No. 154, 13 August 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

KIEV: TENSIONS CONTINUE IN BLACK SEA FLEET. The press center
of the Ukrainian Navy charged on 12 August that, despite the
recent agreement signed by presidents Kravchuk and Yeltsin in
Yalta, the Black Sea Fleet command continues to put pressure
on seamen who have taken the oath of loyalty to Ukraine or who
favor the creation of an independent Ukrainian navy. According
to Ukrinform-TASS, the press center also accused the fleet command
of purposefully manning the fleet's key units with ethnic Russian
conscripts, of continuing efforts to exert ideological pressure
on the fleet's personnel, and of promoting the idea that the
fleet will remain indivisible. (Stephen Foye)

"RUKH" CRITICIZES YALTA AGREEMENT. "Rukh" issued a statement
on 11 August signed by its leader, Vyacheslav Chornovil, characterizing
the Yalta agreement on the Black Sea Fleet as a regressive step
towards empire, DR-Press reported on 12 August. The Yalta agreement,
says the statement, gives independent Ukraine the status of a
"sovereign province." In another statement, "Rukh" called for
the dissolution of parliament, arguing that it had been elected
when the CPSU had a monopoly on political life and no longer
corresponded to today's needs. (Roman Solchanyk)

ROTATION OF BLACK SEA FLEET COMMANDERS? Interfax reported on
12 August that the Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed that
an annual rotation of commanders for the Black Sea Fleet has
been agreed upon, apparently at the meeting in Yalta. The report,
which provided no details of the agreement, said that the Russian
and Ukrainian defense ministers are to agree on a candidate for
fleet commander in the near future, and that a Ukrainian admiral
will then replace the current Black Sea Fleet commander, Igor
Kasatonov. It was not clear from the report when the change would
occur. (Stephen Foye)

MOLDOVAN-RUSSIAN TALKS ON TROOPS. On 12 August at the Russian
Defense Ministry in Moscow, Moldovan and Russian delegates began
the first round of talks on "the status of Russia's troops [in
Moldova] and a time-table for their withdrawal," ITAR-TASS reported.
At issue are Russia's 14th Army, headquartered in Tiraspol, and
the Chisinau-based 300th paratroop regiment. ITAR-TASS noted
that the talks were mandated by the joint communique signed by
the Moldovan and Russian Prime Ministers, Andrei Sangheli and
Egor Gaidar on 7 August. The delegations are headed by Moldova's
new ambassador to Moscow, Petru Lucinschi, and by Russia's Deputy
Defense Minister, Col. Gen. Boris Gromov, respectively. (Vladimir
Socor)

REPUBLICS SIGN PEACEKEEPING PROTOCOL. Interfax reported on 12
August that a permanent representative of the CIS joint forces
high command, Col. Vasilii Volkov, has collected the signatures
of seven CIS leaders on the protocol outlining temporary procedures
for shaping and using CIS peacekeeping forces. Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Ukraine, and Turkmenistan reportedly did not sign the protocol.
Interfax said that each of the signatory states will have to
send military units and armaments to the peacekeeping contingent,
as well as appoint experts who will joint a group of military
observers. (Stephen Foye)

RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT KILLED IN KABUL. One Russian diplomat was killed
and two injured on 11 August in Kabul when Russia's embassy was
hit by artillery fire. Russia's permanent representative to the
United Nations, Yulii Vorontsov, after consulting with his Chinese
counterpart, called on the UN Security Council to discuss the
situation in Kabul. Following meetings on 12 August, the Security
Council called on the Afghan government to take measures to guarantee
the safety of foreign diplomats in Afghanistan, ITAR-TASS reported
on 13 August. (Suzanne Crow)

BAN ON OMON USE AGAINST DEMONSTRATIONS. The Russian Interior
Ministry has imposed strict restrictions on the activities of
the OMON (Special Purpose Militia Detachments) against demonstrations
and mass meetings, "Vesti" reported on 11 August. There has been
increasingly sharp criticism from the media and the general public
of OMON activities. In particular, the OMON was actively used
against nationalist and neocommunist demonstrations on 23 February
and on 22 June, during the blockade of the "Ostankino" Television
Center. According to the new regulations, OMON units can be used
only in extreme situations and by a written order of the interior
minister, a spokesman for the ministry said. (Victor Yasmann)


KGB STILL ACTIVE. The outspoken critic of the KGB, Yurii Vlasov,
said that although he has left the democratic camp to join the
nationalist-communist forces, he has no illusions about the current
Russian state security organs. Despite the dismantling of the
KGB, political surveillance, eavesdropping and secret informer
networks are continuing to be used by the new authorities, Vlasov
wrote in Den No. 32. Vlasov also stressed that only the KGB subdivisions
directly involved in state security were being disbanded, while
those involved in political surveillance were actually being
strengthened. (Victor Yasmann)

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGES GIVEN PAY INCREASE. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on 4 August giving the 13 judges
who sit on Russia's Constitutional Court a substantial pay raise.
The decree, published in Moscow news' latest issue, gave the
court judges a 30% salary increase above their rank in the civil
service, and contained the provision, "not for publication."
This salary increase may be justified as an adjustment for inflation,
but it comes in the midst of the Constitutional Court's deliberations
on the constitutionality of Yeltsin's decrees banning the Communist
Party. (Carla Thorson)

COMMUNISTS TO COORDINATE ACTIVITIES. Meeting in Moscow on 8-10
August, representatives of communist-oriented parties from Russia,
Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and other former Soviet
republics agreed to set up an "All-Union Political Consultative
Council," ITAR-TASS reported on 10 August. The various Russian
parties represented set up an analogous Russian body to coordinate
their activities. The majority of those present were against
reestablishing the CPSU at present but agreed that the creation
of a single party should be a long-term goal, the hardline communist
Richard Kosolapov was quoted as saying. (Elizabeth Teague)

MORE SPECULATION ON ZHIRINOVSKY PARTY'S REGISTRATION. Moskovsky
komsomlets on 12 August explained why the Russian Justice Ministry
has annulled the registration of the Liberal Democratic Party
of the Soviet Union. When Vladimir Zhirinovsky registered the
party in spring 1991, he provided a list of 6,142 members (the
minimum necessary for registration under Soviet law being 5,000).
It was clear the list was fictitious: 4,000 of the members had
addresses in Abkhazia and many were duplicates. The USSR Justice
Ministry registered the party only under pressure from Anatolii
Lukyanov (currently under investigation for his role in the August
1991 coup). Zhirinovsky, who is currently visiting Germany, has
applied to re-register the party as the Liberal-Democratic Party
of Russia. (Elizabeth Teague)

TRADE UNIONS TO FORM PARTY. Russia's official unions, the "Federation
of Independent Trade Unions of Russia," plan to form a workers'
party, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on 6 August. Following the
collapse of the CPSU, the official trade unions are the richest
organization in Russia. The nucleus of the new party will be
the initiative committee of the Party of Labor formed last October
by a group of socialists and anarchists. Their leader, Boris
Kagarlitsky, is predicting the emergence in Russia of a two-party
system similar to Britain's, with Arkadii Volsky's Civic Union
playing the role of the Conservative Party and the new Workers'
Party being analogous to the British Labour Party. (Elizabeth
Teague)

RUSSIAN GRAIN PURCHASE PRICES RAISED. . . On 24 July, Rossiiskaya
gazeta carried an article entitled "The Grain Market. Who Will
Give In First?" It now looks as if the Russian government has
given in to the farmers. According to Interfax, on 12 August
the government announced that state purchase prices for most
grains will rise to 12,000 rubles a ton, whereas it had hitherto
insisted on a maximum price of 10,000 rubles a ton. The maximum
purchase price for high-quality grains (like hard and durum wheats)
will remain at 24,000 rubles a ton. There will also be a 20%
bonus for above-plan sales of grain. Retail prices for most sorts
of bread are expected to stabilize at around 30 rubles a kilo.
(Keith Bush)

...BUT SELYUNIN SAYS PRICE RISE INEFFECTIVE. Well-known Russian
economist Vasilii Selyunin, in an interview with Pravda on 11
August, expressed doubts that a price hike even to 15,000 rubles
a ton would induce peasants to sell more grain to the state.
He expects a repeat of last year's experience when farms held
much of their grain until spring to force the state to offer
better prices. Selyunin argued that this is how the peasant protects
himself against inflation. He "will not rush to market with his
grain for 15 rubles a kilogram, because he doesn't know what
our ruble will be worth in December or May," Selyunin said. (Erik
Whitlock)

RUSSIA TO LIMIT ELECTRICITY USAGE. Vitalii Gorin, deputy chairman
of the Committee on Electro-energy of the Fuel and Energy Ministry
said that Russia will begin rationing electricity on 1 October.
Gorin said current plans are to limit usage for one year, according
to ITAR-TASS on 12 August. It is not clear from the report how
extensive the rationing will be, however. Residential usage is
not covered. Excluded as well are medical, communications, transport
facilities, schools, and "a number of other enterprises and units."
(Erik Whitlock)

LATEST ON RUSSIAN PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM. Aleksandr Ivanenko,
the first deputy chairman of the Russian State Property Committee,
told Interfax of 12 August that plans to issue privatization
vouchers to all citizens of Russia are on schedule. By 31 December,
everyone, from infants to the elderly, will be given one privatization
check. The value of the checks will be announced by President
Yeltsin by mid-August; Interfax reckoned that the nominal value
will be 10,000 rubles. The checks can be used to buy shares of
enterprises destined for privatization or investment funds during
the calendar year 1993. Every citizen will be able to sell his/her
voucher or pass it on to his/her heirs. (Keith Bush)

NEW BELARUSIAN POLITICAL PARTY. The "United Agrarian-Democratic
Party" held its constituent congress and issued a statement criticizing
the Belarusian parliament for failing to safeguard the interests
of farmers in the republic, BelInform-TASS reported on 12 August.
Eight political parties are now officially registered in Belarus,
and two of them reflect agrarian interests. In contrast to the
Belarusian Peasants' Party which supports private landholding,
the United Agrarian-Democratic Party supports reform of the social
system based on the principles of social democracy. (Roman Solchanyk)


SHEVARDNADZE VOWS TO FREE HOSTAGES, RESTORE ORDER. Addressing
a crowd of 20,000 people in Tbilisi on 12 August, Georgian State
Council Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze vowed to use all legal means,
including force, to secure the release of 11 security officials
taken hostage on 11 August in Zugdidi, Russian and Western agencies
reported. (One official has been released by the kidnappers.)
Meanwhile the Georgian police stated that unless the kidnappers
released the hostages by 10:00 local time on 13 August (07:00
CEST), 5,000 police would embark on a campaign to liquidate the
"terrorists"; a contingent of the National Guard has already
been dispatched to the area. The Georgian Foreign Ministry sent
a formal note to the Russian Foreign Ministry requesting measures
to curb "terrorist activities" by Gamsakhurdia, who is currently
believed to be in exile in Grozny. (Liz Fuller)

DISPUTE OVER PRESIDENCY IN TAJIKISTAN. A lively dispute over
the institution of the presidency took place in the Supreme Soviet
of Tajikistan on 12 August, ITAR-TASS reported. The debate was
sparked by President Rakhmon Nabiev's report on the state of
the country. Opponents accused him of excessive emotion and merely
attacking the opposition instead of presenting a concrete plan
for extracting Tajikistan from its present economic and political
collapse. Several deputies, including the country's highest-ranking
Muslim clergyman, Kazi Akbar Turadzhonzoda, questioned Nabiev's
ability to deal with Tajikistan's problems and called on him
to resign voluntarily. Supporters of Nabiev retorted that he
had been popularly elected and must work under constant opposition
pressure. The debate is expected to continue. (Bess Brown)

TURKMENISTAN TAKES CONTROL OF BORDER FORCES. The president of
Turkmenistan, Saparmyrat Niyazov, issued a decree on 11 August
that placed all former Soviet Border Forces in the republic under
the jurisdiction of Turkmenistan's government, ITAR-TASS reported
on 12 August. Maj. Gen. Akmurad Kabulov was named commander of
the Turkmen Border Forces. Kabulov earlier served as First Deputy
Chairman of the Turkmen Committee for National Security. Niyazov
apparently made the announcement at a meeting with the leadership
of the Central Asian Border District, the report said. (Stephen
Foye/Bess Brown)

TURKMEN IMAM INTERVIEWED. Nezavisimaya gazeta on 12 August published
an interview with the imam of the largest mosque in the Turkmen
capital Ashghabat, Khezretkuli Khanov. Khanov suggested that
some kind of Islamic regime will inevitably develop in all of
the former Soviet Central Asian republics, though not of the
Iranian type, which he views as more fanatical than fundamentalist.
He declined to speculate on how much time this would take. The
"secular government" specified in the Turkmen constitution is
led by the same communist functionaries who do not command peoples
trust, according to Khanov. Khanov characterized the official
Turkmen Moslem leadership, the kaziate, appointed by the Tashkent
mufti, as weak and obedient. (Cassandra Cavanaugh)

Central and Eastern Europe

UN REFUSES TO TAKE 28,000 EXPELLED BOSNIAN MUSLIMS. The UN sucessfully
helped evacuate 300 mothers and children from Sarajevo on 12
August, but that same day representatives of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees refused to accept 28,000 Muslims and Croats whom
the Serbs want to drive from Bosnia to Croatia. The UNHCR told
the BBC that the Serbs' move was "barbaric," and added that the
UN would in effect be helping the policy of "ethnic cleansing"
if it took in the people, who are now stranded on or near the
border between the two former Yugoslav republics. Reuter quoted
a UNHCR spokesman as saying: "What is going on in those areas
is something beyond your imagination." (Patrick Moore)

"SHELL GAME" WITH SERBIAN PRISON CAMPS? International indignation
over Serb behavior in Bosnia reached a new level in August amid
often grisly media reports of alleged beatings, torture, and
killings in camps set up for Muslims and Croats. In defense,
the Serbs claimed that Muslims and Croats were mistreating Serbs,
and offered to open up some Serb-run camps for inspection. Journalists
and Red Cross officials soon reported, however, that they were
not free to do and see what they wanted in Serb-held areas. On
13 August the Washington Post said that suspicion is growing
"among international relief officials and Western diplomats"
that the Serbs "are playing a shell game with the thousands of
Muslim and Croat prisoners they have taken." Once world attention
is focused on a specific camp, "it is cleaned up, closed down,
or depopulated. Prisoners are quickly shuffled off to other facilities,
away from prying eyes." (Patrick Moore)

PANIC IN ANKARA. During a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister
Suleyman Demirel in Ankara on 12 August,Yugoslav Prime Minister
Milan Panic said that his country was prepared to recognize the
independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina if it helped to end the bloodshed.
He added that Bosnia's borders would not be changed. According
to the Anatolian news agency, Panic was in Anakara to explore
ways of finding peace without outside military intervention.
He was quoted as saying that "we pray that we do not see the
Turkish army in Yugoslavia." Radio Serbia reported on 13 August
that Radmila Milentijevic, a Yugoslav federal minister without
portfolio,was heard as saying that if Turkey sent its troops
to Bosnia-Herzegovina it would create a situation worse than
Vietnam. Turkey has offered to send more than 1,000 troops into
the area if the UN approves military action to protect the flow
of relief aid into Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Milan Andrejevich)

BOSNIAN MUSLIMS CRITICIZE TUDJMAN. Radio Bosnia-Herzegovina reported
on 12 August that the Muslim Party of Democratic Action (SDA)
criticized Croatia's President Franjo Tudjman for having said
on 10 August that Bosnia's Muslims intended to create some sort
of Islamic state at the expense of the Croats and Serbs. The
SDA statement said that Tudjman's remark was "received with great
displeasure and surprise," and described it as "irresponsible."
The SDA emphasized that there was no evidence to support Tudjman's
claim, adding that it "indicates that Tudjman assumed Serbia's
President Slobodan Milosevic's arguments against Bosnia's Muslims."
(Milan Andrejevich)

BULGARIA, MACEDONIA TO OPEN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS.On 12 August
Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov and his Bulgarian counterpart
Zhelyu Zhelev announced an agreement on the establishment of
general consulates, Western agencies reported. The announcement
came during talks on bilateral affairs and the Balkan crisis,
held in the Black Sea port of Burgas. Zhelev told reporters that
the diplomatic missions are to open within two weeks, and he
also revealed that there are plans for a friendship and cooperation
treaty. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

BALKAN AIR TO BE PARTIALLY PRIVATIZED. A government spokeswoman
said on 12 August that Bulgaria is planning to privatize partially
its airline company, Balkan Air, Reuters reported. According
to a tentative time table, foreign investors will be invited
to make tender offers as from 20 September, following the evalution
of the airline by Western business consultants. BTA said the
details of the scheme will be worked out by the Agency for Privatization.Nearly
all sixty planes comprising the Balkan Air fleet are Soviet-made,
and last year's budget ended with a $16 million deficit.(Kjell
Engelbrekt)

HEADS OF STATE ATTEND TOMASEK'S FUNERAL. Cardinal Frantisek Tomasek,
who played a key role in toppling the communist regime in Czechoslovakia,
was buried in the tomb of Prague's bishops in St. Vitus Cathedral
on 12 August. CSTK reports that among the dignitaries who attended
the ceremony were Polish President Lech Walesa, Austrian President
Thomas Klestil, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Hungarian Premier
Jozsef Antall, Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, and Slovak
Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. Former Czechoslovak President
Vaclav Havel spoke at the ceremony. The attending dignitaries
held talks on relations between their countries. Walesa, Antall,
Klestil, and Kohl said that in case Czechoslovakia splits, their
countries will cooperate with both new states. Kohl vowed to
support the two states' efforts to become successors to the Czechoslovak-EC
association treaty. Walesa and Klaus discussed the possibility
of holding a summit of the so-called Visegrad Triangle in September.
(Jiri Pehe)

CZECHOSLOVAK GOVERNMENT'S LETTER ON GABCIKOVO. On 12 July, CSTK
made public the contents of the Czechoslovak government's letter
of 10 August to the Hungarian government, in which Czechoslovakia
officially responded to Hungary's unilateral cancellation of
the interstate treaty regulating the construction of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros
hydroelectric dam system. The letter said that Hungary had no
legal grounds for cancelling the treaty and that Czechoslovakia
considered the cancellation of the treaty invalid. The letter
further said that the Czechoslovak government was disappointed
by the fact that the cancellation took place at a time when the
European Community was almost ready to form a tripartite commission
of experts, who were to evaluate the project. The Czechoslovak
government expressed its wish to continue a dialogue with Hungary
on the issue and said it would ask EC for further assistance
in finding a "reasonable compromise." (Jiri Pehe)

FOUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN ESTONIA. Four election coalitions
have succeeded in gathering the necessary 10,000 signatures to
put their presidential candidates on the ballot on 20 September,
BNS reports. The election coalitions "Pro Patria," "Popular Front"
and "Secure Home" are fielding former Foreign Minister Lennart
Meri, California academic Rein Taagepera and current Supreme
Council Chairman Arnold Ruutel, respectively, whereas the Estonian
National Independence Party has nominated its chairman Lagle
Parek. Two other presidential candidates could not muster the
necessary signatures, and a third dropped out of the race for
personal reasons. The State Election Commission also reports
that 633 candidates will vie for the available 101 seats in parliament.
Those candidates have until 21 August to register with the Election
Commission. (Riina Kionka)

ESTONIANS MAY TRAVEL VISA-FREE TO POLAND. Starting 1 August,
Estonian citizens have been able to enter Poland without a visa.
According to BNS on 12 August, the Polish government decided
to reciprocate after the Estonian government earlier instituted
visa-free travel for Poles. Those Estonian citizens who do not
yet have a new Estonian passport may travel to Poland with USSR
documents until the end of this year. (Riina Kionka)

LATVIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS NEXT SPRING?BNS and Diena reported
on 11 and 12 August about moves in the Latvian Supreme Council,
especially by its presidium, and the two major factionsPeople's
Front of Latvia and Satversme (Constitution)to hold elections
to the Saeima, as the parliament of independent Latvia will again
be called, in March 1993. (Dzintra Bungs)

FOREST FIRES CONTINUE IN LATVIA.New forest fires have sprung
up in the vicinity of Incupe and Lilaste along the Riga-Tallinn
railroad tracks, and around the village of Saulkrasti, Diena
reported on 11 August.The fires at Lilaste are in the territory
occupied by a Russian army weapons training base. (Dzintra Bungs)


AGREEMENT ON RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO LITHUANIA. On 12 August the
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed BNS that Lithuania
has agreed totheappointment of Nikolai Obertyshev as Russian
ambassador to Lithuania.Obertyshev,born in 1934, has spent several
years working in Soviet foreign diplomatic offices in the Netherlands,
Switzerland,andtheMFA Central Department. From 1989 to1992hewasRussia'sconsul
general in Munich. (Saulius Girnius)

LITHUANIAN-RUSSIAN TALKS CONCLUDE.On 12 August Russian and Lithuanian
delegations, headed by Viktor Isakov and Ceslovas Stankevicius,
respectively, concluded two days of talks on the withdrawal of
Russian troops from Lithuania, RFE/RL Lithuanian Service reports.The
joint communique of the meeting indicated that neither side had
changed its earlier position. Isakov reaffirmed the proposals
made by Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrov on 6 August and
gave more specific data on the number of troops Russia plans
to withdraw in 1992, 1993, and 1994.He said that Lithuania's
demand for the total withdrawal this year was not a plan for
withdrawing an army but for stacking soldiers into train cars.
Stankevicius noted that his goverment's proposals were similar
to agreements Russia had signed with other East Europe countries
and that Russia should respect the wishes of the Lithuanian people
expressed in a June referendum that the troops leave by the end
of 1992. (Saulius Girnius)

WALESA WRITES YELTSIN ON TROOPS. The president's press office
announced on 12 August that President Lech Walesa had sent a
letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin concerning the financial
aspects of the withdrawal of former Soviet troops from Poland.
The contents of the letter were not made public, but the press
office statement hinted that Poland is preparing to ask Western
governments to finance the construction by Polish building firms
of housing in Russia for officers withdrawn from Poland. This
request would be in keeping with pledges made by Walesa during
his visit to Moscow in May. (Louisa Vinton)

STRIKE DEADLOCK CONTINUES. On his return from the Prague funeral
of Cardinal Frantisek Tomasek on 12 August, President Walesa
described as "blasphemy" comparisons between the current strikes
in Poland and those that gave birth to Solidarity in 1980. "Striking
was good and necessary when the government was unwilling to heed
arguments," Walesa said. "Now the government and the president
are willing but cannot find solutions. Different methods are
necessary to find solutions." As strikes at the Polska Miedz
copper combine and the FSM auto plant continued, the government
held "informational" talks with the Network, the organization
of Solidarity locals from Poland's largest industrial plants.
Network representatives said afterward that they will refrain
from forming a national strike committee until the government
presents its views on the financing of state firms on 14 August.
While open in their criticism of Solidarity's national leadership,
Network representatives denied they were splitting the union.
(Louisa Vinton)

NEW RIGHT-WING COALITION IN POLAND? Five right-of-center parties,
consisting largely of personalities who had supported the recently
dismissed government of Jan Olszewski, signed a declaration of
cooperation on August 10 in an attempt to mount a new anticommunist
coalition. In addition to Olszewski himself, the signatories
include former Defense Minister Jan Parys and his deputy, Romuald
Szeremietiew, former Internal Afairs Minister Antoni Macierewicz,
Olszewski's short-lived head of Radio and Television, Zbigniew
Romaszewski, Center Alliance leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and a
former Polish Peasant Party leader, Roman Bartoszcze. The new
coalition intends to "overcome the postcommunist arrangement"
in Poland and ensure that the new constitution guarantees national
sovereignty. (Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka)

IMF OFFICIAL PRAISES ROMANIAN MONETARY REFORM. IMF Director Mohsin
Khan was quoted by Radio Bucharest on 12 August in Bucharest
that Romania achieved all the reform targets agreed under a 12-month
standby agreement with the fund. Khan, who was visiting Romania
to review progress made by Theodor Stolojan's coalition government,
was also said to have praised Romanian efforts to boost exports
and rein in inflation. Khan said that the IMF had already disbursed
220 million dollars from a new 12-month standby credit worth
about 440 million dollars. (Dan Ionescu)

ROMANIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS IN THE USA. A delegation of Romanian
opposition leaders arrived in Washington on 12 August to attend
the Republican Party's convention which begins in Houston, Texas,
on 17 August. The five-man delegation includes Corneliu Coposu,
president of the National Peasants' Party, and Nicolae Manolescu,
president of the Party of Civic Alliance. The Romanian politicians,
who are guests of the International Republican Institute, will
be able to learn first-hand about the US political system. (Dan
Ionescu)