No. 199, 15 October 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

GRACHEV REPORTS MISSILES OUTSIDE RUSSIA OFF ALERT. In an interview
published in Izvestiya on 15 October, Russian Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev stated that nuclear weapons control has not been
changed in the wake of the Bishkek summit. Grachev did state,
however, that missiles in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan have
been taken off combat alert and placed "in reserve" so that they
could only be used for a second-strike. Some missiles in Russia
have also been taken off alert. Grachev claimed that missiles
on alert "have no specific targets. They are just aimed in a
general direction, no more than that." This statement seems to
contradict Marshal Shaposhnikov's recent statements that CIS
missiles are targeted as before. It may be that missiles on alert
do not have specific target information loaded, and that target
information would be loaded simultaneously with launch authorization.
(John Lepingwell)

SHELOV-KOVEDYAEV ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION. Fedor Shelov-Kovedyaev,
Russia's first deputy foreign minister, announced his intention
to resign effective 17 October. He told a news conference in
Moscow on 14 October that by leaving the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA), he hopes to eliminate tension surrounding Russia's
policies toward the former Soviet republics (Shelov's area of
responsibility). He said, however, that he did not think his
resignation would seriously affect Russia's policy towards these
states. Shelov will return to his work as a people's deputy,
rejoining the parliamentary committee on interrepublican relations,
regional policy, and cooperation, where he served before joining
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He expects his replacement at
the MFA to be Anatolii Adamishin, Russia's ambassador to Italy
and formerly a Soviet deputy foreign minister, Interfax reported.
Speculation in the Russian media that Shelov would be forced
to resign owing to the Russian Security Council's displeasure
with him began in July. (Suzanne Crow)

PROJECTIONS OF RUSSIAN ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. Russian Economics
Minister Andrei Nechaev and Economics Adviser Aleksei Ulyukaev
gave what appeared to be separate news conferences on 14 October
to release official projections for the Russian economy in 1992
and 1993, ITAR-TASS and Western agencies reported. (Nechaev was
criticized by Yeltsin on 7 October for not having produced any
such forecasts). Their figures differed slightly. The consensus
put the GNP decline at 22% in 1992 and 5-8% in 1993. Industrial
output will fall by 20% in 1992 and 7-10% in 1993. Agricultural
output in 1992 is down by 8% on 1991, but is expected to remain
at the same level in 1993. (Keith Bush)

RUSSIAN MONETARY POLICY FOR 1993: "MODERATELY TOUGH." Deputy
Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin and Minister of the Economy
Andrei Nechaev have described plans for next year's financial
and credit policies as "moderately tough," Interfax and "Vesti"
reported on 14 October. The phrase seems to contrast with the
strict monetary line called for by Gaidar just weeks ago to stave
off hyperinflation. Jeffrey Sachs, a senior advisor to the Russian
government and one of many observers who have lost confidence
in Russia's anti-inflationary policy, said that in the last three
months, money supply had doubled. "The whole country is going
over the cliff," he said, according to Reuters. (Erik Whitlock)


LAND AND HOUSING TO BE SOLD FOR VOUCHERS. President Yeltsin signed
a decree on 14 October authorizing the use of privatization vouchers
for the purchase of land and housing, ITAR-TASS reported. (He
had called for this in his speech of 7 October to the parliament).
Economics Adviser Aleksei Ulyukaev told the 14 October news conference,
where he also made official projections on the economy, that
the decree refers to all kinds of land, including agricultural
land, state land reserves, and forests. Vouchers may also be
used to purchase state and municipal housing as well as municipal
property, and to buy land being used by factories that have been
privatized. (Keith Bush)

YELTSIN SIGNS DECREE ON SECURITIES MARKETS. A decree signed on
14 October by President Yeltsin establishes, among other things,
a framework for creating special investment funds that will serve
as intermediaries for Russian citizens not wishing to purchase
state assets themselves, ITAR-TASS reported on 14 October. Buying
into special investment funds is one of the options open to voucher-holders
envisaged by the government's voucher privatization program initiated
1 October. The State Committee on Property will license these
special investment funds, and investment funds without such a
license are prohibited from offering these services to voucher-holders.
(Erik Whitlock)

US SENATORS ASK IMF TO EASE UP ON CIS. A-group of US senators
has written to the International Monetary Fund urging it to soften
its demands on Russia and other former Soviet republics, an RFE/RL
Washington correspondent reported on 14 October. The group contains
sixteen Democrats and sixteen Republicans. The legislators fear
that the IMF conditions set for further aid will lead to cuts
in government spending that "will fan popular discontent with
an already desperate economic condition." The senators write
that "in the best of circumstances, this would halt any reform
in its tracks. In the worst of circumstances, popular discontent
could sweep away Russia's democratic government, compromising
all that has been gained since 1989." (Ilze Zvirgzdins/Keith
Bush).

GORBACHEV ACCUSED OF COVERING UP KATYN MASSACRE. On 14 October
"Vesti" reported the government's release of Politburo documents
from the Stalinist period concerning the massacre of about 15,000
Polish officers by Soviet secret police in the Katyn Forest in
1940. A presidential spokesman used the documents, which include
a statement from the Party Politburo ordering the massacre, to
support his claim that Mikhail Gorbachev knew about and helped
cover up the truth of this matter since 1981. "Novosti" cited
allegations by the same spokesman that this was the reason why
Gorbachev was afraid to testify at the CPSU hearing. This assertion
was reiterated, also on 14 October, by President Yeltsin's representatives
at the Constitutional Court. In fact, in 1990, Gorbachev turned
over hitherto top secret archival materials to Polish leaders
concerning the massacre. The same year, TASS issued an official
statement by the Soviet government which admitted Soviet responsibility
for the massacre, and which confirmed that the earlier Soviet
version blaming the crime on the Nazis was a falsification. (Julia
Wishnevsky & Vera Tolz)

NEW UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT DISCUSSED. Ukrainian President Leonid
Kravchuk and the newly-appointed prime minister, Leonid Kuchma,
met on 14 October to discuss the composition of the new cabinet
of ministers, Interfax reported. Kuchma is required by law to
submit his candidates for ministerial posts to the parliament
by 23 October. A number of appointments, including the ministers
of defense, interior, and foreign affairs, are subject to parliamentary
approval. (Roman Solchanyk)

UKRAINIAN STUDENTS ANNOUNCE HUNGER STRIKE. A leader of the Ukrainian
Students' Union, which has put up a tent city on Kiev's central
square to press demands for new parliamentary elections and Ukraine's
withdrawal from the CIS, told the Ukrainian parliament that the
students will begin a hunger strike on the evening of 13 October,
DR-Press reported on 14 October. A hunger strike by students
exactly two years ago brought down the government of Vitalii
Masol. (Roman Solchanyk)

INDIA WANTS DEFENSE TIES WITH UKRAINE. Indian Defense Minister
Sharad Pawar arrived in Kiev on 14 October for an official visit.
ITAR-TASS reported that Pawar would meet with President Leonid
Kravchuk, leaders of the parliamentary defense and security commission,
and officials involved in the production of military equipment.
The report said that Pawar's visit was expected to "lay the foundation
for military cooperation between the two countries, including
in the military-political and military-technical areas." It also
suggested that some Indian officers could receive training in
Ukraine. (Doug Clarke)

UN MISSION VISITS ABKHAZIA. The UN fact-finding delegation that
arrived in Tbilisi and met with parliament-chairman elect Eduard
Shevardnadze and Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua on 13 October travelled
to Sukhumi on 14 October for talks with Giorgi Khaindrava, Georgian
Minister of State for Abkhazia, Interfax reported. They then
met with Abkhaz parliament chairman Vladislav Ardzinba in Gudauta.
Ardzinba subsequently told Interfax he was dissatisfied with
the visit as the observers had not allowed enough time for their
visit to the Abkhaz-controlled area and had declined to interview
refugees. Meanwhile in a statement released in London the EC
expressed "deep concern" about continued fighting in Abkhazia
and called for new effort to reach a peaceful solution to the
conflict. A delegation of Socialist deputies to the European
Parliament that traveled to Georgia to monitor the 11 October
elections called for EC intervention to ensure that Georgia does
not become "a second Yugoslavia." (Liz Fuller)

GRACHEV DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ABKHAZIA. Russian Defense Minister
Grachev denied Russian military involvement in Abkhazia in an
interview with Izvestiya on 15 October. Grachev dismissed claims
that Russian helicopters tried to shoot down Shevardnadze's helicopter,
claiming that had they attempted to, they would have succeeded.
He repeated claims that Abkhaz forces had obtained their T-72
tanks from Georgian forces, and claimed that T80 tanks were
only deployed in the Moscow Military District, and not in the
Caucasus. Grachev ascribed the claims to a Georgian attempt to
explain away their recent military setbacks. (John Lepingwell)


GRACHEV ON FORCES, PLANS FOR CAUCASUS. On 15 October, Russian
Defense Minister Grachev noted that there are no plans to withdraw
Russian units from Abkhazia, and that a Russian group of forces
will replace the Transcaucasus Military, District by 1 January
1993, Izvestiya reported. According to Grachev there is only
one airborne division and an antiaircraft missile unit left in
Azerbaijan, with an army division each deployed in Batumi and
Akhalkalaki in Georgia and in Gyumri, Armenia. Grachev also noted
that the 19th Air Defense Army and the 34th Airborne army will
be disbanded, with the exception of a few units. (John Lepingwell)


REFUGEES DEMONSTRATE IN DUSHANBE. Thousands of refugees from
the Vakhsh and Kolkhozabad Raions of Kurgan-Tyube Oblast assembled
in Dushanbe on 14 October to protest the continuing fighting
in their home regions, where local defenders have been battling
armed units from the neighboring Kulyab Oblast for two days,
ITAR-TASS reported. The demonstrators demanded that acting President
Akbarsho Iskandarov and the Tajik government out a stop to the
civil war that has ravaged the southern parts of the country.
(Bess Brown)

UZBEKISTAN OFFERS TO SEND TROOPS TO TAJIKISTAN. According to
a NEGA press agency report of 13 October, Uzbekistan has offered
to send a military contingent to Tajikistan. The Tajik government
has requested peacekeeping troops from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan;
400 volunteers in Kyrgyzstan are reported to be ready to be sent
to Kurgan-Tyube Oblast. Use of Uzbek troops in Tajikistan could
further inflame interethnic tensions in the war-torn country.
In the last two months there have been reports of Uzbek inhabitants
of Tajikistan being driven from their homes by Tajik fighters.
(Bess Brown)

KYRGYZ LEGISLATURE VOTES AGAINST PEACEKEEPING FORCES. On 14 October,
a closed session of Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted against sending
peacekeeping forces to Tajikistan, KyrgyzTAG-TASS reported. Supreme
Soviet Chairman Medetkan Sherimkulov told a press conference
after the vote that the legislators had decided against interfering
in the internal affairs of a neighboring state. Kyrgyzstan would
continue, however, to help in the search for a resolution of
the Tajik conflict and would provide humanitarian assistance.
Vice-President Feliks Kulov said that the opposing sides in Tajikistan
had been unwilling to guarantee the safety of Kyrgyz peacekeepers.
(Bess Brown)

RUSSIFICATION, IDEOLOGICAL MEASURES IN "DNIESTER REPUBLIC." The
"Dniester republic" controlled by the Russian minority in eastern
Moldova has ordered the introduction of "Moldovan" language textbooks
in the Russian script in place of the existing ones in the Latin
script in Moldovan schools. The measure was taken despite the
fact that specialists considered the existing textbooks in the
Latin script (produced in Chisinau for all of Moldova) as scientifically
adequate and "de-ideologized," DR Press reported from Tiraspol
on 14 October. Last month the "Dniester" authorities had imposed
the Russian script on the "Moldovan" (i.e. Romanian) language
in various spheres of public life. Also on 14 October, DR Press
reported again that "Dniester University" hosted the founding
conference of the "Dniester republic Communist Leninist Youth,"
which called a constituent congress of the "Dniester republic
Komsomol" to be held shortly. The university was formed recently
through the takeover by the "Dniester" authorities of the Moldovan
Pedagogical Institute in Tiraspol, the last Moldovan higher education
institution on the left bank of the Dniester. (Vladimir Socor)


NO PLANS TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM DNIESTER REGION. In his interview
with Izvestiya on 15 October, Defense Minister Grachev stated
that the withdrawal of the 14th Army from the Dniester area will
only be possible when the conflict in the region is settled.
He noted that 14th Army units were manned by personnel from the
region and that they would refuse to withdraw unless the conflict
was over. (John Lepingwell)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

YELTSIN ENVOY REVEALS KATYN DOCUMENTS. On 14 October, a special
envoy from Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Chairman of the Government
Commission for State Archives, Rudolf Pekhoya, presented Polish
President Lech Walesa with copies of documents showing that the
CPSU Politburo, with Stalin at its head, had ordered the execution
of over 20,000 Polish prisoners of war on 5 March 1940. While
Soviet responsibility for the murders had long been obvious,
the documents provide the "smoking gun" that the Poles had long
sought. The documents came from top secret Soviet party archives
that were transferred to the control of President Mikhail Gorbachev
in 1991. Pekhoya charged that all Soviet party leaders, from
Stalin to Gorbachev, had known the truth about the massacres
and had participated in the coverup. In Moscow, Yeltsin's spokesman
Vyacheslav Kostikov told reporters that Gorbachev had seen the
order to kill the Poles as early as April 1989. In April 1990
the USSR responsibility for the acknowledged Soviet responsibility
for the massacre and Gorbachev then gave then President Wojciech
Jaruzelski archival documents implicating the NKVD. The Politburo
order was not among them. Polish researchers have been aware
of the existence of the document since July 1992. President Walesa,
visibly moved by the revelations, thanked Yeltsin for his "heroic
decision." PolishRussian relations were "poisoned" in the past,
Walesa said, but the transfer of the documents could help build
just, equal relations in the future. (Louisa Vinton)

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTHERN BOSNIA. The 15 October Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the Serbian offensive was continuing
in an effort to consolidate the land corridor linking Serbia
with ethnic Serb enclaves in Croatia and Bosnia. On 14-October
Austrian TV showed footage of Bosnian officers discussing the
besieged largely Muslim town of Gradacac. They confirmed what
the Croatian media had been saying since early in the week, namely
that chlorine gas tanks had been placed around the town. The
Bosnians threatened to set off an "ecological catastrophe" if
Serbian attacks did not stop and urged civilians to evacuate
Gradacac. AFP on 14 October reported that any release of the
gas could affect not only northern Bosnia and eastern Croatia
but also Vojvodina and parts of Hungary. Gradacac has been under
siege for months, but few if any foreign journalists have gone
there. The main source of news from Gradacac so far has been
Croatian media accounts for which there was no independent confirmation.
(Patrick Moore)

VANCE AND MAZOWIECKI SPEAK OUT ON THE YUGOSLAV CRISIS. UN special
envoy Cyrus Vance warned on 14 October that "a spark from Macedonia
could ingite the [Balkan] region," the VOA reported. He told
the Security Council that the conflict could easily spread if
tension in Macedonia and Kosovo continued to mount. Meanwhile,
UN human rights envoy and former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz
Mazowiecki visited a Croatian center for Serb detainees in Herzegovina.
Western news agencies reported that Mazowiecki criticized the
presence of women and other apparent civilians in the camp, but
the Croats told him that all the inmates had committed some hostile
act or other and warned him not to take up the role of "judge."
(Patrick Moore)

SERBOALBANIAN TALKS BEGIN IN KOSOVO. On-14 October, after two
days of protests by ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province
of Kosovo for the restoration of Albanianlanguage teaching,
officials of the main Albanian party, the Democratic League of
Kosovo (LDK) began talks with education ministers representing
the rump Yugoslavia and Serbia. Radio Serbia reported the two
sides discussed ways of reopening Albanianlanguage schools and
allowing broad powers for Albanians who account for nearly 92%
of Kosovo's population to set their own curriculum. Serbia had
suspended Albanian language curriculum in schools and Pristina
university in 1990, resulting in the loss of jobs by Albanian
teachers and the development of an extensive "underground school
system." The two sides agreed that the Albanians submit a list
of schools to be reopened. This will be reviewed on 22 October
by federal and Serbian government officials. Milan Panic, Prime
Minister of the rump Yugoslavia is expected to meet with LDK
leaders on 15 October in Pristina. (Milan Andrejevich)

BOSNIAN CHILDREN FIND REFUGE IN POLAND. The first of two special
trains carrying refugee children from Bosnia arrived in Poland
on 13 October. Poland has offered to provide shelter for 1500
children and their teachers for at least six months. It has also
acceded to Bosnian government requests to enable the children
to attend normal school classes and maintain their ethnic, cultural
and religious identity; hence the decision to house the children
together in mountain resorts and not in private homes. Poland's
foreign ministry said this humanitarian action reflected Polish
opposition to the policy of "ethnic cleansing." Gazeta Wyborcza
on 13 October described a scene of general chaos in the Croatian
town of Osijek as the refugees boarded the trains, but noted
the following day that no one had been left behind. (Louisa Vinton)


ROMANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER SETS CONDITIONS FOR COALITION TALKS.
Emil Constantinescu, the presidential candidate endorsed by the
Democratic Convention of Romania (DCR) in the elections held
on 27 September and 11 October, said president Ion Iliescu and
the Democratic National Salvation Front had to dissociate themselves
from the "nationalistcommunist" parties before coalition talks
with the DCR could begin. In an interview with RFE/RL's Romanian
service on 14 October, Constantinescu said that when he spoke
about the "nationalcommunists" he had in mind in particular
the Greater Romania Party and the Socialist Party of Labor. Both
formations had endorsed Iliescu. (Michael Shafir).

ROMANIA WELCOMES INITIATIVE TO RECONSIDER ITS MFN STATUS. Traian
Chebelu, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, said that his ministry
welcomed the initiative of a large number of Romanianborn and
other US citizens to address an appeal to the US House of Representatives
to reconsider its 30 September decision denying MFN status to
Romania. He added that this was the first action of such magnitude
by the Romanian diaspora and expressed the hope that it was,
at the same time, just the beginning of efforts by exiled Romanians
to uphold the interests of their country of origin. Chebeleu
attacked US congressman Tom Lantos for his role in the congress'
decision. He released the text of a letter written in 1985 by
Lantos to the Romanian authorities, in which the congressman
expressed hope that the US would renew MFN status for Ceausescu's
regime. (Michael Shafir)

SOUTH KOREAN LOAN TO HUNGARY. South Korea will extend $650 million
credit to Hungary, Hungarian radio reported on 14 October 1992,
quoting sources in Seoul. The report said that $150 million had
already been provided and negotiations were under way in Budapest
for further credits from a South Korean fiveyear fund set up
to help developing countries. (Karoly Okolicsanyi)

BULGARIAN PREMIER DENIES ARMS DEAL WITH-MACEDONIA. Bulgarian
Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov denied allegations that he had
secretly struck an arms deal with Macedonia, thereby violating
the UN embargo against exYugoslavia, Reuters reported on 14
October. The allegations surfaced after the head of Bulgarian
counterespionage, General Brigo Asparuhov, accused a government
adviser of involvement in an attempt to export Bulgarian arms
to Macedonia. Rejecting these claims, Dimitrov said the adviser's
trip had been a normal factfinding mission. The incident has
deepened the conflict between the premier and President Zhelyu
Zhelev, who, in his capacity as commanderinchief, is also head
of counterespionage. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

RALLY IN DEFENSE OF BULGARIAN ARMS INDUSTRY. On 14 October thousands
of workers from Bulgaria's arms industry rallied in central Sofia.
According to Western and Bulgarian agencies, the workers were
demanding higher wages as well as government measures to stimulate
arms export. The chairman of the CITUB trade union, Krastyu Petkov,
told a rally that the UDF government had until the 22-October
to find a solution to the present situation or the workers would
go on strike. In a comment, the cabinet said there were no administrative
obstacles to arms export-except in the case of embargoed states-and
that 57 deals had been struck over the last three months. The
Bulgarian arms industry, which in 199192 has experienced a steep
decline in exports, is estimated to employ some 140,000 people.
(Kjell Engelbrekt)

PROGRESS IN LITHUANIANPOLISH MILITARY AGREEMENT. On 14 October,
at a press conference ending a threeday visit to Vilnius, Poland's
Deputy Defense Minister, Przemyslaw Grudzinski, said that Poland
was satisfied with a draft agreement on military cooperation,
Radio Lithuania reported. He invited Lithuanian National Defense
Deputy Minister Sarunas Vasiliauskas to visit Poland next week
to continue the discussions that had been begun in September
during the visit to Warsaw of Prime Minister Aleksandras Abisala.
Grudzinski expressed the hope that the future agreement would
be similar to the Vyshegrad agreement between Poland, Hungary,
and Czechoslovakia. (Saulius Girnius)

IGNALINA REACTOR SHUT DOWN. On 14 October excess radiation was
detected in the nonservice area of the second reactor at the
atomic power plant at Ignalina, Radio Lithuania reported. Povilas
Vaisnys, the head of the State Atomic Energy Safety Inspection,
said that the reactor would be shut down at noon on 15 October
so that the area where it is thought there might be leakage from
the pipes might be inspected. The amount of radiation is slight
and there is no danger even to the local community, but international
concern about the plant has led Lithuania to follow Western practice.
(Saulius Girnius)

RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS TO LEAVE LATVIA BY END OF OCTOBER? The
Russian border guard leadership in Ventspils said all Russian
border guards in Latvia were scheduled to leave for Russia by
the end of October. So far 16 of the 18 border guard posts have
already been handed over to the Latvian authorities, BNS reported
on 14 October. (Dzintra Bungs)

ZOTOV, VETERANS THREATEN LATVIA. Sergei Zotov, chief Russian
negotiator in the troops withdrawal talks from Latvia, told Diena
of 14 October that Latvia was pursuing an "apartheid policy"
against nearly one half of its population, the Russians and other
Slavs. He warned Latvia that Russia could at any time turn off
its gas pipeline and reduce the supply of industrial raw materials.
Similar threats against Estonia were recently made by Russia's
Vice President Rutskoi. On 13 October Diena reported on a meeting
of some 3,000 communists, Soviet military veterans and Russian
military who called for unconditional voting rights in the next
parliamentary elections for Russians and other nonLatvian residents
of Latvia and for the restoration of their former privileges.
They threatened that if their demands were not met, they would
work for the establishment of autonomous Russianspeaking regions
in Latvia. (Dzintra Bungs)

RUSSIA TO PAY FOR FOREST FIRE DAMAGES IN LATVIA? BNS and Baltfax
reported on 14 October that Russian Defense Ministry officials
had given an oral promise to Latvia's Forestry Ministry to pay
for damage caused by forest fires near Adazi, a principal base
of the Northwestern Group of Forces in Latvia. Latvians estimate
the damage at some 55 million rubles. Latvian authorities believe
that Russian military activities caused most of the fires in
that area-a claim previously denied by Russian President Boris
Yeltsin. (Dzintra Bungs)

CIA CHIEF IN HUNGARY. Hungarian radio reported that CIA Chief
Robert Gates met with Prime Minister Jozsef Antall on 14 October
1992 in Budapest. Gates is on his first ever visit to Eastern
Europe. He arrived from Poland and will visit the countries of
the former Soviet Union. The meeting in the Prime Minister's
office was attended by Hungarian Internal Affairs Minister Peter
Boross, Minister Without Portfolio for National Security, Tibor
Fuzessy and US Ambassador Charles H. Thomas. No details were
disclosed about the subjects discussed. (Karoly Okolicsanyi)


ROMANIA AND THE EC. Traian Chebeleu, the foreign affairs ministry
spokesman, said the fifth round of negotiations on Romania's
association with the EC, which was held in Brussels on 12 and
13-October, produced agreement on a number of texts that would
be included in the agreement. Citing Chebeleu, Rompres specified
on 14 October that agreement had been reached on the protocols
of trade concerning steel products, textiles, processed agricultural
and fish produce. (Michael Shafir).

SLOVAK PREMIER IN BONN. Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar,
on a twoday visit to Germany, told the German parliament's foreign
relations committee on 14 October that Slovakia was concerned
about growing nationalism within its Hungarian minority. According
to international press agencies, Meciar told the parliamentarians
that Slovakia was prepared to observe minority rights. He said
that the Hungarians were entitled to their own schools and their
own language, and that Slovakia subsidized Hungarianlanguage
newspapers. According to Meciar, his government was not violating
international agreements on minorities when it rejected demands
by ethnic Hungarian parties for the right to selfdetermination
and creation of autonomous organizations outside of Slovak jurisdiction.
(Jiri Pehe)

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Anna Swidlicka