No. 139, 23 July 1993

RUSSIA



GRACHEV ACCUSES UKRAINE OF ACQUIRING NUCLEAR STATUS. Defense
Minister Pavel Grachev has accused Ukraine of moving to take
over control of the nuclear weapons on its territory, ITAR-TASS
reported on 22 July. Grachev said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry
on 3 July issued an order concerning the status of nuclear weapons
installations which provided for canceling all Russian directives
concerning them, and transferring the installations and the special
units guarding them to the 43rd missile army, administratively
controlled by Ukraine. The order also reportedly establishes
Ukrainian control over personnel and logistical support for the
units. There have been conflicting reports in recent weeks as
to the loyalty of the troops guarding nuclear weapons storage
sites. The Ukrainian move appears to be an attempt to settle
this problem, and suggests that current Russian proposals to
subordinate these units to Russia will not be accepted by Ukraine.
-John Lepingwell

GRACHEV CLAIMS CONTROL OF CIS NUCLEAR WEAPONS. According to a
report in Komsomolskaya pravda, as reported by ITAR-TASS on 22
July, Marshal Evgenii Shaposhnikov transferred his set of launch
authorization codes to Grachev shortly after resigning from his
position as Commander of the CIS Joint Armed Forces. This confirms
the fact that Russia has de facto taken over full control of
launch authority from the CIS command, and puts an end to any
pretense of maintaining a CIS nuclear force. This fact may have
prompted recent Ukrainian moves to increase its physical control
over nuclear weapons, even though it does not have access to
the launch codes. -John Lepingwell

1993 BUDGET APPROVED. On 22 July, parliament overwhelmingly approved
a budget for 1993 that provided for greatly increased expenditure
and deficit, ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported. The budget called
for spending of 44.7 trillion rubles, revenues of 22.3 trillion
rubles, and a deficit of 22.4 trillion rubles. The chairman of
parliament's budgetary committee said that the deficit amounted
to 25% of the GDP. He termed this "terrible," and called for
additional revenues. One of the commitments that the Russian
government undertook in order to qualify for the second disbursement
of some $1.5 billion under the IMF's systemic transformation
facility was to reduce the enlarged government deficit (covering
the state budget, extrabudgetary funds, and import subsidies)
to 10% of GDP by the end of 1993. -Keith Bush

PARLIAMENT SEEKS RIGHT TO OVERTURN TREATIES. Parliament has passed
a bill that would apparently give it the right to reconsider
and overturn any international treaty at any time. Part of a
bill on international treaties, which President Boris Yeltsin
had returned to the parliament for amendment, the clause enables
the parliament to take up the consideration of a treaty at any
time, and if it calls for its rejection or renunciation, the
president would be bound to sign a resolution to that effect
within two weeks. The measure was opposed by Deputy Foreign Minister
who noted that it would undermine Russia's reliability as a partner
in foreign relations, ITAR-TASS reported on 22 July, Given the
conservative cast of the current Russian parliament a number
of existing treaties could be threatened. -John Lepingwell

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT REDUCES THRESHOLD FOR QUORUM. Parliament made
procedural amendments on 21 July which will require the presence
of only fifty percent of its deputies at plenary sessions to
constitute a quorum for voting, instead of the three-quarters
majority currently required, ITAR-TASS of 21 July and Radio Rossii
of 22 July reported. The decision appears simply to have legalized
the current state of affairs, for many deputies are known to
vote for their absent neighbors on occasion. Reformist deputies
were reported to have opposed the move as "infringing upon the
rights of parliamentary deputies." -Wendy Slater

POLTORANIN QUESTIONED IN CORRUPTION PROBE. Mikhail Poltoranin,
head of the Federal Information Center and a key advisor to President
Yeltsin, was questioned by prosecutors on 22 July as part of
a parliamentary-sponsored probe into corruption, ITAR- TASS reported.
Investigators are looking into allegations that Poltoranin benefited
from the lease of a Russian government building in Berlin to
Western firms. Poltoranin has denied the charges and has called
the whole investigation part of a plot by his opponents in the
parliament to have him ousted from his job. Both the president
and the parliament have established rival commissions to examine
the problem of high-level corruption in Russia. -Dominic Gualtieri


