No. 193, 07 October 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN: RUSSIAN FORCES TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, RAILROADS, IN ABKHAZIA.
Abkhaz forces continued to advance north from Gagra and took
the villages of Leselidze and Gantiadi early on 6 October, and
they now control a 65 kilometer stretch of coastline from the
Russian border south almost as far as Sukhumi. Speaking to journalists
in Tbilisi, Georgian State Council Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze
accused Russian troops stationed near Gudauta of transferring
ultra-modern technology to the Abkhaz forces, ITAR-TASS reported.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin told the Russian Supreme Soviet
that Russia would not stand by while Russian citizens' interests
were being trampled on; nor would Russian troops hesitate to
defend themselves if attacked. Although he claimed that Russian
forces remained neutral, President Yeltsin told deputies that
"we will not pull our [military] contingent out [of Abkhazia],
because it is necessary to take control of the railroad on the
territory of Abkhazia, from the Russian-Abkhazian border to the
Abkhazian-Georgian border-the entire line, which runs along the
seaside," ITAR-TASS reported. According to Western agencies,
Yeltsin also stated that Russian control of the railroads were
vital, since they were key to communications between Russia and
Armenia. Yeltsin also stated that he would meet on 13-October
with Shevardnadze, Abkhaz parliament Chairman Vladislav Ardzinba
and North Caucasian representatives to discuss the Abkhaz situation;
however, his statement about Russian interests in Abkhazia is
tantamount to an assertion that Abkhazia is not part of Georgia.
The UN Security Council has expressed concern over the Abkhaz
crisis and may send observers to monitor the situation there.
(Liz Fuller)

YELTSIN'S CHANGE OF ECONOMIC COURSE? In an address to the Russian
parliament on 6 October, carried in full on Russian TV, President
Yeltsin distanced himself from the rigorous reform plan espoused
by acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar and his administration.
He criticized Gaidar, Aven, Nechaev, and Titkin by name, which
suggested that all or some of them might soon be replaced or
choose to resign. Yeltsin sought to deflect public dissatisfaction
from himself by blaming excessive emphasis on macroeconomic strategy
at the expense of the social safety net. He proposed a redefinition
of economic reform strategy to concentrate on: fighting inflation;
restructuring industry; completing privatization; accelerating
land reform; and stimulating competition by means of an effective
demonopolization policy. (Keith Bush)

POLITICAL ASPECTS OF YELTSIN'S SPEECH. Russian President Boris
Yeltsin indicated in his speech to the parliament that he may
consider allying himself with the Civic Union. Yeltsin's analysis
of the economic situation coincided with criticism recently made
by leaders of the Civic Union. In the second part of the speech,
Yeltsin emphasized the need to root out corruption and crime
with an iron fist-another demand frequently made by the Civic
Union. He also suggested that the "Democratic Russia" movement
and the Civic Union may, in the future, constitute a two-party
system in Russia. (Alexander Rahr)

GAIDAR REJECTS CRITICISM. In a brilliant and largely unrepentant
speech, acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar explicitly rejected
the burden of Yeltsin's criticisms and restated his opposition
to the policies advanced by the Civic Union. He savaged the implicit
calls to take the Chinese path of authoritarian central control
together with a large private sector. He ridiculed those who
now wished to slow the pace of privatization after criticizing
his administration earlier for moving too slowly. He condemned
the process of nomenklatura privatization and continued protectionism.
He gave a surprisingly positive progress report on conversion,
and he reassured deputies that state farms would not be phased
out in the near future. (Keith Bush)

YELTSIN ANNOUNCED STRENGTHENING OF MVD, ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURES.
In his address to the Russian parliament on 6 October, Boris
Yeltsin revealed that his administration recently has increased
the MVD personnel by 50,000 men; he also suggested increasing
MVD personnel by another 50-100,000 men contingent on parliamentary
approval. The Russian president also proposed using the Army
to combat crime and tighter gun control legislation. The package
of anti-corruption measures includes new registration requirements
for non-state commercial firms and foundations, and the revision
of property transferred to them by the state bodies, as well
as a direct ban of business activities conducted by government
officials. (Victor Yasmann)

KINKEL, KOZYREV WARN OF NATIONALISM. The German and Russian foreign
ministers warned against rising nationalism in Europe following
meetings in Moscow on 6 October. The German foreign minister,
Klaus Kinkel, said the two countries must strive to prevent nationalist
violence - whether in southern Europe, the Caucasus or elsewhere.
In a speech to mark the opening of the new Germany Embassy in
Moscow, Kozyrev remarked that the building should not contain
within its walls any of the "phantoms" which were threatening
post-communist Europe, Interfax reported. The Russian Foreign
Ministry had expressed concern in September over right-wing violence
in parts of Germany. Kinkel is scheduled to meet Russian President
Boris Yeltsin on 7 October. (Suzanne Crow)

"DNIESTER" LEADERS GREETED BY RUSSIA. "Dniester republic" leaders
in eastern Moldova celebrated on 2 and 3 October the bicentennial
of the founding of their would-be capital Tiraspol as a military
settlement of the Russian Empire. Russian Foreign Minister Andrei
Kozyrev sent a message of greetings to the "Dniester" leaders
on the occasion, and Russian Vice president Aleksandr Rutskoy
sent a personal representative, Col. Gen. Shkenakin, who addressed
the celebratory rally in Tiraspol, DR-Press reported on 3 October.
The event is the latest in a series of recent Russian gestures
of overt political and economic support to the "Dniester republic"
which can only complicate the domestic political situation of
Moldovan President Mircea Snegur, who is staking his popularity
on cooperation with Russia for a peaceful resolution of the Dniester
conflict. (Vladimir Socor)

YELTSIN NOT IN FAVOR OF NEW "UNION." In his speech to the Russian
parliament said that Russia's attitude towards the Commonwealth
was unchanged. Russia was for the strengthening of relations
on a treaty basis and was not seeking the creation of any kind
of new "union." Yeltsin reiterated that relations with the CIS
states should take account of the specific features of each state,
but he maintained that there should nonetheless be some common
norms of behavior. In particular, Russia would insist at the
Bishkek summit that states wishing to stay in the ruble zone
jointly work out the rules and submit to them. (Ann Sheehy)

GORBACHEV AGREES TO MEET CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OFFICIALS. Former
CPSU Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev said he would agree
to meet informally with Russian Constitutional Court officials,
but would continue to refuse court orders to testify at its hearings
on the CPSU. The Russian media quoted Gorbachev as saying on
6 October that he objected to attempts to transform the Constitutional
Court into "a stage for political trials." On 6-October, President
Yeltsin criticized Gorbachev for ignoring the summons to appear
at the hearings. The Russian president accused Gorbachev of showing
"disrespect for the state of law, the Constitutional Court and
for Russian statehood," ITAR-TASS reported. (Vera Tolz)

INTELLIGENTSIA NOSTALGIC FOR GORBACHEV? On 27 September, Mikhail
Gorbachev was met with the longest wave of applause while attending
the hit of the theater season: the performance of the nineteenth
century classic, Aleksandr Griboedov's Woe from Wit, in the Moscow
Arts Festival, Izvestiya reported on 28 September. Meanwhile,
Literaturnaya gazeta (No. 40), the weekly read primarily by the
intelligentsia, reprinted without comment an article from the
Times of London saying that Yeltsin is just as unpopular among
the Moscow intellectual elite as were any of the communist tyrants;
the article also stated that the Russian intelligentsia compared
President Yeltsin unfavorably with former Secretary General Gorbachev.
(Julia Wishnevsky)

KASATONOV CRITICIZES JOINT CONTROL OF BLACK SEA FLEET. President
Yeltsin on 5 October signed a decree formally appointing Admiral
Kasatonov First Deputy Commander of the Russian Navy, although
he will temporarily continue as Commander of the Black Sea Fleet,
according to Interfax. On 6-October, Kasatonov held a press conference
at which he criticized plans for joint Russian-Ukrainian control
of the fleet. Kasatonov claimed that a joint command system with
one fleet commander and one Russian and one Ukrainian deputy
commander would work, but that Ukraine's proposal for having
two captains on one ship would reduce combat readiness. (John
Lepingwell)

UKRAINE TO SELL URANIUM FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS? In a meeting with
US Under-Secretary of State Frank Wiesner, Foreign Minister Boris
Tarasyuk proposed that the US buy enriched Uranium originating
from the nuclear warheads located in Ukraine. The US has already
agreed to buy up to $5 billion worth of Uranium from disassembled
Russian warheads. Since Ukraine has no warhead disassembly facilities,
the US has proposed buying the material from Russia after disassembly
there, and paying Ukraine for its share. But Ukraine claims that
the warheads belong to it and wants to sell the material directly,
according to an Interfax report on 6 October. It is unclear how
much Uranium would be in the warheads, as modern weapons are
more likely to contain Plutonium. (John Lepingwell)

RUSSIA DENIES PLUTONIUM FUEL PROPOSAL TO JAPAN. Russian Deputy
Minister of the Nuclear Power Industry Nikolai Egorov has denied
reports that he proposed a joint project with Japan that would
use Plutonium from Russian nuclear weapons as fuel for Japanese
reactors. According to an ITAR-TASS report of 5 October, Egorov
claimed that the project was merely an "unofficial proposal."
Egorov also stated, according to AFP on 5 October, that warhead
dismantling was taking place in 4 locations: Chelyabinsk-70,
Arzamas-16, Sverdlovsk-44 and Zlatoust. In Washington on 6 October,
the Defense Department reported it had agreed to help design
a storage facility in Russia for nuclear material from the dismantled
weapons, according to Western news agencies. (John Lepingwell)


CHIEF OF RUSSIAN GENERAL STAFF PROMOTED. The chief of the Russian
general staff and first deputy minister of defense, Viktor Dubynin,
was promoted to general of the Army in a decree signed by President
Yeltsin on 5 October. (John Lepingwell)

UPCOMING CIS SUMMIT. Sapurmurad Niyazov, president of Turkmenistan,
has announced that he will not be attending the CIS summit in
Bishkek on 9 October, Interfax reported. Turkmenistan will be
represented instead by the chairman of the republic's parliament.
Turkmenistan is against the creation of any coordinating bodies
which will be one of the major topics of discussion at the summit.
The Azerbaijan parliament is to discuss Azerbaijan's membership
of the CIS on 7 October, and the outcome is likely to determine
whether or not the Azerbaijani president, Abulfaz Elchibei, attends
the summit. The Moldovan president Mircea Snegur is to attend,
although the Moldovan parliament has still not ratified the CIS
treaty. (Ann Sheehy)

AKAEV ON CIS SUMMIT. At a press conference in Bishkek on 6 October,
Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev said that the authority of the CIS
was undermined by the fact that many decisions were not implemented
not only because the decisions themselves were imperfect, but
because of the amorphous nature of the CIS's structures, ITAR-TASS
reported. Akaev said that the planned establishment of a consultative
coordination economic council and economic court was extremely
important to arrest economic decline in the CIS states. The creation
of the council seems unlikely, however, given President Yeltsin's
reluctance to force the issue, presumably out of a desire not
to antagonize Ukraine. (Ann Sheehy)

CRIMEAN TATARS CLASH WITH POLICE IN SIMFEROPOL. On 6 October,
Crimean Tatars occupied the Simferopol Supreme Soviet building
in an effort to obtain the release of Tatars detained in a clash
with police in Alushta on 1 October, a spokeswoman for the Crimean
Tatar parliament told an RL/RFE correspondent in Moscow. According
to the spokeswoman, police wounded some of the protesters when
they used clubs, water cannon, tear gas, and firearms against
them; these charges were not, however, confirmed by Crimean officials.
The spokeswoman also reported that 5,000 Tatars were holding
a rally in the Simferopol central square, and that Mustafa Dzemilyou,
chairman of the Crimean Tatar parliament, urged demonstrators
to establish self-defense units to resist Crimean authorities.
(Hal Kosiba)

MOLDOVA REQUESTS U.N. ATTENDANCE AT TROOP TALKS WITH RUSSIA.
In successive messages addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros
Ghali on 2 and 5 October, reported by Moldovapres, President
Mircea Snegur and Foreign Minister Nicolae Tiu requested that
the U.N. delegate observers to attend the Moldovan-Russian negotiations
on the withdrawal of Russia's 14th Army stationed in eastern
Moldova. Noting that the negotiations conducted over the last
two months have seen "only very little movement," the Moldovan
leaders asked that the U.N. delegates "give an impetus to the
talks," "see them through to their completion," and "participate
in the verification of the withdrawal of Russian forces from
Moldova once agreement has been reached." (Vladimir Socor)

MAJOR OIL PIPELINE DAMAGED IN GEORGIA. The main oil pipeline
from Azerbaijan to the Black Sea has been badly damaged near
the south-west Georgian town of Lanchkhuta, some 50 kilometers
from the terminal at Batumi; a 30 meter high fountain of oil
is gushing from the leak, RIA reported on 6-October. The cause
of the damage was not specified. (Liz Fuller)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SECURITY COUNCIL TO SET UP WAR CRIMES COMMISSION. In a unanimous
vote on 6-October, the UN body voted to set up a commission to
collect evidence of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, the
first such group to be established since the end of World War-II.
The aim of the measure is to prevent further violence by letting
the perpetrators know they will be held responsible for their
actions. The 7-October New York Times says that the commission
will probably look for concrete violations of the 1949 Geneva
conventions dealing with prisoners of war and with civilians
in war zones, as well as for violations of the principles established
during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders. The BBC pointed
out, however, that the measure is a preliminary one and lacks
any clear means of enforcement. Reuters on 6-October nonetheless
quoted Russian ambassador to the UN Yulii Vorontsov as saying
that "if more teeth will be needed, they will be added." (Patrick
Moore)

SERBS TAKE STRATEGIC BOSNIAN TOWN. International media reported
on 6-October that Serbian forces occupied Bosanski Brod in the
middle of northern Bosnia opposite Croatia. It is a major strategic
loss for both Bosnia and Croatia, and considerably strengthens
the land corridor connecting Serbia with Serbian enclaves in
the two neighboring republics. This leaves Brcko and Gradacac
as among the few remaining towns held by Croatian and Muslim
forces in northern Bosnia. (Patrick Moore)

WILL BOSNIAN SERBS SUSPEND MILITARY FLIGHTS? On 6-October in
Geneva, representatives of the self-proclaimed Serb Republic
of Bosnia-Herzegovina agreed to suspend military flights over
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The decision comes one day before the UN
security council is scheduled to discuss the setting up of a
"no-fly" zone over Bosnia, which Bosnian Serbs oppose. Aleksa
Buha, "foreign minister" of the Serb republic, stated the suspension
will take effect immediately but warned "If the other side takes
advantage of our decision, the flights will be resumed." He explained
the Serb delegation has agreed to suspend military flights in
line with the London conference determination that humanitarian
aid must not be used to the detriment of any of the sides in
the conflict. Radio Serbia carried the report. (Milan Andrejevich)


BOSNIAN SERBS ON THE FUTURE SHAPE ON BOSNIA. Buha also said that
at the talks on Yugoslavia in Geneva the Serbs reiterated their
views on the future constitutional system of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
which call for the establishment of a community of three national
states. Most economic, political, and security functions would
be regulated by the individual national units, while transportation,
energy, the ecology, and human rights would be handled jointly
from Sarajevo. Buha also talked about plans to divide Sarajevo
into Serb and Muslim parts. Meanwhile, on 6-October, Sarajevo
Serb leaders established a body, the "City Assembly of Serb Sarajevo,"
for the administration of the part of the city they control.
Radio Serbia carried the reports. (Milan Andrejevich)

HUNGARY AND THE EMBARGO. Janos Nagy, deputy commander of the
Customs and Excise Office, reported that 10 to 12-trucks a day
try to cross the border with rump Yugoslavia carrying goods in
violation of the UN embargo. He said that customs officers have
also held up two freighters on the Danube and 117-railway deliveries
since the embargo was imposed on 1-June. Nagy said that Hungarian
customs officers are doing everything in their power to implement
the embargo and make others observe it too, Radio Budapest and
MTI report. (Edith Oltay)

REPUBLICAN PREMIERS CONFIRM CZECHOSLOVAK BREAKUP. An eight-hour
meeting between the leaderships of the Civic Democratic Party
(CDP) and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (MDS) held on
6-October in the Moravian town of Jihlava resulted in the signing
of an agreement by the Czech and Slovak Prime Ministers, Vaclav
Klaus and Vladimir Meciar. Both leaders made it clear that the
main purpose of the meeting was to reestablish trust between
the republican leaderships after Meciar's MDS joined the opposition
to vote for establishing a commission on creating a Czech and
Slovak Union in the federal parliament. The document signed in
Jihlava basically confirms earlier agreements between the two
parties, saying that Czechoslovakia will cease to exist on 1-January
1993. It also states that a series of treaties specifying the
bilateral relationship between the two new states, would go into
effect on that day. At a press conference following the meeting,
Klaus and Meciar said that further debates on a "union" were
unrealistic. Revoking statements made earlier this week, Meciar
also said that the question of whether there should be a federal
budget for 1993 "was not an issue." The two republican leaders
also agreed to establish special commissions to deal with open
questions such as the distribution of federal property. The agreement
does not define specific terms for Czechoslovakia's split. (Jan
Obrman)

ANTALL MEETS HUNGARIAN PARTY LEADERS FROM SLOVAKIA. Prime Minister
Jozsef Antall held talks on 6 October with coalition leaders
from Coexistence, the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement,
and the Hungarian People's Party. The talks focused on political
developments in the Czech and Slovak republics and the situation
of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. Antall reiterated that
his government has no intention of isolating Slovakia and seeks
to promote its integration into Europe. Antall and the party
leaders agreed, according to MTI, "that the situation of the
Hungarian minority in Slovakia should be settled-.-.-. considering
the principle of self-government." The party leaders from Slovakia
advocated the convening of an international conference on East
Central Europe to discuss the problems of democratic transformation
and the protection of minority rights. (Edith Oltay)

ROMANIAN ELECTORAL RESULTS. On 7 October, after a recount of
nullified votes, the Central Electoral Bureau released the final
results of the 27 September parliamentary elections. In the Chamber
of Deputies the Democratic National Salvation Front (DNSF) received
27.71% of the votes followed by the Democratic Convention of
Romania (DCR) with 20.01%; the National Salvation Front (NSF),
with 10.18%; the Party of Romanian National Unity (PRNU), with
7.71%; the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (HDFR),
with 7.45%; the Greater Romania Party (GRP), with 3.89%; and
the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) with 3.03%. In the Senate the
DNSF is the strongest party, with 28.29%, followed by the DCR
(20.16%); the NSF (10.38%); the PRNU (8.12%); the HDFR (7.58%);
the GRP (3.85%); the Democratic Agrarian Party (3.30%) and the
SLP (3.18%). (Michael Shafir).

ROMANIAN CENTRAL ELECTORAL BUREAU MEMBER RESIGNS IN PROTEST.
Tudor Florescu, who represented the Convention of Social Solidarity
party on the Central Electoral Bureau, resigned in protest against
what he termed "information . . . leading me to the conviction
that the elections were not correct," Rompres reported on 6 October.
(Michael Shafir)

CONSTANTINESCU ON THE HUSTINGS. Answering listeners' questions
in the campaign for the second round in Romania's presidential
elections, DCR candidate Emil Constantinescu said that in the
future Romania must be integrated into NATO military structures.
He also said that the decision of the US Congress not to approve
the MFN status for Romania was legitimate and follows from the
failure of the country's leadership to convince Congress of its
genuine commitment to reform. Constantinescu again denied that
he had been a member of the nomenklatura under Ceausescu's regime.
(Michael Shafir).

POLISH GOVERNMENT COMPLETES PLAN FOR AGRICULTURE. The Polish
cabinet put its seal of approval on the last of the government's
five priority action plans, "opportunities for the village and
agriculture," on 6-October. Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka is
scheduled to present a full report on the government's plans
to the Sejm on 9-October. The government proposes maintaining
guaranteed minimum prices on grain and milk; the gradual replacement
of preferential credits for farmers with credits earmarked for
modernization and investment; the privatization of food processing
industries; and the imposition of new duties to protect Polish
farmers from competition from subsidized EC imports. Agriculture
Minister Gabriel Janowski stressed that individual family farms
would remain the foundation of Polish agriculture. (Louisa Vinton)


TALKS OPEN ON POLAND'S "PACT ON STATE FIRMS." Tripartite negotiations
on the government's proposed "pact on state firms" among employers,
unions, and the labor and finance ministers opened on 6-October.
The former official OPZZ federation and 11 other national unions
took part in morning sessions; Solidarity, which has refused
to sit at the same table with the postcommunist unions, attended
in the afternoon. Eight unions, including the OPZZ and Solidarity-'80,
walked out of one of three thematic working groups, arguing that
the government had been late in providing them with its outline
economic plan for 1993. This seemed a pretext designed to show
the unions' mettle in confronting the government. The dual structure
of the talks impeded progress, PAP reported, as the government
was unable to provide an immediate response to union counterproposals.
(Louisa Vinton)

SOFIA REQUESTS HIGHER EXPORT QUOTA FROM THE EC. In the next round
of negotiations on an association agreement with the European
Community, scheduled for 15-16 October, Bulgaria will ask to
be granted higher export quotas, according to Deputy Trade Minister
Svetoslav Daskalov. In an interview with Die Presse published
on 6-October, Daskalov explained that the new Bulgarian position
cites the country's fine political record, which has also been
acknowledged by the EC negotiators. He said Bulgaria is seeking
the same treatment as Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia regarding
its textile industry, agricultural produce, and ferrous metals.
In late September Romania, with which the EC is negotiating simultaneously,
accepted a lower quota. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

BULGARIA PAYS FIRST INTEREST INSTALLMENT. For the first time
in over two years Bulgaria has made an interest payment on its
$10-billion commercial debt, Bulgarian officials told Reuters
on 6-October. Svetoslav Gavriyski, head of the foreign debt commission,
noted that the $10-million paid represented only one quarter
of the current interest for September. Gavriyski said that Bulgaria
is planning to sustain payments during negotiations with its
creditors, and is likely to make the next payment toward the
end of 1992. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

900,000 FOREIGNERS TURNED BACK AT HUNGARIAN BORDER. Jozsef Komuves,
deputy spokesman for the Hungarian border guards, reported that
some 900,000 foreigners have been turned back at the border in
the past 12-months, a year after increased border controls took
effect in Hungary. The foreigners lack travel documents or money
to finance their stay in Hungary. The great majority-some 798,000-were
Romanian citizens, 27,000 came from the CIS states, 25,000 were
Poles, 17,000 were Bulgarians, and the remaining 33,000 came
from the Third World. MTI carried the report. (Edith Oltay)

MASS GRAVES FOUND IN ALBANIA. Six mass graves with the remains
of as many as 2,000 bodies have been discovered in Shkoder, ATA
and foreign agencies report. About 40 bodies of opponents of
Albania's communist regime have been identified by a joint committee
of former political prisoners and police, but the process is
slow and difficult because the former regime falsified records
to hide evidence of the killings. Shkoder, a predominately Catholic
city in the northwest of the country, was a center of resistance
to communism after World War-II. (Charles Trumbull)

RUSSIA WANTS TO KEEP SKRUNDA WARNING RADAR. On 6-October at the
Baltic Security Conference in Salzburg sponsored by the RFE/RL
Research Institute, Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Fedor
Shelov-Kovedayev stated that Russia wants to maintain access
to the Skrunda ballistic missile early warning radar station
in Latvia. He maintained that the continued operation of the
radar station is in the interests of global security and poses
no threat to the independence of Latvia. Latvian Vice President
Andrejs Krastins, however, reminded the conference of the Latvian
position, that all foreign military bases in the country must
be closed, and stated that the Skrunda radar is "not an object
of discussion" with Russia. (John Lepingwell)

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull