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A model displays a black evening outfit, seen in this combo photo, as a part of Bulgarian fashion house Leopard's collection in Sofia October 20, 2001. The collection was shown as part of the Bulgarian Fashion Festival. REUTERS/Dimitar Dilkoff

A model displays pink evening outfit, as a part of Bulgarian fashion house Leopard's collection in Sofia, October 20, 2001. The collection was shown as part of the Bulgarian Fashion Festival. REUTERS/Dimitar Dilkoff

Conference On Terrorism. Swedish Foreign Minister Lindh, her counterparts Ana Dade from Albania, Ilinka Mitreva from Macedonia, Louis Michel from Belgium and EU Chief Javier Solana (L-R), pose for a family photo in Brussels, October 20. EPA

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"Terrorism is the same everywhere in the world, so terrorist acts can not be justified in any way, nor there can be any double standards for their condemnation", Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva emphasised at the meeting of the European Conference for combat against terrorism that is being held in Brussels.

Expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to participate at the meeting on behalf of the Republic of Macedonia, the first country from the region that signed the Agreement for Stabilisation and Association with the EU, Mitreva estimated that the enlarged format of this meeting, which includes EU members, the associate members, EFTA countries, the ones engaged in the process of stabilisation and association, as well as Russia, Ukraine and Moldova is "a suitable model for coping with the international issues".

"The Republic of Macedonia strongly condemned terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11 and expressed her full solidarity for the American people and the Government. At the same time, my country accepted the call for establishment of a global international anti-terrorist coalition, led by the USA and EU, under the auspices of the UN", Macedonian Head of Diplomacy stated.

Mitreva stressed "the world is a witness that the Republic of Macedonia has been exposed to violent terrorist activities in the past 8 months". "Defending our country, we wanted a political solution for the crisis, not allowing those events to cloud our vision and deter us from our main objectives- building of firm democracy in the country and integration in Euro-Atlantic structures", she said.

Minister Mitreva reminded that even before the tragic events in New York and Washington, the Republic of Macedonia initiated the creation of a regional anti-terrorist pact and called upon the international community to cut all channels for financial support of terrorist activities, as well as strengthening of the fight against organised crime.

Greeting the readiness of the 40 countries- participants at the Conference, Head of Macedonian Diplomacy informed that the Macedonian Assembly has already adopted a Declaration, which strongly condemns the terrorist attacks, the Government put all airports in the country at disposal to the international anti-terrorist coalition, ordered an urgent investigation in the banks for revealing eventual accounts of terrorist organisations, and also sped up the preparation of a new law for anti-terrorism.

"Macedonian authorities intensify the procedure for ratification of the International Convention for thwarting terrorism financing, the Republic of Macedonia being the signee. Our country is a signee of 8 of the 12 UN Conventions for combat against international terrorism", Mitreva said.

Macedonian Foreign Minister stressed that all countries in the world should be engaged in the global anti-terrorist strategy, and "pluralism of ideas and measures would only strengthen the European strategy and would supplement global anti-terrorist efforts".

She also reiterated the message of the Solidarity Declaration, which was adopted at the Summit of the countries of the Vilnius Group that has recently been held in Sofia that "new democracies in Europe can assist in the fight against terrorism and crime threats and building of a safer Euro-Atlantic region".

UN proclaimed the year 2001 "the year of civilisation", and, as Mitreva stated "this will be a time of uniting the interests and common values of all people in the world in the fight against international terrorism".

"Tolerance, mutual respect and inviolability of human rights and power of the law are a great inti-thesis of terrorism. This is not a clash between civilisations, religions and cultures, but a battle for peace and democracy. We have to coordinate anti-terrorist measures with the European terms for freedom of movement and expressing respect of privacy", Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilinka Mitreva said in her address at todays meeting of the European Conference dedicated to the combat against terrorism, which is being held in Brussels.

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Brussels, October 20 (MIA) Ministers of Foreign Affairs from 40 European countries expressed their firm unity with USA in the combat against terrorism, giving full support to the measures that Washington undertook in the framework of the action for legitimate defense of the country, in accordance with the UN Charter and the Resolution 1368 of the Security Council.

The Declaration that was adopted at the meeting of the European Conference for combat against terrorism, which is being held in Brussels, once more condemns last months attacks in New York and Washington and expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

The Republic of Macedonia, which participated at the European Conference for the first time, was presented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilinka Mitreva, who had an address.

Countries participants at the meeting, as said in the Declaration, have agreed to engage in strengthening of the international coalition against terrorism. They pledged for a decisive action in the framework of the world organisation and other international institutions to enhance that fight, during which they would sign, ratify and apply all relevant international conventions connected with terrorism. The Declaration also states that all these countries will engage within the UN for sooner ending of the negotiations for a general convention on terrorism, which was suggested by India.

The adopted document also states that the participants at the meeting agreed that their countries, along with mutual coordination, should prepare and implement national programs for specific measures against terrorism, inspired by the EU Action Plan, as well as decisive measures against terrorism financing and money laundering, with taking over measures of blocking accounts of individuals that are under the doubt of financing terrorist organisations.

The Declaration emphasises that the fight against terrorism should be led in a way that would respect human rights and power of the law, values which should be strengthened by that fight, and the countries-participants at todays meeting should provide humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan and the neighboring countries, with a better mutual coordination.

The countries participants agreed for a better information exchange about the activities and movements of persons or groups that belong or are linked with terrorist networks, about arms and explosives supply, as well as the new forms of terrorism that include threats for use of chemical, biologic and nuclear weapons.

The Declaration is a call to other regional groups to follow the example of these countries for an establishment of effective regional coalitions for combat against terrorism.

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Brussels, October 20 (MIA) Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva during the meeting of the European Conference for combat against terrorism, which is being held in Brussels, had separate meetings with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Belgium Foreign Minister and EU Chairman Louis Michel, as well as the Heads of Diplomacies of Sweden and Norway Anna Lind and Jan Petersen.

Minister Mitreva acquainted her interlocutors with the latest developments in the country connected to the overcoming of the crisis, as well as the Assembly procedure for constitutional changes, reestablishment of the control of the Macedonian security forces over the entire territory of the country together with international observers, the issue of the amnesty of the members of the so-called NLA, as well as the greatness of the direct and indirect damages from the crisis.

Head of Macedonian Diplomacy underlined that the engagement of the international community for reconstruction of the damaged objects in crisis area is a priority, thus creating conditions for return of displaced persons in their homes.

Mitreva pointed out the necessity for a holding of a donors conference for the Republic of Macedonia, in order to cover all other immediate expenses, to overcome the problems in the payment balance and the start of the implementation of the Framework Agreement immediately after the end of the Assembly procedure.

Solana, Michel, Lind and Petersen reiterated EU, Belgium, Swedish and Norwegian readiness for continual support to Macedonia and its sovereignty and territorial integrity, which, as they emphasised, is significant for the entire stability in the region.

They expressed their readiness for immediate humanitarian assistance and the necessity for speeding up the Assembly procedure, because "the passing of the constitutional changes is a pre-condition for a wider material and other assistance for stabilisation of the situation in the country, as well as the return on the way to a better future and the process of European integration".

In the talks connected to the donors conference, Mitrevas interlocutors pointed out the connection of the entire international action on that plan with the type of arrangements of the Republic of Macedonia with the IMF, which should soon be defined.