STATE PURCHASE PRICES FOR GRAIN RAISED. The cabinet agreed on
22 July to raise the basic state purchase price for grain from
45,000 rubles to over 60,000 rubles a ton, Reuters reported.
(High-grade hard and durum wheat command higher prices). Farmers'
representatives had been pressing for a basic price of between
70,000 and 100,000 rubles a ton, but were turned down. The head
of the State Price Committee warned that the increased purchase
prices and the phasing out of remaining subsidies meant that
the retail prices of grain products are likely to double during
the coming weeks. -Keith Bush

RUSSIAN ARMS SALES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. Foreign Minister Andrei
Kozyrev, en route to Singapore for a meeting of ASEAN foreign
ministers, said during a stopover in Kuala Lumpur on 22 July
that Russia hoped to use Malaysia's recent order of 18 MiG-29
fighter aircraft as a staging point for penetration into the
Southeast Asia arms market, AFP reported. Despite Kozyrev's upbeat
remarks, however, it appears that the deal with Malaysia has
not yet been finalized; according to ITAR-TASS Kozyrev also said
that talks on the sale would be continued in August. Meanwhile,
AFP reported on 21 July that Thailand's top military commander
had departed for Moscow to conduct talks on the purchase of Russian
military equipment, including transport helicopters. As was the
case with Malaysia, Russia is apparently offering to accept agricultural
products from Thailand as partial payment (up to 50%) for the
weaponry. -Stephen Foye

MINIMUM SUBSISTENCE LEVEL DISCUSSED. The presidium of the government
has approved a draft law on the subsistence minimum, ITAR-TASS
reported on 22 July. The final version is expected to be presented
to the Russian parliament in one month's time. In preparing the
law there has been much discussion on the methodology used to
establish those goods and services which are necessary to guarantee
a person's minimum subsistence level, with some (including the
Minister of Labor, Gennadii Melikyan) demanding a narrower and
more restrictive definition than that currently in use. A narrower
definition would allow a minimum to be established which could
realistically be guaranteed within the constraints of the government
budget, but the report does not make clear whether such a definition
was approved. Using the current definition the subsistence level
for one person in June was 16,000 rubles a month, and in July
it will be approximately 19,000 rubles. The minimum wage is now
7,740 rubles, and one in three citizens live in families with
a per capita income below the subsistence minimum. It was decided
not to include a provision in the new law stipulating that the
minimum wage should be higher than the subsistence level, since
the government at present does not have the financial means to
provide such a guarantee. -Sheila Marnie


TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



MORE TROUBLE IN TAJIKISTAN. Western agencies reported on 22 July
more clashes along the Tajik-Afghan border, with Russian troops
firing on rebel positions on Afghan territory. Unconfirmed reports
also state that there has been more fighting in the mountains
east of Dushanbe, where Tajik Interior Ministry forces are trying
to destroy rebel strongholds. Meanwhile, the Islamic Conference
Organization, has offered to mediate in the Tajik-Afghan conflict,
and the organization's secretary-general has sent letters to
the presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Russia, Reuters
reports. There are also growing fears in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
of a cholera epidemic, allegedly brought into the two countries
by Tajik refugees returning from Afghanistan. ITAR-TASS reported
on 22 July that 16 cases had been reported in Tajikistan's Pyandzh
district, near the Tajik-Afghan border, alone. These reports,
while probably true, could also serve as an excuse for slowing
or stopping the return of refugees -Keith Martin

GEORGIA, RUSSIA REACH DRAFT AGREEMENT FOR ABKHAZ CEASEFIRE. At
a second meeting late on 21-July, Russian Special Envoy Boris
Pastukhov and Georgian Parliament Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze
approved a draft agreement for a ceasefire in Abkhazia, Mayak
Radio reported. Details of the program have not been reported.
Earlier in the day, Shevardnadze had rejected a Russian-mediated
Abkhaz proposal, which called for an immediate withdrawal of
Georgian troops from the conflict zone. Pastukhov was scheduled
to travel to the separatist stronghold Gudauta on 22 July to
present the new draft proposal. -Catherine Dale

KARABAKH UPDATE. On 22 July Reuters and AFP quoted Azerbaijani
sources as reporting fierce fighting between Azerbaijani troops
and Armenian forces which launched a new attack on Agdam just
east of Nagorno-Karabakh; Karabakh authorities denied these allegations,
according to Radio Erevan. In a statement issued on 22 July UN
Secretary-General Boutros Ghali expressed deep concern at the
continued hostilities and called on all parties involved to support
the CSCE peace initiative. Meanwhile representatives of the nine
CSCE countries involved in the mediation attempt met in Rome
to discuss the situation, ITAR-TASS reported. -Liz Fuller

GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION DEMANDS GOVERNMENT'S RESIGNATION.
On 22 July six of the nine factions represented within the Georgian
parliament tabled a motion calling for the Georgian government's
resignation on the grounds of its incompetence above all in economic
matters, which has resulted in a 70 per cent budget deficit,
ITAR-TASS reported. The motion will be debated on 23 July. The
war in Abkhazia is reportedly costing Georgia 50-million rubles
per day. -Liz Fuller

KYRGYZSTAN'S TOP MILITARY OFFICIAL REMOVED. The office of Kyrgyzstan's
President Askar Akaev announced on 22 July that the country's
top defense official, Major-General Dzhanibek Umetaliev, chairman
of the State Committee on Defense, has been removed, Reuters
reported. Umetaliev has been replaced by his own first deputy,
Myrzakan Subanov. According to Reuters, the announcement issued
by Akaev's office gave no reason for the removal of Umetaliev,
nor did it say what job he is being moved to. -Bess Brown

FORMER ARMENIAN KGB CHIEF MURDERED. Sixty-nine year old Marius
Yuzbashyan, Armenian KGB chief for ten years until October, 1988,
was shot three times while walking his dog in a Erevan park during
the early morning of 21 July, Reuters reported. quoting the Snark
News Agency. Whether the murderer was apprehended was not disclosed.
-Liz Fuller

CIS

REFERENDUM IN SEVASTOPOL. An extraordinary session of the Sevastopol
City Council has ruled to hold a referendum on the status of
the city concurrently with the 26 September referendum in Ukraine,
Radio Ukraine reported on 22 July. However, no agreement has
been reached on the wording of the question; neither did the
council agree on what position to take with regard to the Russian
parliament's 9 July decision declaring the city to be Russian.
The city council did affirm the validity of Ukrainian laws in
Sevastopol and called upon the Russian and Ukrainian presidents
to take such measures with regard to Sevastopol and the Black
Sea Fleet that would promote the strengthening and further development
of friendship and cooperation between the Russian and Ukrainian
peoples. -Roman Solchanyk


CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



BOSNIAN PEACE TALKS DELAYED. International media report on 22
and 23 July that after Serbian heavy artillery continued to pound
Sarajevo, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic postponed attending
the Geneva peace talks slated for 23 July. He promised to join
the meeting as soon as minimum conditions for Sarajevo's security
are met. At least 10 people were killed and more than 50 seriously
wounded in Sarajevo on 22 July. According to Radio Sarajevo,
Serbian attacks also intensified around Brcko while Serb and
Croat forces were jointly shelling Maglaj. Serbian shelling was
also reported at Srebrenica and Gorazde, where for the first
time in 10 days a UN convoy arrived after being blocked by Serbs.
Elsewhere, Bosnian Croat forces let through another UN convoy
to central Bosnia that had been blocked since 16 July. Bosnian
troops took Bugojno after heavy fights with the Croats, Radio
Sarajevo said. A Croat spokesman reported that Muslims are expelling
all Croats living there. -Fabian Schmidt

CROAT OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR NEW BOSNIAN POLICY. The president
of the Croatian Social Liberal Party, Drazen Budisa, told a Zagreb
press conference that Croatia must respect the territorial integrity
of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Vjesnik of 23 July also quotes him as
saying that it is in Croatia's own interest to make common cause
with the Bosnian government and to reject Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's overtures aimed at partition, which could some day
lead to the undermining of Croatia's own territorial integrity.
Budisa, whose party leads the ruling party in the past few weeks'
opinion polls, noted that "it is hard to defend Croatia's position
abroad these days." Meanwhile, the Washington Post quotes UN
sources as confirming that regular Croatian army forces are gathering
around Ljubuski in western Herzegovina to help local Croat forces
(HVO) in the Mostar area. On 22 July, however, the Croatian Defense
Ministry denied the story, saying once again that its troops
do not operate in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Many journalists and other
observers nonetheless have long believed that the Croatian military
and the HVO are closely interlinked. Finally, peace talks between
Croatian authorities and Serb rebels adjourned in Vienna on 22
July to allow both sides time to consult with their superiors.
Reuters quoted Croat spokesmen as saying that the Serbs had backed
out of an agreement at the last minute. -Patrick Moore

END OF CSCE MISSION IN RUMP-YUGOSLAVIA? MONITORS FROM THE CONFERENCE
ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE ARE TO WITHDRAW FROM KOSOVO,
VOJVODINA, AND THE SANDZAK AFTER HAVING BEEN EFFECTIVELY CHASED
OUT BY THE RUMP YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT, AFP REPORTED ON 22 JULY.
The dispute between Belgrade and the CSCE began when the CSCE
mandate to monitor ended this month. The Yugoslav government
wants to be readmitted to the CSCE process as a precondition
for renewing the monitors' visas, which the CSCE refuses to do.
Albania condemned Belgrade's move as early as 8-July, ATA reports.
-Fabian Schmidt

ROMANIA WILL NOT ALLOW FOREIGN BASES. Armed forces chief of staff
Gen. Dumitru Cioflina, told Evenimentul zilei on 22 July that
Romania will allow no foreign military bases on its territory
nor permit any foreign army to transit the country. Returning
from Moscow, where he met with Russian Defense Minister Pavel
Grachev, Cioflina said Russian officials are concerned over media
reports that Romania is ready to offer bases to NATO forces to
check a possible spread of the war in former Yugoslavia. The
reports followed recent meetings in Brussels and Bucharest between
Romanian and NATO officials. On another matter, Cioflina said
in an interview with Radio Bucharest that some of the statements
made by general Gheorghe Florica, the former head of the Financial
Police, in an interview with RFE/RL's Romanian Service, had "unacceptable"
political implications. As a consequence, Cioflina said, Florica
will soon be retired from the armed forces. -Michael Shafir

HUNGARY CONCERNED ABOUT NEW CROAT- SERB WAR. The Baranya County
Commissioner's Office and the Border Guard Directorate of Pecs
have expressed concern about a renewal of hostilities in Croatia's
Serb-occupied Eastern Slavonia, Budapest Radio reports on 22
July. The Border Guard has informed the Croatian side that Hungary
would not tolerate any use of its territory for military purposes,
and is ready to do the same in the case of the Serbs who control
a 66-km stretch of the Hungarian-Croatian border. It has also
equipped its two rapid deployment companies in the area with
guided armor-piercing rockets and advised local residents not
to go near the border under any circumstances. Hungary's Office
for Refugees is expecting another wave of refugees as a result
of the armed clashes between Croatians and Bosnians. -Alfred
Reisch

HAVEL VETOES CUSTOMS LAW'S AMENDMENT. Czech President Vaclav
Havel used his right of suspensive veto on 22 July in refusing
to sign an amendment to the customs law, which was approved by
the Czech parliament at the beginning of July. The amendment
stipulated that when bringing goods from abroad, deputies must
declare all items subject to customs duties, but that their personal
belongings, including suitcases, cannot not be searched by customs
officials. The amendment was adopted after the media revealed
that several deputies had failed to pay duties on expensive goods
from the West. Proponents argued that the amendment was designed
to prevent members of the executive branch from harassing lawmakers.
In explaining Havel's refusal to sign the amended law, a spokesman
told CTK that the amendment "expands the immunity of deputies"
beyond the limits set by the constitution. The parliament can
override Havel's veto with the approval of a simple majority
of all 200-deputies. -Jiri Pehe

KLAUS CRITICIZES ANTALL LETTER. Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus
told CTK on 22-July that, in his letter to Klaus on 15 July,
Hungarian Premier Jozsef Antall suggested challenging the validity
of the decrees issued in 1945 by Czechoslovak President Edvard
Benes. Under the Benes decrees, almost 3 million Sudeten Germans
and 32,000 Hungarians were expelled from Czechoslovakia and their
property confiscated. Klaus said that challenging the Benes decrees
is "totally unacceptable to the Czech Republic." The premier
explained that when he received Antall's letter he at first revealed
only the contents of its first half because he "did not want
even to indicate to the Czech public what Hungarians were suggesting
to me." -Jiri Pehe

