(17 Oct 2005) SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot of US President George W. Bush and Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President:
"My first reaction to the vote was that an increase in turnout was an indication that the Iraqi people are strongly in favour of settling disputes in a peaceful way."
3. Bush and Parvanov
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President:
"Secondly, I was pleased to see that the Sunnis participated in the process. (Translation into Bulgarian.) The idea of deciding to go into a ballot box is a positive development. (Translation into Bulgarian.) The idea that people are willing to try to work out their political differences through a process, a peaceful process, stands in stark contrast to the al-Qaida types and the terrorists and the killers that are trying to drive the process through violence."
5. Bush and Parvanov
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President:
"Like the President (Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov), my heart breaks when young children get sick. The position of the United States government is the nurses ought to be freed. We have made our position known to the Libyan government."
7. Reporters
8. SOUNDBITE: (Bulgarian) Georgi Parvanov, Bulgarian President:
"I do appreciate the support we have been getting from the United States in becoming a reliable NATO member state, and also in joining the European Union in time; that is, as of January 07."
9. Wide shot of Bush and Parvanov
STORYLINE
US President George W. Bush on Monday said an increase in voter turnout in Iraq was "an indication that the Iraqi people are strongly in favour of settling disputes in a peaceful way."
Bush also said that he was pleased that Sunni Arabs cast so many ballots in Iraq over the weekend, even though they were voting to stop the proposed constitution from being ratified.
Iraq's constitution seemed assured of passage, despite strong opposition from the Sunnis.
The constitution's apparent victory was muted by the prospect that the result might divide the country further.
Asked whether the Sunni vote would damage the political process or increase the likelihood of violence, Bush said the increased turnout was an indication that Iraqis want to settle disputes peacefully.
Bush said from the Oval Office: "I was pleased to see that the Sunnis have participated in the process."
He also said that "the idea of deciding to go into a ballot box is a positive development."
Bush also said the United States would continue to press Libya to release five Bulgarian nurses who have been sentenced to death for allegedly infecting 400 children with the AIDS virus.
Bush told reporters after meeting Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov at the White House: "The position of the United States government is the nurses ought to be freed."
He said: "We have made our position known to the Libyan government."
The United States and Europe have been pressuring Libya to free five Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian sentenced to death in May 2004 on charges they infected the children with HIV-contaminated blood in an experiment to find a cure for AIDS.
International observers said the charges were contrived and extracted by torture.
Parvanov said he told Bush about Bulgaria's interest in modernising its military and getting involved in energy projects in the Balkans.
He also thanked Bush for the"support we have been getting from the United States in becoming a reliable NATO member state, and also in joining the European Union in time; that is as of January 07."
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