14, Feb-2002.

Cabinet 'Saxe-Coburg-Gotha' survived after the first no-confidence vote, demanded by the UtdDF. 134 MPs from the NMS and the MRF voted 'against'. A new no-confidence vote is lying ahead because of the economic policy, Sergey Stanishev, chief of the PG of the 'For Bulgaria' coalition warned. (PY) Photo Marina Angelova

Occasional shootings from certain parts of the town as well as from Gajre, Selce, Prvce, Poroj and Odri villages were heard during the night in Tetovo crisis region.

According to police sources, armed persons demolished the properties owned by the Macedonians during the curfew.

Around 04.10 Thursday morning the kiosk of "Nova Makedonija" located on the crossroad between "Ilinden" boulevard and "Braka Miladinovci" street was burnt down.

It is calm Thursday morning in Kumanovo - Lipkovo region different from Wednesday night when 20 sporadic and rifle shootouts have violated the public order and peace four times.

Police and army sources say three shootouts from the area of the village of Opae, 13 from the so-called unlicensed settlement and four from city stadium settlement have been registered from 01:00 to 02:00 hours after midnight.

The patrolling of ethnically mixed police teams should continue Thursday in the villages of Matejce, Orizare and Lipkovo.

Kumanovo, February 14 (MIA) - The police antiterrorism unit has deactivated hand grenade - kashikara from Chinese origin around 06.30h Thursday morning, Kumanovo police department announced. The bomb was planted on the third floor in the residential-business complex "Garnizon" in the center of Kumanovo, and was discovered by one of the residents.

Skopje-"I'm sad and I'm sorry"-said today the OSCE Spokesman, Florin Pasnicu, after the unfortunate statements from the last press-conference, when he said that the arsons and looting in the houses in the crisis regions were done by unemployed persons and teenagers seeking for some fun. The OSCE Spokesman explained that his statements were misunderstood by the Macedonian media. He repeated that the arsons and looting are serious criminal acts that should be dealt with as such. He also gave his condolences to the family of Aco Stojanovski, who was killed by a booby-trap setup at the door of his brother's house in Arachinovo, a village near Skopje.

The EU Spokeswoman, Irena Gjuzelova, said today that these isolated criminal incidents have a negative impact on the donators and the return of the displaced persons to their homes in the crisis regions.

"We do not want to finance a monolite ethnic community in Arachinovo. We will also repair the houses of the Slavs"-said today Irena Gjuzelova, who was told at the press-conference that such reference is insulting to Macedonians. She of all people should know that this remark is not appreciated by the Macedonians, being that she is herself, half Macedonian.

The Chief of the UNHCR in Skopje, Amid Avad, citing the Macedonian Red Cross, gave information that there are 17,000 displaced people in Macedonia (11,000 ethnic Albanians and 6,000 ethnic Macedonians) and about 9,000 refugees from Kosovo. UNHCR have asked for 42 million US dollars to help the high number of internally displaced people and refugees. The money would be used for rebuilding 750 damaged houses, food, bus lines, and projects in agriculture, health, education and culture.

This is the first chapter of Scott Taylor's upcoming book, Diary of an Uncivil War, detailing the author's war reporting in Macedonia.

Despite the fact that the weather forecast called for the temperature to soar above 40 degrees Celsius, I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and tie. I had an interview later in the morning with Macedonia's new defense minister, Vladimir Buchkovski, and I felt a certain amount of decorum was necessary.

Friedhelm Peel also had a meeting in Skopje so I hitched a ride with him back to the Macedonian capital. Arriving in the city centre before 9:30 a.m., we agreed to meet for a late supper back at our hotel in Tetovo. We had no idea that at that moment all hell was breaking loose on the stretch of road we had just travelled over.

The first inkling I had that something was wrong was the flurry of activity at the Macedonian Defense Ministry. A crowd had gathered in the guarded entranceway and were trying to get in, while on the other side of a barrier people were trying to reclaim their identification cards in order to get out.

It took me a while to work my way forward to a harassed military policeman at the reception window. As soon as I told him I was there to interview Minister Buchkovski, the young corporal put a finger to his temple and asked incredulously, "Are you fucked? Do you have any idea of what is going on?" When I tried to explain to him that I didn't, I was contemptuously dismissed.

Pristina, June 1999. Despite the presence of NATO troops, not all Serbian refugees passed through the Albanian gauntlets unharmed. When vehicles were disabled by the stone-throwing mobs, the occupants would often be dragged into the streets and beaten. (Photo by Scott Taylor)

A short, pot-bellied colonel at the rear of the queue had seen – and understood – the curt exchange. Politely, he explained to me that the UCK had just mounted a major offensive. The Tetovo-Skopje highway had been cut off and that many soldiers were killed in an ambush. Furthermore, there could be no interview with Buchkovski today because he was trapped in Tetovo. The helpful colonel did not know when or if there would be a press conference, as the information was too sketchy. He suggested that I go to the official press accreditation counter for an update on the situation.

As I walked to the nearby foreign media office, a flight of Mi-24 Hind helicopters flew overhead towards the Tetovo highway. Unfortunately, Atanas Georgievski was the only person on duty in the office. He knew nothing of the UCK attack, and without a mutual language – he spoke only Macedonian and Greek, a decided drawback when dealing with the foreign media – we were reduced to communicating in sign language. In this manner, I learned that I was one of only five foreign journalists registered in Macedonia. The others were an American, two from a Dutch television crew and a reporter from Abu Dabai. As it seemed unlikely that the Macedonian military would hold a press conference, I contacted Rade Lesko at Skynet Television. He told me that ten soldiers had been killed and 14 wounded. A number of civilians had also been attacked along the 42 kilometres of highway that separate Tetovo and Skopje, and the Macedonian army had closed the road. "Until when?" I asked stupidly. "Until we win the battle, I would assume," Lesko answered. The ambush had taken place outside the village of Grupcin, approximately half-way between the two cities.

I had no way of knowing whether or not this was part of a sustained offensive by the UCK or an isolated attack. However, with most of my gear and travel documents still in Tetovo, I had to get back as quickly as possible.

I hailed a taxi and told the driver I wanted to go to Grupcin. He had been listening to his radio and told me it was not possible. "The road is closed," he said. I showed him my press pass and told him that as a foreign correspondent I had clearance to get through. He bought it, and we set off.

The bluff worked at the first police checkpoint as well. However at Saraj, a village on the western outskirts of Skopje, the Macedonian security forces were turning back all traffic, and there was a lineup of vehicles parked along the roadside. A crowd of curious drivers had gathered at the head of the column, anxious to obtain word of the battle's progress.

My driver was only too ready to obey the policeman at the barricade. As soon as he stopped and I stepped out of the car, he turned around and sped off back to Skopje – without waiting to be paid.

There were at least two dozen heavily armed security personnel at the Saraj roadblock, along with armoured personnel carriers and a sandbagged punkt, which appeared to be the headquarters. I was hoping to talk my way through by telling the commanding officer that it was important for a foreign journalist to be on the scene to confirm the UCK's ambush at Grupcin and present the "big picture."

A surly-looking policeman came towards me shouting "fuck off" or its Macedonian equivalent before I even had time to state my case. I therefore politely asked to see his superior.

Overhearing the conversation, a hatless policeman lounging in the shade nearby yelled out that he was in charge. After a few moments of talking to him, I realized my case was hopeless. Even when I asked for details of the ambush and the current situation, he just shrugged and said, "Ask the Defense ministry spokesman."

Admitting defeat, I turned to the policeman who had first approached me and said, "Izvini (I'm sorry)." As I picked up my briefcase, he suddenly lunged forward and struck me across the chest with his Kalashnikov. "Ne ma izvini!(No, 'I'm sorry'!)" he shouted. Surprised and knocked off balance, I was just regaining my composure when he struck me again, this time more forcefully, still shouting, "NE ma izvini!"

As I walked back towards the line of parked cars, the police and the assembled onlookers were all laughing. I decided then and there that, whatever it took, I would get through to Tetovo.

I climbed a hillside in order to get around the police checkpoint. Without a map, I reasoned that if I headed west, then south, I could get back onto the main highway at the bottom of the hill. I came across a rail line, which I wrongly assumed led to Grubpcin and Tetovo. After walking nearly three kilometers, I learned of my mistake from a trio of young Albanian boys who were crossing the tracks on their way back from swimming. They had been quite startled by my sudden appearance. Drenched in sweat, dressed in a shirt and tie, and carrying a briefcase and camera bag, I must have been a very strange sight, indeed.

As Serbian refugees fled their homes, their departure from Kosovo was hastened by angry mobs of Albanian civilians. The Western media largely ignored this reversal in ethnic cleansing. (Photo by Scott Taylor)

The boys were puzzled when I asked how far it was to the highway. My dead reckoning had been correct, but I had forgotten to factor in the curve of the Vardar River, which ran through the valley. To get to Grupcin, I would have to retrace my steps, almost all the way back to the police punkt in Saraj.

Footsore from walking in my leather dress shoes, I asked the boys if I could rent a bicycle. This request amused them and they ran off ahead of me to the village of Kondovo to see if they could find one.

News of the approaching stranger soon spread throughout this little Albanian village, and when I arrived in Kondovo, I was swarmed by curious children. An uncle of one of the boys I had met on the tracks joined the group and tried his best to dissuade me from making the trip. "There is much fighting in the valley; it is very dangerous right now," he said. "Join my family for lunch and we will arrange for a driver to take you to Tetovo via Kosovo tonight."

He told me that he could put me in touch with the local UCK commanders as they still had routes open. I really did not want to spend too much time with the UCK, especially with copies of my book in my briefcase – Inat had not been well received in Kosovo. Finally realizing that I was determined to get to Grupcin, he produced a battered old mountain bike. Using his tractor engine as a compressor, he re-inflated the rear tire and explained that only the front brake worked. After sharing a midday meal with his family, I changed from my sweat-soaked shirt and tie into the clean T-shirt they gave me and bade them farewell.

A number of young Albanians offered to guide me across the Vardar and when I started off, they ran along beside me. From the direction of Tetovo, the crump of far-off mortars could be clearly heard and columns of black smoke rose from the next valley. Macedonian fighter jets were visible overhead and helicopter gunships occasionally appeared above the ridgeline.

Things were really heating up. As we reached the banks of the Vardar, an American Twin Huey utility helicopter roared over us at treetop level. A grinning door-gunner gave us a thumbs-up and the kids cheered wildly. Startled at the appearance of a NATO aircraft so blatantly violating Macedonian air space, I asked out loud, "What the hell are the Yanks doing here?" One of the older boys looked at me sternly and said, "They're here to help us – or don't you think they should?" I noticed that the helicopter had veered west and was heading straight towards the Grupcin ambush site. Dodging the boy's question, I pointed at the now distant chopper and said, "At least with NATO up there, things should be a little safer."

There was a ford across the Vardar about a kilometer from the Macedonian police punkt at Saraj. Crossing the river, I knew that the police could see us. I just hoped that they would not be unduly alarmed by a bicyclist surrounded by a cluster of teenaged Albanians. I came out on the highway on a slight rise, just out of sight of the roadblock.

With my heavy briefcase clamped across the handlebars and my camera bag tightly slung across my back, I set off on the 25-kilometer ride to Grupcin. I have never been much of a cyclist and with my unbalanced baggage, I dared not lift a hand to wave goodbye to my Albanian escorts. Shouting thank you over my shoulder, I wobbled away.

It did not take long for the euphoria of having slipped past the police to evaporate. I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of anxiety and fear. As I climbed the first long slope on the eerily empty four-lane highway, I suddenly felt very much alone. I realized that nobody had any idea of my whereabouts and that I was riding a dilapidated bicycle into the middle of a combat zone. I convinced myself that I could not go back now, and that I would be able to visit the ambush site and make it all the way back to Tetovo before dusk.

The ride was proving to be much more strenuous than I had thought it would be. The bicycle had seen better days – a slight warp in the front wheel prevented me from picking up any speed, even on the downhill stretches. The seat was set too low and I could not peddle safely while standing for fear that my shoes would slip. My butt was also beginning to feel the effects of not having a ridden a bike for at least ten years.

I had not seen another living soul since I got back on the highway, and without a watch or map, it was difficult to measure my progress. Ahead, plumes of smoke were rising above the horizon and the dull thump of artillery was becoming louder. As my fears mounted, I began talking out loud to the bicycle, coaxing it along.

Two Hind gunships suddenly roared overhead less than 30 metres off the ground, the aircrew probably as startled at the sight of a lone cyclist as I was of them. About 800 meters ahead of me, they hovered directly over the highway and began firing rockets at an unseen UCK position.

Empty metal casings, each weighing approximately one kilogram, came plummeting down all over the highway and bounced off the asphalt with a curious metallic pinging sound. When I reached the spot where the gunships had fired, I stopped briefly to pick up one of the still-hot rocket tubes as a souvenir.

I was beginning to wonder if I had somehow passed Grupcin when, off to my right, I heard a muffled hiss, and turned to see a camouflaged figure on a grassy slope, pointing in my direction. Two other armed men joined him and took up firing positions. They were about 150 meters away, but they offered no formal challenge. I could not tell whether they were UCK or Macedonian security forces, but assumed that this was close to the ambush site, and with so much air activity about, the UCK would be long gone. I kept riding straight down the middle of the road, hoping that I looked more ridiculous than threatening. At any moment I expected to be either shot or at least challenged and stopped.

Just as I was beginning to believe that I was in the clear, I saw a pair of flashing headlights coming towards me in the oncoming lane. I assumed that the hidden gunmen had radioed for a mobile police unit to check me out. I was already thinking about how I could get rid of the bike and hitch a ride when the white Mercedes roared past me. The flashing lights were not a signal for me to stop, but to get the hell out of the way.

I passed the burnt-out hulk of a civilian Yugo, with the charred remains of the driver still inside, the flames flickering at the edge of a blackened field. A little farther on, I rode past an abandoned Macedonian army bunker. A few minutes later, I came upon four armoured personnel carriers in the middle of the road, their turrets constantly traversing in a threatening manner. Ahead of them were the shattered remains of two army vehicles, their blackened hulks still smoldering.

As I approached, a dismounted soldier spotted me and shouted an alarm. The turret of the rearmost APC swung around and the machinegun barrel was depressed until it centred squarely on my chest. I could not understand what the soldier said, but knew immediately that I was not welcomed here.

On June 16, 1999, British troops watched as hundreds of cheering Albanians formed a gauntlet on the streets of Pristina. (Photo by Scott Taylor)

A sergeant gestured for me to raise my hands in the air. With my briefcase on the handlebar and only one brake handle, this proved to be rather difficult. About 20 meters away from him, I dismounted and walked toward him with my hands raised high. He was not only angry with me but also very edgy about the situation. Behind him, I could see body parts of Macedonian soldiers strewn across the road.

After examining my passport and press credentials, the sergeant shouted, "What the fuck are you doing here? The road is closed!" Realizing he meant to intimidate me, I instead shouted back my own question: "If the road is closed, then how did I get here?" Startled by my outburst, he calmed down a little and asked where I got on the highway. I told him past Saraj, and that I came here directly from Kondovo. Playing dumb, I asked, "Is there some sort of trouble ahead?"

He didn't wish to elaborate and kept telling me that I must go back, as this place was too dangerous. When I asked why the other Macedonian patrol had not stopped me, this news puzzled him. When I explained to him exactly where I had seen the figures on the hillside, it was apparent from his reaction that they must have been UCK.

Not only were he and his detachment stuck in the open in a killing ground, but now I had also brought the unwelcome news that the UCK had stepped in behind them. He became even more insistent that I leave the site immediately and ride all the way back to Skopje.

I knew that, physically, I could not manage it even if I had wanted to. My arse was killing me and I was so dehydrated that I was no longer sweating. Then I spotted three Albanian civilians – an old man and what appeared to be a young married couple – standing beside the road. I asked the sergeant why I could not simply stay with them. "Just forget that you ever saw these people," he snapped, and went over to the nearest APC to use the radio. A member of the Wolves special forces had overheard our conversation. Lowering his voice, he said, "Look, just get your bike and get out of sight. Go back a couple of kilometers and hide beside the road. We hope to have the road to Tetovo clear in a couple of hours."

As I started to ask another question, he cut me off. "Just get going before that terrified idiot kills you." I hurried back to my bicycle.

I decided to get off the highway and try to find a telephone to contact the Ottawa Citizen. I hoped to dictate a quick story, and at least let someone know where I was. I retraced my route back a couple of kilometers and turned onto a small farm track. The first house I approached appeared to be deserted. I called out, hoping to attract the owner's attention but the sudden roar of two gunships coming in low drowned me out. The helicopters passed directly overhead and began to plaster the next hillside, meaning the UCK forces had cut the road to Skopje. Getting no answer at the farmhouse, I pushed my bicycle up the steep path towards the hamlet I could see about a kilometer away.

I had barely gone 60 meters when two UCK soldiers emerged from the woods lining the track. To say that they startled me would be an understatement. One had a Kalashnikov, the other a pistol, and both were aimed directly at me. I dropped the bicycle and put up my hands. The one with the pistol hissed in German, "Get off the road you idiot. Do you want to get us all killed?"

I grabbed my briefcase and camera bag and plunged into a thicket with them. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

When I told him I was a Canadian journalist, his demeanor changed completely. Holstering his pistol, he smiled broadly and said, "Welcome my friend."

From our vantage point it was still possible to see the Macedonian armoured column at the ambush site. My new friend advised me that it was dangerous for me here, and he used his cell phone to call for a car and driver to take me further away from the highway.

Within minutes, a little red Yugo came racing down the farm track and braked beside us. Hiding the bicycle under some branches, I hurried over and got in. Our destination was the hamlet I had been heading towards, which I learned was Bojane.

In the central square, about a dozen cheerful Albanian men and teenage boys came over to greet me. I asked for some mineral water, which I drank thirstily, and then a telephone. Several of them produced their cellular phones, even after I told them that I wanted to put a call through to Canada.

I reached Bruce Garvey at the Citizen and brought him up to date. He had heard of the ambush on the wire service, then I informed him that I had been in the middle of the fighting. It was not a great phone connection, but I dictated the details as best I could. Garvey assured me he would be able to piece together a story from what I told him.

Not wanting to worry my family with my predicament, nor for them to learn of it in the morning paper, I asked Garvey to call my wife early the next morning in order to brace her. He wished me luck and I signed off.

During my phone call, several Albanians had crowded around, trying to follow my story. When I finished, one of the older men asked, "Why didn't you tell them about how our women and children are suffering?" When I replied that I hadn't seen any women or children, I immediately realized that I had taken his bait.

A few men escorted me to the basements of some of Bojane's larger houses. In each crowded cellar, there were approximately two dozen women and children sitting on mats around the floor, rocking back and forth and pretending to cry – from fear of the Macedonian police, I was told. I say pretending because the whole scene was so badly acted, it was embarrassing to be a part of. I knew that I was expected to express my shock and sympathy, but seeing the young girls laughing behind their hands at each other's phony tears made it impossible for me to feign compassion. When my guide asked if I would like to photograph this "suffering," I lied and said that I was out of film.

"They have been down in this shelter since the fighting in June," he told me. When I asked if all they did was sit and cry all day, every day, he replied with a straight face, "Yes."

As we were leaving, I glanced back and saw young children spilling out eagerly into the back garden, and teenage girls watching our passage from an upstairs window.

Dusk was fast approaching, and it would be too risky to ride the bike to Tetovo. The villagers said it was still too dangerous to drive and invited me to spend the night in Bojane. They would prove to be very gracious hosts.

When I asked if there was a restaurant in Bojane, there was a flurry of activity. A slight young man immediately headed into a nearby chicken coop from which he emerged triumphantly holding an old rooster by the legs. Crusted in sweat-salt and aching from my ride, I also inquired about a hot shower.

This could not be provided as Bojane's village water tank was dry. The Macedonians were to blame for this, I was told, as the water truck had refused to make its regular delivery after the ambush.

A wash basin was provided along with a bucket of cold water. I did my best to clean up, but I was hesitant to wash my feet in front of a crowd of Albanian onlookers. I finally couldn't resist the urge, so I sat down and removed my stinking shoes and socks. To my amazement, one of the Albanians knelt down and began pouring cold water on my feet. Embarrassed, I tried to pull away, only to have the bystanders insist that he be allowed to continue. For the next ten minutes, he bathed and massaged my feet with such care that I started to worry that this constituted some form of Albanian sexual foreplay.

As we waited for dinner, we crowded into a farmhouse to watch the evening news. The Grupcin ambush was the top story on all the local stations. I was amused to see that the "on-the-spot" reporters were in fact doing their stand-ups from the punkt at Saraj – 25 kilometers from the fighting.

We had just finished eating the tough old rooster when a car pulled into the farmyard. The pair of UCK from the farm track got out and were soon organizing the able-bodied men in the village into four-man detachments. A collection of pistols and rifles was distributed and a shift list made up. The Macedonian army had managed to re-open the highway and was now mounting a counteroffensive under the cover of darkness. The villagers were dispersed to observation posts outside of Bojane to monitor the Macedonians' progress.

Virtually every Albanian had a cell phone and contact numbers for neighbouring villages. When the Macedonian armoured column began probing the hillside, its every move was tracked and reported by hundreds of civilian supporters of the UCK. Watching the Albanian network in action made me realize that the Macedonian army faced a formidable adversary.

Left alone in the farmhouse, I bedded down for the night. As I fell asleep, the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun was playing on the TV, occasionally interrupted by nearby bursts of machinegun fire.

The Macedonian Government is focused on creating stable conditions for enhancing of the economic sector through a proccess of reconstruction, maintaining and strengtening of the production and services, by fostering of investments, Minister of Economy Besnik Fetai said Thursday at the economic forum for reconstruction of the Macedonian economy in Skopje.

The GDP growth of 4,3 %, i.e. of 4,6% in 1999 and 2000, according to Minister Fetai puts Macedonia among the countries with accelerated development.

Minister Fetai underlined the political and security conditions in the country as "obstacles to the progress".

"The macro - economic policy is now focused on the development of the small and medium enterprises, as significant driving force of the economic development and solution to the current unfavorable economic situation in Macedonia," Fetai said.

Therefore, the Macedonian Government is planing an adoption of a law on handcrafts, starting a bank for small loans, enhancement of the institutions supporting the work of small and medium enterprises, opening of new incubators and technological parks, enforcing of working standards, providing contacts with the small domestic and foreign entrepreneurs, as well as providing of new credits.

"The Government also intends to adopt a strategy for upgrading of production processes," Fetai said.

The process of economic reconstruction would pay special attention to loss-making companies, Fetai said. Finding of strategic investors and restructuring of production were some of the possible solutions for those companies, he added.

Boris Blazevski, chairman of the Association for Sustainable Development, pointed out the old-fashioned technology as an obstacle for an economic development.

Professor Blagoja Ninovski underlined the financial aspects of the reconstruction of the Macedonian economy. With its current investments of 17 %, the GDP growth is 2 %, and the growth of 5 to 6 % could be reached with investment rate of 23 %.

Macedonia could relay on foreign investments for a short period, Ninevski said, adding that the country should relay on domestic investments. In this respect, he mentioned citizens' saving deposits, which have reached an amount of US$ 500 million after an introduction of the Euro.

Violeta Madjova, State Secretary at the Finance Ministry, referred to the World Trade Organization (WTO) role in developing of the Macedonian economy.

"Macedonia is to become WTO member at the end of 2002. However, the country must work on the reconstruction of its economy, because the WTO membership may only assist in establishing of an economic discipline in the country," she added.

Boris Anakiev and Mile Pesevski, Professors at the Faculty of Agriculture, referred to reconstructing and developing of the agricultural complex, saying that investing in this sphere should be carried out by a fund, which may collect about US$ 60 million by customs duties on agricultural products.

The forum, organized by the Macedonian Ministry of Economy, the Association for Sustainable Development and the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation, will continue its work today.

Seif al-Islam: Libya Will Seriously and Impartially Re-Examine Case with Bulgarian Medics.

Tripoli, February 14 (BTA spec. corr. Zoya Hristova) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy's special envoy to Libya - Petko Dimitrov, Director of the Arab Countries and Africa Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that the six Bulgarian medics tried in Tripoli on charges of deliberately infecting 393 Libyan children with AIDS have been questioned once again to clarify some facts related to the trial. The Bulgarians' claims that they were tortured during the investigation, were also investigated.

Additional investigations are being carried out by the competent authorities, Petko Dimitrov added, recalling that Passy's meeting with the chief of the Gaddafi Foundation, Seif al-Islam last December showed that the Foundation believes the logic of the prosecution to be unconvincing. Then Passy announced that the Foundation has addressed several questions that it believed needed clarification to the judiciary. Questions related to the other defendants in the trial - a Palestinian and nine Libyan physicians, are also being clarified, Dimitrov said.

Dimitrov, who has been in Tripoli since last week, was sent with a special mission to express gratitude to the Gaddafi Foundation for its gesture that made it possible to relax the detention conditions of the six Bulgarians. He met with the leader of the Foundation - Seif al-Islam, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who assured him that the Libyan side has undertaken to seriously and impartially re-examine the thousands of pages on the case so as to establish the truth. The meeting showed a wish to clarify all circumstances, Dimitrov said. The Bulgarian side is ready to help to this end. The six Bulgarian medics are also interested in establishing the truth about the infection of almost 400 children with AIDS at the Benghasi children's hospital.

Public opinion in Libya is greatly concerned and the Libyan side wants to find an explanation to what actually happened. The case is very complicated, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister's special envoy said. He explained that the fact that the Bulgarian medics were moved from the Judeida prison to a self-contained house in a guarded area is the result of a political and diplomatic intervention and not a juridical decision. He stressed that this is a relaxation of detention conditions and not a change in the measure of restraint of the six Bulgarians who remain defendants in the trial.

Dimitrov is also holding talks in Tripoli on the upcoming session of the Joint Bulgarian-Libyan Economic Commission. The session is to be held in Tripoli but the date has not been set yet. It will be preceded by a meeting of a working group probably in Sofia to specify the areas to be covered by the joint session. The consultations in Tripoli showed a wish to discuss concrete issues and not merely determine the parameters of cooperation. The return of Bulgarian companies to Libyan markets, Libya's debt to Bulgaria, petroleum concessions and bilateral trade are among the topics to be discussed.

The Bulgarian envoy's meetings at the Ministry of African Unity indicated that the session will discuss not only bilateral projects but also Bulgaria's participation in All-African projects.

Milena Orozova

Interior Minister Gerogi Petkanov made a proposal to the Council of Ministers Col. Ivan Tchobanov to be appointed the head of the Counterintelligence. Simultaneously the minister proposes Tchobanov to be promoted to the rank of Major-General. Tchobanov himself confirmed the information for "Standart".

(ML)

I work on two big projects - The Key of Sofia and a two-meter tall Diogenes. Besides I was invited by President Parvanov in the Council for Spiritual development. That's why at that moment I prefer to be helpful outside the executive power.

(PY)

Bulgaria's coalition government of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg easily survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote on Wednesday in a row over a new tax on locally made medicines, Reuters quoted. Only 50 deputies backed the motion, initiated by the previous ruling UDF party and the first since the government was sworn in last July, while 134 rejected it and 45, mostly from the Socialist Party, abstained. The UDF, which lost a general election last June, said the government should step down after its decision to introduce a value added tax (VAT) on Bulgarian-made medicines triggered chaos in drugstores and price hikes. Saxe-Coburg, the former King Simeon II, described the results of the vote as a "positive assessment of the government's nationally responsible and consistent healthcare policy despite the unpopularity of such reforms everywhere in the world". The government has previously said the introduction of VAT is in line with the standards of the European Union, which the Balkan nation is trying to join. Saxe-Coburg's movement won the June election on promises of quick improvements to living standards, but since then its popularity has suffered as impoverished people realise such pledges contradict harsh economic reality. A survey published on Wednesday by the National Centre on Public Opinion, an agency operating under parliament's auspices, showed that 61 percent of voters disapproved of the government's work. If an election was held now, only 15 percent would vote for Saxe-Coburg's movement, compared to 18 for the Socialists and 14 for the UDF, the survey showed. Saxe-Coburg told parliament on Wednesday that the country must focus this year on winning an invitation to join NATO and trying to accelerate EU membership talks. "We all must make significant efforts to ensure political, economic and social stability of the country in order to complete reforms succesfully," he added. While Bulgaria stands a chance of winning a NATO invitation at the pact's November summit, most experts say it is unlikely to get into the first wave of EU expansion expected in 2004.

General Borissov proposed to Premier and President to accept the Russian taxation law.

Milena Orozova

The police will be authorized to investigate those who evade taxes. This suggested yesterday Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, General Boiko Borisov who has recently returned from Moscow. Currently we have to wait for signals from tax authorities, we don't have the right to ask who owes taxes to the state and how much. This impedes the investigation of people with shady incomes. The Property Act is dead in practice, commented Gen. Borissov. He intends to present the Tax Bill of the Russian Federation to the Premier. The Bill envisages severe sanctions for tax evasion.

Scared people watched with binoculars the flames on the Romanian bank of the Danube.