SLOVAK COALITION TALKS STILL IN QUESTION. On 21 July the Slovak
National Party officially proclaimed that coalition talks with
the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia were "unsuccessful";
however, in a 22 July SNP press conference Honorary Chairman
Jozef Prokes claimed the SNP "wishes to continue coalition discussions,"
and Deputy Chairman Peter Sokol said the coalition "is vital
for Slovakia." Meanwhile, in a Slovak Radio interview on 22 July,
MDS Chairman and Premier Vladimir Meciar admitted that there
exists "some uncertainty in the government" but said that his
party "would not be dictated to in coalition talks." It is unlikely
that the discussions will be concluded by the 24 July deadline.
Neither party has announced when the next meeting will take place.
-Sharon Fisher

MORE BORDER-CROSSING POINTS BETWEEN HUNGARY AND SLOVAKIA? HUNGARIAN
FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN JANOS HERMAN ANNOUNCED ON 21 JULY
THAT A JOINT HUNGARIAN-SLOVAK COMMISSION OF EXPERTS WILL MEET
SOON IN BRATISLAVA TO DISCUSS THE CREATION OF NEW BORDER CROSSING
POINTS AND THE REOPENING OF PREVIOUSLY EXISTING ONES, UJ MAGYARORSZAG
WRITES. The Hungarian and Slovak mayors of two adjoining localities
have been on a hunger strike for 12 days because the authorities
have delayed the opening of the border crossing point between
their towns for nearly two years, forcing the residents to make
a 60-km detour to cross the border. The two sides will also seek
to set up a joint fund for the reconstruction of a vital bridge
over the Danube linking Esztergom, Hungary, with Sturovo, Slovakia,
which was destroyed at the end of World War II. -Alfred Reisch


POLISH ARCHBISHOP HOSTS COALITION LEADERS. Leading figures from
most of the government parties met in Gdansk on 21 July at the
invitation of Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski, Gazeta Wyborcza reports.
The meeting took place at the archbishop's residence and lasted
five hours. Though invited, former finance minister Andrzej Olechowski,
the most prominent politician in President Lech Walesa's Nonparty
Reform Bloc (BBWR), did not attend. Goclowski told reporters
that the meeting, conducted in conditions of near secrecy, was
"a private discussion among private individuals concerned for
the fate of the fatherland." Participants indicated afterward
that the point of the meeting was to smooth the way for cooperation
among "proreform" parties after the elections, prevent negative
campaigning among them, and forestall attacks on the Church.
Most important, participants reportedly agreed to treat the BBWR
as a potential coalition ally rather than a threat. The meeting
appeared to reflect the Church's concern that the current ruling
parties had failed to forge a "proreform coalition" for the elections.
Goclowski may hope to prevent rivalry among coalition parties
from working to the benefit of opposition forces and thus jeopardizing
the continuation of the reform program after the elections. A
similar meeting hosted by Goclowski on 13 July led to the forging
of a "Catholic coalition" by the two Christian parties in the
coalition. -Louisa Vinton

CONSTITUTIONAL HITCH IN WORLD BANK LOANS TO POLAND. The World
Bank has confirmed its offer of two new loans for Poland worth
a total of $750-million, Finance Minister Jerzy Osiatynski announced
on 22 July. The announcement was made during a visit to Warsaw
by Kemal Dervis, head of the World Bank's Central European Department.
The loans-$450 million for bank and firm restructuring and $300
million for agricultural infrastructure-were initially approved
on 4 May. The absence of the parliament complicates matters,
however. The government has requested a ruling from the Constitutional
Tribunal to determine whether it can sign the loan agreement
without ratification by the Sejm. The World Bank has so far provided
Poland with $2.64 billion in loans for 15 different programs.
Officials reported that Poland's ability to put the loans to
use had improved considerably in recent months, and that new
projects, including the construction of a Berlin-Warsaw-Moscow
highway, were being considered. -Louisa Vinton

POLAND MAKES "DEAL OF THE YEAR." The privatization ministry sold
a major stake in two Opole cement factories-Gorazdze and Strzelce
Opolskie-to the Belgian firm CBR for $53-million on 22 July,
PAP reports. This is the largest Polish privatization transaction
so far in 1993. Under the terms of the deal, CBR has pledged
to invest an additional $106 million to modernize the two plants
and raise environmental standards. In addition, wages will be
raised and there will be an 18-month moratorium on employment
reductions, with job cuts limited to 10% per year for another
three years. The ministry deliberately linked the sale of the
two cement firms-one profitable, the other weak-to ensure the
survival of both. Privatization Minister Janusz Lewandowski hailed
the deal as marking the beginning of the transformation of Poland's
entire cement sector. Solidarity trade unionists at the plants
initially rejected the deal on the grounds that it transferred
economic power to Brussels, but they were apparently mollified
by Lewandowski's offer to give the work force 10% of the shares
free of charge. -Louisa Vinton

BEROV COMFORTABLY SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTE. Late on 22 July
Bulgarian Prime Minister Lyuben Berov and his government survived
a vote of no confidence by a wide margin, Western agencies report.
Whereas 81 parliamentary deputies voted for Berov's dismissal,
147 came out in his support. This was the second no-confidence
vote in the past two months. On both occasions the vote was demanded
by the Union of Democratic Forces. This time the coalition accused
the cabinet of jeopardizing Bulgaria's economic future by suspending
interest payments on the $9 billion commercial debt. The UDF
argues that canceling payment is likely to alienate both creditors
and prospective foreign investors. -Kjell Engelbrekt

CASE OF US SPY IN ROMANIA FORMALLY CLOSED. The military prosecutor's
office announced on 22 July that the case of former diplomat
Mircea Raceanu has been closed. Raceanu, who lives in the USA,
was convicted as an American spy under the Ceausescu regime but
was released when the dictator was overthrown. Last month the
military prosecutor called the release illegal and asked that
he be made to serve the remaining 16 years of his sentence. The
US State Department expressed concern over the prosecutor's statement,
and a Romanian presidential spokesman announced three weeks ago
that the case was closed. The prosecutor's office has now officially
withdrawn his challenge to Raceanu's release. -Michael Shafir


ESTONIAN PM MEETS WITH RUSSIAN REPRESENTATIVES. On 22 July Prime
Minister Mart Laar met with leaders of the Representative Assembly,
a group that aims to uphold the interests of Russians and the
Russophone population of Estonia. The meeting sought solutions
to the social and economic problems in northeastern Estonia.
The chairmen of the Narva and Sillamae city councils said they
will adhere to the Estonian Supreme Court's decision, not yet
announced, concerning the recent referendums in their towns on
territorial autonomy. Narva authorities say 53% of the town's
adult population voted in the referendum and 96% of them supported
autonomy, though the Estonian government maintains that because
of numerous irregularities less than 50% of the population voted.
The Narva City Council wants to start negotiations with the Estonian
parliament and government to define the city's status and discuss
laws that residents find unacceptable. Vasilii Svirin, the head
of the Russian delegation for talks with Estonia, told the press
that his country considers the referendums to be purely the internal
affair of Estonia, Baltic media report. -Dzintra Bungs

RUSSIANS RETAIN CONTROL OF ESTONIAN NUCLEAR FACILITY. On 22 July
Estonian Interior Minister Lagle Parek and Commander in Chief
Aleksander Einseln held talks with Russian army leaders at Paldiski,
BNS reports. Parek said that, in compliance with international
regulations, Russian troops would continue to guard the two nuclear
reactors at the military base and the four-kilometer safety zone
around it. The reactors will later be dismantled and returned
to Russia. The checkpoints and barbed wire around the formerly
closed city will be removed and entry permits to the city will
be issued without questions. Parek expressed the hope that Paldiski
can become a summer holiday resort. -Saulius Girnius

HOT WATER SUPPLY REDUCED IN TALLINN AND RIGA. Baltic media reported
on 22 July that the supply of hot water will be greatly reduced
to consumers in the Estonian and Latvian capitals. In Tallinn
the reductions are to start on 26 July. As of that date, hot
water will be supplied only on weekends. The Riga authorities
announced suspension of hot water supplies on 23 July. The reason
for the cutoffs, in both cases, is the failure of consumers to
pay their gas, electricity, and heating bills. -Dzintra Bungs


SPLIT IN LITHUANIAN RIGHT WING. On 21 July leaders of the right
of center Democratic Party, Liberal Union, and National Union
of Lithuania met and condemned the 14 July decision by the Lithuanian
Christian Democratic Party and the Homeland Union (Conservatives
of Lithuania) to form a new bloc, BNS reports. Liberal Union
Chairman Sarunas Davainis expressed the fear that the new bloc
will only increase confrontation between the left and the right
wings "by ignoring weaker political forces." -Saulius Girnius


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





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