No. 134, 16 July 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS. The Russian Security Council
met on 15 July under the chairmanship of Boris Yeltsin. According
to Interfax, discussion focused on the structuring of the Russian
armed forces and on Russian policies with respect to developments
in areas of ethnic tension throughout the CIS. ITAR-TASS reported
that the agenda included discussion on the situation in Moldova
and on mechanisms for implementing existing political accords,
ensuring a cease-fire, and on withdrawal of forces involved in
the conflict from the region. (Stephen Foye)

CIS LEADERS TO MEET ON PEACEKEEPING FORCES. CIS Foreign and Defense
Ministers are scheduled to meet in Tashkent on 16 July to discuss
mechanisms for deploying peace-keeping forces in areas of ethnic
strife, ITAR-TASS reported on 15 July. The CIS high command has
prepared draft documents outlining the structure and duties of
these forces. According to Lt. Gen. Valerii Manilov, a CIS armed
forces spokesman, it is proposed that the peacekeeping forces
be organized on a permanent basis, that they be manned by volunteers,
and that they carry weapons. States will be given quotas for
providing peace-keepers in accordance with the strength of their
armed forces, he added, while the right to deploy the forces
will belong exclusively to the CIS Council of Heads of State
after a mutual request by sides involved in a conflict. A deputy
to the CIS commander in chief is to supervise the creation of
the force. (Stephen Foye)

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" SETS NEGOTIATING TERMS. On 14 July, the self-styled
"Dniester republic Supreme Soviet" turned down Chisinau's offer
of four seats in the Moldovan government, pending the determination
of the left bank's political status; and decided, at the same
time, against the return of left bank deputies to the Moldovan
parliament, which is to determine that status. The Tiraspol assembly
called on Russia and Ukraine to assume the functions of "protecting
powers" and to represent the interests of the "Dniester republic,"
Moscow media reported on 15 July. (Vladimir Socor)

MINSK-MOSCOW MILITARY AGREEMENT? Mechislav Grib, chairman of
the Belarusian parliamentary National Security Committee and
a member of the Belarusian Security Council, told Interfax on
15 July that he will meet with the heads of the Russian and Belarusian
governments in late July in order to sign a bilateral military
agreement. According to Grib, the agreement will specify the
stationing in Belarus of a force of 30,000 Russian troops, the
majority of which will consist of strategic forces units. By
virtue of a special Russian-Belarusian military agreement, they
will remain subordinate to Moscow. Grib said that the agreement
should not be viewed as a military union, because "the possibility
of conducting joint military operations is not touched upon in
the document." His remarks do not appear to be entirely consistent
with those made on 14 July by Belarusian Deputy Defense Minister
Petr Chaus, who said that Belarus had no need of strategic forces
on its territory (see Daily Report of 15 July). (Stephen Foye)


YELTSIN ON THE CIS. Russian President Yeltsin told journalists
in Moscow on 15 July that the latest CIS summit in Moscow held
on 6 July had been a turning point, ITAR-TASS reported. There
were no disagreements at all at the last meeting, he declared.
Yeltsin said that initially some member-states had thought they
could manage without Russia and orient themselves toward the
West, but they had experienced difficulties. Similarly the tendency
of the Central Asia republics to look to cooperation with their
Asian neighbors at the expense of cooperation with Russia had
been replaced by the realization that this was a strategic mistake.
(Ann Sheehy)

YELTSIN ON DIFFERENT POLITICAL "CAMPS." Yeltsin also told journalists
that he considers the presence of various "camps" around him
a serious problem, Interfax reported on 15 July. He noted that,
during a recent session of the Russian Security Council, the
positions of Vice-president Aleksandr Rutskoi, State Secretary
Gennadii Burbulis, Acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar and parliament's
First Deputy Speaker Sergei Filatov had to be "clarified." These
positions, Yeltsin said, "differ from each other somewhat," but
nevertheless they are all in favor of reform. Yeltsin did not
mention Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev in this connection. Previous
reports have said that the Security Council called for Kozyrev's
resignation. (Alexander Rahr)

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT INVESTIGATES STATE SECURITY. The Russian parliamentary
investigation of the Ministry of Security has resulted in a purge
within the former KGB. Andrei Beloborodov, head of a temporary
parliamentary commission, set up in February to look at the internal
workings of the ministry, revealed that some 2,000 officials
have recently left the ministry for various reasons, Radio Rossii
reported on 15 July. He noted that the chief of staff and the
head of counterintelligence were fired and the first deputy minister
of security, Anatolii Oleynikov, has also submitted his resignation.
Beloborodov suggested that many decisions on new appointments
had been made in a hurry, and several officials turned out to
be corrupt or incompetent. (Alexander Rahr)

PARLIAMENT DELAYS DISCUSSION OF RESOLUTION ON IZVESTIYA. President
Yeltsin met with Russian parliamentary chairman, Ruslan Khasbulatov,
and convinced him to delay consideration of a draft resolution
which would give parliament control over the independent newspaper
Izvestiya. "Vesti reported on 15 July that Yeltsin sided with
editors of leading periodicals, who urged him to protect the
media from arbitrary interference in their work by parliament.
The issue of Izvestiya will be further analyzed by the parliament's
presidium and then debated next week. However, another controversial
draft resolution stipulating the establishment of a special council
to control Russian television is to be debated on 16 July. On
16 July, Yeltsin will meet with twenty representatives from leading
media organizations within the Russian Federation to discuss
the situation, Interfax reported. (Vera Tolz)

CPSU INVESTIGATORS CANNOT PAY THEIR OWN EXPENSES. An official
in the Russian Prosecutor's Office said that investigators who
were sent abroad to find illegally diverted Communist Party funds
do not even have enough money to pay hotel bills. In an interview
published on 14 July in Pravda, Sergei Aristov, chief of the
Russian prosecutor's special investigations unit, said that budget
problems were slowing down the investigation. Aristov noted that
investigators so far had been able to recover only about $4 million.
(Vera Tolz)

NO IMF STANDBY AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA? According to The Financial
Times of 15 July, the International Monetary Fund may fail to
conclude a standby agreement with Russia because of continuing
lack of monetary control by Moscow. Visiting economists were
told that the budget deficit amounted to 20% of GNP, and private
forecasts by Russian government officials suggest that the deficit
cannot be reduced significantly by the end of 1992. Before the
G-7 summit, the Russian government had pledged to reduce the
deficit, net of all foreign assistance or loans, to 5% by December
as a condition for receiving the first tranche of $1 billion.
(Keith Bush)

OFFICERS DRAFTED TO CHECK TAXES. The Russian president has signed
a decree drafting thousands of officers from the army and the
ministries of the interior and security to work in tax investigation
bodies, Interfax reported on 15 July. The officers will "fight
financial misconduct and corruption." They will remain on active
duty in the army and the ministries. Because of the inadequacy
of tax collection facilities, it was announced in April that
Russia would hire an additional 100,000 tax inspectors by the
end of the year (Radio Mayak, 12 April 1992). (Keith Bush)

LABOR FORMS STRIKE COMMITTEE. Russia's labor collectives met
on 11-12 July to form a temporary All-Russian Strike Committee,
Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on 15 July. The committee will plan
further strike action unless the government meets the demands
of 600 labor collectives. These demands include the elimination
of outstanding government debts to enterprises; the payment of
overdue wages (indexed for inflation); the reestablishment of
government price controls; and the issuance of a presidential
decree on transforming state enterprises into joint stock companies.
(Brenda Horrigan)

NEGOTIATIONS ON VIETNAMESE DEBT. The first meeting of a Russian-Vietnamese
joint commission is scheduled for 27 July in Hanoi, Western agencies
reported on 14 July. One of the principal items on the agenda
will be the Vietnamese debt to the former Soviet Union. It will
be necessary to agree on Russia's share of the total debt, estimated
at 10 billion rubles, and the exchange rate to be used. Vietnam
has already started to repay some of its debt with exports of
foodstuffs and soft goods. Another topic for the Hanoi negotiations
will be the status of the Vietnamese workers in the FSU: there
are thought to be around 30,000 of these. (Keith Bush)

NEW TWIST IN UKRAINIAN ECONOMY. The newly appointed Ukrainian
economics minister, Valentyn Symonenko, says that he is "categorically
against any help from the West," but favors "equal, mutually
beneficial cooperation." His remarks were made in an interview
with Reuters on 15 July. Symonenko recently replaced Volodymyr
Lanovy, a champion of market reforms, who was sacked by Ukrainian
President Leonid Kravchuk for criticizing the government's economic
policies. Symonenko told Reuters that too much attention has
been given to the theoretical aspects of economic reform. What
is needed, he said, is "concrete action," but no details were
provided. (Roman Solchanyk)

OECD TO CONSIDER CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES DEVELOPING NATIONS?
According to Germany's Development Aid Minister, Carl-Dieter
Spranger, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
will soon decide whether to recognize the five former Soviet
Central Asian republics as developing nations, an RFE/RL correspondent
reported on 14 July. Based on the per capita gross national product
of those states, Spranger said he expected the organization to
grant developing-nation status to the five countries. Germany
itself will find it difficult to develop aid projects and to
find the necessary partners, because the Central Asian states
lack the necessary infrastructure, said Spranger. (Cassandra
Cavanaugh)

KYRGYZSTAN TO REMAIN IN RUBLE ZONE. Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev
announced on 15 July that Kyrgyzstan will keep the ruble as its
currency as long as it remains viable, Kyrgyztag-TASS reported.
He pointed out that 98% of his country's exports are to CIS countries,
which supply nearly as much of Kyrgyzstan's imports. Kyrgyzstan
may introduce coupons for domestic use, however, if ruble cash
shortages persist. Among the Central Asian states, Uzbekistan
and Kazakhstan have announced their intention to switch to their
own currencies.(Cassandra Cavanaugh)

UZBEKISTAN TO RECEIVE TURKISH GRAIN. Turkey will export 2 million
tons of grain to Uzbekistan, AFP reported on 14 July. While the
price of the exports will be set at world levels (amounting to
nearly $260 million, according to experts) with a repayment period
of three years, the purchase will likely be financed by the Turkish
Eximbank. In the first half of 1992, Uzbekistan received $37
million worth of aid from Turkey, mostly medicine and food, and
has also been granted $250 million in export credits from the
Turkish Eximbank. (Cassandra Cavanaugh)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SERBS SHELL STADIUM PACKED WITH REFUGEES. The 16 July Washington
Post and Chicago Tribune say that at least 8 were killed and
dozens wounded when Serbian artillery shells fell on a stadium
filled with Bosnian refugees in Slavonski Brod. Croatian Vice
President Mate Granic was in the area and called the attack "100%
intentional." In London, international media report on 15 July
that Lord Carrington held separate talks with Serbian, Muslim,
and Croat leaders in his peace effort for Bosnia. That republic's
Muslim foreign minister, Haris Silajdzic, said he would meet
with the Serbs only if fighting stopped and that for now he refuses
"to talk with child-killers," which is the Muslims' standing
policy. Finally, Germany on 16 July joins 6 other NATO countries
in monitoring the UN-sponsored embargo of Montenegrin ports.
The destroyer Bayern and 3 patrol aircraft, like the other ships
and planes involved, are not empowered to stop or search ships.
(Patrick Moore)

SERBIAN PRINCE SAYS CORONATION CAN WAIT. In an interview with
the Belgrade weekly NIN, Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic
said that he has not discussed any plans for his own coronation.
"First we have to crown democracy in Serbia, and then everything
else will follow in due course." Alexander, considered a serious
political figure in Serbia, attacked the government of President
Slobodan Milosevic's ruling Socialist Party, saying that it has
not initiated "any type of democratic reformsa fact the Western
democracies are fully aware of." He called the constitution of
the new rump Yugoslav federation "illegal" and the May elections
to the Yugoslav federal legislature, sponsored by the Socialists,
a "farce." The official Serbian news media controlled by Milosevic's
party has largely ignored Alexander's activities since his return
to Serbia two weeks ago. (Gordon Bardos)

ROMANIA AND THE YUGOSLAV EMBARGO. At the weekly meeting of the
government Prime Minister Theodor Stolojan said that there is
no reasons to suspect the embargo against Yugoslavia has in any
way been broken by Romania, Radio Bucharest said on 15 July.
A government statement read on Radio Bucharest said that the
committee on sanctions against Yugoslavia rejected a Romanian
request to allow two commercial companies, Solventul and Comtim,
to continue trading with Yugoslavia, and the government decided
to stop trade between the two companies and Yugoslav firms. The
UN Security Council sanctions are "strictly respected." (Michael
Shafir).

BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT, UNIONS OPT FOR CONFRONTATION. On 15 July
the Bulgarian capital wa paralyzed by a near-complete strike
among transport workers, supported by the country's two major
trade unions, Podkrepa and CITUB. BTA reported widespread traffic
jams and attacks against strike-breakers by militant trade unionists.
The executive council of Podkrepa, the driving force behind the
strike, rejected accusations of political motivations. Meanwhile
Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov, who in a television address on
Tuesday evening declared he would not allow trade unions to put
"the country's destiny at stake," yesterday pledged to clear
the strike blockade by sending in military and other buses and
to guarantee the safety of transport workers who want to do their
job. Sofia mayor Aleksandar Yanchulev told Reuters the demands
of the strikers are "sound" but that the municipality lacks the
funds to satisfy them. A strike among medical staff is also moving
into its second week. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

POLISH MINERS ON STRIKE. Wildcat strikes have broken out in a
number of Silesian coal mines. Miners are demanding higher wages.
Supported by the Solidarity 80 splinter union, the strikes are
technically illegal, as they precede any attempt at collective
bargaining. Mainstream Solidarity unionists were forcibly removed
from some mines, amid reports of shoving and intimidation. Solidarity
80 activists are also occupying the Katowice headquarters of
the state coal agency. Appearing on Polish TV on 14 July, Labor
Minister Jacek Kuron condemned the decision to strike before
negotiating "a suicidal tactic, particularly for the strikers."
Official talks with miners' unions were held at the industry
ministry on 15 July; Solidarity 80 was excluded because of its
use of "unacceptable measures to pressure the government." (Louisa
Vinton)

GOOD POLISH ECONOMIC NEWS. Promising signs of economic recovery
continue to emerge in Poland. The statistical office announced
on 15 July that industrial production in June was 5.9% higher
than in May and 7.6% higher than in June 1991. Production figures
for the first six months of 1992 are still 3% below those for
the comparable period in 1991. Inflation for June was only 1.6%.
(Louisa Vinton)

HUNGARIAN STOCK ON NEW YORK EXCHANGE. MTI reports that shares
of the Hungarian private enterprise FOTEX, involved with same-day
photo delivery service, is ready for trade on the New York over-the-counter
market. The stock received the necessary permits, and Morgan
Guaranty Trust Company will handle the trades. FOTEX is the first
stock from Eastern Europe to be traded on a US exchange. (Karoly
Okolicsanyi)

FIRST FOREIGN BANK STARTS KROON EXCHANGE. A Lithuanian bank has
become the first foreign monetary institution to begin exchanging
the Estonian kroon, BNS reports on 15 July. The Litimpex Bank
is buying kroons at a rate of 1 to 8 rubles and selling them
at 1 to 11 rubles, a rate which in DM is slightly lower than
the official Estonian Bank rate. (Riina Kionka)

UNEMPLOYMENT UP IN ESTONIA. Estonia's jobless rate increased
by 19.1% over the past month, Rahva Haal reported on 11 July.
There are currently 5,635 unemployed in Estonia. (Riina Kionka)


MASTERCARD WELCOME IN RIGA. As of 14 July, those having a Eurocard/Mastercard
can now use it to pay for their bills in some 15 business establishments,
including the better hotels in Riga, Diena reports. The credit
card would be used to cover bills in hard currency. (Dzintra
Bungs)

SECOND ROUND OF CZECHOSLOVAK PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. The single
candidate for the post of Czechoslovak president in the second
round of presidential elections on 16 July, Miroslav Sladek,
leader of the extreme-right Republican Party, was not elected,
Czechoslovak media report. Sladek was defeated in two consecutive
rounds of voting. In the first round, he needed a three-fifths
majority of votes in the 300-member Federal Assembly that elects
the president; in the second round, he needed a simple majority.
A total of 58 deputies voted for Sladek in the first round of
voting; 60 deputies voted for him in the second. Prior to the
vote, Sladek was though to have the support of only his own party,
which has 14 seats in the parliament. President Vaclav Havel's
bid to be reelected was defeated on 3 July by Slovak deputies.
(Jiri Pehe)

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT APPROVES GOVERNMENT'S PROGRAM. The Slovak National
Council approved its ogvernment's program on 15 July, CSTK reports.
In the 150-member parliament 104 deputies voted for the program,
14 voted against; others either abstained or were not present.
The program calls for steps that would ensure Slovakia's "political
and economic sovereignty." The parliament rejected a call by
Hungarian deputies for greater autonomy. Slovak International
Relations Minister Milan Knazko told the parliament that he will
not preside over a disintegration of Slovakia. Prime Minister
Vladimir Meciar said that his government is disturbed by the
fact that demands for greater autonomy originate in Budapest.
(Jiri Pehe)

VAGNORIUS TO REMAIN IN POST UNTIL 21 JULY. On 15 July the Lithuanian
parliament in a session broadcast live by Radio Lithuania passed
by a vote of 82 to 2 with 8 abstentions a resolution extending
its fifth session until a new prime minister is appointed. It
instructed Gediminas Vagnorius, voted out in a no-confidence
vote the previous day, to continue in his post until the next
session on 21 July when parliament chairman Vytautas Landsbergis
will submit names of candidates for prime minister. The unruly
session suggests again that Lithuania will have to wait until
the election of a new parliament on 25 October to have an effective
legislative body. (Saulius Girnius)

ROMANIAN SENATE APPROVES CORRUPTION REPORTS. On 15 July, reports
presented by a special commission investigating allegations of
corruption under Petre Roman's government were endorsed by the
Senate, according to Rompres. The Senate asked the prosecutor's
office to proceed with investigations along the lines indicated
and report back by September 1992. The chamber extended the investigation
commission's mandate until the new Senate convenes after the
27 September elections. The commission's findings might damage
the electoral chances of the National Salvation Front and its
leader, former prime minister Petre Roman. The archrival of the
NSF, the Democratic National Salvation Front, which backs president
Ion Iliescu, is the largest party represented in the Senate.
(Michael Shafir)

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES BALTIC SITUATION. The Supreme Soviet,
acting on a proposal of Ruslan Khasbulatov, started to discuss
the situation in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on 15 July. Special
attention was paid to what was perceived as real or potential
discrimination against Russians and other Slavs, the so-called
Russian-speakers, in the laws of the Baltic States. Vladimir
Podoprigora, chairman of the Commission on Questions of Interrepublican
Relations, claimed that the atmosphere in the Baltics opens the
door to intolerance and "aggressive nationalism," ITAR-TASS reported
on 15 July. Radio Riga described the session as an effort to
whip up public sentiment against Baltic independence and create
a situation that could lead to Dniestr-type conflicts. (Dzintra
Bungs)

LANDSBERGIS PRESS CONFERENCE. On 16 July Landsbergis announced
that due to the government crisis in Lithuania he is canceling
a trip to Schleswig-Holstein, where he was going to receive an
award today, Radio Lithuania reports. At a press conference he
spoke about what he called "reactionary statements" in the Russian
Supreme Council on human rights violations in the Baltic States
that include the suggestion that Russia should renounce some
of its treaties. He noted, however, that parliament did not seem
to reject the timetable for the withdrawal of former USSR troops
from Lithuania, which has called for their departure in four
months. (Saulius Girnius)

ANOTHER MILITARY INCIDENT IN ESTONIA. Reports from Estonia say
there has been another incident involving Russian military forces
and Estonian defense forces. According to BNS, a GAZ-66 truck
on 14 July entered the grounds of an Estonian fire fighting unit
near Vihterpalu in northwestern Estonia. When the truck did not
halt at the entrance, Estonian authorities tried to stop it,
and an exchange of gunfire ensued. There are conflicting reports
as to which side began firing first, but in the end, one Russian
officer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.
This is the latest in a series of incidents in the last few days
involving Estonia's Defense Union (Kaitseliit) and the Russian
military. (Riina Kionka)

POLISH DEFENSE REFORM TO CONTINUE. Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka
indicated on 15 July that she intends to push ahead with military
restructuring plans put on hold by her predecessor. Formally
welcoming Defense Minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz to his ministry,
Suchocka listed the goals: separating the military command structure
from the civilian administration; streamlining the general staff;
and the even territorial distribution of the army. In a nod to
Walesa, Suchocka said that the "armed forces, in accordance with
the constitution, will be subordinated to the president." The
army will be reduced to 250,000 men, but without cutting professional
officers. (Louisa Vinton)

KLESTIL, HAVEL CONFER. Austrian president Thomas Klestil's first
official visit abroad was to Czechoslovakia. On 15 July he met
with his counterpart Vaclav Havel in a castle in southern Moravia.
The two presidents exchanged views on the political situation
in Czechoslovakia and agreed that their meeting had a great symbolic
value, CSTK reports. During the tenure of controversial President
Kurt Waldheim, contacts on the ceremonial level between the two
countries were severely limited. (Jan Obrman)

HAVEL TO RECEIVE IMPORTANT 1968 DOCUMENTS FROM YELTSIN. On 15
July, Russian President Boris Yeltsin informed his Czechoslovak
counterpart, Vaclav Havel, that he had discovered two very important
documents on the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Yeltsin said he planned to hand the documents over to Czechoslovakia.
The contents of the documents were not revealed, but Czechoslovak
Television reported that, according to "well-informed sources,"
the documents could be the so-called invitation letters in which
Czechoslovak hard-line Communists reportedly urged the Soviet
Union to invade Czechoslovakia and stop the Prague Spring reforms.
(Jiri Pehe)

ROMANIA, KAZAKHSTAN ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. In Alma-Ata
Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Nastase and his counterpart
from Kazakhstan, Tuleutai Suleimenov, signed a protocol providing
for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two
countries, radio Bucharest said on 15 July. Talks also touched
on possible mutual cooperation agreements. Nastase later flew
to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the second leg of his Central Asian visit.
(Michael Shafir).

IOM SETS UP OFFICE IN ROMANIA. The International Organization
for Migration (IOM) announced on 14 July that its director-general
will sign an agreement to set up an office in Romania, an RFE/RL
correspondent reports from Bucharest. The agreement will make
it easier for Romanians to get information about emigration.
A spokesman for the organization said that since the end of 1989
there has been a steady and growing outflow of highly-qualified
Romanians applying for asylum in Western countries. Many Western
countries have been tightening border controls and making asylum
difficult to obtain. The IOM intends to provide potential emigrants
with reliable information concerning conditions they can expect
abroad. (Michael Shafir)

LATVIAN FOREST FIRES UNDER CONTROL. Forest fires throughout Latvia
are under control, Radio Riga reported on 15 July. Smoldering
is reported in many areasincluding Daugavpils, Garkalne, and
the Slitere nature preservewhich requires careful monitoring
and considerable effort to eliminate the threat of additional
fires. More than 7000 acres of forests have been destroyed. (Dzintra
Bungs)

[As of 1200 CET]