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Friday.

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Summer weather during Easter holidays - tens of Sofia citizens came to the Lake of Pancharevo. The most enthusiastic anglers walked into the water expecting a good catch. Sofia citizens climbed up Mount Vitosha as well. It will be hot till Saturday. On Sunday, light rain showers are expected, the meteorologists warned. Photo Marina Angelova

SITUATION IN CRISIS REGIONS.
 
MIA
 
Ethnically mixed police patrols Friday carry out their activities in the villages from the crisis regions, foreseen with the General Plan for re-deployment of the security forces, Centre for media Activity of the Coordinative Body for Crisis Management reports.
 
Several sporadic and rifle shootouts have been registered Thursday night in Kumanovo, Tetovo and Skopje region. Shootings were directed at unknown target without any consequences to the Macedonian security forces.
 
The displaced persons from the villages of Matejce, Opae, Ropaljce and Dumanovce, Lipkovo region demand urgent and safe visit to their destroyed homes without conditioning from any aspect, check of the ruined property, realistic assessment of the security situation and freedom of movement due to permanent return to their homes from the Macedonian government and all relevant international factors.
 
At Friday's press conference on the occasion to the anniversary from proclaiming "free territory" in Lipkovo, the members of the committee of the displaced persons stressed that they have sent these demands to the President of the Republic of Macedonia, the parliament and the government and to all foreign Ambassadors 15 days ago but they have not received any answer.

ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH OF GREATEST MACEDONIAN REVOLUTIONIST GOCE DELCEV.
 
MIA

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The 99th anniversary since the death of one of the greatest Macedonian revolutionists and ideologists Goce Delcev will be marked on 4 May.
 
His work is built in the fight for freedom of the Macedonian people and of Macedonia from Ottoman Empire. The activity of this great man and apostle of the Macedonian national movement is connected with activity of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation, whose bright traditions had encouraged the fighters of the national liberation war half century later.
 
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the period of creation of national states and irretrievable leaving of the feudalism, Goce Delcev "conceives the world only as a place for cultural rivalry of the nations."
 
Unfortunately, Goce Delcev will not participate in the great Ilinden Uprising due his early death on May 4, 1903.
 
The creation of the first republic in the Balkans, the Krusevo republic, is an act of his inexhaustible work, on whose realisation he worked intensively crusading Macedonia and recruiting many Macedonians who fought for its final liberation.
 
He was killed in the village of Banica, at 32 years, together with troop of fighters. The revolutionists, surrounded in one house in the village, opposed the Turkish troops bravely. They had fought to the last drop of blood, experiencing dignified death. Even Turkish troops were astonished by their bravery. They have paid tribute to Macedonian fighters and to Macedonian hero Delcev. The words of the Turkish commander will be remembered for long-time "Macedonia has reason to mourn today since it has lost its greatest son."
 
The remains of Goce Delcev are embedded into a marble sarcophagus, displayed in the front yard of the "Sv. Spas" ("Holy Savior") church in Skopje.
 
Macedonia will never forget Goce Delcev and portrayed him in many folk songs. His idea for free Macedonia will be realised half century later.
 
Macedonian heroes from 1941 to 1945 have accomplished the long-time strive for freedom and own stated together with other Yugoslav countries.
 
Macedonia, the way Goce Delcev wanted, became sovereign and independent on the referendum on September 8, 1991.

President and PM To Go To Church Together.
 
Standartnews
Antoaneta Peteva
Elena Yaneva
 
The statesmen are to attend the Easter service at the St Al. Nevski Cathedral.
 
President Georgi Parvanov and PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will attend the Easter service at the St Alexander Nevski Patriarchal Cathedral, sources form the Holy Synod said. It will be for the first time since 1989, that the President and PM will attend together the Easter service to be read by Patriarch Maxim: President Parvanov accompanied by his wife, and Simeon - by his wife and his sister Marie-Lousie. Ognian Gerdjikov, Chairman of the National Assembly, is also expected to attend the service. "Performing this act, the top Bulgarian statesmen give a clear sign that an end should be put to the schism," priests elaborated. "It is an undisputable recognition of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on behalf of the power-vested," said Associate Professor Ivan Zhelev, head of the Department of Ecclesiastical Matters with the Council of Ministers, who will also attend the service at Alexander Nevski Cathedral.
 
Cherry-Tree Cannon Fired.
 
Standartnews
Borislav Petrov
 
The original cherry-tree cannon volleyed to welcome President Parvanov in Panagyurishte and marked the start of the celebration on the occasion of the 126 anniversary of the April Uprising. The cannon was moved out of the town for the first time, the organizers of the celebration from Panagyurishte said. The streets of Panagyuriste were cordoned off by policemen and the Traffic Police because of the car accident with the president's cortege this day. Georgy Parvanov apologized and didn't stay for the cocktail after the celebrations. Actor MP Kosta Tzonev read the Blood Letter in front of the monument to the first Bulgarian MPs, who took the decision about the uprising. Chairman of Parliament Ognyan Gerdzhikov delivered a speech.
 
(PY)

Easter Meal to Cost 100 Levs.
 
Standartnews

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The Bulgarian has to spend at least 100 levs if he wants his family to taste the traditional Easter meals. The meals that each of us wants to taste on Easter. A four-member family will have to spend about 100 levs to afford the roast lamb, salads, soft drinks, beer or wine, the traditional painted Easter eggs and Easter cake. If one opts for a richer menu, he would have to prepare 300 levs for the meals only. The decoration will cost another 20-40 levs. Egg-shaped candles cost between 2 and 4 levs, the aromatized ones - from 6 to 8 levs. Inventive sellers offer ideas for the decoration of the Easter baskets. The artificial grass is a substitute for lentils that ten days before Easter was usually left to sprout on a sheet of moist paper. Then the beautifully coloured eggs were placed on the cover of tender green stalklets.
 
(PY)
 
SILISTRA - THEATRE.
 
BTA
 
Silistra, Northeastern Bulgaria, May 3 (BTA) - The Notara Theatre of Bucharest will include the Sava Dobroplodni Theatre of Silistra in joint projects with German and Austrian theatres, said the Silistra Theatre's Director Stefan Staichev.
 
This, among other things, is provided for in a creative cooperation agreement which the two companies signed in Bucharest with the assistance of the Balkanart Association.
 
For its part, the Silistra Theatre will help Notara establish contacts with a Greek theatre on the basis of the contacts which the Bulgarian company has established with the theatre in Komotini, Greece.
 
The theatres in Bucharest and Silistra will exchange staging teams and tours of entire productions. The two companies will be presenting plays from the other country at home and will be exchanging theatre information.
 
The Silistra actors will perform Iogen Ionesco's "The Picture" in Notara's large auditorium on the occasion of the Day of Bulgarian Letters in Culture, May 24.
 
The Bucharest theatre will tour Silistra in October.
 
The Sava Dobroplodni Theatre has already signed an agreement with the state theatre in Bursa, Turkey. A similar agreement is in preparation with the Komotini Theatre and is due to be signed on May 14, during a tour of the Greek actors in the Bulgarian town.

Israel Loosing Information and Diplomatic Wars.
 
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Avigdor Lieberman

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Terrorism will kill the Christian world.

I'm astonished at the hypocrisy of Western politicians, to whom petrodollars are more important than reason, says Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli minister of infrastructure who resigned recently.

Avigdor Lieberman is one of the best-known and influential politicians in Israel. He is the leader of the biggest "Russian" party - "Our Home Israel". In March 2002 Lieberman was the first to leave the government of Ariel Sharon, where he was the minister of national infrastructure. He insisted on a sterner policy against the terrorist attacks of the Palestinians. In his opinion, no negotiations with Arafat will be possible before the infrastructure serving the Palestinian terrorists is destroyed completely.

Yullee Moskov
Tel-Aviv

- Mr. Lieberman, the Israeli army has withdrawn from all Palestinian territories and stopped the offensive against terrorism. What is going on in Israel now?

- Nowadays confusion and disarray reign in Israel. What the people of Israel really miss now are the clearly defined aims and tasks. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hasn't defined these aims neither for himself, nor to the army, nor to the people. The government applies totally contradictory approaches and in one day you may hear completely different opinions. For instance, minister of internal security Uzi Landau mad an official statement saying that Yasser Arafat is a terrorist and has to be exterminated. The same day, after the TV news the minister of interior appeared on the air to say that Arafat is a partner and has beneficial influence on the Palestinians. Thus every day the government actually speaks three or four completely different languages and takes totally different stands. Nothing good can come out of it. It's too bad because this way you cannot explain anything to the world community. The worst problem of the Israelis is the fact that they have lost the information war. Everything we win at the battle field we immediately lose on the TV screen. An when you lose the information war you actually lose the diplomatic war, too. For this reason all our military operations are victorious while the actions of our diplomats end with failure. Israel must speak in a clear and definite language. The government cannot speak in two or three different languages. From the very beginning my principal requirement to the prime minister and the government was that they should have clearly defined their aims and tasks. Without it there is no sense in carrying out any operations and the existence of the government itself becomes meaningless.

- Why the government acts in the way that you find erroneous and incomprehensible?

- The government consists of two major parties, Likud and Labor Party, they both pursue one and the same aim. Whatever happens they want to remain in power as long as possible and to carry through their term in office. They want to stay in power at all costs.

- Why this coalition of the two main parties is so eager to stay in power?

- Power gives too many advantages and personal privileges. The ministers are not prepared to give them up. This is the problem.

To be continued

I Already See Meatballs in My Dreams.
 
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Stefan Sofianski

We are strictly keeping the Lent and hide eggs in the garden in Porutchic Tcunchevo to let the kids find them, says Mayor Stefan Sofianski.

- Mr. Sofianski, what will your family do during the Easter holidays?

- To us the Easyer has always been a very nice family holiday. In recent years we have made it a tradition to pass the Easter night in our house in the village of Porutchik Tchunchevo.

- Who is responsible for egg painting in your family?

- My wife Alice is. The kids paint their own eggs. When you have children you can feel the whole charm of this holiday - looking for hidden eggs, going around the church on Easter night. When we pass Easter in the open air we always hide painted eggs so that the kids can find them. With the first red egg we make a cross on the girls' foreheads.

- Are you keeping Lent?

- Yes, we keep it till the last moment. As for me, I can say that I already see meatballs in my dreams.

- For 12 year now we have been waiting for the revival of our country. When will Bulgaria's Easter come?

- We already have one Revival day to celebrate - November 10, 1989. And this date should not be forgotten.

- What did your children say about the "curfew" for teenagers which will be imposed from Tuesday?

- They already have their own "curfew". I think that a family should not rely on official restrictions only. I would have imposed one stricter measure - to ban alcohol for children under certain age and introduce tighter control over their pastime in discos.

Ekaterina Nikolova

(Abr)

US To Sponsor Restauration of Albanian Arsenal.
 
Reality Macedonia
By Igor Bozhinovski

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Albanian Air Force F-6, a Chinese copy of famous Soviet MiG-19S. Photo provided by Igor Bozhinovski.
 
According to a report released on April 22, Albania's Armed Forces have launched a 10-year reform program that will be sponsored and supervised by the U.S. Department of Defense in order to trim down and thoroughly modernize outdated Albania's Armed Forces.
 
Major General Pellumb Qazimi, Chief of General Staff of Albania's Armed Forces, announced that all surplus equipment Albania has, including airplanes, helicopters, tanks, artillery pieces and even four Russian-made submarines, will either be destroyed or sold in an effort to modernize and reduce the size of the country's armed forces, in accordance with NATO guidelines.

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Albanian bandits in front of Albanian Air Force fighters during 1997 riots (photo curtesy Igor Bozinovski).
 
Albanian defence officials are pinning their hopes on Western millionaire collectors and Hollywood studios looking for antiquated war trophies. "Maintaining the weapons is very expensive and if we cannot sell them off, we shall scrap them," said Major General Pellumb Qazimi. Yilli Pinari, head of the state arms trade company Meico, reviled that he has received a request from a British pilots' association, seeking to send a group of retired pilots to Albania to take pictures of the Albanian Air Force aircraft and themselves on the planes.

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F-7A is the best fighter in service with the Albanian Air Force (photo curtesy Igor Bozinovski)

For more information, check the official document National Conference "On restructuring of Albanian Armed Forces", strategic objective of the decade 2001-2010 (Joint Albania-US project) from the web site of Albanian Ministry of Defence.

Must read: UÇK Training Camps In Albania.
Time.com article (07.06.1999) about the role of Albanian army and NATO "advisors" in the process of turning the UÇK (KLA/NLA) from "guerrilla rabble" into "diplomatic threat."

Albanian Arrested in Greece For Heroin Possession.
 
Xinhuanet
 
ATHENS, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- A 39-year-old Albanian national has been arrested in northern Greece for heroin possession, police said on Friday.
 
Police said Dimitri Duka was arrested in Salonika on Thursday night after 1.43 kilograms of heroin were found during a search of his apartment.
 
The heroin was confiscated together with 6,120 euros (about 5,569 U.S. dollars) in cash that were also found in the apartment.
 
Duka was due to appear before a local public prosecutor.

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