No. 183, 23 September 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

SITUATION IN TAJIKISTAN. On 22 September deputies of Tajikistan's
Supreme Soviet went to the town of Kulyab to negotiate with supporters
of deposed President Rakhmon Nabiev, who are fighting opposition
forces in the southern part of the country, AFP reported from
Dushanbe. The same source had reported the previous day that
Dushanbe residents had demonstrated all day in front of the Supreme
Soviet building, demanding arms to protect themselves against
attacks by pro-Nabiev forces. Also on 21 September the independent
daily Charogi ruz criticized the appointment of Abdumalik Abdullodzhanov
as interim prime minister, accusing him of corruption and association
with Tajikistan's economic mafia. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.)


ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AGREE ON CEASEFIRE. At a meeting in Sochi
on 19 September the defense ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Russia signed an agreement on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh
and along the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontier and a two-month moratorium
on military activity in the region, according to Krasnaya zvezda
of 23 September. The ceasefire is to take effect at midnight
on 25 September after which Armenia and Azerbaijan have pledged
to begin the "phased withdrawal" of troops from the area. Observers
from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan
will monitor the ceasefire. Whether representatives from the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic participated in the meeting and whether
Karabakh defense units consider themselves bound to comply with
the ceasefire is not clear. A three-day ceasefire along the border
between Nakhichevan and Armenia was agreed on 22 September, Azerinform
reported. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.)

GAIDAR REPORTS ON STATE OF THE ECONOMY. Russian Prime Minister
Gaidar presented a dim evaluation of the Russian economy to parliament
on 22 September, various Russian and Western news agencies reported.
Gaidar said that from August 1991 to August 1992 industrial production
had fallen 27%. In the agricultural sector, although grain production
is up from last year, cattle and poultry stock have dropped substantially.
Milk production is down 17% and eggs 12% from last August's levels.
Unemployment was officially 300,000 in August and expected to
quintuple by year-end. Gaidar also confirmed that the budget
deficit stood at 101.3 billion rubles at mid-year, which is 7.5%
of GNP, higher than the 5% promised the IMF. (Erik Whitlock,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

RUBLE DOWN, INFLATION UP. The ruble dropped 14.7% in value against
the dollar on 22 September, according to various Russian and
Western news agencies. The dollar reached 241 rubles, up from
the 205.5 at the previous Thursday's trading on the Moscow Interbank
Currency Exchange. The direct cause of the change was attributed
by some observers to the recent announcement of energy price
increases. Recent reports have also borne out expectations of
increased inflation, a significant factor in exchange rate fluctuations.
Russian government officials have said September's inflation
rate is running at 20%, up from July-August's 7-8%. Prime Minister
Gaidar told parliament on 22 September that consumer prices had
risen 15 times between last August and this August. This is significantly
higher than the officially reported thirteen-fold increase from
June 1991 to June 1992. (Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL, Inc.)

RUSSIA SUSPENDS CREDITS TO UKRAINE. Prime Minister Gaidar, speaking
before the Russian parliament on 22 September, said that the
Central Bank is suspending ruble credits to Ukraine, according
to ITAR-TASS. Gaidar said credits would not be forthcoming until
the two states worked out an agreement on trade payments. The
controversy over Russian credit to other CIS republics erupted
earlier this week, when reform parliamentarians accused the central
bank of giving away Russia's "national wealth" by lending Ukraine
hundreds of billion of rubles. According to Western news agencies,
Ukraine government officials are very displeased over the suspension.
First Deputy Finance Minister Viktor Ilyin is quoted as saying
that "The action will lead to an even greater crisis because
Ukrainian firms are likely to stop supplying Russian customers."
(Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL, Inc.)

MINISTRY OF FINANCE FORECASTS YEAR-END FOOD PRICES. A report
published by the Ministry of Finance suggests what the Russian
consumer may expect in food prices by the end of 1992. The forecasts
of what appear to be retail trade prices were reported by ITAR-TASS
on 22 September. Beef is to rise to 160-220 rubles per kilogram
as compared to the recent 84 rubles (reported by Ekonomika i
zhizn, no. 36). The price of a liter of milk is predicted to
increase from 12 to between 15 and 19 rubles. Butter can be expected
to rise to 225-280 rubles/kilogram from last month's 189. Wheat
bread may cost 37 rubles, up from 24 rubles. The report says
that the 23-fold increase in procurement prices for grain over
last year is the primary culprit for the general rise in food
prices. (Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL, Inc.)

RUSSIA TO JOIN IMF BOARD. Russia has gained a seat on the IMF
Board of Governors, an RFE/RL correspondent reported in Washington,
D.C. on 23 September. Approval for Russia's inclusion in the
Board was granted on Tuesday at the annual meeting of the IMF/World
Bank in Washington. Konstantin Kagolovsky, an ambassadorial-level
official with the Russian government's department for relations
with international financial organizations, is expected to represent
Russia on the board. (Erik Whitlock/Robert Lyle, RFE/RL, Inc.)


RUTSKOI CHALLENGES REFORMERS. Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi
told Delovoi mir on 19 September that although he remains loyal
to President Boris Yeltsin, he--together with other leaders of
the Civic Union--will put pressure on the executive branch to
adopt the Civic Union's alternative economic reform program.
Rutskoi said he favors the introduction of a market system through
a strengthening of law and order and the reestablishment of economic
ties between former the Soviet republics. He accused democrats
in Yeltsin's entourage of having made several attempts to isolate
him from the president in the months before the Sixth Congress
last April, but he indicated that after the Congress, his access
to the president has improved. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.)


KHASBULATOV'S SECRETARIAT. Parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov
has set up a personal secretariat which consists of former CPSU
Central Committee officials. The secretariat is supervising the
work of the parliamentary department, the membership and structure
of which are almost identical to the staff of ex-Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev's chief of staff, Valerii Boldin. Deputies
are dependent on the speaker because he has power over foreign
travel, apartments, and other privileges. Novoe vremya (no 38)
commented that the Russian parliament has become an institution
dominated by deputies' group interests. In such a situation deputies
care more about preserving their own interests than about adopting
laws. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.)

PARLIAMENT SESSION OPENS. Parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov
opened parliament with a conciliatory speech calling for "concrete
action" rather than confrontation, Interfax reported on 22 September.
The parliament rejected the proposal by a number of liberal deputies
to force Khasbulatov to give an account of his work to the parliament,
and it also rejected the proposed formation of a commission to
assess the work of the Director of the Russian Central Bank,
Viktor Gerashchenko. The parliament did, however, approve several
other proposals by liberal deputies to investigate the performance
of the parliamentary presidium. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.)


KOZYREV CRITICIZES ESTONIA OVER ELECTIONS. In his speech at the
UN on 22 September, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev harshly
criticized the recent Estonian elections. While registering his
"special discomfort" at discrimination against Russians, Ukrainians,
and Jews in some of the former Soviet Republics, he singled out
Estonia for violating the rights of its Russian minority. Claiming
that 42% of Estonia's population was ineligible to vote in the
election, Kozyrev stated that this violated international law
and that Russia would raise the issue at the UN. At the same
time, however, Kozyrev said that Estonia's action would not affect
Russia's commitment to withdraw its troops in the shortest time
possible. (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL, Inc.)

RUSSIA SUPPORTS STANDING UN ARMY. At the United Nations in New
York on 22 September, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev
supported the idea of establishing a standing UN army. UN Secretary-General
Boutros Ghali has called for the formation of such a military
force, which would be put under UN command and which could be
used on short notice in trouble spots, but which would be paid
for by those countries contributing forces. This proposal has
also received the support of the United States and Great Britain.
Kozyrev was quoted by the UPI as also saying that UN peace-keeping
forces "should return fire . . . when fired upon." (Doug Clarke,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER CRITICIZES RUSSIA OVER SUBMARINE INTRUSION.
Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt on 22 September stated that
he suspected Russia of being responsible for a submarine intrusion
in Swedish waters on 21 September, according to Western news
agencies. Bildt noted that the incident, in which Swedish forces
fired depth charges, grenades, and a torpedo at the intruding
submarine, matched the pattern of earlier incidents. Bildt suggested
that the failure of the new Russian government to halt the intrusions
may indicate that it has only weak control over the actions of
its navy. The strong measures taken against the most recent intruder
suggest that Sweden is making the cessation of such intrusions
a high priority in its relations with Russia. (John Lepingwell,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

VOLKOGONOV SAYS NO AMERICAN POWS ALIVE IN RUSSIA. In an interview
with Western news agencies on 21 September, Gen. Dmitri Volkogonov
claimed that no evidence has been found indicating that any American
POWs are alive or being held against their will in Russia. Volkogonov
is an advisor to President Boris Yeltsin and the chairman of
a joint US-Russian committee established to investigate reports
of US POWs in Russia. (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL, Inc.)

WHERE IS THE CIS INTERPARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY MOVING TO? The newly
created CIS Interparliamentary Assembly is scheduled to be moved
to the Tavricheskii palace in St. Petersburg, DR-Press reported
on 20 September. The palace is now being used by a Russian government
personnel education center. In a letter to the St. Petersburg
mayor, Anatolii Sobchak, the director of the center protested
the decision to move the Assembly into the palace. He recommended
to Sobchak that the Assembly be moved into the former House of
Political Education, which is still in Communist possession.
(Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.)

CRIMEAN SEPARATISTS LIST DEMANDS. The Republican Movement of
Crimea (RDK) has issued an appeal to the Crimean parliament,
which is scheduled to open on 24 September, Radio Rossii reported
on 20 September. The RDK wants Crimean lawmakers to defend the
Crimean constitution; pass an electoral law based on multiparty
participation and laws on citizenship and public associations;
repeal its moratorium on a referendum on the Crimea's state status;
and set a date for new parliamentary elections. (Roman Solchanyk,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

NAZARBAEV IN GERMANY. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev
and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl signed agreements on the protection
of German investments in Kazakhstan and on economic cooperation
on 22 September, but the Kazakh president was unable to obtain
concrete commitments from the German government to provide financial
aid to the Central Asian country, the Munich daily Sueddeutsche
Zeitung reported on 23 September. The German economics ministry
has promised to consider a Kazakh request for more credits and
expert assistance for Kazakhstan's privatization program. Nazarbaev
boasted to a meeting of German industrialists that Kazakhstan
could be the world's most important oil exporter in the next
century. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.)

ECONOMIC DECLINE CONTINUES IN KYRGYZSTAN. Price liberalization
on 1 September has resulted in a reduction of output at Bishkek's
dairy products and flour combine. In addition, industrial and
agricultural output throughout Kyrgyzstan has declined 20% this
year, and food output is down almost 40%, KyrgyzTAG-TASS reported
on 22 September. Although wage rates have risen twice in 1992,
they have not begun to keep up with raging inflation; the report
estimates that an average salary can cover only half the cost
of food for a normal family. In addition, the threat of mass
unemployment is looming as 920 firms plan staff reductions. Prime
Minister Tursunbek Chyngyshev complained that natural disasters
this year have overtaxed the country's budget. Angry citizens
have already begun demonstrating against the price rises. (Bess
Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.)

ROMANIANS IN NORTHERN BUKOVYNA PUBLISH FIRST BOOK IN LATIN SCRIPT
SINCE WW II. For the first time since 1944, a Romanian-language
book in the Latin script has been published in northern Bukovyna,
the Romanian media reported on 17 and 18 September. The book,
a literary and historical almanac, was published by the Chernivtsy-based
Eminescu Society for Romanian Culture. Moldovans/Romanians in
the region are currently beginning to reinstate the Latin script
in the native language press, education, and public signs. The
Ukrainian authorities' flexibility in this matter contrasts sharply
with the attitude of the "Dniester" Russian authorities, who
have just reimposed the Cyrillic alphabet on the "Moldovan" (i.e.
Romanian) language in place of the Latin script. (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

"YUGOSLAVIA" EXPELLED FROM UNITED NATIONS. By a vote of 127 to
6, with 26 abstentions, the UN General Assembly voted to exclude
the rump Yugoslavia from membership in that body. All Eastern
European states (except Yugoslavia itself) and all but three
of the ex-USSR states voted with the majority. The precedent-setting
UNGA resolution specifies that the rump Yugoslavia may not automatically
take over the old Yugoslavia's membership in the United Nations
(presumably including the specialized agencies), although the
document specifically mentions only exclusion from the General
Assembly. The new Yugoslavia will have to apply for membership.
In an eleventh-hour appeal, Prime Minister Milan Panic argued
that expulsion of his country from the UN would be unjustified
and would hamper his efforts to promote peace in the area. Whatever
the outcome of the vote, Panic promised, Belgrade will continue
its support of UN peace efforts. (Charles Trumbull, RFE/RL, Inc.)


SKUBISZEWSKI AT THE UN. Polish Foreign Minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski
asked the United Nations to establish an emergency system to
address serious human rights violations. Speaking before the
UN General Assembly on 22 September, Skubiszewski said that Poland
supports Austria's proposal for such a system, which should be
discussed at the UN conference on human rights in Vienna next
June. Skubiszewski demanded that all detention camps in the former
Yugoslavia be closed immediately. He added that Poland will offer
one of the former Soviet military bases on its territory for
the training of UN peacekeeping forces. In 1993 Poland will put
two or three infantry battalions at the disposal of the UN Security
Council. (Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.)

ROMANIA TO SEEK COMPENSATION FOR IRAQ EMBARGO. Romanian Foreign
Minister Adrian Nastase said in an interview with Radio Bucharest
on 22 September that his country will seek compensation for losses
resulting from the UN embargo against Iraq. Nastase, on his way
to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session, claimed
that Romania's transition to a market economy and its economic
reform program had been seriously affected by the losses in its
trade with Iraq, which Romanian sources put to some $3 billion.
Nastase added that he would also discuss the negative impact
of the UN sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro on the Romanian
economy. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.)

US CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES COMMISSION FOR YUGOSLAV AREA. On 22 September
the US government gave the UN a report on war crimes in the conflict,
the Los Angeles Times reports on 23 September. The document blames
all sides for atrocities, but singles out the Serbs for committing
war crimes as "part of a systematic campaign toward . . . the
creation of an ethnically pure state." The daily says that the
text paves the way for eventual war crimes trials. On 22 September
the New York Times reported on an alleged massacre of over 200
Muslim men by Serbs at Varjanta, near Travnik, in Bosnia. Western
news agencies have carried similar stories, and Acting Secretary
of State Lawrence Eagleburger told reporters that Washington
is looking into the reports. (Patrick Moore, RFE/RL, Inc.)

LORD OWEN WARNS OVER KOSOVO. The BBC on 23 September quotes the
EC chief negotiator in the Yugoslav crisis, Lord Owen, as warning
that the conflict could turn into a general Balkan conflagration
if it spills over into Kosovo. On a visit to Greece he said that
the Albanians in Kosovo should not demand independence but that
they should receive back the autonomy that Serbian leader Slobodan
Milosevic took away from them in recent years. Meanwhile, Western
and other media continue to report on the alleged presence of
foreign Islamic warriors in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Die Zeit on 17
September said that they number in the hundreds at the most.
Stories are already legion about culture shock between devout
Muslims from the Middle East who have come to fight a jihad,
and the highly secular and European Bosnians who want just to
defend their homes. Reuters stated on 22 September that the Bosnians
want weapons, not volunteers. The Bosnian authorities reportedly
have about 40,000 men who are ready to fight but who lack weapons.
(Patrick Moore, RFE/RL, Inc.)

FEDERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES GOVERNMENT REPORT ON BREAKUP. The Federal
Assembly has asked the Czechoslovak government to present, by
mid-October, a program that would prevent a disorderly breakup
of the country. CSTK reports that the parliament approved, "with
reservations," a government report on the state of the federation.
The government was also asked to prepare a concept for Czech-Slovak
relations after the federation's disintegration by mid-November.
In a separate development, former Czechoslovak President Vaclav
Havel urged Czechs and Slovaks to dissolve the country in an
orderly manner, avoiding "chaos and civic conflicts." According
to CSTK, Havel expressed his concern that the division might
not be carried out "as elegantly, cleanly, and professionally"
as possible. (Jan Obrman, RFE/RL, Inc.)

POLISH GOVERNMENT COMPLETES PRIORITY PLANS. Prime Minister Hanna
Suchocka announced on 22 September that the government will complete
work on its five priority action plans by the end of the week.
These plans are designed to restructure state industry, fight
corruption and organized crime, modernize agriculture, revive
public finances, and guarantee a minimum of social security.
Suchocka will present the plans to the public, as promised, by
10 October, exactly three months after she took office. Suchocka
said the government has worked with great speed and hopes the
same will be true of the trade unions and the parliament. Gazeta
Wyborcza reported that one of the government plans will substantially
expand police powers, permitting freer use of firearms and "sting"
operations. (Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.)

PARTY LEADERS CALL FOR RESIGNATION OF LATVIAN GOVERNMENT. On
17 September political leaders representing the liberal, conservative,
liberal-democratic, democratic labor, and renaissance parties
signed a document calling for the resignation of the government
of Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis and for the formation of a government
of popular accord, Diena reported on 17 September and Radio Riga
on 22 September. The signers envisage the new government as focusing
primarily on Latvia's catastrophic economic situation and stipulate
that such a government would exist only until the election of
the new parliament. This call can also be seen as an effort by
political parties, with memberships ranging from former liberal
communist to national democrat to work together as a coalition.
(Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.)

TURMOIL CONTINUES AROUND BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT. A Gallup poll
conducted in Bulgaria in recent days and published in 168 chasa
on 22 September indicates that if elections were held now, 33%
of the respondents would vote for the governing Union of Democratic
Forces, 28% for the Bulgarian Socialist Party, 8% for the Movement
for Rights and Freedoms, and 16% for other parties. Some 15%
said they would not vote. Unity in the UDF remains fractured,
while the BSP has said it will not support a no-confidence vote
in the government, though it still hopes to bring down Stefan
Savov, president of the National Assembly. MRF and UDF leaders
have evidently not resolved their differences, leaving the effectiveness
of their loose coalition in the parliament in doubt. (Duncan
Perry & Nick Kaltchev, RFE/RL, Inc.)

EX-POLICEMAN TRIES TO SET UP ROMANIAN FASCIST PARTY. Ionica Catanescu
announced in Bucharest on 22 September that he will try to set
up a National Legionary Party in order to revive the pre-war
Romanian fascist movement, known as the Iron Guard or the Legion.
Reuters reports that Catanescu appears to be the sole member
so far. This move, coming only a week before the 27 September
elections, is being interpreted by some as an electoral maneuver
by the left to win sympathies by conjuring up the ghost of fascism.
(Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.)

KADAR FAULTS AUSTRIA. Hungarian International Economic Relations
Minister Bela Kadar has charged that Austria conducts restrictive
trade policies, hindering the growth of Hungarian exports, Hungarian
Radio reports. Kadar said that Austria will have to liberalize
its foreign trade if it wants to be an EC member and wishes to
maintain its position as the country to which Hungary gives most
preferential trade treatment. Kadar warned that if Austria does
not change its trade policy, Hungary will have to retaliate.
(Karoly Okolicsanyi, RFE/RL, Inc.)

HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT ACCEPTS JURISDICTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COURT. Hungarian deputies voted on 22 September to accept the
Hague International Court's jurisdiction, Hungarian Radio reports.
Formal acceptance of the court's jurisdiction is a precondition
for Hungary to seek adjudication in the Hague. Hungary is planning
to ask the court to rule in its dispute with Czechoslovakia over
the Gabcikovo hydroelectric dam system. (Karoly Okolicsanyi,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

JARUZELSKI DEFENDS MARTIAL LAW. General Wojciech Jaruzelski appeared
before a Sejm commission on 22 September to defend the imposition
of martial law in 1981 as a "lesser evil" that had saved Poland
from a "national tragedy." The Sejm commission is considering
a motion submitted by KPN deputies to try Jaruzelski and the
rest of the Council of State and the Military Council of National
Salvation on the grounds that the martial law decree violated
the constitution. Senator Ryszard Reiff, the only member of the
Council of State to oppose martial law, challenged Jaruzelski's
suggestion that he had saved the country from a Soviet invasion.
Martial law was a "historical error," Reiff said. The party should
have followed the example of First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka
in 1956, Reiff argued, and persuaded "the Russians that what
was good for Poland was not necessarily bad for Russia." (Louisa
Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.)

DELAY IN SIGNING TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM LITHUANIA? On 22 September
the Russian Supreme Soviet committee on international affairs
and foreign economic relations urged President Boris Yeltsin
to delay the signing of agreements on Russian troop withdrawal
from Lithuania until the interests and rights of Russians there
are taken into consideration, ITAR-TASS reports. The committee
points out that although three of the seven draft agreements
on the withdrawal have been signed, they are not legally binding
since the main treaty has not been signed. The committee urges
that all agreements with Lithuania be submitted to the Supreme
Soviet for approval. (Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.)

LANDSBERGIS COMMENTS ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL. On 22 September the
Lithuanian Parliament public affairs office issued a statement
by Supreme Council Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis, who is on an
official visit to Belgium, noting that the efforts of the Russian
parliament committee to terminate the agreements on troop withdrawal
are indicative of "representatives of imperial thinking," who
are interested "not in peace and cooperation, but in increasing
tension and expansion." He said that he does not believe that
they would "be able to compromise the policies of the new democratic
Russia" by terminating the agreements signed two weeks ago. (Saulius
Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.)

LATVIAN-RUSSIAN TALKS CONTINUE. On 21 September Latvian representatives
met with leaders of the Northwestern Group of Forces to continue
discussions of specific issues related to the pullout of Russian
troops from Latvia. One point of discussion was the takeover
by Latvia of bases vacated by NWGF, but not on the list of facilities
to be turned over to Latvia this year. On 22 September another
round of Latvian-Russian talks started in Jurmala. The principal
point of discussion was also troop withdrawal, and Latvia's comprehensive
proposal as to how all troops could be pulled out by fall of
1993, Radio Riga reported on 21 and 22 September. (Dzintra Bungs,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

SKODA PLZEN TO FIRE OVER 1,200, LAY OFF 2,000 MORE. According
to CSTK, Skoda Plzen, the Czech Republic's largest industrial
employer, plans to dismiss about 1,200 workers in October and
lay off another 2,000 temporarily due to financial problems.
Czech Minister of Trade and Industry Vladimir Dlouhy said that
most of the employees will be rehired once the company is in
a healthier position and announced that they will continue receiving
60% of their salaries as unemployment benefits. Skoda's main
problem has been the huge sums owed to the company by the state-owned
railways for the delivery of locomotives. Dlouhy ruled out any
state subsidies and said that the dispute between Skoda and the
railways would have to be settled in court. (Jan Obrman, RFE/RL,
Inc.)

ROMANIA'S GYPSY KING ASKS GERMANY TO COMPENSATE NAZI VICTIMS.
In an interview with German ZDF TV broadcast on 22 September,
Ion Cioaba, the self-proclaimed "king of all Gypsies," threatened
to launch mass demonstrations if Germany refuses to pay compensation
for Nazi atrocities against Gypsies in World War II. The interview
was conducted in the Transylvanian town of Sibiu. Germany faces
a flood of refugees, including thousands of Romanian Gypsies,
which has provoked racist backlash. Cioaba promised to call his
fellow Gypsies home if Bonn agrees to pay compensation. Cioaba's
authority, however, appears to be rather limited; on 11 September
another Gypsy chieftain from Romania, Iulian Radulescu, proclaimed
himself an emperor of all Gypsies. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.)