No. 57, 24 March 1993

RUSSIA



PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CALL CONGRESS ON FRIDAY. The session of the
Russian parliament opened on 24 March; its proceedings were broadcast
live on both Russian radio and TV. In the morning, the parliament
heard a report from the Constitutional Court secretary, Yurii
Rudkin, and voted to convene an extraordinary session of the
Congress of People's Deputies on 26 March, presumably to discuss
the possibility of Yeltsin's impeachment. The previous day, parliament
had cut short its session because Yeltsin was attending his mother's
funeral and the legislators found it "unethical" to discuss the
president's eventual impeachment at such a time. After the break,
deputy speaker Yurii Voronin announced that the parliamentary
leadership had received the text of Yeltsin's decree. At 15:00
(Moscow time) Yeltsin, Khasbulatov, and Zorkin are scheduled
to meet, and at 17:30 these three are to appear before the parliament.
Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULES YELTSIN'S DECREE UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
The Constitutional Court spent the day and entire night, discussing
Yeltsin's TV address of 20 March. In the morning of 23 March
they issued a ruling that the introduction of "a special regime"
contradicted a number of clauses of the Russian Constitution
and the Federal Treaty with the subjects of the Russian Federation.
The ruling passes over the question of whether or not the president
should be impeached. Nine judges voted for this ruling, three
(including the court's deputy chairman Nikolai Vitruk) voted
against it. Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

RULING OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ON YELTSIN'S ADDRESS. In their
ruling the twelve judges of the Constitutional Court who examined
"the actions and decisions of the President...in connection with
his appeal to the citizens of Russia of 20 March 1993" found
that these violated the Russian Constitution, the Federal Treaty,
and the law on a referendum on several counts. First, the constitution
makes no provision for the introduction of special rule except
under a state of emergency. Secondly, Yeltsin's statement that
under special rule any decisions of bodies or officials annulling
or suspending the president's decrees would have no legal force
was a limitation of the powers of the bodies of representative
and judicial authority. Thirdly, while the president had the
right to hold a referendum on a vote of confidence in the president
and vice president, he had no right to say that the vote would
decide whether the president or the Congress of People's Deputies
ruled the country. His decision that the people would vote simultaneously
on the draft of a new constitution and a law on elections to
the federal parliament was a violation of the constitution and
the law on a referendum. Moreover, his decision that the new
constitution and the law on elections would come into force if
the citizenry supported the president and vice president meant
that voters were being asked to decide three issues with one
vote, which violates the law on a referendum. Finally, his decision
that under special rule the heads of executive power and government
of the subjects of the Russian Federation would be subordinated
directly to the Russian president and government and that their
powers could not be suspended without the decision of the president
was clear interference in the competence in the subjects of the
federation and a unilateral alteration of the Federal Treaty
which created a real threat to the integrity of the Russian Federation.
Ann Sheehy, RFE/RL Inc.

"YELTSIN ATTEMPTED A COUP," KHASBULATOV SAYS. At a news conference
on 23 March, the speaker of the Russian parliament, Ruslan Khasbulatov
alleged that the Yeltsin team was going to continue their "bankrupt"
economic reforms by force and to this end had committed "an attempted
coup d'etat." According to Khasbulatov, only the resistance of
Yeltsin's opponents and the fear of Western public opinion have
thus far prevented the executive power from turning to violence.
Khasbulatov confirmed that the parliament was going to start
the process of Yeltsin's impeachment. According to the constitution,
Khasbulatov went on to say, Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi
would step in, should the president be impeached. Khasbulatov
vigorously denied that the parliament consists of communists,
adding that Yeltsin inherited the entire CPSU Central Committee
staff, which is applying communist party methods to fight his
opponents. A report on the press-conference was broadcast on
Russian television later that night. Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL
Inc.

YELTSIN TAKES MEASURES TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH HIS DECREES.
President Yeltsin has issued a decree to secure the compliance
of local executive bodies with his decrees and federal government
decisions, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 March. The decree, which
was signed by Yeltsin on 22 March, said: "I warn officials of
the executive who do not carry out their duties or, equally,
who block legislative acts of the Russian Federation of their
personal responsibility before the president." The decree did
not specify, however, what would happen to officials who do not
comply with presidential decrees. The decree said that Prime
Minister Chernomyrdin and the presidential chief of staff Sergei
Filatov should check compliance with the presidential decrees
and government decisions in two weeks' time and suggest what
to do about the situation. The document also said that heads
of regional administrations should report to Yeltsin within one
month on evidence of concrete failures to comply with decrees
and decisions. Vera Tolz, RFE/RL Inc.

KOZYREV IN WASHINGTON. Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev
and US Secretary of State Warren Christopher held talks on 23
March about the current political crisis in Russia and the US-Russian
summit scheduled to take place on 3 and 4 April in Vancouver.
Kozyrev and Christopher agreed on an agenda for the summit, and
Kozyrev said that Russia will support the proposed UN resolution
on enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Kozyrev also
held talks with US Defense Secretary Les Aspin about further
arms reductions. Kozyrev is scheduled to meet US President Bill
Clinton on 24 March. Clinton expressed support for Boris Yeltsin
at a news conference on 23 March, at which he enumerated three
US interests in cooperating with Russia: reducing the threat
of nuclear war and nuclear proliferation, supporting democracy
in Russia, and supporting the development of a market economy,
Western and Russian agencies reported. Suzanne Crow, RFE/RL Inc.


IZVESTIYA: WEST MUST NOT SIDE WITH YELTSIN AGAINST PARLIAMENT.
On 19 March, Izvestiya (one of Russia's most pro-Yeltsin and
anti-parliament newspapers) published an article by Stanislav
Kondrashov, the paper's veteran foreign affairs observer, entitled
"Congress in Moscow and Meeting in Vancouver," which said that
US President Clinton, and the West in general, must not side
with Yeltsin against the parliament. According to this article,
such a one-sided attitude is counterproductive as it only adds
fuel to the domestic Russian conflict. It claims that the Western
perception of Yeltsin being "almost the only guarantor of Russia's
movement toward democracy and the West" is misleading, as the
American media merely reiterate what the most radical (and very
small) part of Russia's political spectrum have told them. Julia
Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

PARLIAMENTARY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE SUPPORTS YELTSIN. The Human
Rights Committee of the Russian parliament adopted a resolution
on 23 March saying that President Yeltsin's introduction of special
rule conformed to the highest principles of the Russian Constitution:
the supremacy of the people and the priority of human rights,
ITAR-TASS and Russian TV "Vesti" reported. The resolution described
the current constitution as contradictory and thus subject to
violation by all state bodies. It also said that the Constitutional
Court has failed to achieve the status of an independent judicial
body for which it was created, citing the statement of the court's
chairman on the unconstitutionality of Yeltsin's decrees which
was issued before the court had examined them, and the court's
failure to examine a petition from pro-Yeltsin deputies on the
legislature's infringement of the constitution. Wendy Slater,
RFE/RL Inc.

FEDOROV CALLS FOR GERASHCHENKO'S REPLACEMENT. In a further escalation
of his dispute with Russian Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko,
Deputy Prime Minister Boris Fedorov has called for Gerash-chenko's
replacement, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 March. In letters to Yeltsin
and Khasbulatov, Fedorov asserted that all attempts to compromise
with Gerashchenko had failed and that it was in Russia's national
interest to "raise the question of replacing the leadership of
the Central Bank." The ruble fell to 684 rubles to the dollar
on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange on 23 March, while
commercial banks in Moscow raised their price for dollars to
nearly 800 rubles. Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.

CENSORSHIP IN OSTANKINO TELEVISION. On 22 March, the pro-"Democratic
Russia" management of Ostankino TV failed to broadcast a prerecorded
interview with Andrei Grachev (the last spokesman of former Soviet
president Mikhail Gorbachev). The interview was supposed to be
broadcast in the framework of an "independent" show, entitled
"New Studio." The Ekho Moskvy radio station on 23 March cited
the interviewer, Matvei Ganopolsky, as saying that neither he
nor Grachev had been informed in advance that the interview was
to be censored. Meanwhile, Western agencies on 21 March quoted
Gorbachev as saying to a Russian TV journalist who had asked
him to comment on Yeltsin's imposition of special rule: "It's
useless for me to respond to you. You won't broadcast my remarks.
I'll save them for Radio Liberty." Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.


REPORTS ON OFFICERS ASSEMBLY. The newspapers Sovetskaya Rossiya
and Segodnya carried articles on 23 March that provided some
additional details on the 20 March All Army Officers Assembly
meeting in Moscow. The former reported that 255 delegates from
19 krais and oblasts were in attendance, although it did not
reveal how many of those delegates were active duty officers.
Segodnya reported that a number of conservative political leaders
also took part, and put the total number of participants at around
500. Aleksandr Sterligov, a former KGB general who now heads
the nationalist and pro-communist Russian National Assembly,
apparently gave a keynote speech in which he called upon the
army to defend the constitution and to attempt to gain control
over the Moscow mayoral election campaign. The assembly adopted
an appeal to generals and officers in the army and the internal
and security ministries urging them to disobey "anticonstitutional"
orders from the president's office. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL Inc.


TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT BUNGLED IN TAJIKISTAN. Some 8,000 refugees
who were encouraged by the Tajik government to return to their
homes in southern Tajikistan a week ago are now facing starvation,
Reuters quoted an official of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
as saying on 23 March. Inhabitants of the towns of Shaartuz and
Kabodien refused to accept the returnees, who had fled to Dushanbe
during the civil war of 1992, because the refugees are of a different
regional origin. The Tajik government is eager to remove the
refugees from Dushanbe, at least partly because they were sympathizers
of the defeated democratic-nationalist-Islamic opposition coalition.
UN and Red Cross officials in Geneva told Reuters that their
organizations would help provide shelter for 30,000 displaced
people in Tajikistan. Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.

BATTALION FROM KYRGYZSTAN STATIONED ON TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER. On
23 March ITAR-TASS reported that a battalion of troops from Kyrgyzstan
has been brought up to strength on the Tajik-Afghan border. The
press office of Russia's border guards described the battalion
from Kyrgyzstan as part of the special CIS forces which CIS heads
of state had agreed at the Minsk summit to provide for the protection
of Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan. The border continues
to be the site of frequent clashes between Russian border guards
and Tajiks and Afghans trying to cross illegally, carrying weapons
to anti-government fighters or smuggling drugs. In early March,
Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akaev said that the Kyrgyz troops
stationed on the border were not part of the CIS peacekeeping
force. Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.

AKAEV ON YELTSIN. Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akaev is the first
Central Asian head of state to issue a statement in support of
his Russian counterpart, Boris Yeltsin, Russian and Western news
agencies noted on 23 March. ITAR-TASS carried Akaev's text, in
which the Kyrgyz leader, himself committed to the creation of
a democratic state, said that Kyrgyzstan is vitally concerned
that Russia not turn away from the path to democracy and a market
economy, and that Yeltsin is one of the fundamental guarantors
that Russia will remain on the right road. Akaev described Yeltsin's
plan for a referendum on reform as completely legal. The same
day the press service of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev
announced that Nazarbaev has not yet made a statement on the
political situation in Russia. Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



CENTRAL EUROPEAN INITIATIVE MEETS IN BUDAPEST. MTI reported on
23 March 1993 that Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky
opened a meeting of the foreign ministers of the group, whose
members include Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Croatia, the
Czech and Slovak Republics, and Hungary. Miklos Nemeth, representing
the EBRD, was also present. The delegation from Bosnia did not
show up, but sent greetings. Hungary has the rotating presidency
of the political organization, formerly known as the Pentagonale
and Hexagonale. In his opening speech Jeszenszky said that the
international community cannot allow territorial gains or ethnic
cleansing in Europe and that European integration will not be
possible without the integration of the Central European states.
A joint statement was passed expressing support for Boris Yeltsin
and the Russian democratization process. A summit meeting of
the CEI prime ministers is planned for 16-17 July 1993, and a
plan to hold a conference on minorities at the end of 1993 was
also endorsed. Karoly Okolicsanyi, RFE/RL Inc.

POLAND: SUPPORT FOR "DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS," NOT INDIVIDUALS.
In comments to Polish TV on his return from the meeting of the
Central European Initiative in Budapest, Foreign Affairs Minister
Krzysztof Skubiszewski stressed that Poland's support for Russian
President Boris Yeltsin is intended as support for democratic
institutions, not specific individuals. "Democratic forces in
Russia must be supported," Skubiszewski said. "As a democratically
elected president, Yeltsin is an expression of these forces.
Other bodies in Russia do not have this attribute. This is not
taking sides with certain people, but rather on behalf of democratic
institutions." Skubiszewski also noted that President Lech Walesa
had already expressed Poland's support for Yeltsin on 17 March.
Walesa then commented that "it is not wise to fight over the
steering wheel when you are driving, but parliaments often try."
Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.

KLAUS ON SUDETEN GERMANS, VISEGRAD. Speaking to journalists in
Prague on 23 March after his return from a two-day visit to Germany,
Czech Premier Vaclav Klaus said that the problem of Sudeten Germans
is not fundamental to Czech-German relations. He said that the
problem is more important in Bavaria than in the Czech Republic,
because "every tenth person in Bavaria is of Sudeten-German origin"
and the Bavarian government must react to the concerns of this
constituency. Klaus said that in his talks with German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl the issue of Sudeten Germans was not even touched
upon. Klaus and Kohl agreed to speed up a deal to help the Czech
Republic cope with a tide of refugees after Germany introduces
limits on its asylum laws. In a speech in Munich on 22 March,
Klaus said his government opposes the institutionalization of
cooperation among the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia,
and the Czech Republic) as an alternative to Czech membership
in the European Community and rejects "any concept of the group
as a poor man's club and buffer zone intended to keep the Balkans
and the former Soviet Union at a safe distance from Western Europe.
Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.

IS THE UN TOUGHENING ITS STANCE ON THE SERBS? THE 24 MARCH WASHINGTON
POST QUOTES THE UN'S CHIEF REFUGEE OFFICIAL IN SARAJEVO, LARRY
HOLLINGWORTH, AS SAYING THAT THE UN SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO "STOP
THE SERBS FROM GETTING IN TO SREBRENICA; SOMEONE HAS GOT TO STOP
THE SERB ADVANCE." Hollingworth said he fears a mass exodus of
Muslims if the place falls, and also called attention to the
abusive treatment dealt out by Serb militias to UN troops and
convoys. The New York Times and the BBC add that UN officials
in Bosnia have decided to go ahead with the helicopter evacuation
of wounded Muslims from Srebrenica even though Serb officials
have not given their final approval. The helicopters will not
stop for inspections in Serb-held Zvornik, as the Serbs want.
Meanwhile back at the UN headquarters in New York, the vote on
enforcing the no-fly zone over Bosnia has again been postponed.
As to the Bosnian peace talks, negotiator Lord Owen told the
New York Times: "It's the end of this period of talks. I'm afraid
they'll go off and fight." Finally, Reuters on 23 March quoted
French military sources as suggesting that there might be a role
for former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev as the UN "envoy
to oversee UN activities in former Yugoslavia." Patrick Moore,
RFE/RL Inc.

NEW CAUCUS FORMED IN BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT. On 23 March a new
faction was registered in the Bulgarian National Assembly, BTA
reports. All 19 members of the New Union for Democracy caucus
are former deputies of the Union of Democratic Forces but have
sided against the leadership of the coalition and now support
the government led by Lyuben Berov. In a declaration, the NUD
faction said its members will try to be a stabilizing factor
in parliament. Defections have shrunk UDF representation from
110 to 90 deputies in the 240-seat legislature. Kjell Engelbrekt,
RFE/RL Inc.

BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT ROMANIA. Zhelyu Zhelev will pay
a one-day official visit to Bucharest on 27 March for talks with
Romanian President Ion Iliescu. According to Radio Bucharest,
the talks will focus on ways to boost bilateral relations as
well as on the situation in former Yugoslavia. The two sides
are expected to sign a series of protocols. Zhelev's visit comes
amidst a flurry of contacts in recent weeks among Balkan leaders.
Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.

ROMANIAN AUTHORITIES DROP CASE AGAINST CORNEA. Rompres reported
on 23 March that Romanian authorities have decided to drop an
investigation against human rights activist and former anticommunist
dissident Doina Cornea. Last month a prosecutor in Cluj, where
Cornea resides, called her in for questioning. Three persons
accused Cornea of inciting the violent overthrow of President
Ion Iliescu in a television appearance she made in September
1991, during a miners' riot which had forced Petre Roman's cabinet
to resign. Cornea defended herself by saying that she actually
appealed for an end to the violence; she filed a countersuit
for slander against her accusers. The prosecutor's office conceded
that the complaints against Cornea could not be substantiated.
Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.

MOLDOVANS ADMIT TO RECRUITMENT BY ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE. A statement
was issued in Chisinau by three young Moldovans from among a
group of Popular Front supporters recently named in Russian-language
newspapers as being trained in Romania purportedly for subversive
actions against the Moldovan government, as part of an alleged
Romanian Intelligence operation to advance Romanian-Moldovan
unification. In their statement, which they handed in person
to Kishinevskie novosti, the three confirmed that they had moved
to Romania, become Romanian citizens, and were training there--"but
training to fight against terrorism, not to engage in it." The
three expressed confidence that the disclosures could not have
originated within Romanian Intelligence, blaming unspecified
Moldovan circles instead; decried the attempt to harm Romanian-Moldovan
relations; and announced that they would refrain from suing for
defamation in order to avoid further publicity, Basapress reported
on 16 March. The episode follows several public statements by
Romanian Intelligence that it works to advance Romanian-Moldovan
unification. Moldova has sharply protested and opened an investigation.
Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.

CONTROVERSY OVER BLACK SEA FLEET COMMANDER. Krasnaya zvezda reported
on 23 March that Adm. Eduard Baltin, appointed Black Sea Fleet
commander by Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk, is
being blamed by Kiev for new tensions within the fleet. According
to the newspaper, Ukrainian Defense Minister Konstantin Morozov
has accused Baltin of hindering officers from transferring to
the Ukrainian navy and of acting independently of the Ukrainian
Defense Ministry. Morozov reportedly has asked that Baltin ignore
orders from the Russian side; he is also said to be working toward
insuring that Baltin be subordinated to the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry. Krasnaya zvezda, he Russian Defense Ministry newspaper,
is hardly an impartial source, but the report may nevertheless
accurately reflect a new rise in tensions over the fleet. Stephen
Foye, RFE/RL Inc.

CONFLICT BREWING IN SEVASTOPOL. The political tension in the
Crimean port city is likely to reach a crescendo on 28 March,
Rossiiskii vesti of 23 March reports. On that day both the Congress
of Ukrainians and the Congress of Russians are scheduled to convene.
The latter is sponsored by the local National Salvation Front,
which supports "a Russian Crimea, a Russian Sevastopol, and a
Russian Black Sea Fleet," writes the newspaper. Roman Solchanyk,
RFE/RL Inc.

ZLENKO TO US. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatolii Zlenko is scheduled
to arrive in Washington on 24 March for two days of talks with
government officials and congressmen, Western news agencies report.
Zlenko will meet with Secretary of State Warren Christopher,
and Ukraine's delay in ratifying the START-1 treaty is likely
to be high on the agenda. Another issue is expected to be the
UN embargo against Serbia. On the 23rd Zlenko met with UN Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.

BALTS EYE SITUATION IN RUSSIA. A special group headed by Aivars
Vovers has been set up under Latvia's Foreign Affairs Ministry
to monitor developments in Russia, Diena reports. The Riga daily
also says that as early as 9 February Commander of the Northwestern
Group of Forces Leonid Mayorov had issued an order to start explanatory
work among the troops concerning the need of the armed forces
to support Boris Yeltsin. Adm. Yurii Belov, head of the Russian
garrison in Tallinn, told the press that Russian forces have
not received any specific orders related to Yeltsin's assumption
of special powers, but refused to comment on the mood of the
troops under his command; he did, however, note that the situation
in the armed forces is becoming tense and that a split in the
army could not be ruled out. Estonia's Internal Affairs Minister
Lagle Parek said the situation in her country is normal and that
the security police are observing the Russian military units
stationed in Estonia, BNS reported on 23 March. Dzintra Bungs,
RFE/RL Inc.

ESTONIA AMENDS CITIZENSHIP LAW. BNS reported on 23 March that
the Estonian parliament has approved amendments expanding the
eligibility for citizenship through one's forebears, including
also the maternal line. Now the country's citizens are those
who were recognized as such at the time the existing law was
in force, persons who are regarded as citizens by international
treaties, persons born to at least one parent who was a citizen
at the time of birth, and children found in Estonia whose citizenship
in another country cannot be established. The amendments were
needed to bring Estonia's citizenship law in line with the Constitution
and European standards and to facilitate Estonia's admission
to the Council of Europe. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.

ESTONIAN PRIVATIZATION AGENCY SELECTS BUYERS. On 23 March Jaan
Manitski, the chairman of the Privatization Agency founded in
the summer of 1992 on the model of the German Treuhand Agency,
announced that invitations will be sent to 37 potential buyers
of large state companies, BNS reports. Fifty bids from Estonia
and 53 from abroad were submitted by the November 1992 deadline,
but some were withdrawn or rejected. Agreements are expected
to be signed within the next few weeks, after which the names
of the buyers, negotiated provisions concerning employment, and
other conditions will be made public. The selling prices will
remain secret. The government is planning to merge the Privatization
Agency with the Department for State Property. Saulius Girnius,
RFE/RL Inc.

LATVIA ADOPTS BUDGET FOR 1993. After many weeks of debate, the
Latvian Supreme Council finally adopted the compromise version
of Latvia's annual budget proposed by Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis.
The budget, which is for the whole calendar year starting on
1 January, envisions expenditures of 88.3 billion Latvian rubles,
revenues of 85.7 billion rubles, and a deficit of 2.6 billion
rubles, Diena reported on 23 March. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.


SMOOTH INTRODUCTION OF NEW VISA REGULATIONS IN LATVIA. No special
problems have been reported after the introduction on 22 March
of Latvia's new visa regulations. The provisions especially affect
travelers from the former USSR, who make up the overwhelming
majority of persons coming to Latvia. Border authorities told
Radio Riga on 23 March that 97 persons, most traveling on trains
from Russia, had been turned back for lack of valid travel documents.
Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.

LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius
presented his cabinet and program to the Seimas session on 23
March, broadcast live by Radio Lithuania. The Cabinet will begin
working only after the parliament approves the program. The Seimas
approved the nomination of Romualdas Visakavicius as chairman
of the Bank of Lithuania but postponed a vote on the nomination
of Juozas Zilys as the chairman of the Constitutional Court.
On the urging of President Algirdas Brazauskas, a statement was
approved expressing its concern about the situation in Russia
and the hope that President Boris Yeltsin will be able to continue
democratic reforms in the country. The Seimas will discuss the
social services, national defense, and foreign policy aspects
of the program on 25 March and the more important economy program
on 30 March. Slezevicius stressed the need to gain greater foreign
investments, liberalize prices, revise customs policies, and
pass more agricultural reform legislation. He said that the new
currency, the litas, can be introduced only after a stabilization
fund for it has been created. Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Wendy Slater and Charles Trumbull



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