No. 24, 05 February 1993

RUSSIA



MORE OPPOSITION TO RUSSIAN REFERENDUM. Leaders of the centrist
faction "Smena" said at a press conference attended by an RFE/RL
correspondent on 4-February that the referendum on the new constitution
should be abandoned because it will cost more than 20-billion
rubles and will destabilize Russian politics. They appealed to
President Yeltsin to back away from the idea of holding a referendum.
Parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov and the head of the
Constitutional Court, Valerii Zorkin, have recently spoken out
against holding the referendum. The leaders of "Smena" were supported
by the influential deputies' faction, "Sovereignty and Equality,"
which consists of representatives of the republics. The faction's
spokesman, Umar Temirov, said that the referendum would only
increase inter-ethnic tensions. -Alexander Rahr

HEADS OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS AGAINST REFERENDUM. Concern over
holding the 11 April referendum was also expressed by heads of
local administrations, Kommersant reported on 2 February. Local
political leaders said some of Russia's republics and regions
could include in the referendum additional questions aimed at
increasing their sovereignty. If this happens, separatist tendencies
in the Russian Federation would further increase, heads of local
administrations argued. Similar concern has been expressed by
the secretary of the Constitutional Commission Oleg Rumyatsev
and Yeltsin's political adviser Sergei Stankevich. -Vera Tolz


CIVIC UNION CHALLENGES YELTSIN. The chief ideologist of the Civic
Union, Vasilii Lipitsky, complained in an interview with Megapolis-Express
on 3February that President Yeltsin had rejected the offer to
cooperate with the Civic Union, and has not permitted Prime Minister
Viktor Chernomyrdin-a member of the Civic Union-to form his own
government. Lipitsky criticized Chernomyrdin for not having abandoned
the policies of the former head of government, Egor Gaidar. He
suggested that new parliamentary and presidential elections be
held this October. He also stated that the Civic Union would
endorse its own candidate for president, but that instead of
being selected by the Civic Union leadership, this candidate
should be elected at a congress of the various parties belonging
to the Civic Union. -Alexander Rahr

KOZYREV FAVORS VANCE-OWEN PLAN IN BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA. Russian
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev told reporters in Moscow on 4
February that "the entire weight of the Security Council and
the power of sanctions should be placed behind" the Vance-Owen
peace plan for Bosnia-Hercegovina, AFP reported. Kozyrev was
quoted as saying that sanctions should be "imposed against any
side that refuses to go along with the principles of the plan."
His remarks followed a meeting with Canadian Secretary of State
for External Affairs, Barbara McDougall. -Stephen Foye

YELTSIN DRESSES DOWN TOP ECONOMICS OFFICIALS. At a meeting of
the presidium of the Russian Council of Ministers on 4 February,
President Yeltsin sharply criticized the work of several top
economic policy-makers, ITAR-TASS and various Western news agencies
reported. Yeltsin said that the Ministry of Economics, headed
by Andrei Nechaev, had done little in the way of formulating
investment and restructuring policy despite a crumbling economy.
He called on the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, led
by Sergei Glaziev, to expeditiously produce more aggressive policies
for supporting exports, encouraging foreign investment, controlling
capital flight and reestablishing trade with Eastern Europe.
Yeltsin also reprimanded the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance
and the Ministry of Economics for working at cross purposes.
He reserved particular criticism for the Central Bank's "crude
mistake and adventurism" of overly lax credit policies. -Erik
Whitlock

DISSATISFACTION WITH DEVELOPMENT OF DEFENSE INDUSTRY. The presidium
of the Russian Council of Ministers apparently could not reach
an agreement concerning the future goals of the defense conversion
program on 4 February, according to ITAR-TASS. Prime Minister
Viktor Chernomyrdin criticized the chairman of the Committee
on the Defense Industry, Viktor Glukhikh, for his poor report
on performance in this area, and ordered him to prepare a more
in-depth study. President Yeltsin found fault with the general
direction of conversion, saying that policy had gone too far
in reducing arms production and not far enough to encourage arms
exports, the Los Angeles Times reported. Meanwhile, speaking
in Nizhnyi Novgorod, Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi called
for more investment in the military-industrial complex, to "preserve
the technological potential of the country concentrated in these
branches." -Erik Whitlock

CENTRAL BANK SUPPORTED RUBLE WITH $1 BILLION. The Russian Central
Bank has revealed that it spent some $1 billion last year to
support the ruble, AFP reported. In the first half of 1992, Central
Bank sales of dollars made up about 60% of the volume traded
on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. In the second half
of the year, this share dropped to 30%. The interventions were,
in any case, ineffective in halting the ruble's depreciation.
The ruble-dollar exchange rate rose from 140 on 1 July, 1992
to the present 572. -Erik Whitlock

YELTSIN PLEDGES NO RUSSIAN SUBMARINES TO ENTER SWEDISH WATERS.
Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt met with Russian President
Yeltsin in Moscow and signed an agreement setting out the basic
principles for Russian-Swedish relations, the RIA press agency
reported on 4 February. Asked by a reporter about the alleged
intrusions by Russian submarines into Swedish waters which triggered
a diplomatic incident in September 1992, Yeltsin stated that
no Russian submarines will intentionally enter Swedish waters.
The Russian government, like the Soviet government before it,
has denied any responsibility for the reported intrusions. -John
Lepingwell

RUSSIAN NAVY REPORTS ALL TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS WITHDRAWN.
The Russian Navy issued an official statement on 4 February declaring
that all naval tactical nuclear weapons have been removed from
Russian fleets. The withdrawal was declared by Soviet President
Gorbachev on 5 October 1991, and subsequently reaffirmed by Russian
President Yeltsin. The statement was carried by ITAR-TASS. -John
Lepingwell

SENIOR GENERAL STAFF OFFICER ARRESTED FOR COMPUTER THEFT. The
Moscow police and the Prosecutor of the Moscow garrison have
arrested the chief of the department of the Russian General Staff
responsible for the protection of classified information, Ostankino
TV and ITAR-TASS reported on 4 February. The officer, whose name
was not immediately released, was accused of stealing computer
equipment from the General Staff building. The criminal police
have stated that they arrested the officer only after having
obtained proof of the officer's involvement in the affair. The
police also managed to recover the stolen equipment valued at
over 800,000 rubles. The criminal police said, however, that
it did not appear that any classified information contained in
the computer software had been leaked. -Victor Yasmann

FREEDOM OF TRAVEL STILL NOT A REALITY FOR MOST RUSSIANS. After
waiting two years for the law on free entry and exit to come
into effect, Russian citizens trying to leave Moscow's international
airport encountered problems in January. The May 1991 USSR law
on free travel came into force on 1 January 1993, but on 22 December
1992, parliament adopted a resolution modifying the law during
a transition period that will end on 1 March 1993, ITAR-TASS
reported on 3-February. These regulations appear to have been
imprecise, and they have left citizens and authorities in some
confusion as to current exit regulations. According to an earlier
AFP report on 24-January, Russian citizens with passports for
foreign travel issued after 1 January will not need an exit visa,
but these passports do not yet exist. Holders of the old passports
still need an exit visa, although this is now called a stamp
rather than a visa. The state security organs can still legally
prohibit a citizen from leaving the country on the grounds that
he has had prior access to state secrets. Starting on 1-January,
invitations have no longer been necessary for exit visas, but
as of 1 March, a new passport will cost 5,000 rubles. -Sheila
Marnie

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



TAJIKISTAN CONSIDERS NEW ELECTIONS. The deputy chairman of Tajikistan's
Supreme Soviet, Abdumadzhid Dostiev, told visiting journalists
on 4-February that the country's present government is considering
holding general elections at all levels if the situation stabilizes
further, ITAR-TASS reported. He also repeated earlier official
claims that most of the country is now under government control,
and absolved Afghanistan's government of blame for the continuing
instability of the Tajik-Afghan border. According to Dostiev,
the return of Tajik refugees from northern Afghanistan has been
hampered by Kabul's lack of control over the region. -Bess Brown


RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN DUSHANBE. Russian Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev arrived in Dushanbe on 4 February to discuss the
status of the Russian 201st Motorized Division which has been
stationed in Tajikistan throughout that country's civil war,
ITAR-TASS reported. Grachev also discussed Russian assistance
to Tajikistan in creating a national army under the terms of
the collective security agreement signed at a CIS summit in 1992.
On the same day, the chief of Tajikistan's National Security
Committee warned that the armed opposition still controls the
region around the town of Garm, one of the main centers of the
Islamic movement, and it cannot be ruled out that they will launch
a spring offensive against government forces. -Bess Brown

OFFICIAL CASUALTY FIGURES CITED FOR TAJIK CIVIL WAR. The civil
war that raged in parts of Tajikistan during the last half of
1992 claimed around 20,000 lives, representatives of Tajik law
enforcement organizations told correspondents on 4 February.
ITAR-TASS noted that this figure does not include persons who
disappeared without trace. The same source cited a figure of
approximately 200,000 people who have become refugees as a result
of the fighting, but did not include an estimate of how many
of those have fled to Afghanistan. The number of armed opposition
fighters who are still active was estimated at 700 to 800. -Bess
Brown

SITUATION IN NORTH OSSETIA AND INGUSHETIA REMAINS TENSE. The
situation in North Ossetia and Ingushetia remains tense despite
the presence of Russian MVD troops, ITAR-TASS reported on 4 February.
Illegal armed formations have not been disbanded, and the exchange
of hostages by both sides has come to a halt. The North Ossetian
parliament is scheduled to debate possible solutions to the conflict
on 9 February. -Liz Fuller



CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



IZETBEGOVIC CALLS FOR WESTERN AIR STRIKES. The 5 February Washington
Post quotes Bosnian president Alija Izetbegovic as again urging
air strikes against Serb positions in his embattled republic.
He also stresses, however, that Bosnia does not want foreign
ground troops but simply the lifting of the arms embargo to enable
Bosnia to defend itself. Izetbegovic rejects the Vance-Owen plan,
which he says would reward ethnic cleansing. The New York Times
notes that the two international mediators call for "appointing
four ombudsmen to hear citizens' complaints" about ethnic cleansing
and for "citizens to be able to call for the internationally
supervised redeployment of armed forces in their area if these
cause them trouble." Defenders of the plan, which would divide
Bosnia into ten loosely linked cantons, stress that it is the
only package on offer. Meanwhile, international media report
continued fighting in Sarajevo, northern Bosnia, and Croatia's
Krajina region, as well as tension in eastern Slavonia. -Patrick
Moore

OPPOSITION TO TUDJMAN IN THE CROATIAN MILITARY? THE 5 FEBRUARY
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG SAYS THAT UNNAMED TOP MILITARY
PERSONNEL FEEL THAT PRESIDENT FRANJO TUDJMAN'S DECISION TO BACK
THE VANCE-OWEN DIVISION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IS UNWISE AND
REFLECTS THE OVERLY STRONG INFLUENCE OF HIS HERZEGOVINIAN ADVISORS.
The generals say that granting the Serbs a corridor across northern
Bosnia would harm Croatia's strategic interests, and that the
plan is doomed to fail because it would be at the expense of
the republic's largest single ethnic group, the Muslims. The
military stress the importance of the Croat-Muslim alliance,
which Tudjman is known to regard with distaste. Views similar
to those of the generals are widely held in Tudjman's own party,
the Croatian Democratic Community. -Patrick Moore

CONTINUING DANUBE SAGA. In talks in Odessa on 4 February Romanian
and Ukrainian officials agreed on ways of implementing sanctions
against rump Yugoslavia, Vladimir Yelchenko, an official of the
Ukrainian foreign ministry told RFE/RL's Moscow correspondent.
The two sides agreed on measures to prevent sanction-breaking
on the Danube. The memorandum calls for international teams in
the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Ismail to help implement the
embargo and compensation for losses suffered by the two countries
as a result of the embargo. Radio Bucharest reports that rump
Yugoslavia continues to detain four Romanian tugboats and 21
barges and quoted a Belgrade official's challenge: Romanian ships
will not be allowed through "if our ships cannot navigate." -Michael
Shafir

VOJOVDINA LEADER CLARIFIES AUTONOMY ISSUE. In an interview with
Borba on 26-January, Andras Agoston, leader of the Democratic
Community of Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM), explained that terms
such as "parliament of the Hungarian minority" and "ethnic Hungarian
autonomy" mentioned in a press release issued after a meeting
of the DZVM are basically meaningless. He stressed that the DZVM's
political activities are still confined to legally constituted
governmental bodies and that the DZVM will continue to negotiate
with Serbia over autonomy in a "peaceful and democratic" way,
without outside mediation. -Milan Andrejevich

MACEDONIAN SHORTS. In Rome on 4 February, after meeting with
his Macedonian counterpart, Branko Crvenovski, Italian Prime
Minister Giuliano Amato announced that his country will soon
break with other EC nations and recognize the former Yugoslav
republic. "We realize we should continue to show our solidarity
with the European Community, but we can no longer be co-responsible
for this injustice of not recognizing Macedonia," he said. Reuters
also reports that the Greek government now says that its dispute
with the republic over its name should be submitted to binding
international arbitration. Radio Slovenia reported on 2 February
that Macedonia has opened its first diplomatic mission abroad,
a consulate in Ljubljana; Stefan Nikolovski is the Macedonian
Consul-General in Slovenia. President Zhelyu Zhelev of Bulgaria-which
recognized Macedonia a year ago- plans a one-day unofficial visit
to Skopje on 5 February. Meanwhile, international agencies report
that 60-Scandinavian troops, the first of a planned UN contingent
of 680, arrived in Macedonia to patrol its borders with Albania
and the Serbian province of Kosovo. -Charles Trumbull and Milan
Andrejevich

BELARUS RATIFIES START-1 TREATY. After a four-hour debate the
Parliament on 4-February ratified a number of key arms control
agreements, according to ITAR-TASS and Reuters. The 360-member
parliament passed the START-1 treaty and Lisbon protocol by a
218-to 1 vote, with 60 members abstaining, despite an earlier
call by the 130 member Belarus faction for a delay in ratification.
The parliament also ratified the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,
an agreement with Russia on the status of the nuclear weapons
in Belarus, and an agreement coordinating Russian and Belarusian
military activities. Deputies reportedly were critical of the
accords governing the withdrawal of the 81 SS-25 missiles to
Russia, where they are to be redeployed, and demanded more Belarusian
control of the process. Belarus has called for the weapons to
be removed by the end of 1994. -John Lepingwell

BELARUS LIFTS "SUSPENSION" ON CP. On 4 February the Supreme Soviet
repealed a resolution of 25-August 1991 temporarily suspending
the activity of the Communist Party in the republic, Belinform-TASS
reports. The resolution, however, confirmed that the property
of the Communist Party will be retained by the state. -Bohdan
Nahaylo

WALESA PROVOKES CONFLICT WITH GOVERNMENT. President Lech Walesa
used a meeting of his culture council on 4 February to announce
his refusal to name Zbigniew Klajnert as culture minister. Prime
Minister Hanna Suchocka nominated Klajnert, a professor of geography
and glacier specialist at Lodz University, on 4 January. The
ministry was allotted to the Christian National Union in the
original division of cabinet posts in July 1992, but remained
unfilled because the candidate was ill. Walesa's decision opens
a clear conflict with the government, as the "little constitution"
gives the president a voice only in the choice of the ministers
of defense, internal affairs, and foreign affairs. In other cases,
the president is expected to appoint the prime minister's nominee.
Suchocka's spokesman said she would return to the matter in a
meeting with Walesa; it was clear a forceful protest had been
lodged with Belweder. Walesa apparently voiced no objections
to Klajnert's candidacy when it was originally proposed. Coalition
members expressed bewilderment at Walesa's action, coming at
a time when he needs all the political friends he can get. -Louisa
Vinton

SEJM DEPUTIES LOSE IMMUNITY. The Sejm voted by large margins
on 4 February to lift two deputies' parliamentary immunity. The
first, Maciej Zalewski, is accused of using his post in the president's
national security office to extort funds from the infamous Art-B
firm. Prosecutors charge that Zalewski also tipped off Art-B's
owners about the police investigation against them, enabling
them to flee to Israel, where they remain. Zalewski asked the
Sejm to lift his immunity so that he could clear his name. The
other deputy, Jozef Pawlak, is charged with using a company called
Florida Travel, Inc. to swindle would-be travelers. Pawlak called
the charges against him "political persecution" and opposed the
Sejm's decision. The Sejm has voted to lift immunity only once
before, when a postcommunist deputy was involved. The current
decision suggests that the Sejm sees the need to take action
to dispel the aura of scandal that surrounds it. -Louisa Vinton


CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS SLOVAKIA. During his first trip
to Slovakia since the split of Czechoslovakia, Josef Zieleniec
met on 4 February with Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar and Foreign
Minister Milan Knazko. Slovak and Czech media report that Meciar
told Zieleniec that Slovakia was afraid that various customs
measures that are being introduced by the Czech Republic could
limit the exchange of goods between the two states. Meciar and
Zieleniec also agreed that the Czech and Slovak republics should
closely cooperate within the framework of the Visegrad Quadrangle
initiative. Meciar said that this would give the two states the
advantage "of having two votes where we used to have only one."
Zieleniec and Knazko signed an agreement on cooperation in consular
services. Under the agreement, the foreign missions of either
state will provide emergency aid to Czech and Slovak citizens
lacking diplomatic representation in the country. The also agreed
that their countries would open diplomatic missions in Prague
and Bratislava on 1 March. -Jiri Pehe

SLOVAK HUNGARIAN PARTIES' MEMO TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE. A 21-point
memorandum, the main objective of which is to list conditions
that should be fulfilled by Slovakia before it can be admitted
to the Council of Europe, was signed on 4 February by the leaders
of four Hungarian ethnic parties in Slovakia-the Coexistence,
the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement, the Hungarian Civic
Party, and the Hungarian People's Party. Slovak media and CTK
report that the memorandum calls attention to what it terms the
discrimination against Hungarians in the laws on rehabilitation
and land ownership and demands that the discriminatory provisions
be abolished. These laws, the memorandum claims, do not make
possible the restitution of property confiscated from Hungarians
between 1945 and 1948 and prevent them from getting back more
than 50 hectares of land per person. The memorandum also demands
amendment of some Slovak laws, such as those on language and
birth records, that allegedly contravene regulations and resolutions
passed by the Council of Europe. -Jiri Pehe

HUNGARIAN-SLOVAK TALKS ON GABCIKOVO. No compromise could be reached
at the 4-February talks in Budapest between Hungarian and Slovak
experts about the quantity of water Slovakia is to return into
the original bed of the Danube, MTI and Radio Budapest report.
Instead of the 90% agreed upon last year in London, Hungary will
now accept 60- 80% in summertime and 50% otherwise., while Slovakia
proposed to return only 25-30%. The legal question of whether
both the Czech Republic and Slovakia or Slovakia alone would
turn with Hungary to the Hague International Court could not
be solved either, putting into doubt a 9 February meeting in
Brussels between the Slovak and Hungarian state secretaries for
foreign affairs. -Alfred Reisch

UKRAINE TO OPEN CONSULATE IN HUNGARY. In addition to its embassy
in Budapest, Ukraine will open a consulate in Nyiregyhaza, MTI
announced on 4-February. Hungary already has a consulate in Uzhgorod
in Ukraine's Transcarpathian oblast, where some 160,000 ethnic
Magyars live. The new consulate could open as early as February
during the visit of Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk. -Alfred
Reisch

KUCHMA IN THE CRIMEA. Ukrainian Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma
arrived in the Crimea on 4 February for meetings with the top
leadership of the peninsula, Radio Ukraine reports. The trip
to the Crimea follows a visit to the Donbass last week. The report
says that Kuchma is devoting personal attention to those regions
of the country particularly troubled by social, economic, or
political problems. -Roman Solchanyk

UKRAINE CONVERTING TANKS UNDER CFE ACCORD. ITAR-TASS reported
on 4 February that Ukraine started converting 80 T-54, T-55,
and T-62 tanks for civilian use, as provided for under the Conventional
Forces in Europe treaty. The tanks are being converted at the
Lvov tank repair plant, with international monitoring. Ukraine
must destroy or convert over 2000 tanks under the agreement.
Belarus has also recently begun destroying treaty-limited equipment.
-John Lepingwell

MOLDOVAN-RUSSIAN TROOP TALKS. First Deputy Commander in Chief
of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation Col.-Gen. Eduard
Vorobev and Moldovan Defense Minister Lt.-Gen. Pavel Creanga
are holding a fourth round of talks in Chisinau on the withdrawal
of Russia's 14th Army from Moldova, and have announced that Presidents
Boris Yeltsin and Mircea Snegur will meet in Moscow on 10 February
to sign the agreement, Basapress reports. Russia's high command
and the 14th Army command have often claimed that most of that
army's servicemen are "local residents" who will stay there when
the Army is withdrawn. In fact, those were assigned to Moldova
from various parts of the ex-USSR in the last few years. -Vladimir
Socor

EX-COMMUNIST TO HEAD MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT. Petru Lucinschi, First
Secretary of the Moldovan Communist Party in 1989-91, was overwhelmingly
elected chairman of the Moldovan Parliament on 4-February. He
replaces Alexandru Mosanu, who was forced to resign on 29 January
along with three other pro-Romanian parliamentary leaders. Lucinschi,
53, has the reputation of a liberal reformer and a flexible consensus-
builder who was promoted steadily under Gorbachev. In his inaugural
address in parliament he pledged to focus on settling the Dniester
conflict politically and on pursuing balanced relations with
Romania and Russia. -Vladimir Socor

ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT OPPOSES MOLDOVAN REFERENDUM. The Chamber
of Deputies passed a resolution on 4 February asking leaders
in neighboring Moldova to call off plans for a referendum on
the unification of the two countries as "inappropriate." Western
agencies reported that, like supporters of unification in Moldova,
the Romanian legislators fear the Moldovans would reject the
idea if it were put to vote now. Public opinion polls have consistently
showed low support for the unification among the Moldovan population.
-Michael Shafir

ROMANIA LIFTS BAN ON MINORITY NEWS BROADCASTS. State TV has lifted
the ban on news in the Hungarian and German languages instituted
on 1-February. TV Director-General Paul Everac said in a letter
to his German-language department, quoted by Western agencies
on 4 February, that there are "no problems whatsoever" with its
programming. The ban evoked protests from national minorities
and by Hungarian and German journalists employed by state TV.
-Michael Shafir

BULGARIAN CABINET ADOPTS "PLAN OF ACTION." The government led
by Prime Minister Lyuben Berov on 4 February presented its "plan
of action" for 1993, BTA reports. In the first half of the 80-page
document, the cabinet outlines its priorities and expectations
in the economic sector. Large-scale privatization, at the top
of Berov's agenda, is to be launched in April. Besides trying
to arrest the steep fall in overall economic output, the government
intends to concentrate its efforts on the specific problems of
agriculture, light industry, tourism, and parts of the machine-building
and chemical industries. The government foresees a 4% drop in
GDP during 1993, a 90-100% inflation rate, and a 6-9% budget
deficit. The second part of the plan describes the goals of each
ministry and government agency. Among priority issues, more funds
will be made available to the police and the armed forces. -Kjell
Engelbrekt

MOSCOW CITY VS ESTONIA, LATVIA. Acting on the proposal of Moscow
Mayor Yurii Luzhkov, the city government has suspended economic
contacts with Estonia and Latvia, Kommersant reported on 3 February.
The decision was prompted by Luzhkov's accusations that human
rights of "Russian-speakers" are being violated in the two countries.
Luzhkov recommended that Russian government institutions take
similar steps. -Dzintra Bungs

LATVIA DETAINS RUSSIAN HELICOPTER. A Russian MI-8 helicopter
that crossed without permission into Latvian airspace from Estonia
on 29 January and landed in Ventspils, is being detained by the
Latvian border guards. The pilot has been fined 2000 Latvian
rubles. The border guards at Ventspils have announced that they
intend to confiscate the helicopter, Diena reported on 4 February.
-Dzintra Bungs

COURT DECISIONS ON SEIMAS ELECTIONS. On 4-February the Collegium
for Civic Affairs of the Lithuanian Supreme Court rescinded the
decision of the Chief Elections Commission that gave the seat
in the 22nd electoral district for the Seimas to Sajudis candidate
Stasys Malkevicius instead of Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party
candidate Ricardas Zurinskas, Radio Lithuania reports. The collegium
had made similar decisions in December and January on other disputed
seats. The CEC, however, has refused to comply with the rulings,
which would raise the number of LDLP deputies in the 141-member
Seimas from 73 to 75 and reduce the Sajudis deputies from 30
to 28. -Saulius Girnius

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