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Galina Petkova, 19, appears on the late evening cable newscast "The Naked Truth," on M-SAT TV in Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec. 10, 2001. The show features young women who read the news and strip while doing so. (AP Photo/M-SAT TV)

Galina Petkova, 19, takes off her clothes during a newscast of "The Naked Truth" a late evening cable show on M-SAT TV in Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec. 10, 2001. Four days after the newscasts premiered, the programs' rating outstripped the state's television's late evening news program, normally the most commonly watched. (AP Photo/M-SAT TV)

The Bulgarian Democratic Forum, party headed by Mouravey Radev, left the UDF yesterday to support the newly established formation of Stefan Sofianski - the Union of Free Democrats. On the photo: Sofianski and NMS MP Diliana Grozdanova at the constituent congress of the Union in the "Bulgaria" Hall. Photo by Marina Angelova

MAKFAX

Saint George killing the Dragon (serpent, evil incarnate) - part of the oldest Christian traditions. Photo by Dnevnik.

On Saturday, the night before a religious holliday, Albanian terrorists in Tetovo burned the church St Gjorgjija.

Just night before the same holliday St. Gjorgjija, the terrorist burned down the small but monastery with big cultural value for Macedonia.

St Gjorgjija, in Golema Rechica, Tetovo area, dated from 14.bc, was a monument of culture protected by the law, but obviously, not from the terrorists law.

NATO, OSCE, and the Macedonian Forces, while conducting an investigation, had to leave the scene, due to sporadic shootings in the same area.

Dnevnik

"St. George" kills the dragon.

(Dnevnik, 10.12.2001) - St. George kills the dragon. This Orthodox religious motif where the Saint kills the evil, yesterday finished in a big flame.

The walls of the church, the frescoes and the iconostatis burned down. The dragon came for St George, tried to kill him, to turn him in ashes.

In Mala Recica a spiritual temple burned down, right on the celebration of the Saint.

What is that which forces the people to do things that could not be named otherwise than spiritual misery? What is that which makes them to throw fire on the places for spiritual peace, for good word, for silent prayer and tolerance? What kind of window has opened to the ones who committed the disgusting act, now when the church is turned into ashes? Maybe the horizon in Golema Recica is now being cleaner and liberated from the Orthodox symbols, but the spiritual horizons of the fire starters must be very narrow, already blinded.

Only that kind of people (this is a too strong word for them) could destroy to the foundations part of the history and the culture of the country in which they have been living in. Today it is not a big deed to make from Golema Recica an ethnically cleansed enclave. It is not a big heroism to burn down a church. It would have been a greatest heroism if someone from the local population in the name of the confessional tolerance would have taken care to prevent that, to prevent the fire or to have tried to extinguish it.

But, they have chosen the dragon. They have let it walking around, to devastate and to set fires in the name of their human rights. This could be done only by spiritual fascists who are not being aware that they have not killed St. George, but the trust for common living in Macedonia.

MIA

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary since the establishment of Faculty of Law in Skopje, formal academy was held on Monday, where Dean Dimitar Bajaldziev addressed the attendants.

"Starting from today, the name of our Faculty will be - Facultas Iuridica Iustinianus Primus. This name will be our trademark in the world of legal and political sciences," Bajaldziev stressed.

Rector of Skopje University Aleksandar Ancevski revealed the relief in bronze of the patron, artwork of academic artist Tome Serafimovski.

Speaking of the beginnings of the Faculty of Law, Bajaldziev stressed that around 4,500 students are attending the undergraduate and postgraduate courses at this moment. So far 179 students were awarded with Master degrees and 96 with Doctoral degrees.

According to him the Faculty has been completely transformed and the curricula has been adjusted to the standards of the European countries.

"The dignity of the science and the autonomy of the University are the main goals on the road towards Europeization of the Macedonian legal, political and society system as a main precondition for its integration in the European community," Bajaldziev stressed.

Rector Ancevski in his welcoming speech stressed that since its establishment the Faculty of Law has been a significant factor for development of the University.

For Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, who is a sponsor of the Golden Jubilee, the contribution of the Faculty of Law is of great importance for the development of law in Macedonia.

"The education is the only choice for Republic of Macedonia, and the quality of our knowledge as a nation gives us strength to be equal players in the developments worldwide," Tarjkovski stressed.

The educational institutions in Macedonia should continue to walk on the road of uncompromising quality, to continue the international cooperation and to stimulate the learning of foreign languages and using the computer's network. "These are the only principles, without any alternatives," Trajkovski added.

During the ceremony Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, Prime Minister Ljubcho Georgievski, Chairman of the Macedonian Assembly Stojan Andov, Rector of Skopje University Aleksandar Ancevski, the first President of independent Macedonia Kiro Gligorov, first President of the Faculty's Council Pero Korobar, member of the Committee on establishing the faculty Evgenij Dimitrov and Dean of Moscow University Evgeny Alekseevic Suhanov were presented with big statues of golden Justinian.

Small statues of golden Justinian were presented to three students of this Faculty who graduated with highest grades.

The monograph "50 years of Faculty of Law" was also promoted. The fifth oratory evening of the law students was held on Sunday and Milco Uzinov was an absolute winner.

MIA

Peace in Macedonia will remain fragile if a demand for recognition of the country under its constitutional name is not meet, says a report of the International Crisis Group (ICG), published on Monday.

The report says that recognition of the country under its constitutional name will alleviate the treats by nationalists in Macedonia.

ICG claims that Macedonian Albanians also stand for international recognition of Macedonia's name, saying that an international treat on the Macedonian identity will foster Macedonians to seek for internal dominance.

The recognition of the name will also alleviate the bitterness of Macedonians about giving in to the demands of Albanian extremists.

An international acceptance of Macedonia's name will also strengthen the position of moderate versus extremists in the country, creating solid number of reform supporters.

ICG proposes a triangular solution with the following three elements coming into effect simultaneously: - a bilateral treaty by which Greece could use its own name for Macedonia, for example "Upper Macedonia"; - the member states of NATO and the European Union and other would formally welcome this bilateral treaty through exchange of diplomatic notes with the two parties, in which they would both acknowledge Macedonia's name as 'Republika Makedonija' and promise Greece that they would consult with it about appropriate measures if the assurances contained in the treaty were violated; - the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations would adopt and use for all working purposes the Macedonian-language name 'Republika Makedonija'.

"The alternative - letting the name dispute fester signals to Macedonians that the international community may not be fully committed to the Ohrid reforms, or to preserving Macedonia as an integral state. This is a message with dangerous implications," the ICG report reads.

Standartnews

34.6 Million Levs Cover Delayed Salaries, Children's Allowances and Aids. The money for the poor paid all over the country.

Vulcho Milchev

The payment of the salaries and social aids delayed by months in the municipalities started with queues and hysteria. On Sunday the poor in Kurdzhali received at a time their money for five months. Police team guarded the entrance of the Municipal Service in Social Aids to prevent crowding of impatient people. The policemen even waved their truncheons in the air. Nobody was wounded. The information that 388,000 levs were received and there is enough money for everybody calmed the spirits. The King came, promised and helped us, people from the queue said. At the end of November PM Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was informed of the problem with the money for social aids in the region of Kurdzhali. About 30 people met him then making a request to help them.

(PY)

Standartnews

Nadelina Aneva

I won't accept the nomination of the Union of the Tracian Associations for the ambassador's post in the USA, Ret. General Todor Boyadzhiev said. He intended to remain an MP till the end of his mandate. Yet Boyadzhiev was ready to consult Parvanov. Recently Ret. Gen. Boyadzhiev returned from a meeting with former intelligence officers in Zagreb. There he met with many of his acquaintances as former chief of the French Intelligence Services Pierre la Coste, former CIA chief Richard Curr, former intelligence chief of GDR Marcus Wolf, former chief of the Croatia's intelligence service and President's son Prof. Miroslav Tudjman, as well as Prof. Stiven Dedjiar, one of the creators of the theory for company intelligence.

(PY)

Standartnews

'Our program is pragmatic. Its aim is to help Bulgaria come out of the swamp at long last. We are fed up with vain promises and hopes. Bulgarians should become aware that we can't sink more than that', commented Daniela Bobeva, a member of the Political council of UFD.'The main thing in our program is to have less participation of the state in the economy, more commitment in the social sphere. To be able to distribute, we have to accumulate something', Bobeva said.

(SB)

Standartnews

Low temperature brought to a stall life in the region of Shoumen yesterday. At noon the thermometer showed minus 12 C. For the last 100 years there has never been such cold in the beginning of December. The lowest temperature, minus 13.8 C, was registered in 1908, explained Radi Patchev from the Meteorological Service in Shoumen. Stormy wind with the velocity of 16 m/sec has aggravated the situation. The roads around the town are like skating-rinks. The taxi-drivers stopped taking long-distance runs. The icy wind broke the power main in the Hitrino region. Several villages in Deliorman are left without electricity.

Biliana Vesselinova

BTA

Sofia, December 10 (BTA) - Culture Minister Bozhidar Abrashev leaves for Cyprus Monday at the invitation of the Bulgarian Embassy in Nicosia and Helios Airways, the Culture Ministry told BTA.

Abrashev will stay in Cyprus till December 13 and will meet with his Cypriot counterpart Uranios Ioanidis, representatives of the tourist business, as well as members of he Bulgarian community in Cyprus. He will discuss with his hosts issues connected with the three-year programme for cooperation in science, education and culture which Bulgaria and Cyprus are to sign.

During his talks the Bulgarian Culture Minister will focus on the promotion of common projects in culture tourism and culture industries, and creating mechanisms for mediation between foundations and various NGO working in the field of culture, reads a press release of the Culture Ministry.

BTA

BTA

President-Elect and Defence Minister Discuss Military Reform.

Sofia, December 10 (BTA) - President-elect Georgi Purvanov and Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov agreed on Monday that any appointments in the Military Information service (the military intelligence) will be made after Purvanov takes office on January 22.

The two met Monday to discuss the course of the military reform and other relevant issues. Also present was vice president-elect Gen. Angel Marin (Ret.).

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Purvanov said that they expect an update to Agenda 2004 on the reform in the armed forces and will join in the process with their opinion in the final stage of its preparation. He also said that the two sides discussed a broad scope of issues, including the legislation in the defence field, training and the condition of the counterintelligence. The two agreed that any possible appointments to the counterintelligence will be made after Purvanov takes the oath in January.

Commenting last week's decision of the Government on the decommissioning of the SS-23 missile complexes, Purvanov said that while he is aware this should happen sooner or later, he is happy the government decision does not set a deadline. "The decommissioning of these missiles is an element of the modernization of the Bulgarian army and should be carried out in pursuance with Agenda 2004 and within the context of Bulgaria's admission to NATO," Purvanov said.

Taking a question, Gen. Marin said that the SS-23 can be replaced by new missiles, Russian or American, depending on Bulgaria's resources and the financial aid it might get. According to him, it will take between six and 12 months to train people to work with the new equipment.

A group will be set up this week for the negotiations on the rates that will be charged for the use of the Sarafovo air field, on the Black Sea, as a temporary logistical base for Operation Enduring Freedom, Svinarov said. Progress on the matter can be expected before the end of this week.

Taking another question, the Defence Minister said that MiG-29 aircraft will undergo 90% refurbishment in the Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria, repair plant. The parameters of the contract are likely later on Monday.

BTA

News.bg

Chimko postponed a commission for producing 10,000 tons of urea for Kosovo under a European Union program by 10 days, the factorys leadership reported. The implementation of the commission was due to start today, however the buyers did not provided for the money, and in such case there would not be any sense for the factory to start producing the urea, the member of the Chimko Managers Board Martin Makariev said. According to Chimko prognoses, the prices of the urea on the world market would reach the level where its production in Bulgaria would become profitable.

Minor ethnic Turk murdered for anti-Bulgarian slurs nearby Sliven.

Monday,10 Dec. 2001,Glushnik,Sliven district=

The murder of the 17-years-old muslim Altin Arabacioglu,Turk by origin,shocked the trivial daily grind in Glushnik,a village situated 28 kilometres eastwards from Sliven.

The case was opened when Altin failed to return home after work at one of the local pubs.The staff of the pub,however,reported that Altin hadn't come to start his shift at all.

His parents alarmed the only appointed police officer in Glushnik.Fikret Arabicoglu-Altin's father,gathered together some of his fellow-villages and rushed into searching the missing boy.

After 5 hours of criss-crossing the main roads and the surroundings of Glushnik as well,the dead body was found fortuitously in a ditch by a sheperd's dog.
The corpse was dripping with blood,the victim's face-severely mutilated with deep gashes and stab wounds.

Just 15 minutes later,Miroslav P,16 years of age,and his coeval Velko S. confessed guilty before the mayor.They told in cold blood how Altin encountered them in a deserted street in the morning.Without being provocated,he called them "raya slaves" and tried to run away.Unfortunately for the young ethnic Turk,he tripped and fell on the ground.Miroslav P. and Velko S. caught up with reach and began kicking and cutting with a piece of glass their victim.According to the confession,Altin passed out as a result of the maltreatment.

Reasiling what they had just done,Miroslav P. ran fast to his home and returned driving "Lada" car,possession of his elder brother.They transported the dead body and dumped it in a ditch outside the village.It's a mystery nobody heard Altin's cries for help,or witnessed the brutal crimes itself.The locals attributed that to the early hours the murder took place.

Altin's relative didn't accept that version and insisted on further and more detailed investigation.

Miroslav and Velko's future,now juvenile delinquents,is unknown,most likely a reformatory.

INTERVIEW Standartnews: Diliana Grozdanova

I Was Hesitant about Joining Party for the First Time. Now I have better chances to work towards the implementation of the program that won elections for us, says Diliana Grozdanova.

- Mrs. Grozdanova, have you hesitated before taking the decision to join the "Free Democrats" and what do you find attractive in the party of Stefan Sofianski?

- To tell you the truth I was hesitant. I have never been a member of any political party. I found captivating words like "freedom" and "democracy", trite as they may seem. I remember that in 1989 people felt secure but they were not free. At a certain point they decided to sacrifice their security for freedom. But somewhere along the road it turned out that we lost both security and freedom. The parties got infected with the virus of authoritarianism. I hope it will not be so with the Free Democrats.

- If NMS becomes a party and sets the requirement to its members not join any other political parties, what will be your choice?

- I'm sure I will chose the Free Democrats.

- How would you respond if tomorrow your colleagues from the NMS accuse you of becoming one of the founders of the FD?

- I will offer them my arguments, just as I offered them to you. Yet, I hope they won't accuse me. Currently, the NMS is not a party, but a parliamentary group. I cannot say what do I miss in NMS, but I can say for sure what the Free Democrats give to me.

- What does it give you?

- The possibility to work even better towards the implementation of the tasks the NMS had set in its election program.

- You mean in the mass media?

- Not only in the mass media. I have said many times that the media policy of the NMS is not as successful as it should be. That is why I'll work in the media, too, but it won't be my only sphere of interest.

Silvia Nikolova