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Italian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrived on a one - day official visit on Thursday at the invitation of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe - Coburg-Gotha. Pressphoto BTA. Photo: Vladimir Shokov.
Photos: Sourche News.bg
Greek Defense Minister Yannos Papantoniou, right, and his Turkish counterpart Sabahattin Cakmakoglu shake hands before a meeting in Athens, on Thursday, April 18, 2002. The defense ministers said they will support Bulgarian and Romanian membership in the NATO alliance as part of an effort to promote security in the Balkans. (AP Photo/Aris Messinis)
President of MG Corporation Ilia Pavlov (L) and Deputy Economy Minister Kaloyan Ninov (R) cut the band at the inauguration of the tramroad in Zlatograd before smiling Ahmed Dogan, leader of the MRF. The set up of the mines will create jobs for hundreds of minors. Photo BTA
SITUATION IN CRISIS REGIONS.
MIA
According to Interior department in Tetovo, shots were registered around 14.00 h, coming from the residential complex "Lovec", the city square, the city post office, as well as from the street of "Straso Pingjur".
The patrolling of the ethnically mixed police teams in Gostivar villages failed Thursday, due to the blockades by the local residents.
Residents from several villages from Gostivar municipality of Negotino - in Polog area, blocked again the regional road Gostivar - Tetovo near Toplica village, and did not allow the ethnically mixed police teams to patrol in this municipality, as well as in parts of the municipality of Vrapciste.
They conditioned the police patrolling demanding freedom for all members of the former "NLA", removing of the police checkpoints at the pay-toll on the highway Gostivar - Tetovo and at the exit of Gostivar towards the village of Debriste. They also demanded 14 persons from the villages of Gradec, Dobridol and Toplica to be re-deployed in the reserve composition of Gostivar police department.
The police patrols did not enter in the villages of Ribnica, Bistrovo, Grekaj and Tanuse, due to the blockades by the group of residents from these villages that demanded reconstruction of their houses, which according to their statements, were demolished during the last year crises.
Some persons from Albanian nationality blocked the traffic in the settlement of Drenovec 2, near the gas station on Ivo Lola Ribar Street. The road was unblocked not long ago, reported MIA's correspondent.
According to the Department of Interior, these Albanians set blockades also on the main traffic line near Tetovo Teke. The traffic via the highway Tetovo-Jazince is cut off, due to the blockades set near the villages of Lesok and Slatina.
Some blockades were set also on the side-road towards the village of Zelino, which disabled the patrolling of the multiethnic police units in the villages in this area.
The Albanian citizens demand liberation of the persons imprisoned for kidnapping and molesting five construction workers on the highway Tetovo-Skopje in 2001, as well as of other 19 persons that are arrested or are sentenced to imprisonment.
Traffic In Tetovo Cut Off By Barricades.
MIA
Tetovo, April 18 (MIA) - Some persons from Albanian nationality blocked the traffic in the settlement of Drenovec 2, near the gas station on Ivo Lola Ribar Street. The road was unblocked not long ago.
According to the Department of Interior, these Albanians set blockades also on the main traffic line near Tetovo Teke. The traffic via the highway Tetovo-Jazince is cut off, due to the blockades set near the villages of Lesok and Slatina.
Some blockades were set also on the side-road towards the village of Zelino, which disabled the patrolling of the multiethnic police units in the villages in this area.
The Albanian citizens demand liberation of the persons imprisoned for kidnapping and molesting five construction workers on the highway Tetovo-Skopje in 2001, as well as of other 19 persons that are arrested or are sentenced to imprisonment.
Several shots coming from the central city area of Tetovo were registered on Thursday.
According to Interior department in Tetovo, shots were registered around 14.00 h, coming from the residential complex "Lovec", the city square, the city post office, as well as from the street of "Straso Pingjur."
Macedonian Tortured in Tetovo Village, As Gang War Rages.
Antiwar.com
by Christopher Deliso
SKOPJE A Macedonian reserve policeman, Duko Simonovski, was found in Shemshevo village, late on the night of 15 April. Kidnapped by local Albanians on Saturday, Simonovski was in critical condition after being tortured and physically abused. He was discovered by an OSCE patrol, according to the Macedonian government. At time of going to press, the OSCE office in Skopje had no further information on the case.
Shemshevo, ethnically mixed until last summer, was one of the many villages afflicted by NLA kidnappings. During the war, NLA-sponsored terrorism forced the Macedonian inhabitants of Shemshevo to flee their homes. They have yet to return.
Violence against Macedonians continues. A MakPetrol gas station in Tetovo was robbed on Monday, and vehicles have been stoned while trying to leave the city. A toll booth on the Tetovo-Gostivar road was also robbed and destroyed on Monday morning. According to government sources, armed and uniformed Albanians recently harassed Macedonian drivers at an impromptu "checkpoint" set up near the Tetovo village of Poroj. Such incidents show that the ongoing redeployment of police in the crisis region is doing little to stop ethnically-motivated intimidation of Macedonians.
Meanwhile, street warfare between rival Albanian factions continued in Tetovo and surrounding villages through the night, the Macedonian Information Agency reported. Heavy weapons fire was reported at six points in downtown Tetovo, including the new Southeast-Europe University (SEE) a project financed by the EU. Violence extended into early Tuesday morning in the nearby villages of Tearce and Poroj. What is being described as a "turf war" has caused millions of dollars in property damage, and called into question the credibility of Albanian "freedom fighters," who have claimed that their war is for increased rights. The current violence in Tetovo belies that assertion.
For weeks, warfare between dueling factions of the Albanian militant organization, NLA and ANA, has engulfed this ethnically-mixed city in western Macedonia. While the exact reasons are unclear, informed sources claim the fighting revolves around war profits that have "disappeared" among Albanians in Kosovo and in the European diaspora. The infighting has also taken on political overtones. The headquarters of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) was recently attacked, and a restaurant and café owned by Menduh Thaci the DPA's powerful vice-president was bombed. High leaders of the DPA and their colleagues including Thaci and NLA chief Ali Ahmeti were said to have been the targets of the attack. Their security staff went on high alert, with Thaci's bodyguards gunning down a vehicle passing the restaurant only days later.
The past week has seen sporadic fighting in Tetovo and five nearby villages.
Sunday's shootout in Shipkovica, which caused the hospitalization of a 29 year-old man, shows that the ANA is taking the war to the enemy. Shipkovica is a stronghold of Ahmeti and the NLA. The more radical ANA has accused Ahmeti of "selling out the Albanian people," a reference to the compromise negotiations made last summer with the Framework Agreement at Ochrid. The generous concessions made at that time were widely regarded as a big victory for the NLA. The recent Albanian infighting shows that the NLA may have enjoyed too much of a good thing.
PM GEORGIEVSKI'S ADDRESS AT CONFERENCE IN ATHENS.
MIA
The last year conflict in Macedonia, caused by the Albanian extremism from Kosovo, has stopped the country's development bringing it into a deep political, security and economic crisis, which could have been spilled over in the entire region, Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said Thursday in his address at the conference on "Strategy for International Renewal and Regional Cooperation", organized by the magazine "Economist" in Atnes.
In his speech on the topic "Regional Partnership-Contribution to Global Progress", Georgievski said that the world was becoming smaller and people closer due to the global processes in all spheres.
Referring to the Macedonian-Greek relations, Georgievski said that Athens always demonstrated a sense of reality.
"Despite the crisis, Greek businessmen have not stop to invest in Macedonia, giving specific and constructive contribution to its surpassing," Georgievski said, underlying that Greece is still the main Macedonia's partner in regard to investments.
Using the constitutional name of Macedonia, Georgievski said that the name dispute was the only unresolved matter in the actually outstanding relations between Skopje and Athens.
Today, Georgievski had meetings with his Albanian counterpart Pandeli Majko and a leader of the Greek opposition party Nea Democratia (New Democracy) Konstantin Karamanlis. The meetings were focused on current developments in Macedonia and the region.
US SPECIAL ADVISOR ON SOUTH EAST EUROPE HOLMES TO VISIT MACEDONIA.
MIA
US State Department's Special Advisor on South East Europe, Ambassador James Holmes who is in a three-day visit to Macedonia Thursday met with Macedonian Parliament's speaker Stojan Andov, Macedonian Justice Minister Ixhet Memeti and Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule.
According to the Parliament's Media Center, Andov and Holmes exchanged their positions on the situation in Macedonia.
Andov emphasized that by the end of April, the Macedonian Parliament will pass all legal projects arising from the adopted constitutional amendments.
He emphasized that the dynamic of the Parliament's work depends mostly from the competent ministries that should submit the proposals as well as from the four political parties signatories of Framework agreement.
During their meeting Macedonian Justice Minister Ixhet Memeti and Ambassador Holmes exchanged their views on promoting the process for implementation of Ohrid framework agreement. Memeti informed Ambassador Holmes about the activities of the Justice Ministry regarding the laws arising from the Framework agreement.
Minister Memeti paid special attention to the Laws on use of languages and the legal participation. Ambassador Holmes was informed about the election laws, which passed the first phase in the Parliament, then the Law on census, which should be on the agenda of the next governmental session as well as the implementation of Law on amnesty.
They mutually stated that these laws should be adopted by the current parliamentary composition and that their adoption is extremely important for promoting the processes in Republic of Macedonia.
Macedonian Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule and Ambassador James Holmes exchanged their views on the current political situation in the country, and Casule informed Holmes with the activities of the Macedonian Government for fulfilling the obligations arising from Framework Agreement. In order to normalize the situation in the country, Casule emphasized the necessity for sooner stabilization of the economic situation, intensifying the Macedonian - US economic cooperation and stimulating the foreign investments.
Holmes welcomed the undertaken efforts for resolving the crisis and has committed for accelerating the implementation of Framework Agreement. He also reiterated the commitment for intensifying the political, economic and security cooperation between United States and Macedonia and confirmed the US support for Macedonia's efforts to integrate in the European and Euro-Atlantic processes.
Regarding the dispute with Pristina's authorities regarding the Macedonian - Yugoslav border, especially Kosovo part of the border, Holmes reiterated US position for respecting the Border Delineation Agreement between Macedonia and FR Yugoslavia.
SEE CHIEF PROSECUTORS' MEETING IN OHRID ENDS.
MIA
The governments of all Southeast European countries should soon launch a witness protection program, as it is one of the main prerequisites for successful combat against organized crime. This is the main conclusion of a two-day meeting of the SEE Chief Prosecutors, which was closed Thursday in Ohrid.
High representatives of the European Union and the US Prosecutor's Office attended today's session.
After the session, Gabriela Konevska, Director of the regional SECI-Center for fighting transboundary crime, said that recommendations to the SEE governments would be presented at the next Pan-European Conference of Chief prosecutors, scheduled for May in Ljubljana.
So far, only Romania adopted provisions for witness protection, but not a project for their enforcement. Changes of the Macedonian Criminal Law should be passed till June, and would be followed by an adoption of witness protection project.
"We have focused on one of the crucial issues in regard with court procedure, i.e. on witness protection, which will contribute to more efficient combat against organized crime, " Macedonian Public Prosecutor Stavre Dzikov said.
According to US Prosecutor Margaret O'Donnell, without regional cooperation, no country will be able to deal with the most serious forms of organized crime.
"Small Moves" Make Big Steps.
Reality Macedonia
"Joy of life," the new film by Macedonian director Svetozar Ristovski and the "Small Moves" production house, won first prize at the "GO EAST" film festival in Vizbaden.
The prize for the best documentary in the Eastern countries achievement category was presented to the film "Joy of life."
The film "Joy of life" is devoted to the first concert of the Balkan Phil harmony, held in June 2000.
BERLUSCONI-VISIT.
BTA
Bulgarian, Italian PMs Meet One-to-One.
Sofia, April 18 (BTA) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his Bulgarian counterpart Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha have commenced a one-to-one meeting. A plenary meeting of the two countries' delegations is also underway at the Council of Minister's building. Berlusconi is on a one-day official visit here at Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's invitation.
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha met his guest at the square in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.
Berlusconi's itinerary includes meetings with President Georgi Purvanov and Foreign Minister Solomon Passy. He will also attend the inauguration of the new building of the Italian Embassy.
Cabinet ministers and advisers are on the roster of the Italian delegation.
This is Berlusconi's first visit here. However, he met with Saxe-Coburg-Gotha at the November 22, 2001 Central European Initiative meeting in Trieste.
Miners Carried Ilia Pavlov in Their Arms.
Standartnews
Nevelina Karaassenova
150 men start working in the mines from today on, the investments amount to 7 million levs.
"I could hardly believe that I have a job after 3 years of misery," said Assen Kamenov (48) from Zlatograd. He is one of the 150 miners who start working in the three pits in Zlatograd. Tough men cried with joy yesterday, when the first tram of ore started at the inauguration. President of MG Corporation Ilia Pavlov, who bought out the mines for $1.5 million came especially for the event. Ahmed Dogan, MRF leader, Deputy Economy Minister Kaloyan Ninov, Nikolay Marinov, head of the Foreign Investments Agency, MPs and mayors also attended the inauguration.
Only Three People to Have Access To All Secrets.
Standartnews
Pavlina Zhivkova
Only the chairman of the National Assembly, the president and the PM will have an unlimited access to the state secrets, the MPs decided at the second hearing of the Classified Information Act yesterday. Ministers, MPs and members of the Constitutional Court will also have an access to all the levels of secrecy, but they will have to prove that they need the information for their work.
(PY)
Nadezhda: We Loose Chances for NATO.
Standartnews
Elena Yaneva
The UDF leader asked the PM for a public debate on the benefits of the NATO membership.
We loose chances for becoming a NATO member in the autumn, Nadezhda Mihaylova warned the PM at their meeting yesterday. The official reason for the visit of the UDF leader to the Council of Ministers was to inform Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha about the talks she held with the European Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen and NATO Secretary General George Robertson in Brussels. She appealed to the PM for greater activity at covering the NATO standards - quick reforms in the army, improvement of the social situation of the most poor people in the country and an urgent reform in the judicial system for an effective anti-crime combat. The UDF insists on an public debate on the advantages of a possible NATO membership. Bulgarians should be aware what are the advantages and disadvantages of the NATO membership and the politicians have to explain this, Mihaylova said. Mihaylova will talk to President Georgi Parvanov, too. He called her today to fix the day of her visit to the presidency.
(PY)
Greek, Turkish defense ministers meet with Romanian, Bulgarian counterparts to push to join NATO.
AP
ATHENS, Greece - Defense ministers from NATO members Greece and Turkey on Thursday said they will support Bulgarian and Romanian membership in the alliance as part of an effort to promote security in the Balkans.
It was the first such meeting between defense ministers since Greece and Turkey, celebrating their 50th anniversary of NATO membership this year, began efforts to help Bulgaria and Romania join.
The two former Soviet bloc nations hope to be invited to join NATO during its November summit in Prague. Traditional rivals Greece and Turkey say the alliance's expansion eastwards will help maintain stability in this traditionally volatile part of the world.
"We believe ... that the creation of a joint defense area is of crucial importance for the promotion of security in Europe's southeastern flank," said Greek Defense Minister Yannos Papantoniou.
"We face common threats, which are connected not only with terrorism but also with the sources of instability which have characterized our development in the last few years," he added after the meeting, held on the sidelines of a defense conference.
Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said "our friends Bulgaria and Romania will be supported by us."
Greece and Turkey will provide diplomatic support for the two countries within the alliance, as well as helping them modernize their armed forces to make them compatible with NATO.
Cakmakoglu invited his Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts to Turkey for a further meeting on the issue, he said. No date was immediately set.
Romania and Bulgaria, along with Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, are regarded as candidates that stand a good chance of receiving invitations in Prague.
Albania and Macedonia have also asked to join NATO, but stand less chance due to lagging economic or political reforms.
I Create an European Lobby for Bulgaria.
Standartnews
Nadezhda Mihaylova, leader of the UDF
There is not a final decision on the NATO enlargement. And no matter that encouraging signals come from different European capital cities, including from the Bush-Robertson meeting, this decision is still a forthcoming one. As a leader of the UDF and former Foreign Minister I'll try to give my contribution to Bulgarian will to become a NATO member in order to turn it into a fact. I start a series of meetings with European politicians in order a lobby for Bulgaria to be created. I'll try to use the contacts I have established as a Foreign Minister and to lobby for Bulgaria. As you see, my last meetings are with leaders who take key posts in Europe and who take the decisions about Bulgaria.
(PY)
Simeon To Keep Long Lent and Pray On Mount Athos.
Standartnews
Evgeni Genov
Premier will take part in the vigil during his visit to 'Zographou' monastery in Mount Athos, Assoc. Prof. Ivan Zhelev - head of the Department of Ecclesiastical Matters, released yesterday. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will pay tribute to the patron saint's day of 'Zographou' monastery, named after St. George. The solemn celebration is postponed for May 9, because this year the Day of St. George coincides with the Easter Holidays, Assoc. Prof. Zhelev. The Premier will vigil together with the monks, while on the next day he leaves on an official visit to Greece. Only Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov will accompany the PM at Mount Athos. Vice-President Angel Marin will guest to the Bulgaria's Monastery in Mount Athos three days earlier.
Bulgarian cigarettes are re-conquering Russian market again.
News.bg
After several months of negotiations, selling Bulgarian cigarettes on the Russian market was resumed today based on contracts with the new distributors approved by the Bulgartabak Holding Managers Board.
Half Of Bulgarian Families Live in Poverty.
Standartnews
Venelina Yanakieva
70 percent of Bulgarians are afraid of entangling in penury.
Each second household in this country lives beneath the poverty bracket, show the data of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Researches (ISTUR) with the CITUB (Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria), aired yesterday. As compared with the previous spring the penury-stricken families boosted by 13 percent. The cost of living in Bulgaria upped by 11.7 percent within the same period. Almost half of the incomes of the population are spent for food. The survey, however, shows a drastic shrinkage in the consumption of staple products. The households, suffering privation of vegetables, increased by 1\3. The meat purchase dropped by 15 percents, while the bread sale - by 4.5%. The gravest strike at the family budget in the first trimester of 2002, caused the rise in the inhabited house duty and the litter tax, being assessed at 76 percent, ISTUR head Lyuben Tomev elaborated. Of 10 Bulgarians, 7 feel as sinking in penury, shows the last survey of 'Mediana' polling agency. 37.7 percent of the pollees admit they hardly make both ends meet, while almost half of them - that they lead a hard life. In the first trimester of 2002, the average income in this country dropped to 113 levs, ISTUR data show. Currently, the normal per capita means of livelihood in a household should be 288.29 levs, while the consumer's basket of those living in penury, accounts for 109.28 levs.
Insurances for Sojourn in Hospitals.
Standartnews
Stephan Kioutchukov
The company will settle the bills for medical examinations and medicines
DZI (State Insurance Institute) proposed a new health insurance method, Irina Peicheva - director in 'Group Insurances' department with the DZI, said yesterday. The state-run insurer will offer the opportunity to the patient to visit a hospital and to take therapy for free. DZI will settle the payment with the hospital. The project starts from May 1 on at the First City Hospital in Sofia, while from June 1 on, the insured persons in DZI may undergo treatment in medical at clinics in other towns in this country. Under the hitherto terms, the patient pays for himself for the medical examinations, the drugs and the hospital sojourn, while DZI is to reimburse the money further on.
Bulgarian Jews.
the Times
From the Ambassador of Bulgaria.
Sir, In his description of the wartime activities of the British Oskar Schindler (report, April 5), Dominic Kennedy claims that Jewish populations in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary were being sent to extermination camps.
In fact the Jewish population of Bulgaria remained intact and unscathed by the Nazi annihilation machine, because of the combined efforts of the democratic majority in the Bulgarian parliament, who voted against the deportation of the Bulgarian Jewish population in an unprecedented state act of 1943. These efforts were given full support by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and were not contravened by the monarch, despite continuous pressure from Nazi Germany.
Recently, two Bulgarian church leaders were honoured posthumously as Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. They were the late Metropolitan of Sofia, Stefan, and the late Metropolitan of Plovdiv, Kiril. Both men sent direct pleas to the Bulgarian King begging for mercy towards the Jews. Owing to their efforts the deportation of the Jewish population was postponed time and time again, until it was finally cancelled.
Following the demands of members of Bulgarias Jewish community, it was announced this year in Sofia that March 9 is to be declared an annual day of commemoration for Holocaust victims and the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews.
Easter Egg to Cost 0.16 Levs.
Standartnews
Yuliana Uzanicheva
Deficit on the market is not expected, sources from the Poultry-Farmers' Union maintain.
The prices of eggs and poultry meat won't up for the Easter, Prof. Boris Stoimenov - chairman of the Poultry-Farmers' Union in Bulgaria (PFUB), released yesterday. The wholesale price of the eggs will within 0.125 and 0.13 levs, while the retail price - some 0.14 to 0.16 levs. The price of a fresh chicken wont exceed 3.6 levs per kg. Egg deficit before the Easter is not expected, PFUB sources pledged. Alternative to the hen egg will be offered on the market. Quail eggs may be found everywhere at the price of 0.06 to 0.07 levs. The turkey eggs are much more expensive than the hen's, while the ostrich will be purchased within $35 and $50 per egg, Prof. Stoimenov elaborated. Yet, they are a rarity so far, because the Bulgarian farms use them mainly on reproduction, PFUB sources explained.
($1=2.194 Bulgarian Levs)
Italy to Become the Biggest Investor in Bulgaria.
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Alessandro Grafini
Italy's Ambassador to Bulgaria H. Excellency Alessandro Grafini was born in Venice in 1941. He graduates in law and in 1967 starts his diplomatic career. He was on different posts in the Italian embassies to Austria and Albania and to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He was a consul in Germany and after that worked in the cabinet of the Foreign Minister. After his mandate as ambassador in Vienna from 1992 to 1995 he becomes a coordinator of Italy for the Central European initiative. He knows Bulgaria well and is an ambassador here for three years already. He is not married. He likes music, golf and the water sports.
(PY)
Rome backs your NATO membership, Italy's ambassador to Bulgaria Alessandro Grafini says.
Lyubomir Mihailov
- Your Excellency, to you, what is the reason for the great interest in the pending visit of Italy's PM Silvio Berlusconi to Bulgaria?
- The combination of an international businessman and a prime-minister provoked the great interest of Bulgarians as well as the fact that it is to be the first official visit of an Italian PM to Bulgaria, after Prime-minister Romano Prodi paid a visit to your country in 1998.
- What is the official stand of Rome on Bulgaria's NATO membership?
- It will be the main issue during the talks of Silvio Berlusconi with Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Italy backs your aspiration. We see many opportunities for the cooperation of NATO and especially of Italy with Bulgaria because the two countries belong to the NATO southern wing.
- Italy is among the biggest economic partners of Bulgaria. Which of the joint projects are to start in a short time?
- In 1999 Italy ranked 16 among the investors in Bulgaria and now she, most probably, is topping the list. During his visit Berlusconi will meet some 120 Italian businessmen at Interpred which now is owned by Miroglio - an Italian firm. This is indicative of the fact the Berlusconi's visit is closely related to the accelerated process of Italian investments in Bulgaria, amounting to $500 or $600 million. To now, Germany ranked first in terms of investments but in all probability Italy is getting ahead. There are three major investments projects: the Gorna Arda cascade, the construction of Plovdiv-Kapitan Andreevo highway as well as the gas power station nearby Varna.
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