent whites from appreciating and absorbing their own culture and to make it difficult for whites to resist the unreasonable demands (quotas, reparations, etc.) from "people of color."

 

To the questions, "who am I, what am I," the white university graduate answers: "a racist, sexist, homophobic oppressor."

 

Neither parents, trustees, alumni, nor the public are aware of the anti-white propaganda that masquerades as education. When someone who is aware tells them, they think the person is exaggerating in order to make a point.

 

Now comes Harvard educated Noel Ignatiev, an academic at Harvard's W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African-American Research. Dr. Ignatiev is the founder of a journal, Race Traitor, which has as its motto, "treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity."

 

The journal's purpose is "to abolish the white race."

 

At the least, Dr. Ignatiev intends cultural and psychological genocide for whites. It is unclear whether physical extermination is part of the program. A statement by the editors on the web site says that the new abolitionists "do not limit themselves to socially acceptable means of protest, but reject in advance no means of attaining their goal."

 

Dr. Ignatiev does not believe his agenda is controversial. He writes:

 

"The goal of abolishing the white race is on its face so desirable that some may find it hard to believe that it could incur any opposition other than from committed white supremacists." Thus does he put whites on notice. If they oppose their abolition, they are "white supremacists."

 

According to Dr. Ignatiev, "The key to solving the social problems of our age is to abolish the white race."

 

"Make no mistake about it," he says, "we intend to keep bashing the dead white males, and the live ones, and the females too, until the social construct known as 'the white race' is destroyed -- not 'deconstructed' but destroyed."

 

What "social construct" will be left? A black one? An Hispanic one? Muslim? Asian? What about Jewish?

 

The Washington Times reports that Dr. Ignatiev is himself Jewish. If Jewish intellectuals and Israeli political leaders can be believed, Jews have a cultural and racial consciousness. Israel is the Jewish homeland, and Israelis seem determined to keep it that way. Can anyone imagine a gentile at an Israeli university founding a magazine devoted to abolishing the Jewish race?

 

Yet, Dr. Ignatiev believes that it is self-evident that whites in their homelands should be abolished.

 

Where did he get this view? His only education was at Harvard where he received two graduate degrees.

 

Is Harvard embarrassed? No. Dr. Ignatiev [ignatiev@fas.harvard.edu] is showcased in the current issue of Harvard Magazine. Getting rid of whiteness is not controversial at Harvard, because it is the business of American universities.

 

A white skin, you see, is a mark of privilege. It is not the privilege of being admitted to Harvard even though you don't meet the entrance requirements. It is not the privilege of being hired independently of ability because of government enforced racial quotas. It is not the privilege of being able to sue whites and "white companies" if blacks are not proportionately represented in the work force. It is not the privilege of being able to call whites every name in the book and sue if a white replies in kind.

 

The privilege of being white is that whites can secretly believe they are superior and, as long as they don't mention it, be loyal to the white race.

 

"The white race is like a private club," says Dr. Ignatiev.

 

I am sure Dr. Ignatiev is well-informed, but I see no signs of this white loyalty. Most of the multiculturalists and radical feminists are white. Whites disadvantaged whites by imposing racial quotas. Despite widespread opposition to quotas, neither "white" political party will act to stop unconstitutional quotas, which have made a mockery of equality under law. Whites are inundated by massive non-white immigration, and neither "white" political party will act to restrain immigration. To the contrary, both parties pander to the immigrants.

 

But Dr. Ignatiev has an idea like Hitler. A race is guilty and must go. The communists said it was a guilty class that had to go.

 

If you thought genocide was left behind in the 20th century, be apprised that today genocide has a home in the educational system.

 

Paul Craig Roberts is the co-author with Lawrence M. Stratton of The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice.