No. 195, 09 October 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

SUKHUMI RESIDENTS FLEE EXPECTED ABKHAZ ATTACK. Up to 20% of the
population of the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, have fled in anticipation
of an attack by Abkhaz forces, according to a Georgian Red Cross
official quoted by Reuters. An Abkhaz representative in Moscow
denied that an attack on the town was imminent. Georgian and
Abkhaz forces engaged in shelling and small arms fire in northern
Abkhazia, and two Georgian soldiers were killed when their armored
car was destroyed by a landmine. The UN Security Council called
for an immediate halt to the fighting and compliance with the
3 September ceasefire agreement, and voted to send an observer
mission to Georgia next week. A request by Georgian Foreign Minister
Aleksandre Chkheidze for NATO observers to monitor the Georgian
elections was rejected on the grounds that other organizations
are better qualified to do so. The First International Congress
of Abkhaz in Lykhny addressed an appeal to the UN to support
Abkhaz self-determination and to impose sanctions on Georgia,
AFP reported. (Liz Fuller)

CIS SUMMIT STARTS. The CIS summit in Bishkek started on 9 October
with a joint session of the heads of state and heads of government,
ITAR-TASS reported. All ten member states are participating,
and Georgia and Azerbaijan have sent observers. ITAR-TASS said
that it had been decided to postpone the adoption of a declaration
on obligations in the field of human rights until a CIS summit
in Minsk on 8 December. After two hours of discussion, agreements
on coordinating economic legislation, the creation of an international
TV company, the mutual recognition of property rights, and cooperation
in ensuring stability on the Commonwealth's external frontiers
were said to be ready for signing. Progress on the other items
on the agenda seems to have been more limited. Agreement was
reached in principle to create an intergovernmental bank for
the ruble zone, and the CIS charter was given its first reading
only. ITAR-TASS reported that an agreement on creating a Consultative
Economic Working Commission (presumably a less tightly knit body
than the planned consultative-coordinating economic council)
would be adopted together with the charter at the next summit,
and that it had been agreed to sign a document on the "course
of the formation" of the economic court. (Ann Sheehy)

CIS HEADS OF STATE TO DISCUSS NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTROL. In Bishkek
today, a proposal by CIS Commander in Chief Shaposhnikov to give
Russia sole control over launch codes and the dismantling of
nuclear weapons will be discussed, Interfax reported on 8 October.
Russian Defense Minister Grachev claims that Belarus supports
the proposal and will dismantle its weapons within three years,
rather than the seven previously agreed. Kazakhstan has agreed
on both control and dismantling issues. Ukraine rejects the proposal
completely. On 8 October, Ukrainian President Kravchuk stated
that Ukraine did not desire sole launch authority for its nuclear
weapons, but insisted that it be able to veto any launch order
from the Russian or CIS command. Kravchuk claimed that the proposal
would complicate ratification of the START treaty. Ukraine has
also been reluctant to allow the removal of the weapons to Russia
for dismantling. It seems likely that the summit will produce
a split decision, with Kazakhstan and Belarus handing over control
to Russia, while Ukraine refuses, introducing even greater uncertainty
into the nuclear control system, and increasing tensions between
Russia and Ukraine. (John Lepingwell)

DETAILS OF CIS DRAFT TREATY ON DEFENSE AND COLLECTIVE SECURITY
RELEASED. According to Interfax reports of 8 October, the signatories
agree to defend each other from external threats, in accordance
with decisions by the CIS Council of Heads of State. The "United
Armed Forces" of the CIS would apparently include strategic nuclear
weapons as well as conventional forces. The draft agreement was
initialled by nine states on 8 October, excluding Moldova and
Ukraine. Azerbaijan initialled the treaty but is unlikely to
sign it in the wake of its decision not to join the CIS. Ukraine
claims that the treaty makes sense only until all its nuclear
forces are dismantled. The treaty's provisions on nuclear forces
are unclear: to be consistent with new CIS proposals on nuclear
weapons, Russia would presumably assign strategic nuclear forces
to the CIS command in the event of an emergency. (John Lepingwell)


CIS PEACEKEEPERS FOR TAJIKISTAN. Following two days of talks
mediated by a CIS delegation headed by Kirgiz Vice-President
Felix Kulov, the Tajik Supreme Soviet agreed provisionally on
8 October to the Kirgiz proposal to send peacekeepers to separate
the warring sides in south-west Tajikistan, Radio Moscow reported.
Interfax quoted acting Tajik President Akbar Iskandarov as stating
that only Kirgiz peacekeeping troops would be acceptable and
not contingents from other CIS states. (Liz Fuller)

SUBSIDIES RAISED ON IMPORTED GRAIN. The Russian ministries of
finance and economics have announced an increase in the subsidy
paid on imported grain from 80% to 95%, Interfax reported on
8 October. An unnamed finance ministry official was quoted as
saying that, at current exchange rates (334 rubles to the dollar)
and without a subsidy, bread baked with imported grain would
retail at 100 rubles a kilo instead of the current 44 rubles
a kilo, "putting it out of reach of Russian citizens." This development
could revive earlier proposals by Vice President Rutskoi that
Russian farmers be paid in hard currency for their grain sales
to the state. (Keith Bush)

FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS FACING OIL CUTBACK. In an interview with
an RFE/RL correspondent on 8 October, the deputy head of the
Finance Department of the Russian Fuel and Energy Ministry elaborated
on Russia's 7 October warning on oil shipments. Evgenii Lelenkov
said that Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are in arrears with
payments for past oil deliveries and face reductions in supplies
starting 12 October. The Baltic states were also said to owe
Russia money for past deliveries of fuel and energy, but they
enjoy positive overall trade balances with the Russian Republic.
(Keith Bush)

PARLIAMENTARY RESOLUTION CRITICIZES RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. On 8
October, the Russian Supreme Soviet passed a resolution criticizing
the way the government was currently implementing economic reforms.
The resolution described the government's work as unsatisfactory,
and called on the government to present within a month a series
of measures to combat the crisis in the country. ITAR-TASS reported
that the document was initially approved by a vote of 124 to
29. There were seven abstentions and 70 deputies were absent.
Later the same news agency said that the voting procedure was
deemed improper; consequently, the resolution was annulled and
the deputies will discuss it again today. The Supreme Soviet
also decided that the Congress of Peoples Deputies would meet
on 1 December. The agenda will include the government's reform
policy, a new Russian Constitution, and a debate on whether to
prolong President Yeltsin's special powers. (Vera Tolz)

KOKOSHIN DELEGATION LEAVES KOREA, VISITS CHINA. At the end of
an historic five-day visit to South Korea, a Russian military
delegation headed by First Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Kokoshin
arrived in Beijing on 8 October. ITAR-TASS quoted Kokoshin as
saying the his delegation would continue the work begun during
the August visit of Chinese Defense Minister Qin Jiwei to Moscow.
"Our program includes...discussions on a wide range of issues
concerning our expanding cooperation with China, and the resolution
of a whole set of practical questions," he added. (Doug Clarke)


POLICE BLOCK EMPLOYEES OF GORBACHEV FOUNDATION. All Russian TV
newscasts ascribed great prominence on 8 October to the police
blockade of the Gorbachev Foundation and to Gorbachev's subsequent
press conference. Gorbachev condemned the blockade of his research
institute as "a stupid and arbitrary action," and alleged that
Yeltsin's treatment of Gorbachev might be a test for Russian
society generally and a sign of an impending dictatorship. Within
hours of the issuance of Yeltsin's decree transferring the Foundation's
premises to a Russian financial school, some thirty armed police
officers surrounded the five-building complex to stop 200 foundation
employees from entering their offices. The only employee whom
the police did not dare to stop, the foundation's vice-president,
Aleksandr Yakovlev, termed the action "the lawlessness without
limits, like the 1917 [Bolshevik] revolution." (Julia Wishnevsky)


ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER INSISTS ON GORBACHEV VISIT. According
to the ITAR-TASS and the DR Press on 8 October, on 5 October
the Italian foreign ministry instructed its embassy in Moscow
to issue a formal note to the Russian foreign minister, Andrei
Kozyrev, in view of last week's confiscation of Mikhail Gorbachev's
travel documents due to his refusal to testify in the Constitution
Court. The note cited Russian obligations to respect internationally
recognized democratic norms, as provided by the conference on
security and cooperation in Europe, of which both countries are
members, and stated Italy's expectations that Gorbachev's visits
abroad, including his planned visit to Italy scheduled to start
in the mid-October, will take place as expected. At his press-conference
held on 8 October, Gorbachev said that he would rather go to
prison then testify at the CPSU the Constitutional Court hearings.
(Julia Wishnevsky)

FALIN REJECTS THE CHARGE OF MISUSE OF FUNDS. Valentin Falin,
former head of the CPSU Central Committee International Department,
on 8-October began his testimony at the Constitution Court hearings
on the CPSU. Earlier, Falin refused to break off his lecture
tour in Germany unless the Constitutional Court compensated him
for expenses; the court met this condition. Falin is a prime
suspect in the government's investigation of alleged CPSU embezzlement
of public funds to subsidize "fraternal" (communist) parties
abroad after the failed coup of August 1991. According to Falin,
the CPSU always compensated the state bank with rubles for the
hard currency it borrowed to support foreign communists. Falin
added that the same system of the ruble compensation existed
for Soviet trade unions, the Komsomol, the USSR Academy of Sciences,
and other such bodies. Falin also denied that the Party had ever
supported terrorists, apart from PLO fighters who, he maintained,
are not regarded "terrorists" in today's Russia. (Julia Wishnevsky)


RUSSIAN SPACE PROGRAM SAID TO BE ON THE MEND. Oleg Lobov, the
chairman of the presidential Council of Experts, told ITAR-TASS
on 8 October that the Russian space program "is pulling out of
a crisis." He said he became convinced of this conversion of
the aerospace complex. Lobov added that it was not true that
Russia had lost its scientific and technical potential in this
important field. The previous day, Valentin Stepanov, the director-general
of the general engineering department in the ministry of industry,
told a Moscow press conference that he hoped the Buran space
shuttle would be launched again in November. The 36 meter long
Buran has been into space only once-an unmanned flight in November
1988. It is carried aloft by the giant Energiya booster rocket.
(Doug Clarke)

YELTSIN ORDERS SPECIAL UNITS TO FIGHT CRIME AND CORRUPTION. President
Yeltsin has ordered the establishment of an inter-branch commission
under the aegis of Russian Security Council to combat organized
crime, ITAR-TASS reported on 8-October. It will coordinate activities
of the ministries of interior, security, and defense, as well
as the state customs committee and the federal service for export
and currency control. Under the direction of Vice President Alexander
Rutskoi, the commission includes the first deputy of the speaker
of parliament, Sergei Filatov, State Secretary Gennadii Burbulis,
and the secretary of the security council, Yurii Skokov. The
same decree authorized fast reaction teams in the MVD. Yeltsin's
decision to establish these special units is probably the result
of pressure from the Russian political right and the public's
general dissatisfaction over rising crime. (Victor Yasmann)

"RUKH" SUPPORTS CRIMEAN TATARS. "Rukh" has adopted a resolution
condemning the authorities for the attack on the Crimean Tatar
settlement in Krasnyi Rai on 1 October, "Mayak" and DRPress
reported on 8 October. The destruction of the Crimean Tatar homes
on the territory of a state farm there has resulted in an escalation
of the conflict. "Rukh" calls the actions of the authorities
a continuation of the genocide against the Crimean Tatars. (Roman
Solchanyk)

AZERBAIJAN TIGHTENS SECURITY ON IRANIAN FRONTIER. Azerbaijan
has deployed tanks, armored cars and additional frontier troops
along its border with Iran following a decree by Azerbaijani
President Abulfaz Elchibey imposing a state of emergency in the
Dzhalilabad and Yardymly raions in south-east Azerbaijan, according
to an AFP report from Tehran quoting travellers. An Azerbaijani
presidential spokesman said the move was intended to prevent
the smuggling of drugs and contraband across the frontier. On
6 October ITAR-TASS reported a recent increase in frontier violations,
including some by "groups of armed horsemen." (Liz Fuller)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SERBS INCREASE PRESSURE IN NORTHERN BOSNIA. International media
reported on 8-October that Serbian aircraft bombed Gradacac,
Orasje, and Maglaj, which were also hit with incendiary shells.
The towns are among the few still controlled by Croatian and
Muslim forces along the strip linking Serbia with ethnic Serb
enclaves in Croatia and western Bosnia. Meanwhile, an RFE/RL
correspondent reports from the UN that Bosnia's ambassador presented
that body with a list of alleged atrocities committed by the
Serbs. He appealed to Islamic countries for aid, even if they
have to supply protection for their missions themselves. Ambassador
Mohamed Sacirbey added that Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia said
they are willing to do this. Malaysia earlier had made a blanket
offer of asylum for any Muslim refugees forced to flee "ethnic
cleansing." (Patrick Moore)

BULGARIA WANTS UN OBSERVERS ON ITS WESTERN BORDER. Bulgaria,
through its UN Ambassador Slavi Pashovski, has officially requested
the deployment of UN military observers on its territory, an
RFE/RL correspondent reports. On 8 October Pashovski told the
General Assembly that the conflict in ex-Yugoslavia might be
more easily contained if the UN presence in the region were increased.
He said Bulgaria would also accept a UN mission to monitor the
application of sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro. Over
the last few days observers and customs officials sent by the
EC and the CSCE have been stationed along Bulgaria's western
border and in its Danube ports. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

CZECHOSLOVAK PARLIAMENT APPROVES POWER-SHARING LAWS. The Federal
Assembly passed two constitutional amendments aimed at transferring
federal powers to the Czech and Slovak Republics. The first amendment
reduces the number of federal ministries from 15 to 5 (foreign
affairs, defense, interior, economics, and finance). The remaining
ministries will cease to exist and their jurisdictions will be
assumed by the corresponding republican ministries. A second
bill was first rejected and refereed to an arbitration panel
but a compromise version was eventually approved. It will give
the republics the power to investigate "crimes against the security
of the state" and transfer state media institutions to the republics.
It also ends the federal monopoly on film. (Jan Obrman)

SUCHOCKA PRESENTS GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. Three months after taking
office, Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka presented her government's
full economic program to the Sejm. Poland most needs "a sense
of order" and "clear prospects for growth," she said on 9-October.
After three years devoted to transforming its economic system,
Poland now has the chance to open a period of steady economic
growth. The goal-to double national income in 10-years' time-could
be met under certain conditions: legal stability and a strong
state; increased domestic spending on investment; an influx of
foreign capital; reduction of Poland's foreign debt; lasting
social peace; and courage and self-confidence. Suchocka warned,
however, that economic growth will require limiting consumption
for the coming five years and that real wages can not grow faster
than production. Suchocka's address preceded a debate on the
government's economic plan for 1993. (Louisa Vinton)

POLAND PRESSES FOR EC MEMBERSHIP TIMETABLE. On the second day
of her visit to Brussels, Polish Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka
urged the European Community to set a fixed timetable for full
membership for the countries of the Visegrad triangle. Suchocka
also pressed for better access to EC markets and authorization
to use the $1-billion stabilization fund to finance Poland's
budget deficit and enact banking reform. Speaking to the European
Parliament on 8-October, Suchocka said that Poland, Czechoslovakia,
and Hungary "do not insist on rapid acceptance, but we would
like to be taken into account in the construction of the European
union." The EC's response was noncommittal; commissioner Frans
Andriessen commented that "today was not a day to be specific."
On her return to Warsaw, Suchocka nonetheless expressed confidence
that Poland would join the EC within ten years and NATO even
sooner. She added that Poland had restored its image among EC
countries as a bulwark of stability in Eastern Europe. (Louisa
Vinton)

LAST DEBATE BEFORE ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. In a four-hour
television program on 8 October, incumbent president Ion Iliescu
and challenger Emil Constantinescu debated mainly economic issues.
Constantinescu attacked the record of the Iliescu administration
and asked viewers to consider whether there are any grounds to
assume that things will improve in the next four years. He presented
a program for economic redress and said a social moratorium was
necessary for the economy to be put on the right path. Iliescu
reiterated his views on economic "restructuring," saying that
the state must have instruments for intervention when necessary,
and attacked the Constantinescu's program, calling it "liberal
idealism." (Michael Shafir)

COMPOSITION OF THE ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT. The Central Electoral
Bureau announced the first-cut distribution of seats in the parliament
elected on 27 September. The final distribution will be established
after the centralization of the results at country level according
to a complicated system. At this stage, the Chamber of Deputies
will comprise Democratic National Salvation Front (DNSF)-117
seats; Democratic Convention of Romania (DCR)-82; National Salvation
Front (NSF)-43; Party of Romanian National Unity (PRNU)-30; Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania (HDFR)-27; Greater Romania Party
(GRP)-16; Socialist Labor Party (SLP)-12. In the Senate the seats
will be distributed as follows: DNSF-49; DCR-34; NSF-18; PRNU-14;
GRP-6; Democratic Agrarian Party-5; and SLP-5. Meanwhile, the
DCR says it will contest the results of the parliamentary and
presidential elections. The decision was announced in an official
statement published in the daily Dreptatea on 8 October. DCR
campaign manager Ilie Paunescu told Reuters that the protest
will be filed because of "the large number of annulled votes,
fraud attempts, and major irregularities." (Michael Shafir)

KING MICHAEL REQUESTS VISA TO VISIT ROMANIA. Exiled king Michael
has asked the embassy in Bern to issue a visa for a visit to
Romania accompanied by his family. Teodor Melescanu, secretary
of state at the ministry of foreign affairs, said in an interview
with Radio Bucharest on 8 October that Romania's official position
remains that in principle there are no objections to visits by
the royal family, but only after the end of the present elections.
He added that the government's willingness to grant entry permits
referred to visits for pilgrimages, family commemorations and
similar occasions. Other problems connected with what he termed
"the clarification of the relationship between the royal family
and Romania" must await the formation of the new government.
(Michael Shafir).

ROMANIAN CULTURAL CENTER OPENS IN BUDAPEST. Romanian Minister
of Culture Ludovic Spiess said at the opening ceremony on 8 October
that "in Budapest today Romania opens a new door to Europe" and
"an opportunity for dialogue that the two countries urgently
need." A Hungarian cultural center opened in Bucharest on 1 October.
Spiess and his Hungarian counterpart Bertalan Andrasfalvy expressed
the hope that the cultural centers will promote closer cooperation
between the two countries. MTI carried the report. (Edith Oltay)


POSSIBLE COMPROMISE ON THE MEDIA FRONT IN HUNGARY. Representatives
of Hungary's three opposition parties told a press conference
following talks with President Arpad Goncz on 8 October that
they are willing to make "sound compromises" to end the country's
media war. They agreed to enter into discussions with the government
on the appointment of new radio and TV chiefs as well as the
package of laws on the media. The opposition parties have until
now insisted that the appointment of heads of radio and TV be
discussed only after the enactment by parliament of the media
laws. The government dismissed the radio and TV chiefs months
ago, but they remain in their posts because President Goncz refused
to approve the dismissals. Quarrels between the government and
the opposition over control of the media have for the past two
years blocked the passing of much needed laws on the media. (Edith
Oltay)

LAAR NAMED ESTONIAN PREMIER. As expected, Estonian President
Lennart Meri on 8-October named Pro Patria chairman Mart Laar
as his candidate for prime minister. Laar, 32, told reporters
that Estonia needs to be more "energetic" in its dealings with
Russia. Laar also said speeded up market reforms will be among
his first tasks, Rahva Haal reports on 9-October. Laar's appointment
will be put to a vote in parliament on 19 October (Riina Kionka)


PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSIONS FORMED. Ten parliamentary commissions
have been officially registered in the newly elected Estonian
State Assembly, Rahva Haal of 9 October reports. With one defection
from Secure Home, Pro Patria is by far the largest faction, with
30-seats. Other factions include the Central faction (15); the
Moderates (12); the Estonian National Independence Party (11);
and the Royalists (8). The election coalition Secure Home has
split over ownership policy into two separate factions-the Coalition
Party Alliance (8)-and the Rural Union Alliance. (Riina Kionka)


ETHNIC COMMUNITIES DELEGATION IN LITHUANIA. On 7 October representatives
of the Federation of Ethnic Communities of Europe held talks
with the Lithuanian Supreme Council's Citizens' Rights and Nationality
Affairs Commission as well as the Foreign Affairs Commission,
Radio Lithuania reports. The latter's chairman Vidmantas Povilionis
said that the delegation learned that Lithuania has already passed
laws regulating the status of all minorities and not just some
as is the case in many European countries. Povilionis suggested
that Lithuania's laws could be a model for other countries. The
delegation visited the Tatar mosque in Kaunas and the Russian
cultural center in Vilnius. On 9-September the delegation will
have a meeting with Prime Minister Aleksandras Abisala and hold
a press conference before departing. (Saulius Girnius)

WESTERN DIPLOMATS: HUMAN RIGHTS OBSERVED IN LATVIA. BNS reported
on 7-October that Western diplomats told the press, that, despite
Russian allegations, the rights of Russian-speakers in Latvia
are not being violated. British ambassador Richard Samuel said
that the Latvian government wants to observe human rights of
all minorities and has not noticed any examples of violation
of those rights. US embassy press attache James Kenny said that
as far he is concerned, the Baltic States are observing human
rights and noted that in response to US queries, Russia has failed
to provide facts about claims of human rights violations. German
ambassador Count Hagen von Lambsdorf pointed out that a distinction
should be drawn between human and civil rights. Other diplomats
noted that while human rights were being observed in Latvia,
some problems were caused by the way the Latvian authorities
are handling the citizenship and language issues. (Dzintra Bungs)


REFERENDUM ON LITHUANIAN CONSTITUTION. On 8 October Supreme Council
Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis held a press conference devoted
to the new Lithuanian constitution, Radio Lithuania reports.
After long negotiations the constitution projects presented by
the Sajudis coalition and a parliament commission had been reconciled,
he said, and the parliament's presidium had decided to call a
special session of the parliament on 12-October to approve the
holding of a referendum on the constitution on 25 October, when
elections to the Seimas will be held. The Seimas would be empowered
to approve the final version of the constitution. The draft calls
for the direct election of the president for a five-year term.
The president would offer a candidate for prime minister that
the Seimas would have to approve. The prime minister would, in
turn, offer candidates for his cabinet that the president would
approve. The prime minister would then present the cabinet and
his program for the approval of the Seimas. (Saulius Girnius)


RAVNOPRAVIE DEPUTIES DENY COOPERATION. In response to Latvian
Defense Ministry's protest concerning the anti-Latvian activities
of the Association for the Defense of Veterans Rights, several
deputies of the Ravnopravie faction of the Latvian Supreme Council
denied their affiliation with the pro-Russian and pro-Soviet
organization, while others did admit to contacts with it and
similar organizations, such as the Russian Citizens Association,
saying that they need to maintain contacts with their voters,
Diena reported on 7 October. Ravnopravie deputies are mostly
Russian-speakers and originally supported the idea that Latvia
should remain a part of the Soviet Union. (Dzintra Bungs)

BALTIC COOPERATION ON ENERGY. During a meeting in Riga on 6 October,
Baltic ministers responsible for fuel and energy coordinated
their policies on how to cope with the expected shortages this
fall and winter. They decided that the Latvian port of Ventspils
and the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda would be available for common
use to receive and channel further emergency energy aid resources
from abroad; similarly, the port of Riga would be used to receive
gas from abroad. Estonia agreed to discount electricity exports
to Latvia in exchange for the use of Latvia's gas reservoirs,
BNS reported on 7 October. (Dzintra Bungs)

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull