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14, May-2002.

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Tuesday.

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The Triton passenger ship cast anchor at Port Varna Tuesday with 550 German tourists on board. The 14,000 tonne Greek ship is 150 m long and is used in tourist programmes called Black Sea Cruises. Pressphoto BTA Photo: Krassimir Krustev

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Georgi Popov, Director of Bulgartabak Holding, walked out apparently mad after his meeting with PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The two of them talked for 50 minutes sharp. "Let me pass or I'm to trip over the cable," were the only words Popov uttered getting out of the Council of Ministers' office building. Photo Stoian Nenov

SITUATION IN CRISIS REGIONS.
 
MIA
 
Patrolling of ethically mixed police teams Tuesday continues without any problems according to the determined plan for redeployment of the police in the crisis regions, Centre for Media Activity of the Coordinative Body for Crisis Management stated.
 
Police is patrolling in seven Kumanovo villages, two villages in Skopje region and 16 villages in Tetovo region.
 
Occasional violations of the public order and peace have been registered during Monday night in Tetovo and Kumanovo crisis regions. It is calm Tuesday morning in Tetovo crisis region, reported MIA's correspondent.
 
The Interior Department in Tetovo registered series of rifle and sporadic shots from an infantry weapon, coming from several town districts and the surrounding villages.
 
The shots were most intensive late on Monday and early Tuesday morning.
 
There were some shootouts, heard in the area of Tetovo Teke, the Stipska and Vonvardarska streets, as well as in the larger residential complexes and the area of SEE University.
 
Some shots were fired also from the direction of the villages of Gajre, Sipkovica, Ozormiste, Palatica, Trebos, Odri, Gajre, Dobroste, Prsovce, Dolno Orasje, Slatino i od Zelino.
 
Occasional shootouts have been registered during Monday night in Kumanovo - Lipkovo region which were not directed towards the Macedonian security forces, MIA's correspondent reports.
 
Patrolling of ethnically mixed police patrols in Lipkovo villages continues without any problems.
 
In some villages the local residents complain on presence of smaller groups of newcomers from other villages, mostly from the village of Aracinovo, who upset the civilians.
 
PARLIAMENT TO ADOPT LAWS ARISING FROM FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT IN MAY.
 
MIA
 
The Macedonian Parliament should adopt the laws arising from the Framework Agreement by the end of May, including the package of election laws, which are the basis for holding the parliamentary elections on September 15.
 
"These are 16 laws that should be adopted in the course of May, including the Law on Election Units, Law on Election List and Law on Election of Deputies, on which we expect coordinated text," Parliament Speaker Stojan Andov told the press conference, after the meeting with EU special envoy Alain Le Roy and US Ambassador to Macedonia Lawrence Butler.
 
According to Andov, the meeting was focused on the talks among the four party's leaders - signatories of Framework Agreement.
 
He announced that the Parliamentary session on the 16 laws, which would be reviewed on Tuesday's session of the government, would be scheduled on May 29, 30 and 31, when it is expected the laws to be adopted without any difficulties, as the deputies are aware of their contents as these laws arise from the passed constitutional amendments.
 
"I do not see any special difficulties. The parliamentary groups would be ready to fulfill those tasks efficiently," Andov said.
 
According to him, with the adoption of these laws the Parliament and the Macedonian state would realize their obligations arising from the Framework Agreement.
 
Andov believes that this is the most important decision of the legislative body.
 
Draft-Rule Book of the Parliament would be on the agenda at the parliamentary session on June 20, Andov announced.

CONFERENCE ON CONFIDENCE BUILDING AMONG CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES.
 
MIA

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The conference on confidence building among the churches and religious communities in Macedonia by dialogue ended Tuesday in Skopje.
 
The proposals on establishing Council of Inter-religious cooperation, holding periodic meetings and establishing contacts of the Macedonian Orthodox Church with the various religious communities in the country, and establishing cooperation among their educational institutions have emerged from the conference.
 
Fifty representatives from the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Islamic Religious Community, Catholic Church, Evangelist-Methodist Church and the Jewish Community as well as forty representatives from different countries and religions attended the conference.
 
The conference was initiated by the Macedonian President, Boris Trajkovski and is organized by US "Global Dialogue Institute" in cooperation with the Macedonian Center of International Cooperation. The meeting was financially supported by the US Institute of Peace, Open Society Institute - Macedonia and several US churches.
 
Trajkovski congratulating to the conference organizers and all those who participated for their contribution in interfaith dialogue spoke of "how we deal with people of different religions and cultures."
 
"First, there has been the typical expulsion and subjugation of people with different beliefs. In this case, we simply reject the beliefs of the other person as wrong, we accuse them as being heretics and we do not make any effort to understand how or why the other came to his or her beliefs. How many wars have been fought in the name of religion?" Trajkovski said, adding that "the misunderstandings originated when the personal interests were put ahead of the absolute truth."
 
He emphasized that the only way for living together was to "remove all misunderstandings and to tolerate each others."
 
Asked for his comment on the future of the different communities in Macedonia, he said that they were the "abundance of one country." In the respect he pointed out to "the favorable climate in the surroundings, the neighbors of Macedonia that develop themselves as independent states, also developing the democracy."
 
Trajkovski thinks that the role of civil society in the interfaith understanding is very important and Southeast Europe should focus on reconciliation and equality building. He announced that similar meeting is foreseen in November, when the head of states and non-governmental organizations from the region would participate.
 
Asked whether true relation of reconciliation could be built as we used to live in the past 50 years in a system in which the religion and the faith were opposed, Trajkovski said that the "state should guarantee the basic human and religious rights" and "in that respect it should not create a climate of restrictions."
 
To a question whether he would undertake something about the "concern of the Muslim population in the country regarding their inequality," he said that "the Constitution guarantees the religious rights."
 
"In the Article 19 from the Macedonian Constitution there is no difference between the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the other religious communities, on the other hand there should be an understanding of MOC's status as the historical circumstances and the fact that it was not recognized in those circumstances implied the Article 19. It does not mean that MOC was privileged in comparison to the other religious communities," Trajkovski believes.
 
He explained that "Law is being developed at this moment on the freedom and rights of the religious communities, according to which all churches and religious communities would be given an opportunity to fulfill their functions equally.
 
Asked about the Macedonia's experience with the democracy, Trajkovski said that "in the past decade Macedonia was known as democratic state."
 
"The clash in the conflict was imposed, but with the Framework Agreement and the constitutional amendments referring to the health system, education, use of languages and the other issues, the conflict was absorbed." he emphasized.
 
According to Trajkovski "there is no 'soft dictatorship' of the liberal democracy in Macedonia, but the countries with far more developed democracies can learn from it."
 
The moderator of the meeting Paul Mojzes told the press conference that "the foreigners in Macedonia did not come to teach someone how to behave," as according to him "the idea on peace should arise in anyone as a result of the personal conviction."
 
Jakub Selimovski from the Islamic Religious Community said that "the stimulation for organizing the conference did not come only from abroad, as all religious communities in Macedonia wished that, and the initiative for the meeting was coincidental with their views."
 
The military conflict in Macedonia, according to Selimovski "was not a result of the inter-religious misunderstanding, and the religious communities did not deepen the conflict."
 
According to Viktor Mizrahi, president of the Jewish Community in Macedonia, "the religious community in Macedonia had several meetings during the conflict focused on avoiding the military crisis." Mizrahi thinks "that there were no religious conflicts in Macedonia and there has always been co-existence."
 
Monsignor Ante Cirimotic from the Catholic Church considers "that the peace is built only with true religiousness."
 
Dragi Kostadinovski, the Archpriest Very Reverend, a MOC representative said that "the military conflict that emerged in Macedonia in 2001 was a religious clash and there were elements of religious hatred."
 
"Surely, the members of the religious community imbued with hatred participated in the conflict. Churches were destroyed, mosques were desecrated, but however I do not think that the conflict was initiated by the religious communities as we are peace-keepers," Kostadinovski said, adding that "not a single crime should be justified in the name of religion."
 
"In conflict times, the religious leaders must condemn the criminal acts as we must live together," Kostadinovski emphasized.
 
"We want to establish free flow of people and ideas, without any manslaughter and arson and we should not try to take away the believers from each others.
 
The faith should not be a reason for conflict, although some political structures use the religion for manipulating with the people," Kostadinovski said.
 
"First we must build the spiritual prism, and then the social one," Kostadinovski emphasized.

ROMANIA-BULGARIAN MINORITY.
 
BTA
 
Rousse, on the Danube, May 14 (BTA) - The Bulgarian minority in Romania receives about 6,000 million leu every year to publish Bulgarian books and periodicals, organize festivals, culture programmes and set up community centres, MP Peter Mirceov of the Bulgarian minority in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, said here Tuesday.
 
Mirceov, a Bulgarian from Banat, is a first-term MP.
 
The latest census in Romania showed that there are some 10,000 Bulgarians in that country, and of them 8,000 live in Banat. They all need new Bulgarian books, newspapers, CDs and schoolbooks.
 
According to Mirceov, the Bulgarians in Romania are much more than the census showed but many, especially in the Bucharest area, do not recognize themselves as Bulgarians and have stopped using the Bulgarian language even among themselves and in their homes.
 
There are 4-5 schools in the Banat area that teach the Bulgarian language four classes a week. All other classes there are taught in the Romanian language.
 
Students there need badly Bulgarian books because the ones they have now are old editions.
 
As an MP, Mirceov is committed to solving the economic problems of the Bulgarian minority in Romania, providing them with land and introducing wider use of the Bulgarian language in schools where Bulgarian children study. He believes he has much more chances now that Bulgarian-Romanian relations have improved and the two countries are no longer rivals for NATO and EU membership.
 
BULGARIA-ROMANIA-PARLIAMENTS.
 
BTA
 
Rousse, on the Danube, May 14 (BTA) - The possibility for a joint session of the Bulgarian National Assembly and the whole bicameral Romanian Parliament is given a serious thought and the majority of Bulgarian MPs see September as the best time for such an event, according to the chairman of the foreign policy committee of the Bulgarian Parliament, Stanimir Ilchev.
 
He made a statement to that effect following the Monday joint session of the foreign policy committees in the two countries' parliaments and ahead of the upcoming joint meeting of the committees on European integration.
 
The Bulgarian and Romanian NATO candidacies need to be boosted by new arguments in the six and a half months until the Prague summit, and for this reason no one questions the need for a joint session of the two parliaments, Ilchev said. He is among those who believe September is the right time because it is close to the summit meeting in the Czech capital.
 
He said though that there might be technical difficulties in putting together such a big event. The Bulgarian and Romanian MPs add up to a total of 600 people, who, together with the competent Foreign Ministry officers who will also attend, make a really huge forum.

Peter Stoyanov Was Reportedly Staging a Coup against Kostov.
 
Standartnews

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The ex-president backed the ousting of the UDF PM, Edvin Sougarev maintains.
 
During his tenure of office, ex-president Peter Stoyanov was ready to back the ousting of PM Ivan Kostov, said Edvin Sougarev, UDF Deputy Chairman, for Radio Free Europe yesterday. To him, Stoyanov reportedly supported former UDF Chief Secretary Hristo Biserov, who asked Kostov to resign in early 2001. Sougarev said further, quoting his own sources, that the ex-president discussed Kostov's ousting with his advisers because the forecasts were that the UDF was to lose the general elections and a wider support from the MRF was to be searched for. To Sougarev, Peter Stoyanov probably got scared in the last moment to back Biserov for the ousting of Kostov and forming a new cabinet on wider coalition bases. Sougarev maintains that the then UDF leaders Evgenii Bakardjiev and Stephan Sofianski shared the same ideas. Stoyanov would hardly become the consolidator of the right wing, though some mediae proclaim him as such, Sougarev said.
 
UDF to Distance Themselves from Sougarev's Baloney.
 
Standartnews
Evgenii Bakardzhiev
Leader of 'Radicals' Union
 
Edvin Sougarev's baloney is not by mere chance. As a matter of fact, he in his capacity of Bulgaria's ambassador to India, and Svetoslav Luchnikov in Sofia voiced the ideas of Peter Stoyanov's enemies. And succeeded in doing it for now it is Socialist Georgy Parvanov who is the president. I expect that Nadezhda Mihaylova and the other UDF leaders would immediately and explicitly distance themselves from Sougarev. Cut hatred! UDF leaders should amend both their image and policy at long last. As for Peter Stoyanov, he was a successful president and remains a successful politician. Nobody has the right to deny him his political future.
 
(PY)
 
NMS Puts Mailboxes for Complaints about Corruption.
 
Standartnews
Ivan Ivanov
 
Yellow mailboxes (yellow is the emblematic colour of the NMS party) for complaints against corruption will be installed today by the regional governors in Veliko Tarnovo. The leaders of NMS will put such mailboxes in all the district centers. Thus, those citizens who were blackmailed or asked for dirty grafts could lodge their complaints.
 
(PY)
 
BULGARIA-GREECE-MILITARY COOPERATION.
 
BTA
 
Sofia, May 14 (BTA) - At the present stage cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece is excellent, Greek Deputy Defence Minister Lucas Apostolidis told a joint news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Sonya Yankoulova Tuesday.
 
The Greek Defence Minister is on a two-day official visit to Bulgaria.
Apostolidis and Yankoulova said there are still untapped possibilities in developing bilateral relations.
 
Deputy Defence Minister Apostolidis said that at the meeting with his host he confirmed Greece's constant striving to assist Bulgaria in its integration into European structures and NATO.
 
According to Deputy Defence Minister Yankoulova, the meeting discussed cooperation in the defence industry, the support of Greece and Turkey for Bulgaria and Romania's future membership in NATO (the 2+2 formula) and the situation in the Balkans.
 
Taking a question on the multinational brigade in Plovdiv, postolidis said that according to the information he has, the present preparedness of the brigade is 35 per cent. He projected that the unit will probably be able to take part in crisis management and other operations around 2003.
 
A decision has been reached to grant scholarships to Bulgarian military for training in Greece, the guest said in response to another question. Sonya Yankoulova added that the signing of an agreement to this effect is forthcoming. Five or six Bulgarian officers will be trained in Greece every year.
 
Other possibilities are also being negotiated, she added.
 
Earlier on Tuesday Apostolidis conferred with members of the National Assembly Foreign Policy, Defence and Security Committee.
 
The programme of the visit also includes a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Petko Draganov and a visit of the multinational peacekeeping brigade in Plovdiv.
 
BG Cabinet to Bid for Plovdiv's Fair.
 
Standartnews
Kostadin Arshinkov

The list of ventures whose assets will be sold out at tender will be drawn up in a few days.
 
The majority stake of shares of the International Fair in Plovdiv will be sold out to strategic investors. The state will bid at the tender for the venture as well, Vice-Premier Nikolay Vassilev said at the yesterday's inauguration of the 22nd exhibition "Spring'2002". Of all shares 42 percent may be released at the stock exchange to be sold for compensatory vouchers. The two denationalization rounds for the Fair will start till end-year and will run independently. In a few days the list of all ventures slated for privatization via stock exchange, will be mapped up, Nikolay Vassilev declared. The Economy Ministry is preparing several fresh laws, including an overhaul of all licence and registration regimes aimed at their alleviation. Reduction of duties and red-tape in the export of Bulgarian products to Russia is also expected soon, Vice-Premier said further.
 
M-Tel To Lower Long-Distance Calls Prices.
 
Standartnews
Victoria Seraphimova

Subscribers of Bulgaria's first mobile operator amount to almost 1.5 million M-Tel's subscribers will soon pay lower prices for long-distance calls, said company's CEO Roumyana Kyuchukova at the opening of the M-Tel pavilion at the International Fair in Plovdiv yesterday. The decrease is due to the lower prices of the long-distance calls of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) fixed from May 1 on. The international traffic of M-Tel is via the BTC. From January 1, 2003, when the BTC monopoly expires, alternatives for the international traffic are likely to be sought. Currently, negotiations are held with foreign mobile operators and possible options are being considered, Kyuchukova elaborated. Till end-2002, M-Tel will offer also the GPRS system (General Packet Radio System), which provides speedy communications as compared with the ordinary GSM network. On the first day of the Fair, the cell-phone operator opened a new business office in Plovdiv. Today still another one is to be opened.
 
Runaway Ostrichs Drove Drivers Mad.
 
Standartnews
Elitza Ivanova

The action took place at the ring road of Kyustendil and ended with several pecked hands.
 
An ostrich ran away from a private farm and caused chaos along the ring road of Kyustendil. The one-hour attraction took place late on Saturday, witnesses said. The exotic animal ran away from a farm in the near by village of Radlovtzi, where a Sofia businessman bred 31 birds. The workers let two of the newly hatched ostriches slip away while they were feeding the birds. While the workers were running after the one of the ostriches the other ran with 60 km/h to a petrol station at the ring road of the town. No matter that the ostriches that fled away were only 3-4 months old they were about a meter tall. The chase drew to panic the drivers on the road, who despite their embarrassment joined the petrol station workers in their attempts to catch the impudent bird, that tried to hide behind one of the petrol pumps.
 
(PY)
 
Pope's Car Was Brought.
 
Standartnews

from Italy by a truck. The automobile, in which Pope John-Paul II will travel during his visit in Bulgaria is with armoured glasses and will be guarded by the National Security Service. The Holy Father will be accompanied by four cardinals, director of the international press center Maxim Minchev said exclusively for 'Standart'. Father Peter from Plovdiv teaches Bulgarian language to the Pope 4 hours a day , because the Holy Father wants to speak only Bulgarian in the course of his visit.
 
Over 4,000 Policemen to Guard the Cup's Final Tomorrow.
 
Standartnews

Sponsor 'Ford Moto-Pfoe' promoted the new trophy, made in Italy.
 
More than 4,000 policemen will secure the order during, and after the end of the final match for Bulgaria's Cup 'Ford Moto-Pfoe', Col. Georgi Zlatkov - director of 'Safeguard Police' with the Sofia Directorate of Interior released. The game between the eternal rivals - Levski and CSKA, at 'Slavia' stadium will be tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. 1,566 police officers will provide the security at the stadium, while other 2,500 will guard the public order in Sofia related to the duel within 'reds' and 'blues'. 400 policemen from the Sofia neighborhood will also be used in the reinforced guard. Kids under the age of 14 won't be admitted to the stadium. Lyube Spassov - secretary of the Professional Football League (PFL), presented the new cup. The trophy is made in Italy at the order of the general sponsor - 'Ford Moto-Pfoe'. For the first time, both finalists won't take bonuses by PFL. Though, their fans buy discounted tickets for 2 levs each.

We Are Afraid of New Taxes.
 
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Bozhidar Danev

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Nevena Mircheva
Vassil Zahariev

The tariffs are turned into hidden taxation, Bozhidar Danev, chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber (BIC) says.

Bozhidar Danev graduated from the Sofia Technical University in 1965. He worked at the Technical Cybernetics Institute with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 1981 he was appointed an expert to the Bulgarian Industrial Association - the Now Bulgarian Industrial Chamber. At present, he is its chairman. Danev also co-chairs the Joint European-Bulgarian Economic and Social committee.

- Mr Danev, how do you view the new tax policy promulgated by the cabinet? Are there some embarrassing things?

- This year there are no structure changes in the taxes themselves as well as in the way of forming the tax policy. The old system was reinstated with just some makeup put on it. Undoubtedly, in a working market economy it's better to increase the indirect taxes rather than the direct ones, and this is what the cabinet is doing. The problem in Bulgaria, however, is that the market is stagnant, consumption is down in the recent 7 or 8 months. If the indirect taxes be up, they could stagnate the market even more. The businessmen and entrepreneurs believe that there are no alleviations in the tax burden envisaged for 2003. It's possible that new taxes and tariffs could be levied locally. But the issue is what happens to business, to population and its savings, to living standards.

- What proposals did the BIC made concerning the tax changes?

- We witness continuing trends of increasing the number of the tariffs and their rates. The non-tax payments to the fisc are already more than 50 percent of the budget revenues from profit taxes. And they are keeping on their growth. The tariffs are turning into hidden taxation.

- The IMF mission is in Bulgaria, will you have a meeting with its leader for Bulgaria Gerald Schiff and IMF resident representative Mrs Piritta Sorsa?

- Yes, I'm to meet Mr Schiff and Mrs Sorsa.

- What are you to tell them?

- That the economy is slowing down. The slowdown in the industrial output for the first trimester of this year accounts for 10 percent.

Money for Medicines Will Be Scarce.
 
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Nikola Vassilev

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Neika Krasteva

We don't know yet what kind of company is "Aremis Soft" and whom should we pay to, says Assoc. Prof. Nikola Vassilev.

Assoc. Prof. Nikola Vassilev was born in Sofia in 1949. He was a health minister and vice-premier in the cabinet of Philip Dimitrov and Reneta Indzhova. He is the national consultant on obstetrics and gynecology and head of the General and Oncological Gynecology Clinic to the Military Medical Academy. In autumn 2001 he became the acting head of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). On April 23, 2002 he was elected chairman of its Management Board. He cannot say as yet whether he feels comfortable on this post. In his opinion, the basic criterion for the quality of medicine is what the patient feels.

- Mr. Vassilev, do you feel comfortable as chairman of the Managing Board of the Health Insurance Fund?

- It's too early to say.

- Will the budget suffice for the free medicines?

- No, in the whole world health insurance funds go bankrupt mainly because they have to cover the cost of free medicines and diagnostic examinations. The tendency towards ordering all kinds of medical examinations grows like an avalanche, because doctors want to cushion themselves against possible diagnostic mistakes.

- Aren't the expenses on the maintenance of the Health Insurance Fund too high?

- They have been drastically cut down this year as compared with the previous one. The new budget act reduced the funds allotted for salaries.

- The citizens should also have the right to accept or reject the contract with the Health Insurance Fund.

- Yes, but by law they are not a party to this contract. According to law, their representative in the general meeting of the Fund are the trade unions.

- What are the latest developments in the dispute with "Aremis Soft"?

- It's not clear whom should we pay to. We don't know who are "Aremis" and whom they represent. At the last meeting two Americans showed up. They claimed they were new chiefs of the Bulgarian branch of the company but haven't furnished any proves. We are expecting to meet the US commercial attache.

(Abr)

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