No. 49, 12 March 1993

RUSSIA



YELTSIN SUFFERS DEFEAT. Russian President Boris Yeltsin has been
thrown back into the same situation he was in at the end of the
previous Congress of People's Deputies (December 1992) when legislators
passed a variety of constitutional amendments which severely
curtailed the power of the president. On 12 March, the Congress
voted against amendments proposed by Yeltsin that day to the
draft constitutional agreement adopted in December, Ostankino
TV reported. Congress also voted to cancel the April referendum.
While curtailing presidential powers, deputies decided to strengthen
the executive powers of the cabinet of ministers, led by Prime
Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Viktor Aksyuchits, a deputy from
the nationalist opposition, was quoted as saying that Russia
will have a strong president but it won't be Yeltsin. Alexander
Rahr

YELTSIN, SUPPORTERS WALK OUT. According to Ostankino TV's newscast
at 9:00 A.M. GMT, Yeltsin's supporters, including the government,
walked out of the 12 March morning session. Yeltsin, who had
already abandoned the hall, declared that he would not return,
and Ostankino TV quoted Vyacheslav Kostikov as confirming that
Yeltsin had no intention of returning to the Congress. First
Deputy Prime Minister Shumeiko stated that the government intended
to go ahead with the referendum on a new date, April 25. John
Lepingwell

YELTSIN MAY CONSIDER PRESIDENTIAL RULE. Presidential spokesman
Vyacheslav Kostikov dropped a hint on 11 March that Yeltsin may
seriously be considering the introduction of direct presidential
rule and the dissolution of the reform-resistant Congress. Western
news agencies on 12 March quoted Kostikov as asking journalists
whether they noticed that Yeltsin, when he entered the meeting
hall on 11 March, pointedly greeted the ministers of defense,
security and interior affairs, Pavel Grachev, Viktor Barannikov
and Viktor Erin (respectively) first. At the beginning of the
Congress, parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov condemned
attempts to involve these three ministries in the present power
struggle between the executive and the legislature. -Alexander
Rahr

CONGRESS TO CONSIDER MEDIA TAKEOVER. On the morning of 12 March,
ITAR-TASS and Ostankino TV reported that the Congress will consider
a draft decree that would subordinate the Ostankino (formerly
all-Union) and Russian television companies as well as the ITAR-TASS
news agency to the parliament. This would place the most important
media in the country under the supervision of Khasbulatov. The
TV companies have been the subject of increasing political battles
between the legislature and executive branches in recent weeks.
John Lepingwell

WESTERN SUPPORT FOR YELTSIN. Western governments expressed their
concern on 11-March about the deepening political crisis in Russia,
according to Western and Russian news agencies. The G-7 countries
agreed to invite a Russian representative (Boris Fedorov) to
a meeting of the G-7 finance ministers in Hong Kong this weekend
that will discuss aid to Russia. President Clinton noted that
he had confidence in Yeltsin, while Secretary of State Warren
Christopher stated that, "we continue to support [Yeltsin] and
will be following these events, hoping that the outcome is one
that strengthens his position." Reports also indicate that Yeltsin
told German Chancellor Kohl during the first week in March that
it might be necessary to introduce presidential rule, prompting
Kohl to contact other Western leaders to urge their support for
Yeltsin and forestall such a move. Japanese Foreign Minister
Watanabe stated on 12 March that "Yeltsin must remain in his
post as President of Russia," however the Japanese government
also indicated that it did not plan to increase aid to Russia.
-John Lepingwell

VARIOUS VIEWS ON REFERENDUM. Yeltsin's supporters think that
he should go ahead and hold the referendum, despite the Congress'
vote against it. Deputy Prime Minister Shumeiko said the government
supports the referendum, Ostankino TV reported on 12-March. On
10-March, 30 democratic political parties in Russia expressed
support of the idea of the referendum, saying that its cancellation
or postponement will further delay the adoption of a new constitution.
One of the provisions of the new constitution is the right for
individuals to own land. Opposition to the referendum is voiced
not only by Communist and nationalist blocs within and outside
the parliament, but also by politicians who fear that the referendum
would threaten the unity of the Russian Federation, the Russian
TV news program "Vesti" reported on 11 March. There is a danger
that some subjects of the federation will refuse to take part
in the referendum. Tatarstan already announced earlier this week
it will not hold the referendum on its territory. Vera Tolz

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CRITICIZES YELTSIN TEAM. On 11 March, at
the afternoon session of the Congress, the Constitutional Court's
deputy chairman, Nikolai Vitruk, summed up the Court's statement
distributed earlier among the deputies stirring a heated debate.
Afterwards, the Court's chairman, Valerii Zorkin, addressed the
deputies saying that Russia's constitutional system was threatened
and that the country was on the verge of a "catastrophe." The
Court stated that the blame for the crisis does not reside in
the Constitution but rests in the unwillingness of both the executive
and legislative branches to abide its provisions. They particularly
criticized the growing tendency of the executive to trample on
the prerogatives of the legislative powers. -Julia Wishnevsky


DRAFT AGREEMENTS, CHERNOMYRDIN ON GREATER GOVERNMENTAL POWERS.
Amendments strengthening the role of the government in the Russian
constitutional structure were made to the 11 March draft Congress
resolution. Presidential spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov, told
an RFE/RL correspondent that following a meeting between Yeltsin
and Khasbulatov, the original draft had been amended (1) to allow
ex officio the heads of the Russian Central Bank, the state property
and pension funds, and the statistics committee fund to join
the Cabinet of Ministers, while still leaving them answerable
to the parliament; and (2) to insist that parliamentary and presidential
decisions on public spending be considered by the government.
The amendments followed Prime Minister Chernomyrdin's speech
to Congress in the morning session, in which he criticized the
parliament's interference in the budget process and the Central
Bank's irresponsible credit policy, and called for strengthening
the powers of the government. Nevertheless, Chernomyrdin seemed
careful to distance his cabinet from the presidency, calling
for increased participation by ministers in formulating presidential
decrees on issues falling within the cabinet's competence. -Wendy
Slater & Erik Whitlock

SHARP DISPUTE ILLUSTATES CHANGES IN POLITICAL SPECTRUM OF CONGRESS.
The discussion that followed the address of the deputy chairman
of the Constitutional Court on 11 March illustrates the changes
in the political composition of the Congress since it was elected
in March 1990. Minister of Justice Nikolai Fedorov and two deputies,
representing democratic factions of the Congress, attacked speaker
Ruslan Khasbulatov. Four other deputies, who can also be counted
as members of the democratic or centrist camp, objected. Of the
six deputies who attacked Yeltsin and urged that he be impeached,
only one was a communist, two were nationalists, and three were
elected on the "Democratic Russia" list. Julia Wishnevsky

GOLOVKOV PREDICTS EARLIER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. Aleksei Golovkov,
the former head of the government apparatus and free-lance advisor
to Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, told the 14 March edition
of Moskovskie novosti on that various Russian politicians have
already started their preparations for presidential elections
which, he claimed, could be conducted in the spring of 1994.
Golovkov stated that a referendum will not solve the present
crisis. He said he did not believe that presidential elections
could soon be held on a multi-party basis but said that all political
forces, including the reformers, must start building up their
electoral campaigns. Golovkov also said that he does not see
much political future for parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov.
-Alexander Rahr

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



BREAKDOWN OF LAW AND ORDER IN TBILISI. Buses on routes in the
center of Tbilisi are now being provided with a police escort
between the hours 5 p.m.-11 p.m. after drivers refused to leave
the depots during the evening because of fears over rising criminality,
and Tbilisi public prosecutor Mikhail Kurdadze was shot dead
near his home on the night of 10-11-March, ITAR-TASS reported.
-Liz Fuller

TAJIK OFFICIAL ON TREATMENT OF OPPOSITION. Tajikistan's Minister
of Internal Affairs Yakub Salimov told ITAR-TASS on 11 March
that rumors of mass flight of population from former opposition
strongholds are being spread by "enemies of the Tajik people"
in order to create distrust of the government. Salimov claimed
that movements of large numbers of people merely represent the
return to Dushanbe of refugees who had fled into the mountains
after having been warned by the opposition that forces supporting
the conservative government would kill opposition supporters
from the pro-Islamic Garm region and from Badakhshan when the
conservatives took over Dushanbe in December 1992. Salimov added
that government pacification efforts are enabling refugees to
return to their homes in many parts of Tajikistan. -Bess Brown


CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



BOSNIA PEACE EFFORTS UPDATE. Western agencies report on 11 March
that Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic declined to endorse
the international-mediated peace plan for Bosnia saying that
such a decision must be made by Bosnia's Muslims, Serbs and Croats.
Milosevic told French President Fran�ois Mitterrand and UN-EC
mediators Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen that an unconditional cease-fire
and the lifting of sanctions on Serbia-Montenegro are the most
realistic methods to spur the peace process. He noted that cooperation
is difficult while Belgrade is being punished by sanctions; he
told CNN that cooperation cannot be "based on blackmail." Meanwhile
in Sarajevo, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic met with other
top government leaders to review the peace process, but no agreement
on accepting the Vance-Owen plan was reported. According to Radio
Bosnia, unofficial sources say Izetbegovic favors the Vance-Owen
map with minor adjustments, while the hard-line opposition wants
Izetbegovic to hold out for major territorial concessions. -Milan
Andrejevich

CORRUPTION SCANDAL WIDENS. Belgrade media on 10 and 11 March
report that Milosevic's pledge last month to rid the country
of corrupt officials is in full swing. Reports say that several
government ministers past and present have been arrested and
others are under investigation. Independent Studio B TV commented
that the government's campaign might expose suspected links between
war profiteers and top officials in the Serbian and federal governments.
Among those under investigation are Radoman Bozovic, former Serbian
prime minister and currently President of the Chamber of Citizens,
the Federal Assembly's lower house, and Zeljko Raznjatovic, a.k.a.
Arkan, a legislator from Kosovo and militia leader who has been
identified as a war criminal by the West. Earlier in the week,
millionaire financier Jezdimir Vasiljevic left Belgrade for Israel,
vowing not to return. He accused officials of absconding with
millions of dollars in state funds and extortion and says Montenegro's
prime minister confiscated several million dollars worth of oil
that Vasiljevic's Jugoskandic Bank had arranged to deliver to
federal Yugoslavia. He told Borba corruption is so widespread
that Milosevic has lost control of the situation. -Milan Andrejevich


MILOSEVIC ON INSPECTION TOUR. On 10 March the Serbian president
paid a visit to a number of units and facilities of the Yugoslav
Army. Milosevic toured the Batajnica airfield near Belgrade and
the Air Force Experimental Center. He met with Col. Gen. Zivota
Panic, chief of staff of the Yugoslav Army, and Col. Gen. Bozidar
Stevanovic, commander of the air force and antiaircraft defense.
According to Radio Serbia, Milosevic addressed a group of officers
at the end of his visit and said that he is impressed by the
level of combat readiness of the air force units and stressed
that "the greatest attention ought to be paid to all conditions-.-.-.
regarding the degree of combat readiness for the country's defense."
In a related story, Gen. Ljubomir Domazetovic, deputy chief of
staff, told the Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti on 9 March that
in the event of foreign aggression, the Yugoslav armed forces
are "fully prepared for the greatest sacrifices" and that it
"would also be tragedy for the invaders." -Milan Andrejevich


DANUBE BLOCKADE FAILS TO MATERIALIZE. A threatened Serbian blockade
on 11-March failed to materialize. A spokeswoman for the Romanian
Foreign Ministry told RFE/RL that the Serbian or the federal
Yugoslav government might have played a role and said that her
ministry is in permanent touch with Serbian and Yugoslav authorities
about the situation on the Danube. Serbian crews had threatened
to block the Danube if Romanian restrictions on navigation to
and from Serbia were not lifted. -Dan Ionescu

NEW POLISH JUSTICE MINISTER NOMINATED. Shortly after accepting
the resignation of Justice Minister Zbigniew Dyka on 11 March,
Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka announced she would nominate the
new candidate proposed by the Christian National Union to replace
him. The candidate, Jan Piatkowski, now serves as chairman of
the Sejm's national minority commission. He has worked previously
as a prosecutor and attorney. A Solidarity activist in the 1980-81
period, he was interned under martial law. In remarks carried
by Polish TV, Piatkowski said he will try to establish order
in the justice ministry and "dynamize" its work. His predecessor
was criticized for failing to resolve prominent financial and
corruption scandals. President Lech Walesa's approval is still
required for Piatkowski to assume the justice minister post.
Gazeta Wyborcza reports on 12 March that Suchocka also plans
to replace the ministers of industry and environmental protection
in a general cabinet shakeup. -Louisa Vinton

WALESA ON THE OFFENSIVE. Suchocka is taking great pains to secure
the president's support for government policy, but a quiet tug-of-war
over the division of power continues. Suchocka met with Walesa
on 9-March, after controversy erupted over the president's "naming"
of the chairman of the new national broadcasting council. Under
pressure from the government, which argued that the appointment
requires the prime minister's approval, Walesa retreated from
his initial position and said he had merely "designated" a chairman.
Suchocka stressed after the meeting that she "could not imagine
being prime minister without close cooperation with the president."
There was press speculation at the time that Suchocka was trying
to dissuade Walesa from rallying support by criticizing the government.
For several weeks now, Walesa has been engaging in one of his
periodic campaigns of interviews and public appearances designed
to suggest that he is setting the public agenda. This offensive,
which culminated in an appearance during a meeting of Solidarity's
national leadership on 10 March, has renewed speculation that
Walesa wants to set up a "presidential party." -Louisa Vinton


JARUZELSKI DEFENDS MARTIAL LAW-.-.-. In two days of testimony
before the Sejm's constitutional responsibility commission on
9-10 March, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski defended his decision to
impose martial law in 1981. Soviet pressure made martial law
unavoidable, he argued. At the same time he insisted that it
was a sovereign Polish decision. It spared Poland a "sea of bloodshed,"
he claimed, and paved the way to the round-table talks of 1989.
Detailing the incessant pressure brought to bear by Soviet leaders
in 1980-81, Jaruzelski discounted recent Russian suggestions
that Soviet forces had no intention of invading Poland. "I was
all too familiar with the Soviet Union's imperial status," he
said. "I knew there was a threshold of risk that could not be
crossed." Jaruzelski conceded that the Polish communist party
bore some of the blame because of its "overblown sense of its
own historical mission" and its "false assessment of some people
in Solidarity." Jaruzelski acknowledged that the plans for martial
law were drawn up in March 1981 but claimed these were intended
only as a "last resort." -Louisa Vinton

.-.-.-AS TRIAL OPENS IN 1981 SHOOTINGS. The trial of 24 former
police officials and riot troops opened in Katowice on 10 March.
The defendants, who include former Internal Affairs Minister
Czeslaw Kiszczak, face charges in connection with the shooting
deaths of nine miners during the pacification of the Wujek mine
in the first days of martial law. The prosecution contends that
the special troops shot to kill and that Kiszczak had authorized
the use of firearms against striking workers. The defense says
the shots were fired to because the lives of riot police were
in danger. Kiszczak claims he expressly forbade the use of firearms.
The former internal affairs minister failed to appear in court
on 10-March; he submitted a doctor's statement saying that a
heart condition would prevent him from testifying for several
months. The trial was adjourned indefinitely to assess Kiszczak's
condition. -Louisa Vinton

MECIAR ON CZECH-SLOVAK BORDER. Speaking at a press conference
in Modra on 11-March, Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar sharply
criticized the Czech government's plans to tighten the Czech-Slovak
border. Meciar argued that "administrative and political barriers"
are being erected on the Czech side of the border. In his opinion,
"someone is trying to erect a new frontier between the East and
the West," and push Slovakia to the east. Meciar said that if
the Czech government wants "to proceed with this, it should also
renounce [other] treaties" with Slovakia. "Let them not expect
me to sign on to this." -Jiri Pehe

NEW ROUND OF PRIVATIZATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC. Privatization
Minister Jiri Skalicky told journalists in Prague on 11 March
that the Czech Republic will launch the second wave of mass privatization
this year. The first wave, during which some 1,400 were privatized,
ended in December 1992. During the second wave, some 2,100 enterprises,
worth some 500 billion koruny, are to be privatized. Most of
the property will be privatized through standard methods, such
as sales of parts or entire enterprises to foreign investors,
but property worth some 150 billion koruny will be privatized
with the help of the voucher method used successfully last year.
Skalicky said that citizens will be able to purchase vouchers
in the summer of 1993 and start exchanging them for shares in
the companies slated for the second wave of privatization at
the end of 1993. Skalicky warned that the government may decide
not to transfer shares in Czech companies to Slovak citizens
and investment funds purchased during the first wave of privatization
in1992. He said that the money the government would gain by confiscating
the shares will be used to repay large Slovak debts to the Czech
Republic. Many more Slovaks purchased shares in Czech companies
than vice versa and, as a result, the total value of shares in
Czech companies owned by Slovak share-holders is some 19 billion
koruny more that the total value of shares in Slovak companies
owned by Czech shareholders. -Jiri Pehe

NEW HUNGARIAN STATE SECRETARY FOR DEFENSE. Lt. Gen. Antal Annus,
administrative State Secretary for Defense since June 1990, has
been relieved of his post effective 31 March at the request of
the defense minister, MTI reported on 11 March. Annus will become
ambassador to an unnamed country and work for the Foreign Ministry
during the period of his assignment. He will be replaced by Deputy
State Secretary for Defense Rudolf Joo, a civilian. The three
top posts in the Defense Ministry (with Defense Minister Lajos
Fur and Political State Secretary Laszlo Szendrei, who replaced
Erno Raffay in February 1993) are now held by civilians, all
members of the ruling Hungarian Democratic Forum. -Alfred Reisch-


HUNGARIAN CHRISTIAN NATIONAL BLOC FOUNDED. On 11 March, at the
initiative of the Independent Smallholders' Party faction led
by Jozsef Torgyan, 17 organizations joined to found Christian
National Unity. The founding members said they want to offset
the strengthening left-wing political forces and "the liberal
Bolshevik bloc" and ensure the success of Christian national
forces in the 1994 elections. They have expressed their intention
to follow a centrist policy, which would seem to contradict the
bloc's name and stated goals. The 17 organizations include some
Gypsy and Jewish groups as well as, apparently, some parts of
the Hungarian Path Circles, whose goals, Torgyan claims, are
identical with those of the ISP. For this reason, he says, the
circles should not be associated with the controversial founder
of the Hungarian Path foundation, Istvan Csurka, who opposes
the ISP. The Christian Populist Union will campaign to abolish
the Constitutional Court, whose decisions, Torgyan says, have
led to legal insecurity in the country. -Judith Pataki

ROMANIAN OPPOSITION CALLS VOTE ON CABINET'S PROGRAM. On 11 March
the two houses of Parliament continued their joint debate on
the four-year economic and social strategy of the government.
Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu, Minister of State Misu Negritoiu and
other members of the cabinet took the floor to defend the program
against criticism by the opposition. Corneliu Coposu, president
of the National Peasant Party and a leading figure in the Democratic
Convention, called for a "vote of censure" on the program. Coposu
told Reuters that he does not expect a majority vote but that
the motion was important in principle. The opposition is particularly
critical of what it describes as a lack of practical solutions
in the program presented to Parliament on 4 March. -Dan Ionescu


ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO GERMANY. Teodor Melescanu held talks
in Bonn with German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and other officials
on 11-March. The talks touched on bilateral issues as well as
the crisis in former Yugoslavia and the UN embargo against Serbia
and Montenegro. Kinkel told Melescanu that Germany attaches great
importance to development of relations with Romania. He said
that Germany is closely following the process of economic and
democratic reforms in Romania and that Bonn supports Romania's
application for full membership in the European Community. -Dan
Ionescu

GREEK, TURKISH VISITORS IN SOFIA. On 11 March Greek Prime Minister
Constantine Mitsotakis arrived in Sofia on a two-day visit to
exchange opinions with Bulgarian officials on a range of Balkan
problems, primarily the situation in the Republic of Macedonia,
Western and Bulgarian media report. Mitsotakis and President
Zhelyu Zhelev stated that differing views regarding Macedonia
should not represent an obstacle to close bilateral ties, which
they said they would like "to give a new impetus." Meanwhile,
Turkish Defense Minister Nevzat Ayas is on a three-day trip to
Bulgaria. Having met with Zhelev and Bulgarian Prime Minister
Lyuben Berov, Ayas and his counterpart Valentin Aleksandrov on
11 March signed a five-year agreement on cooperation in the military
technology sector. -Kjell Engelbrekt

NEW BULGARIAN TV DIRECTOR APPOINTED. The National Assembly on
11 March elected Hacho Boyadzhiev the new head of Bulgarian TV,
BTA reports. The 61-year-old TV director, who was supported by
173-of the 205 deputies present in parliament, said he will continue
the reforms begun by his predecessor Asen Agov but with a minimum
of personnel changes. Agov, who sympathized with the previous
government, was ousted by parliament on 24 February. -Kjell Engelbrekt


DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AMONG BULGARIA'S UN SOLDIERS. An army general
has said 400 soldiers from the Bulgarian battalion serving under
the United Nations command in Cambodia will be taken home due
to repeated violations of military discipline, BTA reports. On
11 March Gen. Zahari Iliev told a press conference in Sofia that
numerous Bulgarian soldiers violated discipline by arguing with
officers, drinking while on duty, and created a bad relationship
with the local population. Iliev said he hopes a number of changes
suggested by a Bulgarian fact-finding mission will help to improve
the situation. -Kjell Engelbrekt

UKRAINE TO DECOUPLE START-1 AND NONPROLIFERATION TREATY? REPORTS
IN PRAVDA UKRAINY AND OTHER UKRAINIAN NEWSPAPERS ON 11 MARCH
INDICATE THAT THE HEARINGS IN PARLIAMENT ON THE START-1 TREATY
ARE PRODUCING LARGELY NEGATIVE APPRAISALS. The hearings, organized
by a group of deputies, are a prelude to the official ratification
debate. The reports suggest that the parliamentarians might consider
ratifying the START-1 treaty while delaying ratification of the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Such a move would allow Ukraine
legally to retain some of its nuclear weapons, while entering
into negotiations with the other CIS states as to how the START-1
cuts would be apportioned among them. -John Lepingwell

UKRAINIAN COMMUNISTS DEFINE THEIR POSITION. In an interview with
Ukrainian TV on 11 March, three parliamentarians who participated
in the recent all-Ukrainian conference of communists in Makiivka
(the Donbass) claimed that the media had disinformed the public
about the decisions taken at the meeting. The three maintained
that the conference resolved that the ban on the Communist Party
of Ukraine be lifted and that the party's activities be renewed,
but not within the framework of the CPSU. According to the lawmakers,
the idea of reanimating the communist party as a constituent
part of the CPSU was rejected by the conference participants.
-Roman Solchanyk

MOLDOVA'S CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE. Parliament on 11 March completed
the first reading of the draft constitution. The ethnic Moldovan
parliamentary majority, centered on the Agrarian Democratic Party,
opposes defining Moldova as a "national" state on the ground
that it includes important ethnic minorities. It also opposed
references in the text to the ethnic Moldovan population as "Romanian,"
called for replacing the current state anthem, "Romanians, Awake,"
with a specifically Moldovan anthem, and ruled out a proposed
preamble stating that the Moldovan state has been formed owing
to circumstances which do not permit unification with Romania.
On all these issues the Agrarians and their ethnic Moldovan allies
easily prevailed over the opposition Popular Front. The majority
did accept the definition of the state language as "Romanian."
-Vladimir Socor

RUSSIAN NAVY TO SELL EQUIPMENT TO ESTONIA, LATVIA? BNS REPORTED
ON 11 MARCH THAT, ACCORDING TO RECENT REPORTS FROM KALININGRAD,
RUSSIA'S BALTIC NAVY HAS STARTED TO SELL OFF OLD SHIPS AND EQUIPMENT
AND THAT SOME OF THE PROSPECTIVE BUYERS MAY BE FROM LATVIA AND
ESTONIA. A Latvian-Dutch company is to buy three submarines,
while a Latvian-Italian firm is negotiating to purchase ten vessels.
The Russian naval base in Tallinn is reported to be willing to
sell to Estonia equipment worth 156 million rubles. -Dzintra
Bungs

LITHUANIA SUSPENDS EXPORT LICENSES FOR CATTLE. On 11 March the
Agriculture Ministry suspended the issuing of licenses for exporting
cattle, poultry, and animal skins, BNS reports. The measure was
taken due to the decreasing number of cattle that is resulting
in meat shortages. About 10,000 licenses were issued this year,
but only about 3,000 head of cattle were actually exported. The
government also postponed its decision to replace the licenses
with import-export duties from 15 March until 1 July. Economy
Minister Julius Veselka said that the postponement was due to
unreasonable tarifs, especially for exports. These rates will
be lowered, but the export of certain agricultural products will
be banned, since the government intends to subsidize agricultural
production. -Saulius Girnius

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Suzanne Crow and Charles Trumbull





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