No. 138, 22 July 1993

RUSSIA



PARLIAMENT STEPS UP ATTACKS ON PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM. On 21 July,
parliament adopted a resolution that transferred the rights to
privatize property from the State Property Committee (GKI) to
the government, which may then share them amongst ministries
and departments, ITAR-TASS reported. Deputy Prime Minister Anatolii
Chubais later told Ostankino TV that he had discussed the parliament's
move with the president and prime minister and that "necessary
decisions will be adopted"-without elaborating. If allowed to
stand, the measure could presumably result in the GKI being backstaged
to the technical implementation of a privatization program that
would be slowed or halted by bureaucratic inertia and/or infighting.
-Keith Bush

RUTSKOI REBELLING. The presidential apparatus has received evidence
that Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi, during his trip to Amur
oblast, called for civil disobedience and for the withholding
of federal tax payments, Russian TV "Vesti" reported on 21 July.
Rutskoi reportedly said in public that he expects popular uprisings
to occur throughout the country, and that this will result in
the ouster of President Boris Yeltsin and the installment of
Rutskoi in his place. He also expects members of the democratic
government to be toppled. He stated that no-one is currently
governing Russia because Yeltsin, who is currently on vacation,
never authorizes anyone to deputize in his absence. The Yeltsin
administration now wants the Constitutional Court to rule on
Rutskoi's remarks. Rutskoi also expressed support for greater
regional autonomy, claiming that the federal government should
be responsible only for defense, communications, the energy complex
and law enforcement organs. -Alexander Rahr

AMUR OBLAST DECLARES ITSELF REPUBLIC. Amur Oblast in the Soviet
Far East is the latest oblast to declare itself a republic. The
oblast soviet took this step on 21-July, CIS television reported.
Five other territories (Vologda Oblast, Sverdlovsk oblast, Kaliningrad
oblast, Primorsky krai, and St. Petersburg) have recently requested
or proclaimed republic status, and Khabarovsk krai is considering
doing so. Their actions have been condemned by the federal authorities
who say that they could complicate the adoption of the new constitution.
-Ann Sheehy

PROJECTED BUDGET DEFICIT SOARS. Seven months into the budget
year, parliament continues to debate amendments to the 1993 budget.
The latest projection of this year's budget deficit was given
on 19 July by a deputy finance minister. In an interview with
Ostankino TV, he put it at more than 25 trillion rubles, or about
one quarter of GNP. (The Russian government has undertaken to
reduce its budget deficit to less than 10% of GDP by December
1993). -Keith Bush

ARMS EXPORTS IN 1992. The value of Russian arms exports to the
Third World in 1992 dropped to $1.3-billion, according to a Congressional
Research Service study, quoted by the International Herald Tribune
on 21-July. This estimated total is even lower than those given
in gloomy Russian pronouncements, which have attributed the decline
in a major export category to the general disintegration of the
Russian economy, adherence to international embargoes, concern
among potential customers over servicing and spares, the poor
showing of Russian arms in the Gulf War, and intense competition
on the world arms market. -Keith Bush

STORM ERUPTS IN PARLIAMENT OVER ROCKET DEAL. Parliamentarians
on 21 July denounced the government's recent decision to cancel
a rocket deal with India and moved to block the action by issuing
a resolution that would require parliamentary approval for any
Russian involvement in the Missile Technology Control Regime
(MTCR). Reuters and AFP reported that parliamentary chairman
Ruslan Khasbulatov had labeled cancellation of the sale a "national
disgrace" and had criticized President Yeltsin for reneging on
a pledge to New Delhi that he said had been made by both leaders
during visits to India earlier this year. Addressing the parliamentary
committee on International Affairs and Foreign Relations, a leader
of the Russian space agency Glavkosmos, Aleksandr Dunaev, charged
that the Foreign Ministry had exceeded its authority in nixing
the deal during negotiations in Washington, and said that Glavkosmos
would proceed with shipments to India, including technology transfers,
under the terms of the original contract. The outcry demonstrated
that debate over the rocket deal would not escape the politicization
that has already plagued a number of foreign policy issues. -Stephen
Foye

URALS DEFENSE INDUSTRY WORKERS GIVE STRIKE WARNING. Trade Union
representatives of defense industry workers in the Urals region
met in Perm on 20 July, according to ITAR-TASS on 21 July. The
unions criticized the economic policy of the president and government,
and claimed that non-fulfillment of the law on conversion, as
well as of general and branch tariff agreements, was threatening
the whole defense industry. There is no state "military doctrine"
or arms program, and this has contributed to the breakdown in
intra-branch links. The closure of the branch's scientific-research
institutes means that there are less facilities available for
the development of new technologies to assist the conversion
process. It was decided to hold a one-hour warning strike on
29 July. -Sheila Marnie

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES LAND LEGISLATION. Parliament has
approved the "Fundamentals of Land Legislation", according to
ITAR-TASS on 21-July. According to this legislation, land can
be owned by private individuals, the state, and municipalities.
Foreign citizens or juridical bodies cannot own land in Russia,
but can only lease or make temporary uses of plots of land. Land
can be bought and sold, and mortgaged "in strict accordance with
Russian legislation." The main federal body responsible for state
control over the use and protection of land is the Committee
for Land Resources and Land Tenure. -Sheila Marnie


TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



UPDATE ON THE TAJIK SITUATION. Russia has officially notified
the UN Security Council that it will help Tajikistan defend itself
against attacks launched from Afghan territory, ITAR-TASS reported
on 21 July. UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali has expressed
his willingness to help find a peaceful solution, through the
offices of his special envoy to Tajikistan. Shodmon Yusuf of
the banned opposition' Democratic Party, in an interview with
Reuters in Kabul, claimed his forces had killed the 25 Russian
border guards in the 13 July attack, after being fired on. He
also called President Boris Yeltsin's decision to strengthen
the Russian military presence in Tajikistan "a big mistake".
He claimed that Islamic governments are not helping the rebels,
for if they were, the Tajik government would already have been
overthrown. Russian and Central Asian groups, including Uzbekistan's
main opposition movement Birlik, released a statement in Moscow
on 22 July criticizing the Russian decision to back the "old
Communist elite," Reuters reported. -Keith Martin

AZERBAIJAN PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN CALLS FOR MEASURES AGAINST ARMENIA.
At a meeting with a British diplomat in Baku on 21 July, Azerbaijan
parliament chairman Geidar Aliev denounced what he termed a new
Armenian offensive against the town of Agdam east of Nagorno-Karabakh,
Reuters reported quoting local journalists. Aliev argued that
the new offensive proved that Armenia wished "to ruin" the ongoing
CSCE Karabakh peace process and called on the US, Russia and
Turkey, which together launched an earlier joint peace plan,
to take resolute action to halt "Armenian aggression." -Liz Fuller


SHEVARDNADZE TO FIRE HIS PRIME MINISTER? GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT
CHAIRMAN EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE HELD FOUR HOURS OF TALKS IN THE
ADZHAR CAPITAL, BATUMI, ON 20 JULY WITH ADZHAR SUPREME SOVIET
CHAIRMAN ASLAN ABASHIDZE, WHO FOR THE PAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS
HAS PURSUED AN INDEPENDENT, TURKISH-ORIENTED POLICY. Radio Mayak
on 21 July quoted "well-informed sources" as predicting that
Shevardnadze would appoint Abashidze Georgian Prime Minister
in place of Tengiz Sigua, who held that post under ousted president
Zviad Gamsakhurdia and subsequently aligned himself with the
warlords responsible for Gamsakhurdia's ouster. Shevardnadze
and Sigua have been at odds in recent months over economic policy
and Russian-Georgian relations. -Liz Fuller

KAZAKHSTANI OFFICIALS SEEK ECONOMIC TIES OUTSIDE CIS. Kazakhstan's
President Nursultan Nazarbaev, in Thailand on an official visit,
told ITAR-TASS on 21 July that his country is very interested
in the Thai experience with building a market economy and attracting
foreign investment. Nazarbaev's Thai hosts are showing particular
interest in Kazakhstan's natural resources which Thailand lacks.
One of the primary purposes of Nazarbaev's trip is to lay the
groundwork for an expansion of Thai-Kazakhstani economic and
trade ties. -Bess Brown

CIS

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT REFUSES TO RECONSIDER SEVASTOPOL RESOLUTION.
On 21 July, the Russian parliament voted down a proposal to reconsider
its resolution on Sevastopol, ITAR-TASS reported. The motion
to place the issue on the agenda was put forward by deputy Aleksandr
Kopeika, who noted that the resolution had been criticized by
the UN Security Council and the Crimean parliament. According
to Ekho Moskvy and Ostankino TV, deputy Nikolai Gonchar called
for the resolution to be held in abeyance while the matter is
referred to the International Court of Justice. At the same time,
measures to implement the resolution would be prepared. Gonchar's
proposal was not accepted either. The parliament's committee
on foreign affairs will, however, examine the role of the Russian
Ambassador to the UN, Yuli Vorontsov, in the preparation of the
UN's statement. Some deputies have accused Vorontsov of defending
Ukraine's interests, rather than Russia's. -John Lepingwell

POLITICAL CONFLICT IN SEVASTOPOL. Ukrainian TV reported on 21
July that the self-proclaimed mayor of Sevastopol, Aleksandr
Kruglov, is preparing new moves to destabilize the situation
in the city. Kruglov, a deputy of the Crimean parliament and
head of the Sevastopol branch of the National Salvation Front,
heads the so-called Small Russian City Council of Sevastopol,
which was established as an alternative to the legally elected
city authorities. The latter has ruled that Kruglov's group is
illegal. In the meantime, Ekho Moskvy reported on 21 July that
the city council is planning to discuss the question of a referendum
on the status of Sevastopol. -Roman Solchanyk

RUSSIA AND TAJIKISTAN SIGN MONETARY AGREEMENT. Russia and Tajikistan
have signed three agreements concerning monetary relations between
the two nations, ITAR-TASS reported on 20 July. The agreements,
signed in Moscow by Russian deputy prime minister Aleksandr Shokhin
and the chairman of the Tajik Council of Ministers, Abdumalik
Abdulladzhanov, convert Tajik's 49 billion ruble trade bill to
Russia (in the form of so-called technical credits) into sovereign
debt, which Tajikistan will pay back in five installments over
five years, beginning in 1996. Russia also agreed to lend up
to 60 billion rubles to Tajikistan for the purchase of Russian
imports this year. More important, perhaps, was that Tajikistan
has agreed to conditions (unspecified in the ITAR-TASS account)
for remaining in the ruble zone. Given Russia's recent ultimata
to other ruble zone members to conduct their monetary policy
consistent with Russia's or leave the zone, Tajikistan has presumably
agreed to concede some of its autonomy in economic policy-making.
-Erik Whitlock

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



IZETBEGOVIC READY TO JOIN PEACE TALKS. International media report
that heavy fighting continued at Mount Igman near Sarajevo on
21 July. Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic said his troops
could possibly cut off the Muslim defenders on 22 July. Muslim
forces said they had pushed the Serbs back on the southwest side
of the mountain, but the UN has been unable to gain access to
find out what is happening. Water and power have been cut off
in Sarajevo for four weeks, and food convoys have been blocked.
Meanwhile Serb troops continued to assault Gorazde, refusing
to allow peacekeepers to deploy there. According to a UN official,
Bosnian Croat forces have not allowed convoys to travel from
southern Croatia to central Bosnia since 16 July. At a mental
institute near Fojnica, where 230 abandoned patients were found
by UN-troops, four children have died. Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic has apparently accepted an invitation by international
mediators to enter marathon peace talks in Geneva on the condition
that the Serbs stop the offensive against Mount Igman and aid
supplies are permitted to get through to Bosnian towns. -Fabian
Schmidt

POLAND SUSPENDS DEBT TALKS. The third round of talks on Poland's
$12.3-billion debt to the London Club of commercial banks appeared
to end in fiasco on 19-July. Poland's debt negotiator, Krzysztof
Krowacki, rejected the club's offer and said he views the talks
as suspended until the banks propose new, more acceptable terms.
The London Club reportedly offered a 35% reduction in Poland's
commercial debt in return for annual repayments of more than
$700 million. Krowacki said this proposal is inconsistent with
the three principles agreed upon in May: that long-term loans,
interest, and revolving credits be treated as a single package;
that the agreement not exceed Poland's ability to pay; and that
the reduction be comparable to the terms agreed upon in 1991
with the Paris Club of government creditors. The Paris Club offered
a 50% debt reduction. Poland wants an analogous 50% reduction
from the London Club and says it can afford yearly payments of
at most $400 million. In remarks reported by Polish TV, Krowacki
said that "Poland's negotiators are prepared for talks at any
time, but not on our knees." As in the past, Krowacki's tough
talk may be a bargaining tactic. -Louisa Vinton

SMOOTH SAILING FOR POLAND'S VAT. Poland's value-added tax, introduced
on 5 July, has so far prompted only a 1.5% increase in prices,
PAP reported on 21 July. "All those forecasts of catastrophe-.-.-.
simply did not come true," Deputy Finance Minister Witold Modzelewski
told reporters. Larger hikes in the price of meat, meat products,
and sugar were attributed to higher producer costs rather than
the VAT. Some 400,000 tax-payers have so far registered for the
VAT. The biggest problem, Modzelewski said, was the lack of any
standardized tax form, but one will be issued soon. Zycie Warszawy
commented on 22 July that the VAT's relatively painless introduction
demonstrated the "maturity" of the Polish market; suppliers refrained
from using the chance to mark up prices out of fear of losing
their customers. -Louisa Vinton

SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY COALITION TALKS FAIL. In an official proclamation
on 21 July, the SNP declared coalition negotiations with the
ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia "unsuccessful," TASR
reports. According to the SNP, the failure stems from disagreement
between the two parties over two competing draft laws that deal
with parliamentary deputies who have left their parties between
election years. In an interview with TASR following the SNP proclamation,
Prime Minister and MDS Chairman Vladimir Meciar said that although
"the problems to be solved are very complicated," his party "is
willing to continue in coalition talks." If a coalition agreement
is not reached between the two parties, new elections may be
the only option. -Sharon Fisher

CZECHS APPROVE BORDER AGREEMENT WITH SLOVAKIA. On 21 July the
Czech government approved an agreement that Premier Vaclav Klaus
reached with his Slovak counterpart, Vladimir Meciar, on 17-July
requiring that citizens of third countries cross the Czech-Slovak
border only at official stations. CTK reports that Czech and
Slovak citizens will continue to be able to cross the border
anywhere without official travel documents. Meciar originally
opposed changes in the Czech-Slovak agreement on the border regime
signed in late 1992, which permitted free movement of people
between the two republics. However, in an effort to stem the
flow of people trying to reach Germany after that country introduced
a strict asylum law on 1 July, the Czech government has pressured
Slovakia to introduce border controls for citizens of third countries
entering the Czech Republic. -Jiri Pehe

THE CZECH-SLOVAK STAND AT THE CEI SUMMIT. In a 20 July statement
on Radio Prague also reported by Radio Budapest, Czech Premier
Vaclav Klaus said that his support for Slovak Premier Vladimir
Meciar's move to block a legally binding draft on national minorities
at the Central European Initiative's 16-17 July summit in Budapest
was a gesture to Slovakia. The minority issue should be solved
on an all-European basis and not through national protective
legislation, Klaus said, as the latter would destabilize the
region and could lead to questioning the current status. The
Czech Republic's primary interest in the future, he said, is
to support Slovakia first, before any other form of cooperation
or association. In a 21 July statement, Hungarian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Janos Herman said Klaus had "misunderstood" the letter
sent to him by Hungarian Premier Jozsef Antall on the eve of
the CEI summit in which Antall outlined Hungary's expectations
vis-a-vis Slovakia following Bratislava's admission into the
Council of Europe. -Alfred Reisch

HUNGARIAN ROMA ORGANIZATION ON DEMONSTRATION, ELECTION PLANS.
Gyorgy Naday, Chairman of the Democratic Association of Gypsies
in Hungary, the country's biggest Roma organization, called the
Roma demonstration held on 11 July in Eger "hasty and poorly
timed from a political viewpoint" because of the passage by parliament
of the law on minorities, Radio Budapest reports. Naday criticized
the organizers for not informing the other Roma organizations
in time, although he conceded that the action brought attention
to the plight of the Romas. He said the union was ready to participate
in the 1994 general elections by cooperating with parties that
accept its statute and by fielding joint candidates with them.
-Alfred Reisch

PERMANENT MFN STATUS REQUESTED FOR BULGARIA. President Bill Clinton
has told the US Congress to expect a bill to grant Bulgaria permanent
most-favored-nation status, an RFE/RL correspondent reported
on 21 July. The move would put Bulgaria into the category of
close US trading partners, and also eliminate the otherwise mandatory
annual review of emigration policies. -Kjell Engelbrekt

BULGARIAN FARM LAND RESTORED TO FORMER OWNERS. Roughly one quarter
of the farm land due to be restored to 1.7 million precommunist
owners is now in private hands, officials of the National Statistical
Institute told news agencies on 20 July. Decollectivization,
which began as early as 1991, has met with more difficulties
than originally anticipated. Apart from cumbersome legal procedures,
the reform has been opposed on political grounds, mainly by the
Socialist Party. -Kjell Engelbrekt

ROMANIAN FLEET MANAGERS FIRED. In a statement released on 21
July, Romania's Transport Ministry announced that the managers
of the state-owned shipping company Petromin have been dismissed
and that a new managerial board has been appointed effective
20 July. The statement referred to "breaches of the law, abuses,
and errors," apparently in connection with a controversial shipping
deal between Petromin and a Greek company, Forum Maritime, that
gave the latter a majority interest for $335 million. Belated
attempts by the government to renegotiate the contract and reduce
Greek participation to 49% have proved unsuccessful so far. -Dan
Ionescu

ITALIAN PRESIDENT TO ROMANIA. On 21 July Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
began a two-day official visit to Romania, which Radio Bucharest
described as the first ever by an Italian head of state. Scalfaro
met President Ion Iliescu, the chairmen of the parliament's two
houses, Oliviu Gherman and Adrian Nastase, and other high-ranking
Romanian officials as well as leaders of the opposition and of
the Italian community. He stressed on several occasions Italy's
determination to support Romania's efforts to join European organizations.
Iliescu, on the other hand, hailed the traditional ties between
Romania and its "Latin sister." He also praised Italians as "the
most dynamic and active" Western investors in Romania, adding
that Italian capital ranked first in joint ventures with Western
investors. On 22 July Scalfaro is scheduled to tour monasteries
in Bucovina before traveling on to Bulgaria. -Dan Ionescu

SNEGUR ASKS PARLIAMENT TO APPROVE CIS MEMBERSHIP. In a letter
dated 2 July addressed to Parliamentary Speaker Petru Lucinschi,
President Mircea Snegur appealed to the legislature to ratify
Moldova's membership in the CIS, AFP reported on 21 July. Deputy
Alexandru Buruiana, head of the parliament's foreign relations
committee, said that Snegur is bowing to pressure from Moscow
that Moldova either ratify its membership or be excluded from
the club. Alecu Reneta, a deputy representing the Moldovan Popular
Front, described Snegur's letter as the most shameful betrayal
since Moldova was annexed by the Tsarist empire in 1812, but
Snegur said CIS membership would serve Moldova's interest in
several fields of economic cooperation. The Moldovan leadership
has long been in favor of ratification on economic grounds, but
as long as the Transdniestr deputies are boycotting the parliament
the popular front deputies can stymie any vote. -Ann Sheehy

MOLDOVA TO HAVE OWN CURRENCY? PRESIDENT SNEGUR HAS SET UP A COMMISSION
TO DRAW UP A MECHANISM FOR INTRODUCING A NATIONAL CURRENCY, WHICH
IT IS HOPED WILL BE PUT INTO CIRCULATION BY THE END OF 1993,
ITAR-TASS REPORTED ON 21 JULY. The government has been promised
assistance from the World Bank and the IMF. Snegur said on Moldovan
TV that the government's financial policy has proved untenable
and led to an uncontrolled rise in prices and a record inflation
rate of 1500% in 1992. Snegur said that this record could be
repeated in 1993. -Ann Sheehy

SILLAMAE CITY COUNCIL ON REFERENDUM RESULTS. On 21 July the council
confirmed the results of the referendum on changing the town's
status to an autonomous zone in Estonia. Baltic media report
that the council considers the results to be valid and has proposed
the drafting of a law on the special status of the predominantly
ethnic-Russian town. Members of the council also stated that
the new law would restrict the implementation of laws considered
discriminatory. In addition, the city council issued an appeal
to the Council of Europe, CSCE, and the leaders of Russia, Ukraine,
and Belarus in which they affirm their intention to preserve
Estonia's territorial integrity and stress that the town's new
status could contribute to dialogue and cooperation between states.
-Dzintra Bungs

LITHUANIAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH KAZAKHSTAN, KALININGRAD.
On 21 July Kazakh Prime Minister Sergei Tereshchenko made a short
stop in Vilnius en route to Australia, Radio Lithuania reports.
With his Lithuanian counterpart Adolfas Slezevicius he signed
a free trade treaty and three agreements on cooperation in air,
motor, and railway transport as well as agreeing to establish
trade missions in the capitals. Slezevicius noted that trade
with Kazakhstan was unsatisfactory, making up less than 1.5%
of Lithuania's imports and exports. Kazakhstan would like to
increase its exports of grain and coal to Lithuania and use the
refinery at Mazeikiai for oil exports. Klaipeda could serve as
a convenient port for Kazakh trade with northern Europe while
Kazakhstan could be the route for Lithuanian trade with China
and Central Asia. On the 19th Lithuanian and Kaliningrad regional
officials signed a free trade agreement that will, however, go
into effect only after additional protocols on the origin of
goods are signed and a list of restricted goods is compiled.
Some observers suggest that this agreement is impractical since
an accord with Russia should properly have preceded an agreement
with one of its regions. -Saulius Girnius

LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY. On 21 July in Bonn Povilas
Gylys and his German counterpart Klaus Kinkel signed a joint
declaration that will serve as the basis for future political
and economic cooperation treaties between the two states, Radio
Lithuania reports. Germany has signed similar declarations with
Latvia and Estonia. The foreign ministers also signed a cultural
exchange accord. Gylys held talks with Bundestag President Rita
Suessmuth, Education and Science Minister Rainer Ortleb, and
other government officials. On 22 and 23 July Gylys will visit
Schleswig-Holstein with stops in Kiel and Luebeck. -Saulius Girnius


YELTSIN CONGRATULATES ULMANIS. Meeting with the new Latvian president,
Russian ambassador to Latvia Aleksandr Rannikh transmitted to
Guntis Ulmanis a letter of congratulation from Russian President
Boris Yeltsin, Diena reported on 21 July. Yeltsin expressed satisfaction
with Latvia's willingness to transfer imprisoned OMON leader
Sergei Parfenov to Russia and conveyed the hope that Ulmanis,
as representative of the multinational population of Latvia,
will guarantee genuine equality of human rights for Russians.
Rannikh warned that if Latvia adopts a citizenship law resembling
that of Estonia, a tense ethnic situation like that in the Caucasus
and Central Asia could result-a view not shared by Ulmanis. Rannikh
stated his regret that Russian troop withdrawals from Latvia
have been suspended until fall, and both men spoke of the resumption
of Latvian-Russian talks as soon as possible. -Dzintra Bungs


LATVIA RETRIEVES PROMISSORY NOTES. Twenty promissory notes, worth
$400 million, improperly issued by Latvia's Investment Bank last
December have been retrieved in Belgium and invalidated, Diena
reported on 21 July. The issuance of the notes, which led to
the resignation of Ilze Jurkane from the presidency of Latvia's
Investment Bank, is being investigated by the Latvian State Prosecutor's
Office. It is not yet clear if criminal charges will be brought
against those involved. -Dzintra Bungs

MOLDOVA'S NATIONAL INCOME DROPS FURTHER. According to Moldova's
State Department of Statistics, the country's national income
dropped 20.2% in the first half of 1993 compared with the same
period last year, ITAR-TASS reported on 20 July. Agricultural
output, the mainstay of Moldova's economy, fell by 36%. ITAR-TASS
said that experts consider the decline in production is of a
chronic nature and is due to the unbalanced nature of the economy,
the breakdown of traditional economic ties, and the lack of raw
materials. Inflation in the first half of 1993 was officially
put at 24.3%, but the newspaper Nezavisimaya Moldova reckoned
it is really 300%. -Ann Sheehy

HUNGARIAN SOCIAL STATISTICS. According to the Central Statistical
Office, there were nearly 19,000 abortions in Hungary during
the first quarter of the year, 22% fewer than during the same
period of 1992, MTI and Radio Budapest reported on 21 June. The
decrease was evident in all groups, particularly women over 30
and married women. It is speculated that the decrease is due
to better family protection services. In any case, the number
of live births is expected to rise in the last quarter of the
year, reversing the trend of the past years. Meanwhile, the State
Health Institute reported that 373 cases of HIV-positive infection
have been registered so far in the country, of which 124-have
resulted in AIDS, involving mostly males. So far 67-persons have
died of AIDS in Hungary, MTI reports. -Alfred Reisch

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Sheila Marnie and Charles Trumbull







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