Tsvetelina Doncheva

Huge fire in Romania panicked the town of Rousse yesterday. The blaze was raging near the Romanian town of Gyurgevo. The black columns of dense and toxic smoke could be clearly seen from the Bulgarian bank of the Danube. Rousse fire fighters and the Civil Protection Agency had no information about the accident in Romania. This has put up pressure in town. The fire started about 11 a.m.. Scared Rousse residents were watching the fire with binoculars from the bank of the Danube. To them, the field is burning behind 'Verachim' works, which before 1989, had been poisoning periodically Rousse with chlorine. The tension is intensified by the rumors that an oil railway station, which supplies the works with black oil, is located near the raging blaze. Sources from the Rousse Fire Company explained that the Romanians had not yet asked assistance from them. By the late afternoon, the fire was not extinguished.

(SH)

Krum Blagov

As the no confidence vote could not oust the cabinet, its only effect concerning the UDF was the propaganda one. Topically, the arguments of those who initiated the motion were social, i.e. they leveled left-wing criticisms at the rulers. And the UDF pretend to be the only centre-right party in Bulgaria. It is illogical that they should oppose the introducing of market mechanisms in this country. For this is not to gain the sympathy of the needy. It seems that the UDF leadership proceed from the purely Marxist concept that people vote for those politicians who protect their interests. In fact, emotions are playing a considerable role for otherwise, in the cities, where the hired work force dominates, UDF would have regularly lost the elections. And it happened just the other way around. The illogical criticisms were leveled at an obscure addressee. It never transpired if the opposition's wrath was addressed to the NMS rule or to the personality of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The major reprimands, many of them being just, were mixed with personal attacks against the premier that would result in the reverse effect, as was the case at the general election of June last. The UDF are sitting between two stools. Ekaterina Mihailova's appeal, "Step down, Mr Premier!", means that the UDF are still taking offence at the voters who failed to appreciate the successful (to the UDF themselves) rule. And to avoid any future mistakes, the UDF want on the political stage a player short. But why shouldn't the voters have a wider choice, though absurd? In the long run, it is them who pay.

(ML)

The Bourgas-Alexandroupulis project shouldn't be realized at any cost, it should bring profits, Vice-Minister of Economy Nikola Yankov said in an exclusive interview for 'Standart'

Victoria Seraphimova
Pavlina Zhivkova

It's in Bulgaria's interest to realize this project. These are $700 mill. in investments, jobs for many people, transit taxes. There's a possibility that after 10-20 years it will come out that it wasn't profit-making and doesn't pay off, Vice-Minister Yankov said. But he added that the project's implementation will be good for the government and the Bulgarian economy as a whole. To Yankov, if we consider that the project is profitable and the shareholders will earn a lot from their investments, 'we'll try to ensure more active participation of the Bulgarian firms'. But the big question is whether the project will be realized at all, he commented. When asked what could frustrate this initiative, Yankov explained that the project for the oil pipeline Baku-Ceyhan is at a more advanced stage. They say that it's financially completed and the consortiums for its building have been established. As for Bourgas-Alexandroupulis, it's not even known who the participants are, he commented. Yankov thinks that there's always an opportunity that a certain project fails. The implementation of the Bourgas-Alexandrupolis project depends on the potential participants - on 'LUKoil' and other big Russian petrol companies and the Greek investors, too, the vice-minister said. Comparing the profit from the routes Bourgas-Alexandroupulis and Bourgas-Vlore, he stressed that 'any project, which creates jobs and brings profits from transit fees is a beneficial one'. The route passes through Macedonia and Albania. Despite all, it should be secure, Yankov said. The cabinet will back up any financially secure project. But are the tax-payers ready to pay $700 mill. for the installation of the pipes, vice-minister asked. To him, the route Novorossiysk-Bourgas-Alexandroupolis should cost less than transit by tankers via Novorossiysk-Alexandroupulis through the Bosphorus. At the moment, freight of the tankers, which pass through the Bosphorus, is cheaper by $2,5 per ton. If so, what economic subject would pay more for the same service, the vice-minister asked rhetorically.

(PY)

We took out our major trump - the oriental tobaccos. Milen Velchev gave a licence to 'Socotab' on the eve of the holding's privatization.

Pavlina Zhivkova

Why are the plants being privatized? Because the state is a poor owner. And defends badly its own interests. Proofs - too many. Especially now. Finance Ministry surprised us again after allowing the Englishmen from 'Crown Agents' to control the BG customs. But this time with the golden hen - 'Bulgartabak'. At that only one month before the start of the long-awaited privatization of the tobacco giant, expected to fill in the treasury. Thus, instead of working for the better image of the company, the state licensed a dangerous competitor. The licence issued to the multinational 'Socotab' firm on buy-back of tobaccos questions the future revenues of the holding and hazards its privatization. Since lacking the tobaccos, the holding undoubtedly becomes lighter. Moreover, it turns into a minor bit for the investors. Participants in the tender have already started to make new assessments for their bids. At that immediately after they realized that the venture's net profit for the previous year is worth 3 million levs only. The joint-ventures abroad are also debt-laden, while for the first 6 months of the past year the liabilities exceeded 30 million levs. Yet, the major trump were the attractive tobacco brands, which are under the strong demand of all world cigarette concerns. From a week, however, the tobaccos still do not belong to us. They were given to 'Socotab', at that behind the back of 'Bulgartabak'. It turned, that the state on the behalf of the Finance Ministry didn't consider it necessary to inform the state - in the face of 'Bulgartabak', for the licence to be drawn. Is the problem only in the clerks? Who knows! But it's almost certain, that after the decision, the export brands quota already received by 'Bulgartabak' may prove to be empty, while the holding's buyer - cheated. 'Socotab' will only be victorious of the war - the state versus the state.

(SH)

Margarita Mihneva has been dismissed 7 times. She, though, is always able to start from that same point at which she had been stopped. And keeps on working with even greater vigor and intransigence. Corruption and thefts are Mihneva's major topics. A few days before the successive in a row banning of her show, the telephone threats against her multiplied. The journalist is living all alone, so she was logically scared. The people investigated by her are trying to turn her into a target. Mihneva's colleagues are at a loss why she should leave. Yavor Dachkov, in another show, said that the Premier was not well, without offering any arguments, employees from the bTV commented yesterday. Further, they said that Dachkov made the same statement in the talk show anchored by Ivo Indzhev. Indzhev, however, was not fired. As for Dachkov, he will probably be appointed in Mihneva's stead. Not to anchor the "Conflicts", of course, but to voice some new "Voices".

(ML)

Sofia, February 14 (BTA) - The Government approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus on the joint use of a satellite in geostationary orbit for radio and TV broadcasting at its regular session Thursday.

The Vatican attended the negotiations as an observer and may join the Memorandum later on, the Government press office said.

The agreement enters into force upon its signing.

According to the Memorandum, the administrations of the three states will not take part in the commercial exploitation of the resource but will give a licence to Telecommunications operator which will be responsible for the realization of the project and for starting the satellite.

The initial licence fee which the operator will pay in each of the states, will be proportional to the resource distributed by the World Conference on Radio Communications - 10/30 in favour of the State. The other licence fees and taxes will be paid according to the national legislation of each of the countries.

A technical committee comprising one representative of each country will have to propose a coordinated procedure for choosing a licensee, the press office said. The deadline for starting the exploitation of the atellite is August 2004 and the procedure of choosing a licensee should be completed by August 2002.

14 Items on Agenda of Bulgarian-Russian Trade and Economic Commission Session.

Sofia, February 14 (BTA) - Fourteen items are on the agenda of the upcoming session of the Bulgarian-Russian intergovernmental commission for economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation due February 21-22 in Sofia, Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev told a news conference Thursday.

The Government approved the lineup of the Bulgarian delegation for the session. It will include 20 ministers and deputy ministers, as well as 40 experts of various ministries and departments.

The commission will be holding its seventh session after repeated delays. The dates were set during the January Moscow visit of Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev.

The sixth session was held in Moscow in March 1999.

The Russian delegation to the session will be headed by Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin. He is expected in Sofia on February 21 as the key meetings of the two delegations are due on the next day.

Most of the issues to be discussed have been suggested by the Bulgarian side, said Vassilev. Among them are nuclear power industry, natural gas and oil, an increase of the Bulgarian export to Russia and offsetting the trade deficit in two-way trade.

Vassilev also said that the two sides will also discussed the settlement of the Russian debt to Bulgaria. He would not specific the amount of the debt and said that the Bulgarian side would rather remain silent until a consensus is reached on the matter.

Additional liberalization of trade by reducing duties and other customs barriers is also on the agenda, as well as transport, communications, construction and others.

Military-technical cooperation is another topic that the commission will discuss. "There we will try to arrange the licensing of special productions," said Vassilev.

A Bulgarian-Russian business forum will be held while the commission is sitting. The Russian delegation is bringing to Sofia a large group of business people for the forum. According to Vassilev, the Bulgarian side will raise the issue of having a bilateral agreement on social insurance.

The Economy Ministry expects an increase of Russian investment in Bulgaria. One way is by Russian participation in the privatization.

According to him, the International Industrial Bank is likely to show interest in the privatization of Biochim Commercial Bank and another Russian company, SISTEMA, is one of the possible bidders for the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company.

Svetlana Vassileva informed me in a letter that she was to ban my show. I was removed when the prosecution finally took to work and some of it was shown in "Conflicts", Margarita Mihneva said.

Pavlina Zhivkova

- Svetlana Vassileva called me today (yesterday - editor's note) and handed me a letter which informed me that my show was banned.

- There were no arguments. A private media is not supposed to offer any arguments.

- Yet your show was banned at a moment when it had the highest rating in your TV. No one is supposed to fire the best journalists.

- In Europe, they don't fire them. There, if a business prospers, everyone is searching to help and support it. The logo of my show reads "When Is She To Shut up?" and the answer is "In Due Time". It seems to me, that now is the due time. A conflict of interests, perhaps.

- The same moment that the prosecution finally took to work and some of it was shown in "Conflicts", someone got scared. They were scared that Michael Chernoy, on his return, would want his money back.