No. 165, 28 August 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

MORE FIGHTING IN ABKHAZIA. Three people were killed on 27 August
when a civilian hydrofoil was attacked by an unmarked helicopter
in Georgian territorial waters, ITAR-TASS reported. According
to Interfax, a clash between some 100 supporters of ousted Georgian
President Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Georgian National Guard troops
resulted in several casualties on both sides. Georgian State
Council Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze ruled out an immediate ceasefire
because of the presence on Georgian territory of volunteers from
the North Caucasus. Meanwhile, Georgian Foreign Minister Aleksandre
Chikvaidze invited CSCE observers to visit Abkhazia on a fact-finding
mission. In a statement published in Krasnaya zvezda on 28 August,
Russian President Boris Yeltsin appealed to all parties involved
in the fighting to begin peace talks, as Russia's security would
be threatened by an escalation of the fighting. (Liz Fuller)


COMMISSION FOR NORTH CAUCASUS ESTABLISHED IN RUSSIAN SECURITY
COUNCIL. Russian Minister of Justice Nikolai Fedorov told TASS
that a Commission for the North Caucasus had just been set up
in the Russian Federation's Security Council, ITAR-TASS reported
on 27 August. Fedorov said that the main task of the commission,
which will have direct access to Yeltsin and function on a permanent
basis, is to forestall interethnic conflict in the region, which
is frequently described as a powder-keg. Fedorov, who is deputy
chairman of the commission, said it would include representatives
of the Russian ministries of security, defense, finance, and
economics, and would have quarters in the North Caucasus as well
as Moscow. (Ann Sheehy)

MOUNTAIN PEOPLES' CONFEDERATION PROSECUTED. The Russian Prosecutor
General's Office has initiated criminal proceedings against the
Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus for inciting
national discord, carrying out terrorists acts, and for taking
hostages, ITAR-TASS reported on 27 August. The Prosecutor's press
center said that the confederation, which was an unregistered
association, had ignored warnings about the illegal nature of
the actions it had undertaken in connection with developments
in Abkhazia. (Ann Sheehy)

CEASEFIRE AGREED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH? Armenian President Levon
Ter-Petrossyan accepted unconditionally the 60-day ceasefire
proposal made by CSCE mediator Mario Rafaelli in Erevan on 26
August, although the proposal lacks enforcement mechanisms, his
press secretary Ruben Shugaryan told ITAR-TASS. According to
an unconfirmed KazTAG report, the Armenian and Azerbaidjani foreign
ministers signed a Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement at a
meeting in Alma-Ata convened by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev
on 27 August. According to this agreement, all fighting in the
region should cease on 1 September. (Liz Fuller)

UKRAINE DENOUNCES RUSSIAN PROPOSAL TO CREATE "CONFEDERATION."
Ukrainian authorities have denounced the terms of a Ukrainian-Russian
treaty proposed by Russia which would effectively result in a
"political confederation" of the two states. Both sides had agreed
in June at the Ukrainian-Russian summit in Dagomys to prepare
a wide-ranging political treaty which would govern future bilateral
relations. But after the appearance this week of the Russian
proposal in a Kiev newspaper, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Anatolii Zlenko told Reuters on 27 August that the proposed treaty
reflected "an extreme position put forward in order to satisfy
(Russia's) interests." He added that confederation of any sort
with Russia "is totally out of the question." Ukrainian foreign
ministry officials have also disclosed that three alternative
versions of the treaty are under preparation. (Bohdan Nahaylo)


UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARY LEADER SLAMS MOSCOW'S "GREAT-STATE CHAUVINISTS."
Meanwhile, the head of the Ukrainian parliament, Ivan Plyushch,
in an interview given to Trud on 27 August, accused Moscow politicians
of continuing with their old "imperial" thinking. Vestiges of
"great-state" chauvinism, he said, were causing all sorts of
problems, including the delay in withdrawing Russia's troops
from the Baltic states and Moldova. As for Ukraine and Russia,
he charged that: "Someone clearly is not interested in maintaining
stability in our relations. Someone still wants to see Ukraine
play the role of "little brother." "All we ask is one thing,"
Plyushch stressed: "Don't interfere in the affairs of our sovereign
state." (Bohdan Nahaylo)

RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 1993 INFLATION. Russian government
advisor, Aleksei Ulyukaev, said that current budget projections
for next year assume a monthly inflation rate of 7-8%, according
to ITAR-TASS on 27 August. The figure is down from the double-digit
levels of this spring and equivalent to this July's monthly rate
reported by Gaidar two days earlier. Existing government plans
to jack up domestic energy prices to world levels over 1993-4
put the inflation forecast in some doubt, however. (Erik Whitlock)


RUBLE EXCHANGE RATE DROPS. The exchange rate for the ruble on
the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange dropped on 27 August from
168.1 rubles to 205 rubles to the dollar, Western and Russian
agencies reported. Trading was very narrow, with only $20.8 million
on offer. The decline was attributed to several factors, including
the introduction of new import tariffs scheduled for 1 September,
the proposed further restrictions on commodity exports, and the
anticipated relaxation of credit policy. Most observers expected
further declines in the exchange rate of the ruble. Indeed, in
view of the domestic inflation so far in 1992--variously estimated
at between 800% and 2,000%--the ruble exchange rate has held
up rather well. (Keith Bush)

EX-IM BANK SIGNS FIRST DEAL WITH RUSSIA IN 18 YEARS. The US Export-Import
bank signed an agreement with the Russian Federation guaranteeing
$102 million worth of loans for the purchase of American machinery,
ITAR-TASS reported on 27 August. The agreement was the first
deal in nearly two decades between the EX-IM Bank and the countries
of the former Soviet Union. Such deals were stopped by the United
States in objection to emigration policies of the Soviet regime.
Eugene Lawson, vice chairman of the EX-IM bank, expects a great
deal more activity in the future, since his agency has a backlog
of 5.1 billion dollars worth of credit applications. (Erik Whitlock)


RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS FAULTS PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE
FOR MYOPIA, SECRECY. MFA spokesman Aleksandr Rozanov questioned
the judgment of the Parliamentary Committee for International
Relations and Foreign Economic Ties for focusing on the Kurile
Islands question despite the emergence of other pressing international
issues. "We cannot impose an agenda on the deputies but we would
like to remind them that the Foreign Ministry would like to rely
on the opinion of Russian lawmakers as regards a broad range
of international issues," Rozanov said. He also faulted the committee
for excluding the MFA leadership from a recent session devoted
to Yeltsin's approaching visit to Japan, saying: "surprisingly,
the [committee] prepared and discussed Proposals for a state
visit to Japan' without the [MFA]." Rozanov noted that the Japanese
media had been notified of the discussion in advance, ITAR-TASS
reported on 26 August. (Suzanne Crow)

MORE ON MEETING OF RUSSIAN/CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER. Chinese
Defense Minister Qin Jiwei, visiting Moscow, seems to be in the
market for jet fighters, but no public mention has been made
of previous Chinese interest in Russian-built surface-to- surface
missiles. ITAR-TASS on 26 August reported that Qin and Russian
Defense Minister Pavel Grachev discussed the possible delivery
of Russian MiG-27 fighters and "air defense complexes," in addition
to the already-announced Chinese purchase of Su-27 jet fighters.
Although Grachev talked about contracts for twenty-four of the
Sukhoi aircraft, press reports indicated that China had shown
an interest in purchasing up to seventy-two. (Doug Clarke)

RUSSIA CALLS FOR BETTER PROTECTION FOR "BLUE HELMETS". On August
25, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that
Russia would support "energetic and if need be tough measures
to influence those who are held responsible for encroachments
on the life and security of servicemen manning U.N. military
contingents in Yugoslavia." According to ISAR-TASS, the statement
called on the U.N. Security Council to "take the most decisive
measures to ensure the security of the peacekeeping force's personnel."
The report noted the "alarming situation" in Sarajevo, where
the Ukrainian contingent has come under fire, resulting in the
deaths of two soldiers and injuries to eight others. (Doug Clarke)


DEFENSE COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY. The Istanbul newspaper
"Daily News" reported on 27 August that there would be cooperation
in the future between Turkish and Russian defense industries,
which could include military technology transfer from Russia
to Turkey. The paper, quoting Turkish "official sources," said
that plans for Turkey to purchase Russian-made guns, aircraft,
and helicopters were being discussed during the current visit
to Ankara of Russian State Secretary Gennadii Burbulis. According
to the report, which was carried by the Chinese Xinua news agency,
Turkish Foreign Ministry officials confirmed that Turkey was
seeking to buy weapons from Russia. The paper quoted Vechislav
Mironov, a member of Burbulis' delegation, as saying that the
purchase of weapons required by the Turkish gendarmerie was "a
beginning." (Doug Clarke)

TRANSCAUCASUS MILITARY DISTRICT TRANSFORMED; NEW COMMANDER NAMED.
ITAR-TASS reported on 27 August that Russian President Boris
Yeltsin has issued a decree transforming the Transcaucasus Military
District into the Group of Russian Troops in Transcaucasia, with
its headquarters in Tbilisi. The change, which parallels that
which occurred in the Baltic States in November of 1991, is in
recognition of the fact that the former Soviet troops in the
region are now on foreign territory. ITAR-TASS also reported
that Lt. Gen. Fedor Reut has been named commander of the group,
apparently replacing former military district commander Col.
Gen. Valerii Patrikeev. Reut was born in 1946 in the Moscow oblast.
Most recently, he had served as commander of the Seventh Guards
Army, based in Armenia. According to the report, he is a proponent
of the phased withdrawal of that army from Armenia. (Stephen
Foye)

KRAVCHUK THREATENS TO EXPEL "SUBVERSIVE" VISITORS. Angered by
oustpoken criticism of political and economic conditions in Ukraine
by some of the more hardline "emigre" participants in the recent
World Forum of Ukrainians, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk
has threatened to have "subversive" visitors in Ukraine deported
and banned from reentering. According to a statement issued on
26 August by Ukrinform on Kravchuk's instructions, visitors to
Ukraine, regardless of their citizenship, will be expelled if
they violate the laws of Ukraine by carrying out activity that
undermines the country's unity, political stability and ethnic
harmony. (Bohdan Nahaylo)

UKRAINIAN COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC REFORM ESTABLISHED.
On 27 August, the Ukrainian parliamentary newspaper Holos Ukrainy
published the presidential decree of 19 August establishing a
Coordinating Council For Questions of Economic Reform in Ukraine
"to accelerate" economic reforms. It is headed by newly appointed
First Deputy Prime Minister, Valentyn Symonenko, and its other
seventeen members include: Oleksandr Yemelyanov,the State Duma's
councillor on economic matters, the head of the Ukrainian National
Bank, Vadym Hetman, and the ministers for machine-building, the
military-industrial complex and conversion, investment and construction,
labor, foreign and economic trade relations, and finance. (Bohdan
Nahaylo)

REMAINS OF EXILED UKRAINIAN CHURCH LEADER RETURNED TO LVIV. On
27 August, the remains of Cardinal Iosyf Slipyi, the former head
of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, who died in exile in Rome in
1984, were returned to Ukraine. According to Reuters, tens of
thousands of people turned out in Lviv to pay tribute to the
indomitable religious leader who spent 18 years in Soviet prisons
and labor camps before being exiled to Rome in 1963. Cardinal
Slipyi's remains will be reburied in Lviv's St. George's Cathedral
on 29 August. (Bohdan Nahaylo).

UPDATE ON TAJIKISTAN. Eight members of parties in Tajikistan's
opposition coalition were killed on 27 August in Kurgan-Tyube
by supporters of the Communist leadership, AFP reported from
Dushanbe. Five members of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan
were gunned down in their offices and three members of Lali Badakhshan
were killed in their homes. The pro-Communist Ashkara group,
which has been fighting against supporters of the democratic
coalition for two months, had demanded on 24 August that the
opposition leave Kurgan-Tyube by 27 August, and that opposition
members of the government resign. (Bess Brown)

RUSSIAN REGIMENT TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM CHISINAU. On 26 August
the Russian defense minister, Gen. Pavel Grachev, and the Moldovan
defense minister, Maj. Gen. Pavel Creanga, signed an agreement
in Moscow on the withdrawal from Moldova of Russia's 300th paratroop
regiment, which is currently stationed in central Chisinau, Moldovapres
reported. The regiment's withdrawal had been agreed upon in principle
by Russian and Moldovan military authorities in May, at which
time the Russian General Staff announced their intent to transfer
the regiment to Siberia. The regiment is not a part of Russia's
14th Army, which is stationed in eastern Moldova and is involved
in the military conflict there. (Vladimir Socor)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SOME POSITIVE SIGNS FROM LONDON CONFERENCE . . . The UN-EC sponsored
international conference concluded on 27 August. A long-term
plan for a peace settlement was created through the establishment
of an international forum which will begin mediating with the
purpose of solving the crisis in the former Yugoslavia next week
in Geneva. Six working groups directed by a steering committee
of 22 nations will support the efforts towards reaching a peaceful
solution. The groups will be co-chaired by UN envoy Cyrus Vance
and EC mediator Lord Owen. The conference also adopted 13 principles
regarded as measures for a settlement of the crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The main points call for a cessation of violence; the handing
in of all heavy weapons within 96 hours; bringing all forces
under central control; full collaboration by all parties in the
delivery of humanitarian aid; the unconditional release of all
detained civilians and the closure of all detention camps; and
stronger enforcement of UN imposed sanctions in the region. (Milan
Andrejevich)

. . . WILL THE AGREEMENT HOLD? British Prime Minister John Major
admitted that the world "cannot rely on the goodwill of the parties"
but said pressure would be exerted and intensified as necessary
to force a political solution. Nonetheless, doubts have been
raised over the question of the parties' respect for their commitments.
For example, lacking a definition of what is meant by withdrawing
from a "substantial portion" of seized territory enabled Radovan
Karadzic, the Serb leader in Bosnia to say that he will abide
by the principles while adding that the Bosnian Serbs are willing
to negotiate the return of only 20% of the territory they control.
(Milan Andrejevich and Michael Shafir).

A MIXED BAG OF REACTIONS. Radio Serbia reports that Slobodan
Milosevic told Belgrade TV that the conference represents the
"most significant step so far for the Yugoslav crisis to be finally
settled". However, Western press reports say that Milosevic was
rebuked by Milan Panic, the prime minister of the rump Yugoslavia.
France's foreign minister Roland Dumas told reporters that the
two men quarreled in front of the full conference. According
to Radio Croatia, Panic told Milosevic that he was out of line
when speaking about the situation in Serbia's province of Kosovo,
adding that no one in his delegation was allowed to speak without
his permission. An RFE correspondent in London reported that
when Milosevic was asked for his assessment of the talks, he
replied "Talks? What Talks",? as he stormed out of the conference
hall. Croatia's President Franjo Tudjman told reporters that
he is appreciative of the efforts made in adopting the resolution,
but cautioned that "the international community has not yet found
an effective mechanism for ending" the conflict. (Milan Andrejevich)


BULGARIA STRICTLY OBSERVING UN SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
"We are deeply impressed by the rigor with which Bulgaria is
enforcing the sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro" -- so
said Jessica Pierce, leader of the group of experts from the
EC and the US who are evaluating the UN sanctions imposed on
rump Yugoslavia, according to BTA. The group, which is visiting
Sofia, noted that Bulgaria is the only state bordering on the
former Yugoslavia that is strictly observing the UN resolution,
and called for more stringent enforcement of the ban with respect
to Danube traffic. The matter of compensating Bulgaria for losses
suffered as a consequence of the embargo was also discussed.
Deputy minister of industry Kiril Velev estimated the losses
at 45 million US dollars per month. (Duncan Perry)

OBSERVERS TO BE STATIONED ON BORDER BETWEEN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
AND BULGARIA? BTA announced that discussions concerning the possibility
of stationing observers along Bulgaria's border with the former
Yugoslav state were held in Sofia on 27 August between two officers
representing the EC and deputy defense minister Valentin Dobrev
and chief of the general staff Lyuben Petrov. The visit is in
response to Bulgaria's request for third party observers. Questions
of how such observers would function, the extent of their authority
and financing the mission were addressed. (Duncan Perry and Kjell
Engelbrekt)

JESZENSZKY: AUTONOMY FOR MINORITIES IS KEY TO SOUTH SLAV PROBLEMS.
Geza Jeszenszky told journalists attending the London conference
that without the protection of minority rights there will be
no true peace in former Yugoslavia, reported an RFE/RL correspondent.
Jeszenszky said that autonomy in various forms was the best way
to achieve the double goal of ensuring the rights of minorities
while at the same time reassuring the state in which they live.
The recognition by the leading European politicians that minority
relations are crucial could help solve not only the Yugoslav
problem but also contribute to all-European security, he said.
Jeszenszky also praised the Democratic Community of Hungarians
(DCH) of Vojvodina, saying that this organization's legitimate
and constructive attitude had been demonstrated in several elections;
although the DCH was a Hungarian political organization it was
loyal to the republic of Serbia, Jeszenszky said. (Karoly Okolicsanyi
and Michael Shafir)

WALESA OPENS NEW OFFENSIVE. Embarking on one of his periodic
"activist" campaigns, president Lech Walesa dispatched letters
to the Sejm leadership and Poland's chief prosecutor on 27 August.
Walesa asked that the Sejm give priority to issues vital to the
nation: economic recovery and law and order. He chided the justice
ministry for sluggishness and expressed impatience that prosecutors
had not heeded his suggestions about fighting corruption. In
an interview with PAP the same day, Walesa emphasized the need
"to transform justified protest into creative solutions and effective
work." He returned to his idea of a "master plan" for reform
that would make clear exactly who had responsibility for what.
So far he had left things up to democracy, he said, but if no
improvement occurs in six months time, "presidential actions"
will be necessary. The president is to visit the Gdansk shipyard
today. (Louisa Vinton)

KLAUS PREDICTS CZECHOSLOVAK PARLIAMENT WILL APPROVE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT. Speaking at a press conference in Prague on 27 August,
Czech prime minister Vaclav Klaus said he hoped that the federal
parliament would approve a constitutional amendment abolishing
the Czechoslovak federation, CSTK and Western media report. Currently,
only a referendum can be used to decide on the question of the
continuing existence of the federation. The amendment would permit
two options for a break up -- either through a vote of the federal
parliament or by agreement between the republican parliaments.
(Paulina Bren)

CZECH-SLOVAK EXCHANGE RATE TO BE FIXED EARLY. Czech premier Vaclav
Klaus said on 27 August that two independent currencies would
be set after the break up of Czechoslovakia, with a fixed rate
of exchange of 1:1, CSTK reported. According to Klaus, independent
currencies with fixed rates of exchange must be set when the
economies of the two republics are still identical and not "too
far apart." He added that disparate economic developments in
the Czech republic and in Slovakia could change the exchange
rate. The vice-chairman of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia,
Augustin Marian Huska, made a similar statement, adding that
the process would be implemented so as not to harm the citizens.
(Paulina Bren)

NEW CANDIDATES REGISTER IN ROMANIA'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE. On 26
August, Ion Minzatu, leader of Romania's Republican Party, registered
with the authorities as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming
elections. Minzatu is a controversial political figure, known
for his collaboration with the former regime. Two further candidates
registered on 27 August, namely Caius Traian Dragomir, running
on the ticket of the National Salvation Front and Mircea Druc,
who runs as an independent. Dragomir, who is one of the NSF's
main strategists, told Radio Bucharest that his party was striving
for "national reconciliation." Druc, a former Moldovan prime
minister who became a Romanian citizen this year, advocates Romania's
rapid reunification with the republic of Moldova. He was the
sixth contender to officially join the presidential race. (Dan
Ionescu)

POLISH POLICE STEP IN AT FSM A decisive test of strength seems
to be approaching in two of the illegal strikes now underway
in Poland. Early on 28 August, Katowice authorities sent in the
police to remove the 40 members of the radical union Solidarity
'80 who had taken over the management offices of the FSM auto
plant in Tychy the previous afternoon, PAP reports. The strikers,
who first locked management personnel inside the building and
then forced them to leave, fled when police arrived. The strikers
apparently sought to prevent the plant's directors from following
through with their threat to fire all strikers who did not return
to work by 8:00 a.m. on 28 August. The FSM strike committee says
it will ignore this ultimatum. (Louisa Vinton)

CONFLICT SHARPENS AT STRIKING MINE IN POLAND. Industry minister
Waclaw Niewiarowski announced on 27 August that strikers occupying
management buildings at the Rozbark coal mine (the only mine
still on strike) will be fired as well, along with the strike
committee. According to a PAP report, the strikers had forced
the works council to suspend the director when he refused to
raise wages, only to have the industry minister impose direct
control over the mine and reappoint the same director. A group
of predominantly female employees attempted to harangue the strike
committee into allowing them to work, at which point the committee
ordered all women and supervisors to leave the mine. In announcing
his decision, Niewiarowski explained that "no one can accuse
the government or the industry ministry of not demonstrating
a maximum of good will, but we cannot permit a situation in which
all conceivable transgressions are committed in a drastic fashion."
Peaceful talks took place between the government and strikers
from the Ursus tractor factory. (Louisa Vinton)

PRICES IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA TO BE INCREASED. A finance ministry
official revealed on 27 August that a ten percent rise in prices
is expected in Czechoslovakia by mid-1993, CSTK reported. The
official said that in the first half of 1992 the inflation rate
had been only 3 %. Price increases will in part be caused by
the introduction of a value-added tax in January 1993 and the
further reduction of subsidies. There will also be other price
increases, especially for water, coal, electricity and postage
fees. (Paulina Bren)

NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE IMF AND HUNGARY. Talks in Budapest between
the Hungarian government, the National Bank and the IMF about
present and future trends in the Hungarian economy continued,
reported MTI. The IMF registered the positive signs of decreasing
inflation and a favorable balance of payment, but expressed concern
about the smaller than planned gross domestic product, a much
larger than planned budget deficit and growing unemployment.
The negotiators also examined how the large budget deficit could
be reduced while maintaining low interest rates and avoiding
inflation. Further discussions will take place in September,
during the IMF's general assembly session. (Karoly Okolicsanyi
and Michael Shafir)

ESTONIAN-RUSSIAN ECONOMIC TALKS. During the latest round of economic
talks with Russia on 27 August, Russia proposed that both sides
simply wipe the slate clean by forgiving each other's outstanding
debts. Estonia's minister for the economy, Olari Taal,told BNS
that the Russian side also reiterated Russia's offer from earlier
this year to assume Estonia's share of the former USSR's foreign
debt. Economic talks continue on 2 September at the prime minister
level. (Riina Kionka)

SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER VISITS LITHUANIA. On 27 August Swedish
prime minister Carl Bildt arrived in Vilnius on an informal visit,
Radio Lithuania reports. He held talks with Lithuanian Supreme
Council chairman Vytautas Landsbergis that focused on the continued
presence of the Russian army in the Baltic States and economic
problems. Bildt returned to Stockholm on 28 August. (Saulius
Girnius)

UNEMPLOYMENT IN LITHUANIA. As of 17 August, 5,587 unemployed
persons were registered at Lithuania's labor exchange, of whom
5,181 were being paid benefits, BNS reported on 27 August. (Saulius
Girnius)

DEVELOPMENTS IN BULGARIAN TOURISM. Preliminary figures indicate
that 1992 will be a significantly better year for Bulgaria's
tourism industry than the disastrous 1991, BTA reported on 27
August. According to statistics presented at a press conference
by chairman of the committee on tourism Slaveyko Bozhinov, there
has been a 75% booking of hotel beds at major sea resorts, while
the number of foreign visitors is up by 23-25%. Bozhinov disclosed
that within its PHARE program, the EC has agreed to release one
million Ecu for privatization of Bulgaria's tourism sector, and
said the transformation of state enterprises into joint-stock
companies would pave the way for successful businesses. (Kjell
Engelbrekt)

CDU MEETING IN HUNGARY. The German Christian Democratic Union
parliamentary deputies from Berlin are holding consultations
in Hungary, reported MTI. Over 100 deputies and other city leaders,
including the mayor of Berlin, flew to Debrecen, using for the
first time an abondoned Soviet airport. The meeting will actually
take place in the south Hungarian city of Szeged. (Karoly Okolicsanyi)