No. 101, 27 May 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT POSTPONES DECISION ON CPSU. The Russian
Constitutional Court met on 26 May to consider the status of
the CPSU, Russian media reported. The court hearing had originally
been called to evaluate the legality of Russian President Boris
Yeltsins decree banning the Communist Party, but it has expanded
its scope to examine whether the Party itself acted outside the
constitution. Sergei Shakhrai, Yeltsins former chief legal advisor
and the presidents representative in court, asked for a ten-day
postponement, arguing that both sides need more time to prepare.
The other side (a representative of the disbanded CPSU) requested
an additional three months to prepare. In response, the Constitutional
Court decided to postpone the hearings until 7 July. Meanwhile,
supporters and opponents of Yeltsin were demonstrating on opposite
sides of the street outside the building where the hearings were
taking place. (Vera Tolz)

GORBACHEV CALLED TO TESTIFY. The Constitutional Court also ruled
that former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev should be summoned
to testify on the constitutionality of the CPSU. ITAR-TASS said
on 26 May that Gorbachev and two other former senior Party officials,
or their representatives should be heard in court. The other
two are former CPSU Deputy General Secretary Vladimir Ivashko
and former First Secretary of the Russian Communist Party Valentin
Kuptsov. Gorbachevs spokesman Georgii Shakhnazarov noted that
since Gorbachev had resigned as general secretary while the Party
still existed, it was senseless to require him to defend it in
court, Western agencies reported. Ivan Rybkin, a coordinator
of the parliamentary faction Communists of Russia, also opposed
Gorbachevs inclusion in the CPSU hearings, arguing that the interests
of Gorbachev and the CPSU had diverged long before the Party
was banned, ITAR-TASS reported. (Vera Tolz)

YELTSIN SAYS HE WILL NOT RESIGN. Boris Yeltsin said he had no
intention of resigning as Russian president during his current
term, but does not plan to seek a second term in 1996. On 26
May, ITAR-TASS quoted Yeltsin as telling people in the Western
Siberian city of Barnaul: I will not go, no matter how hard it
gets. I will not step back. Yeltsin arrived in Barnaul earlier
on 26 May at the start of a four-day tour of Siberia. (Vera Tolz)


RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN SUMMIT CALLED TO CLEAR THE AIR. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin announced on 27 May that he had with agreed with
his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kravchuk, to hold a Russian-Ukrainian
summit in the early part of June to discuss ways of resolving
the acute problems between the two neighboring states. According
to Radio Ukraine, Yeltsin said that apart from the two presidents,
the heads of the parliaments and governments of both countries
would also take part. (Bohdan Nahaylo)

UKRAINE RAISES CRIMEA ISSUE IN U.N. The Ukrainian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs official note of protest to Moscow, concerning
the Russian parliaments rejection on 21 May of the legality of
Crimeas transfer to Ukraine in 1954, has been forwarded to UN
Secretary General Boutros-Ghali. Ukrainian UN envoy, Viktor Batiuk,
informed journalists of Ukraines position on Crimea at a press
conference on 26 May, according to ITAR-TASS. (Kathy Mihalisko)


CIS STRATEGIC FORCES REDEFINED. CIS defense ministers met in
Moscow on 26 May to prepare military documents for the next Commonwealth
summit, scheduled for 6 July in Moscow. CIS Commander in Chief
Evgenii Shaposhnikov, said that the ministers had agreed on the
composition of the CIS Strategic Forces, replacing a broad definition
agreed to earlier, ITAR-TASS and Radio Moscow reported. These
would be made up of the former Strategic Rocket Forces, nuclear
delivery components from the Air Forces and the Navy, the ballistic-missile
warning system and anti-missile defense system, and some space
forces. Shaposhnikov acknowledged that the ex-Soviet Black Sea
Fleet was not included in the strategic forces. He said that
the defense ministers would hold another meeting on 3 July to
complete their work. (Doug Clarke)

RUSSIA TO DEEPEN REFORMS. According to ITAR-TASS 26 May, officials
at the Russian governments Center for Economic Reform, have worked
out a program to deepen economic reforms. The new measures are
very likely based on guidelines established by the IMF and World
Bank. Among the main concerns of the new program are the establishment
of financial stability. In particular, budget balancing measures
and efforts to make the ruble convertible. Over the course of
the last 18 months, the financial imbalance in the economy has
emerged as, arguably, the most debilitating aspect of the economic
crisis and one of the most difficult to correct. It is unlikely
that a significant improvement is imminent, though the Russian
commitment to progress on this front is a positive development.
Another very important aspect of the reform program is the creation
of secondary markets for capital, land and real estate. (John
Tedstrom)

MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL LEADERS GATHER. Vesti reported on 26 May
that leaders of the Russian military-industrial complex, parliamentary
leaders, government officials, and ministry management gathered
to discuss the complex question of demilitarizing the economy
while avoiding the stagnation of Russian industry. Key concerns
are the growth of unemployment, a brain drain, and a slow down
of research and development. One participant of the conference
was quoted as saying, We, the defense industry, are Socialist
from beginning to end. And now they want to force privatization
on us? Its incompatible! (John Tedstrom)

RUSSIA PREPARES EXPORT CONTROL SYSTEM. Ekonomika i zhizn no.
21 outlines Russian plans for establishing a strategic export
control system drawing on US experience. Following a recent presidential
edict, a Russian Federation Commission for Export Control has
been set up. The authors of the article, V. Priskunov and V.
Sokolov of the Economic Ministrys All-Russian Research Institute
on Foreign Economic Relations, are working on detailed regulations
and an export control list which will be published. The standard
coverage (weapons, nuclear and dual-use items) of such controls
was indicated in a Soviet statute of 20 March 1989, but no USSR
list was ever published. (Philip Hanson)

TEXTILE WORKERS APPEAL TO RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. A delegation representing
the textile enterprises of Ivanovo oblast, the most important
center of the textile industry in Russia, flew to Moscow on 25
May to appeal for help from the Russian government, Moscow radio
reported. The textile workers have been idle since the beginning
of May for lack of raw cotton, which the Central Asian republics
are refusing to supply except for hard currency or in exchange
for goods. The losses to the Ivanovo textile industry so far
amount to 400 million rubles, and garment and knitwear factories
are expected to cease production shortly. (Ann Sheehy)

UNION OF COSSACK HOSTS OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA CREATED. A conference
of Cossack atamans of southern Russia in Stavropol on 24 May
decided on the unification of the Cossack hosts of southern Russia
as a counterweight to the consolidation of the North Caucasian
republics, Radio Rossii reported on 25 May. Sergei Meshcherikov,
ataman of the Don Host, was elected head of the new union. (Ann
Sheehy)

SPECIAL STATUS FOR TATARSTAN AND CHECHNYA? Novosti, citing RIA,
reported on 22 May that the Russian parliament was preparing
a document granting Tatarstan and Chechnya special status within
the Russian Federation. Tatarstan and Chechen-Ingushetia were
the only two republics that refused to sign the federal treaty
on 31 March. Both have been seeking bilateral arrangements with
Russia that would recognize their independence. On 22 May the
Tatarstan parliament adopted on the first reading a draft constitution
that reiterates Tatarstans stand on this question. (Ann Sheehy)


RUSSIAN-CHECHEN TALKS CONTINUE. A second round of consultations
between Russian and Chechen groups of experts on regulating relations
between Russia and Chechnya began outside Moscow on 26 May, Vesti
reported. Progress is likely to be difficult, however, as the
Chechen side says there can be no compromise on recognizing its
independence. (Ann Sheehy)

IN CHECHNYA. The Chechen authorities are assisting pilgrims to
Mecca with transport and foreign currency, ITAR-TASS reported
on 23 May. Some pilgrims have already set out by bus and another
2,000 will be going by air. A report from Groznyi, carried by
Vesti on 23 May, said that a group of hit men from outside Chechnya
who were preparing an attempt on the life of the Chechen President
Dzhakhar Dudaev had been detained. A new Chechen law on foreign
investments allows enterprises to be fully owned by foreign investors,
ITAR-TASS reported on 23 May. Businessmen from the large Chechen
diaspora are said to be deterred, however, by the lack of clarity
in relations between Chechnya and Russia. (Ann Sheehy)

US AMBASSADOR IN KIEV SWORN IN. Roman Popadiuk, the 42-year-old
Ukrainian-American who has been serving as deputy White House
press secretary for foreign affairs, was sworn in on 26 May as
US ambassador to Ukraine. (Kathy Mihalisko)

KEBICH TRIP TO MIDDLE EAST CONTINUES. Belarus and Israel established
diplomatic relations on 26 May, in an agreement signed in Jerusalem
by Belarusian Prime Minister Vyacheslau Kebich and Israeli Foreign
Minister David Levy. As quoted on 25 May by Belarusian Radio,
Kebich, who arrived in Israel from Kuwait, said that his primary
goal was to give new impulse to Belaruss relations with Kuwait
and Israel. Kebich also hoped to receive Israeli medical assistance
for victims of the Chernobyl accident. He noted that Belaruss
recently adopted legislation on foreign investments will stimulate
mutual cooperation between Tel Aviv and Minsk. (Kathy Mihalisko)


YELTSIN CONFIRMS SERVICEMENS INVOLVEMENT IN MOLDOVA. On 27 May
Yeltsin reportedly acknowledged, in an interview with Komsomolskaya
pravda, that some servicemen of Russias 14th Army had joined
the Dniester Russian forces against Moldova. Yeltsins remark
lays to rest the Russian Defense Ministrys and the CIS Commands
insistent denials of that fact. Yeltsin also noted that those
troops had done so at their own initiative, not on orders. (Vladimir
Socor)

YELTSIN CALLS FOR TRIPARTITE MEETING. In a statement on 26 May
reported by Russian media, Yeltsin announced that he had agreed
with Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk to hold a meeting of
Russian, Ukrainian, and Moldovan foreign and defense ministers,
probably on 28 May in Odessa. Moldovas Presidential Office told
the RFE/RL Research Institute that Yeltsin had not informed Chisinau
before making the announcement and that the Russian president
had still not answered Moldovan President Mircea Snegurs three
recent messages. Meanwhile, the Romanian news agency, Rompres,
announced on 26 May that Romania had responded positively to
a proposal by Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev to hold
a quadripartite, Russian-Ukrainian-Moldovan-Romanian meeting
of foreign and defense ministers in Chisinau on 29 May. (Vladimir
Socor)

GAGAUZ TO OPEN A SECOND FRONT? The Gagauz republic Supreme Soviet
reemerged on 22 May with a resolution holding Moldova responsible
for the Dniester conflict, ITAR-TASS reported. A Gagauz detachment
on 24 May ambushed a Moldovan security detail which was seeking
to stop a delivery of Alazan rockets to Gagauz militants. At
least two Moldovan officers were killed and several others were
injured and captured, Moldovan and Russian media reported. The
Gagauz figures who claimed responsibility for these actions represent
the Russian-oriented, armed faction, which is being opposed by
unarmed Gagauz moderates who accept Moldovas independence and
territorial integrity. Meanwhile, on 26 May, the Dniester republic
Supreme Soviet resolved to assist in the development of the Gagauz
republics defense forces, Radio Tiraspol reported. (Vladimir
Socor)

CHURCHMEN APPEAL FOR PEACE IN MOLDOVA. The Archbishop of Chisinau
and Moldova Vladimir sent a telegram to Patriarch Aleksii II
on 21 May in which he asked the head of the Russian Orthodox
Church to appeal to the Russian president and the Russian government
to halt the 14th Army's involvement in the internal affairs of
sovereign Moldova, Radio Mayak reported. The same day, the Patriarch
of the Romanian Orthodox Church sent a similar telegram to the
Russian Patriarch in which he expressed deep concern over the
political situation on the left bank of Dniester. (Oxana Antic)




CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

KOSOVO VIOLENCE REPORTED. An ethnic Albanian civilian and a Serb
policeman were killed on 25May near Pec when a group of Albanians
attacked a police patrol. A statement from the Democratic Alliance
of Kosovo (DSK) says several Albanians were killed in a police
raid on the village. The Albanian Foreign Ministry protested
to Belgrade and called on them to cease using violence and withdraw
the federal army from Kosovo. Albanias army is said to have been
placed on alert along its border with Kosovo. Radio Croatia carried
the reports. In an interview with the Pristina paper Bujku on
26May, the Kosovo president-elect, writer Ibrahim Rugova, said
that the regions Albanians will gradually, through dialogue,
try to form a parliament and government. Serbias government has
invited all Kosovo Albanian political parties to come to Belgrade
on 28May to discuss the upcoming local and federal elections
and issues related to human rights. Radio Serbia carried the
reports. (Milan Andrejevich)

BOSNIA UPDATE. Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev told reporters
in Sarajevo that leaders of the ruling Muslim, Serb, and Croat
parties have agreed to a cease-fire and the reopening of Sarajevo
airport so emergency humanitarian aid can be flown in. In Belgrade
Kozyrev said that ethnic Serb and Muslim leaders are willing
to observe a negotiated end to the fighting, but warned that
a third force ignores all positive processes without mentioning
specifics. French Antenne-2 filmed the bodies of 29Bosnian men,
each executed with a single bullet to the head, in Nova Kasaba,
a predominantly Muslim village. Bosnias Interior Ministry stated
on 26May that the controversial Serb militia leader Arkan (Zeljko
Raznjatovic) had died of wounds and that several top Serb and
Montenegrin leaders attended his funeral. Sporadic heavy fighting
was reported in several areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Milan Andrejevich)


EC SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA. Yugoslav-area and Western media
report on 26May that EC officials have agreed on sanctions against
Belgrade including a ban on trade, oil shipments, and air services,
and banning Yugoslavia from the Barcelona Olympics. The measures
must be formally endorsed by EC foreign ministers before the
sanctions take effect. The EC identifies Yugoslavia as the main
aggressor in the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Belgrade
government protests that the accusations are unfounded and says
it has formally agreed to work with the UN to end the fighting
and has requested a UN fact-finding mission be sent to assess
the situation. The UN is reportedly also planning punitive measures.
(Milan Andrejevich)

ZHELEV IN SPAIN, MEETS WITH SIMEON. Returning from an official
visit to Spain, where he met with Spanish leaders and opened
Bulgarias pavilion at Expo92 in Seville, President Zhelyu Zhelev
praised Spains efforts to integrate his country into European
structures. According to BTA, Zhelev characterized his meetings
with King Juan Carlos and Premier Felipe Gonz€lez as very constructive
and important. He also announced that Juan Carlos and the speaker
of the Spanish parliament plan visits to Bulgaria later this
year. Earlier the same day, outside his official schedule, Zhelev
met with ex-Tsar SimeonII for more than an hour. The 54-year-old
Simeon, who has lived most of his life in Spain, later told reporters
that the discussions were cordial, pragmatic, and positive, Reuters
said. Zhelev, who earlier this year sharply criticized Simeon
for attempting to restore the monarchy in Bulgaria, declined
to comment on the content of the talks, but said photographers
had captured the historic moment. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

MICHAEL URGES RETURN TO MONARCHY IN ROMANIA. In his memoirswhich
are in the form of conversations with a French journalistpublished
under the title Le R•gne inachevˆ, Romanias former King Michael
urges a return to constitutional monarchy in Romania as the only
way to restore the balance needed for the countrys prosperity,
Romanian and foreign media reported on 25May. If the National
Salvation Front remains in power, Michael writes, political and
economic chaos will continue and he urges the opposition to close
ranks to win the next elections. (Crisula Stefanescu)

WALESA WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT. On 26May Polish President
Lech Walesa asked parliament to replace the government of Prime
Minister Jan Olszewski, Western and Polish media report. In a
letter to the speaker of the Sejm Walesa said he was withdrawing
his support from the government because he had lost confidence
in it. Walesa also said the government provoked conflicts with
the presidency and destabilized state structures. Olszewski refused
to comment. He met later with parliamentary leaders to discuss
the presidents letter. (Wladyslaw Minkiewicz)

HAVEL ON RE-ELECTION. Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel says
he will not be blackmailed by politicians in order to ensure
his own reelection. Havel is standing for reelection by parliament
in July. He told Reuters in an interview on 26May that he wants
to enhance an atmosphere of consensus and that he will be happy
if the election winners are parties that ensure stability and
the continuation of the common state. He also said the presidency
needs extra powers. (Barbara Kroulik)

CONTINUING DISARRAY IN LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT. The 26May session
of the Lithuanian Supreme Council, parts of which were broadcast
live by Radio Lithuania, indicated that its ability to function
normally are still impeded. After the speech by parliament chairman
Vytautas Landsbergis, deputies of the Joint Sajudis, Conciliation,
and National factions boycotted the rest of the sessions as they
had done the previous week. In the absence of a quorum the remaining
deputies could only pass nonbinding resolutions, such as requesting
the parliaments presidium to dismiss Saulius Stoma as the editor
of Lietuvos aidas. It was also proposed that elections to a new
parliament be held on 6September and that economics minister
Albertas Simenas replace Gediminas Vagnorius as prime minister.
(Saulius Girnius)

MAJOR OFFERS MORE HELP TO POLAND. On 26May British Prime Minister
John Major announced that his country will provide Poland with
another $14million in aid to help generate small business. Earlier
Major and his Polish counterpart, Jan Olszewski, agreed to remove
visa requirements on travel between the two countries. According
to Western and Polish media, the two also discussed Polands eventual
admission into the EC and Polish security issues. Major said
Britain will use its presidency of the EC to build on the association
accords with Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. He repeated
Britains aim of full EC membership for the Triangle countries
by the end of the century. (Wladyslaw Minkiewicz)

DIENSTBIER ON GABCIKOVO-NAGYMAROS TREATY. According to the Czechoslovak
Foreign Ministry, the 1977 treaty between Czechoslovakia and
Hungary on the construction of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam and
the associated treaty documentation are still in force, Czechoslovak
radio reported on 26May. Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier so
informed Frans Andriessen, Deputy Chairman of the EC Commission,
also expressing the hope that the EC authorities in Czechoslovakia
and Hungary will support the attainment of an acceptable solution.
(Barbara Kroulik)

GERMANY TO TAKE BACK ROMANIAN TOXIC WASTE. Marcian Bleahu, Romanian
Environmental Minister said after returning from Bonn that Germany
has agreed to take back toxic waste dumped in Romania by German
firms, Reuters reported on 26May. Last week in Sibiu Romanian
police found 485tons of toxic wastedescribed in documents as
lacquer and pesticidewhich local firms had brought in illegally
from Germany. (Crisula Stefanescu)

HERZOG UNVEILS MEMORIAL AT AUSCHWITZ. On 26May, the second day
of his visit to Poland, Israeli President Chaim Herzog visited
the site of the Auschwitz death camp. Unveiling a memorial rock
from Jerusalem dedicated to the Jews killed in the Holocaust,
obviously deeply moved, he said I stand in this dread place broken-hearted.
Before leaving, the Israeli delegation prayed and sang the national
anthem. Herzog also toured the nearby Birkenau concentration
camp. Later, the delegation visited two synagogues in Krakow.
Herzog recalled that Krakow was once a major center of Jewish
learning. Western and Polish wire services carried the story.
(Wladyslaw Minkiewicz)

PRAGUE CONFERENCE ON ANTI-SEMITISM. On 22May, at a four-day conference
organized by the Franz Kafka Society (FKS), a cultural organization
named for Pragues most famous writer, experts warned of growing
anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe. Participants from the American
Jewish Committee said anti-Semitism in the region appears to
be most dangerous in Poland and least threatening in Hungary,
while Czechoslovakia ranked somewhere in the middle. FKS members
said anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe often is connected with
representatives of the old communist regimes as well as with
right-wing radicals riding a new wave of political extremism,
an RFE/RL correspondent reports. (Peter Matuska)

LEADERSHIP CHANGES IN LATVIAN AND RADIO TV. On 26May the Supreme
Council elected Zigmunds Skujins to head the Radio and TV Council.
Skujins, a novelist, told Radio Riga on 26May that he sees his
duties as coordinating the interests of society and those of
radio-TV administrations and employees. Imants Rakins was elected
to head Latvian TV; he was deputy chairman of the State Committee
on Radio and TV. The Supreme Council decided to postpone the
selection of the director of Latvian Radio until 3June. (Dzintra
Bungs)

FUTURE OF PLAVNIEKS, DEPARTMENT UNCLEAR. Radio Riga reports on
26May that the situation of the Citizenship and Immigration Department
and its director Maris Plavnieks remains unclear. On 18May Plavnieks
was fired for allegedly making unsubstantiated accusations against
the Ministry of Justice and exceeding his authority. After meeting
with employees in the department loyal to Plavnieks, Prime Minister
Ivars Godmanis said he will place the department in another ministry
but did not, however, meet their demands to reinstate Plavnieks
as department director. (Dzintra Bungs)

ETHNIC HUNGARIAN ELECTED MAYOR OF TIRGU MURES. Voters in this
Transylvanian city, where ethnic riots two years ago left six
people dead, have elected an ethnic Hungarian as mayor. Gyozo
Nagy, a 54-year-old economist, representing the Hungarian Democratic
Union of Romania, received nearly 57% of the vote, while Constantin
Herisanu, the candidate of the Mures Democratic Alliance, was
second with 40%. Nagy says he hopes to shift the focus of local
politics from ethnic relations to economic reforms, Romanian
and foreign media report. (Crisula Stefanescu)

UKRAINIAN-ESTONIAN AGREEMENT SIGNED. Ukraine and Estonia signed
a commercial and economic agreement on 26May, BNS reports. According
to the terms of the wide-ranging agreement, Ukraine and Estonia
grant each other most-favored-nation trading status. The agreement,
a general friendship and mutual cooperation treaty, was signed
on the occasion of Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuks visit
to Estonia the same day. According to Interfax, Kravchuk expressed
his support for the Estonian position on early withdrawal of
ex-USSR troops from the Baltics. (Riina Kionka)

VAHI MEETS MIYAZAWA. Estonian Prime Minister Tiit Vahi met with
his Japanese counterpart Kiichi Miyazawa on 26May, BNS reports.
Miyazawa told reporters afterwards that the two major problems
Estonia currently faces are the presence of former Soviet troops
and a difficult domestic economy. For his part, Vahi said he
hopes Japan will eventually invest in Estonia, adding that Estonia
has a lot to learn from Japans postwar period of economic reconstruction.
The trip was Vahis first to Tokyo. (Riina Kionka)

LATVIA EXPECTS MORE SOLDIERS DESPITE TALKS. Latvian and Russian
delegations, led respectively by Minister of State Janis Dinevics
and Ambassador-at-Large Sergei Zotov, met in a dacha outside
Moscow on 26May. Latvians focused on a schedule for the prompt
withdrawal of ex-USSR troops from Latvia, while the Russians
wanted to discuss the rights of Russians residing in Latvia.
The Russians suggested a plan for gradual withdrawal of troops
that might be completed by the end of the centurya plan Latvians
found unacceptable. Meanwhile, BNS learned from a Latvian Defense
Ministry official on 26May that Russia expects to send more recruits
to bases in Latvia, flying them in to military airports in order
to avoid Latvian border guards and customs. (Dzintra Bungs)

OVER HALF A MILLION ENTREPRENEURS IN HUNGARY. According to data
released by the Central Statistical Office on 26May, there are
some 532,000 private entrepreneurs in Hungary, more than double
the number registered at the end of 1988, MTI reports. Most of
the businessmen226,000are craftsmen, 158,000 are retailers, and
145,000 are self-employed. The number of entrepreneurs in agriculture
is only 3,000. (Edith Oltay)

UNEMPLOYMENT IN ROMANIA. According to data gathered by the Ministry
of Labor and Social Protection, the number of unemployed persons
in May was 574,000, which puts the current unemployment rate
at 5%. Facing a drastic financial situation are the 130,000 persons
who no longer receive unemployment benefits, Rompres reported
on 25May. (Crisula Stefanescu)

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Carla Thorson & Charles Trumbull





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