No. 177, 15 September 1993

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.



RUSSIA



PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL CRITICIZES YELTSIN, GOVERNMENT. The Presidential
Council meeting on 14 September agreed that the priority for
President Boris Yeltsin was early parliamentary elections, Russian
TV reported that evening. Some members of the council criticized
Yeltsin for losing momentum and urged him to take resolute action
to bring an end to the crisis of dual power which, Yeltsin said,
was deepening. The council also offered criticism of the government
for no longer acting in a concerted fashion but rather as a coalition
government in which all the ministers were in dispute with each
other. The council called on the parliament and the Congress
of People's Deputies to adopt laws on the division of powers
and on elections, thus echoing advice given to Yeltsin on 13
September by the Democratic Choice bloc. -Wendy Slater

THE SECURITY COUNCIL SET TO EXPAND. An article in the 11 September
edition of Segodnya says that the Security Council, a body whose
status is described as "less than indeterminate," is in the process
of overcoming its current crisis. The article says the council
will create eight additional interdepartmental commissions to
deal with military policy, economics, Russian federal relations,
state secrets, strategic questions related to the defense industry,
and other issues. These additional commissions would mean, according
to the article, the considerable broadening of the understanding
of the term "state security." It might be more accurate to say
that the addition of these commissions would mean that the council's
already broad understanding of state security (and its broad
constitutional mandate) would be increasingly utilized in practice.
-Suzanne Crow

RYABOV SAYS RECONCILED CONSTITUTION POSSIBLE. Deputy Parliamentary
Chairman Nikolai Ryabov, who heads the working group set up by
President Yeltsin to finalize the draft constitution, told Russian
journalists on 14 September that it should now be possible to
reconcile the two main existing draft constitutions. One draft
was worked out in July by the Constitutional Assembly and the
other by the parliament's constitutional commission. On 14 September,
the working group met to discuss problems related to the adoption
of the constitution. On 15 September, the group is scheduled
to send its recommendations to Yeltsin on the procedure and timetable
for adopting the document On 14-September, a member of the group,
Ivan Fedoseev, told ITAR-TASS that the final reconciled text
of the constitution should be worked out by yet another working
committee that would include representatives of the president,
the parliament and Russia's republics and regions. -Vera Tolz


FILATOV SAYS FIRST SESSION OF FEDERATION COUNCIL SET FOR 18 SEPTEMBER.
Sergei Filatov, head of Yeltsin's administration, said on 13
September that the first session of the Federation Council was
now set for 18 September, Russian TV reported. Filatov said that
many local leaders had changed their minds about the council's
formation after deputy chairman of the parliament Yurii Voronin
had sent round a letter saying a federation council had already
been set up in 1990. But, said Filatov, Russia was then part
of the USSR and the federal treaty, for the implementation of
which the new council will be meeting, did not exist. (The original
council was set up to draw up the federal treaty.) Filatov said
there was no question at present of the council becoming the
upper chamber of the parliament. -Ann Sheehy

SHAKHRAI ON A '"SMALL CONSTITUTION." Deputy Premier Sergei Shakhrai
has put forward the idea of the adoption of a "small constitution,"
ITAR-TASS reported on 14-September. Shakhrai, who was addressing
a meeting in Krasnoyarsk, the last stop on his tour of Siberian
cities, said that the main topic of discussion had been relations
between the center and the regions. Signs of separatism, as well
as the desire of krais and oblasts to raise their status to that
of republics, were causing concern to politicians who see their
task as preserving the integrity of Russia. Shakhrai noted that
in a small constitution the disputed sections on the national-state
structure of Russia could be left out and the status quo preserved.
-Ann Sheehy

COMPROMISING MATERIAL ON POLITICAL FIGURES. On 13 September,
General Prosecutor Valentin Stepankov was quoted by the "Parliamentary
Hour" program on Russian TV as saying that the state security
service had collected a great deal of compromising material on
many of the present Russian leaders before they came to power.
Stepankov said that "we have been keeping all of this information
since [the putsch of] August 1991 but we will not make use of
it, no matter how tense the political struggle becomes." Tons
of compromising material stemmed from telephone taps. Stepankov
also volunteered the opinion that a "third force," consisting
of representatives of the industrial complex, would soon come
to power. -Alexander Rahr

WAS RUTSKOI'S SIGNATURE FORGED? IZVESTIYA'S OBSERVER ALEKSANDR
SHALNEV ON 8-SEPTEMBER EXPRESSED DOUBTS CONCERNING THE TRUTH
OF ALLEGATIONS THAT VICE-PRESIDENT ALEKSANDR RUTSKOI CORRUPTLY
TRANSFERRED STATE FUNDS TO A PRIVATE SWISS BANK ACCOUNT. On 3-September
journalist Viktor Yugin demonstrated on Russian TV how documents
may be fabricated by means of computerized equipment and also
suggested that Rutskoi's signature might have been forged. -Victor
Yasmann

WARNING OF STRIKE WAVE. The chairman of the Federation of Independent
Trade Unions, Igor Klochkov, told a news conference on 10 September
that millions of workers will go on strike during the coming
weeks, an RFE/RL correspondent and ITAR-TASS reported. He said
that defense industry workers plan to strike on 17-September;
light industry and agricultural workers on 27 September; and
teachers and workers in the machine-building industry will stop
work on 15 October. Klochkov did not specify the grounds for
strike action, other than the general economic situation, nor
did he spell out the length of work stoppages anticipated. -Keith
Bush

CIS

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN NUCLEAR DISPUTE HEATING UP AGAIN . . . An article
in the 15-September issue of The Boston Globe cites an interview
given to the Interfax news agency by Colonel General Evgenii
Maslin, head of the Main Directorate for Nuclear Munitions. Maslin
reportedly said that Ukraine now has "full control" over nuclear
weapons, although he noted that Ukraine cannot launch them. According
to Maslin strategic bomber and warhead maintenance crews have
taken the Ukrainian oath of allegiance and Ukraine could create
systems that would allow it to attain launch capability "within
the next year or two." Maslin also claimed that Russia and Ukraine
had agreed at the Massandra summit for the return of warheads
to Russia, although he noted that no deadlines for implementation
of the accord were set. However, the Globe does not note that
the protocol signed at Massandra includes only warheads from
those launchers covered under the START-1 treaty. Under Ukraine's
interpretation of the treaty this would include only some of
the SS-19 ICBMs in Ukraine, and none of the 46 SS-24 missiles.
-John Lepingwell

.-.-. AND SO ARE THE WARHEADS? Izvestiya and ITAR-TASS reported
on 14 September that temperature and radiation levels were rising
in a nuclear weapons storage site at the Pervomaisk ICBM base
in Ukraine. According to the reports the temperature increase
is slight, and may be caused by placing too many warheads in
the shelter. (Some SS-19 ICBMs at the base are being dismantled,
and the warheads stored.) A group of experts from the Russian
Ministry of Atomic Energy was flying to the site to survey the
situation, although a Russian military spokesman noted that there
was no danger of an accident. While the Russian side has been
blaming Ukraine for not maintaining (or returning) the warheads,
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Bizhan told Ukrainian
TV on 14 September that the problem was caused by Russian refusal
to assist with maintenance. Bizhan noted that the Massandra agreements
provided for Russian assistance in warhead maintenance and safety.
-John Lepingwell

KHASBULATOV PROPOSES ELECTED CIS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY. Speaking
at the Pushchino scientific center of the Russian Academy of
Sciences in Moscow oblast on 14-September, the chairman of the
Russian parliament Ruslan Khasbulatov proposed joint elections
by CIS member-states to the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly,
ITAR-TASS reported. Khasbulatov added that the joint parliament
could form a common CIS government. At present the CIS Interparliamentary
Assembly is made up of delegations from the parliaments of CIS
member-states. The assembly, whose Council Khasbulatov chairs,
has been one of the more effective CIS institutions to date and
could have an important role to play in harmonizing the legislation
of CIS member-states if a CIS economic union gets off the ground.
-Ann Sheehy

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



SHEVARDNADZE RESIGNS . . . AND RECONSIDERS. In what appears to
have been an exercise in brinkmanship, Georgian parliament chairman
Eduard Shevardnadze tendered his resignation on 14 September
after deputies argued that his proposal to impose a nation-wide
state of emergency was tantamount to dictatorship, Western agencies
reported. Shevardnadze rejected a unanimous vote by 149 deputies
not to accept his resignation. After thousands of people rallied
in Tbilisi to beg him to reconsider his decision, however, he
stated that he would remain in office on condition that the parliament
endorsed a two-month state of emergency and then suspended its
legislative activities for three months, which it duly did. -Liz
Fuller

GEORGIAN-ABKHAZ PEACE TALKS POSTPONED. The Abkhaz peace talks
scheduled to begin on 13-September under UN auspices have been
postponed for at least two weeks because the Abkhaz delegation
is not ready, a UN spokesman told RFE/RL on 10 September. On
12-September the Abkhaz Supreme Soviet informed the tripartite
Russian-Georgian-Abkhaz commission monitoring compliance with
the 27 July ceasefire agreement that Abkhazia would suspend its
participation in the work of the commission unless the Georgian
side stopped violating the agreement by supplying military hardware
to local armed formations, ITAR-TASS reported. -Liz Fuller

KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN FIGHT CHOLERA OUTBREAK. Officials in Kazakhstan
are continuing to take drastic measures to contain an outbreak
of cholera, although Almaty's chief medical officer told AFP
that there are only eight registered cases of the disease in
the capital and 16 in the entire country, the French news agency
reported on 14 September. The official admitted that there might
be many more cases in southern Kazakhstan; RL has learned from
contacts in Kazakhstan that a major outbreak of the disease seems
to be centered in Chimkent Oblast. Schools and farmers' markets
remain closed, and street vendors are forbidden to sell produce.
Kyrgyzstan, according to ITAR-TASS, is also taking strict measures
against the disease although there have been no cases reported.
-Bess Brown

KYRGYZSTAN RAISES CUSTOMS DUTIES. Customs duties have been increased
on almost all products imported into Kyrgyzstan or exported from
the country, ITAR-TASS reported on 14 September. Duties on imported
petroleum products have been set at 20% of their value, and those
on exports of rare metals and animal skins at 70%. Technical
equipment is free of customs duties, under the new government
regulation. -Bess Brown

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



TUDJMAN AND IZETBEGOVIC SIGN CEASE-FIRE. Vjesnik and international
media on 15-September report on the agreement reached in Geneva
the previous day by the Croatian and Bosnian presidents. It calls
for a temporary ceasefire immediately, a full-fledged truce on
18-September, an exchange of prisoners, the closing of camps,
free passage for aid convoys, and setting up working groups to
discuss possible Muslim access to the sea and other differences
over the future map of Bosnia's three ethnically-based republics.
The track record of such agreements in the Yugoslav conflict
is not good, but Tudjman may be under pressure to make peace
with the Muslims as he faces renewed war with Croatia's own Serb
rebels. Meanwhile in Banja Luka, Politika reports on 15 September
that mutineers are demanding to meet with Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic, who has so far refused to do so. The Guardian
writes that Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic had
no effect on the men, who are now openly challenging the authority
of the Bosnian Serb government. Politika also runs an article
in which Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj blames communists
for the soldiers' revolt against profiteers and poor living conditions.
-Patrick Moore

SERBS DOWN CROATIAN MIG. The BBC's Croatian Service on 14 September
reported that Croatian Serb rebels shot down one of four MiG-21s
that took off from Zagreb to knock out Serb missile-launching
sites. The four planes belonged to the former Yugoslav air force
and were taken over by Croatia in 1991. Meanwhile, the Croatian
authorities accepted a UN-brokered cease-fire for the entire
republic, but the Serbs are unlikely to accept unless the Croats
evacuate the villages near Gospic that they occupied on 12 September.
Zagreb, in fact, has become a beehive of diplomatic activity,
and Vjesnik of 15 September reports on President Franjo Tudjman's
meetings with the foreign ministers of both Russia and China,
as well as Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic's discussions
with foreign diplomats. -Patrick Moore

SANCTIONS BLAMED FOR HEALTH CRISIS IN YUGOSLAVIA. Over the past
week, Radio and TV Serbia have extensively reported on the current
health situation in Serbia and Montenegro. The director of Serbia's
state-run petroleum industry said on 11 January that the country
does not have enough oil to heat homes sufficiently in the winter
months and predicted that apartments will not be heated above
5¡ C. Other officials predict the closing of many factories,
and health officials fear epidemics. Officials point out that
the country's dependence on medicine and diagnostic equipment
from abroad, now impeded by international sanctions, is largely
to blame for the alarming situation. State-owned pharmacies are
empty and citizens are complaining that private pharmacies sell
items at inflated prices. The World Health Organization recently
warned the UN Sanctions Committee about the disastrous health
situation and urged them to take immediate measures such as lifting
the freeze of Yugoslav assets in foreign banks in order that
Yugoslav pharmaceutical firms can purchase raw materials for
medicine and equipment. WHO has asked donor countries to allocate
$43 million for relief, but only about 11% of the money has actually
been collected. Nearly 50% of Belgrade's school-aged children
are anemic and some 26% of children in Nis are undernourished,
while 17% of army recruits in Vojvodina have been rejected for
service because of undernourishment. -Milan Andrejevich

FOOD RATIONING INTRODUCED IN SERBIA. On 13-14 September Belgrade
media also gave extensive coverage to the government's distribution
of food and household rationing coupons in an effort to counter
the effects of 16 months of international sanctions. Most reports
underscore that the measures were last introduced during World
War II and lasted until the mid-1950's. The measure will affect
Serbia's population of 10-million and about 600,000 refugees
from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to Serbia's Red
Cross about 90% of the population are not able to meet their
basic needs. Under the Serbian government's program, every household
will be entitled to 6 kilograms of flour, 500 grams of sugar,
250-grams of salt, three-fourths liter of cooking oil, and 500
grams of laundry detergent per month. The government issued a
statement on 13-September that said that nearly all coupons have
been distributed and that rationing might be extended to cover
other basic food and household items in the near future. -Milan
Andrejevich

BULATOVIC VISITS ALBANIA. Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic
is slated to visit his Albanian counterpart, Sali Berisha, on
15 September, Borba reports. The talks will also involve a number
of other top officials and are expected to cover cooperation
and solving political differences and problems. The president
of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, said
for his part that he does not "expect anything spectacular."
Rilindja called the invitation a "sign of Albania's good will,"
while Aleanca quotes Montenegrin papers as saying that it shows
"the beginning of a new climate between what is left from the
old Yugoslavia and Albania." The tensions between rump Yugoslavia
and Albania remain high. In the last border incident on 7 September,
Yugoslav soldiers killed an Albanian peasant and wounded another,
Rilindja reported the next day. Elsewhere, the UN Security Council
agreed on 12 September on relief for Albania, which lost $300-400
million by enforcing the sanctions against rump Yugoslavia. -Fabian
Schmidt

DEMOCRATS WIN IN LOCAL ALBANIAN ELECTIONS. The 12 September results
from the eastern district of Dibra stand in sharp contrast to
the nationwide local elections of July 1992, when the Socialists
made impressive gains in the country's first democratic local
elections and took just 2% of the votes less than the ruling
Democrats. In the current vote in two communes, the Democratic
candidates gained the absolute majority by taking 61 and 84%
of the votes, respectively. -Fabian Schmidt and Louis Zanga

AIRBUS CRASHES IN WARSAW. A German Lufthansa airbus with 70 passengers
and crew on board crashed on landing in heavy rain and strong
winds at Okecie Airport on 15 September, PAP reports. A copilot
and a passenger were killed; 45 others were injured. The flight
originated in Frankfurt. The plane apparently failed to come
to a halt after landing, collided with an earthen embankment
at the end of the runway, and burst into flames. Emergency fire
and ambulance services responded rapidly. There were initial
Western press reports of heavy casualties, but these proved false.
Polish Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka ordered an official government
investigation. -Louisa Vinton

WALESA WRITES NATO. In letters to the heads of government of
all NATO countries and NATO Secretary-General Manfred Woerner,
Polish President Lech Walesa presented Poland's reasons for seeking
membership in the alliance, PAP reports. "The significance of
the Alliance in the contemporary world extends beyond the boundaries
of the member countries, which is why Poland's stance on the
issue should be presented," the president wrote. No other details
of the letter were made public in the communique released by
the president's press office on 14 September. -Louisa Vinton


BALCEROWICZ ON THE POLISH ELECTIONS. Appearing at a press conference
organized by the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD) on 14 September,
former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Leszek Balcerowicz
said that the election programs of opposition parties could be
divided into two groups. The first, articulated by the Confederation
for an Independent Poland and the Polish Peasant Party, amounted
to "programs proposing the violent destruction of the foundations
for economic growth." The second, proposed by the Democratic
Left Alliance and the Union of Labor, amounted to "programs of
creeping destruction." Balcerowicz observed that political parties
often concealed destructive economic intentions behind seemingly
rational slogans, such as "economic stimulus," "state intervention,"
and "protection of the domestic market." He charged many parties
with attempting to destroy the public's faith in market reforms.
Balcerowicz praised both the KLD and the Democratic Union, however,
as parties that "play fair" and have realistic goals, PAP reports.
-Louisa Vinton

KOOIJMANS IN PRAGUE, BRATISLAVA. Dutch Foreign Minister Pieter
Hendrik Kooijmans, who is paying official visits to the Czech
Republic and Slovakia, held talks with President Vaclav Havel,
Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, and his counterpart Josef Zieleniec
in Prague, Radio Prague reports on 14 September. Among the issues
discussed were the role of small states in the European integration
process and the changing international role of Germany. Kooijmans
made it clear that the Netherlands supports the Czech Republic's
eventual admission to the EC and to NATO. He declined to suggest
a timetable, however, arguing that "a discussion of concrete
dates raises concrete expectations." On 15-September the Dutch
foreign minister is scheduled to meet with Slovak President Michal
Kovac, Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, and Foreign Minister Jozef
Moravcik in Bratislava. -Sharon Fisher and Jan Obrman

SLOVAK FOREIGN CURRENCY RESERVES RISE. In a 14 September government
press conference, Finance Minister Julius Toth said that the
Slovak National Bank's recent sale of $270 million worth of bonds
in London has helped to increase the bank's foreign currency
reserves to $570 million, TASR reports. Meanwhile, Slovak National
Bank Chairman Vladimir Masar, along with other representatives
of Slovak financial and banking institutions returned on 14 September
from a one-week visit to Canada, where they met with representatives
of the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Finance Ministry, and insurance
firms. -Sharon Fisher

HUNGARIAN-IMF AGREEMENT. Finance Minister Ivan Szabo said that
negotiators are awaiting final approval by the IMF's governing
board on a loan agreement worked out in Budapest, MTI reports.
According to the plan, Hungary's 1994 budget deficit would be
290-billion forint ($3 billion), or 5.6% of the planned GDP.
For 1993 that percentage will be about 7%. The agreement would
be effective till the end of 1994, and Hungary could receive
a $200-million IMF loan in 1993. -Karoly Okolicsanyi

DEMONSTRATION IN BUDAPEST AGAINST AGRICULTURAL POLICY. About
20,000 people demonstrated in front of the parliament building,
calling attention to the financial difficulties in Hungarian
agriculture, MTI reports. The demonstrators want parliament to
spend more time on agriculture matters. The action was supported
by the Hungarian Socialist and Free Democratic parties and by
the largest trade union. Agriculture, one of the most dynamic
sectors during the 1970s and 1980s, is suffering drastic cutbacks
in government subsidies, and uncertainties caused by the land
compensation laws leading to the break up of many agricultural
cooperatives. -Karoly Okolicsanyi

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO BUCHAREST. Geza Jeszenszky starts
a visit to Romania on 15 September. He is scheduled to meet officials
in Bucharest and go to Transylvania, where most of Romania's
Hungarian minority lives. In a statement released through Rompres
on 14 September, Jeszenszky expressed hopes that the visit would
bring clarification in the two countries' stance on a series
of bilateral and international issues. Romanian Foreign Minister
Teodor Melescanu stressed in an interview with MTI that dialogue
is the only way to solve existing bilateral problems. He added
that he is ready to discuss all controversial issues with his
Hungarian counterpart. In a lengthy interview in the 14 September
issue of the Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag, Melescanu said "difficult,
hard bargaining" was to be expected during the talks. Romania
remained determined to have a clause on the inviolability of
the borders included in the bilateral state treaty being negotiated
and not to allow the reopening of the Hungarian consulate in
Cluj, Transylvania, closed in 1989. -Dan Ionescu and Alfred Reisch


ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT ENDS DEBATE ON INTELLIGENCE SERVICE. On 14
September Radio Bucharest broadcast live for a second day a parliamentary
debate on the activities of the Romanian Intelligence Service
(RIS). Service chief Virgil Magureanu reportedly gave evasive
answers to questions by deputies regarding crimes committed by
the former communist secret police, the killings during the December
1989 revolt , and repeated political violence in 1990-91. But
he dismissed accusations that his organization is little more
than the Securitate under a new name. Magureanu admitted nevertheless
that many RIS officers had belonged to the Securitate. He dwelt
upon the case of Col. Aurel Rogojan, a former top Securitate
official, describing the decision to keep him as "unwise." Romania's
main opposition coalition, the Democratic Convention, asked President
Ion Iliescu to remove Magureanu. -Dan Ionescu

FRENCH SUPPORT FOR BULGARIAN ENTRY INTO THE EC. On a visit to
Bulgaria, France's Minister of European Affairs, Alain Lamassoure,
told BTA that his country, both unilaterally and in its capacity
as member of the European Community is firmly committed to support
Bulgaria. In an apparent reference to the prudence of Sofia's
Balkan diplomacy, Lamassoure told Foreign Minister Stanislav
Daskalov that Bulgaria has earned a place in all European structures.
In an interview with Pari on 15 September, he said the French
position is that every Central and East European state must be
treated equally regarding its entry into the EC, and that the
criteria for joining the community are not linked to geographic
or other discriminatory requirements. -Kjell Engelbrekt

UKRAINE CONSIDERS RETURN TO ECONOMIC PLAN. A meeting organized
by the Cabinet of Ministers on 14 September proposed the reintroduction
of state planning of economic and social development, Radio Ukraine
reports. The meeting, led by Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma, examined
the idea of "state regulation of economic and social processes"
in view of the economic crisis and ongoing drop in production
levels. At the same time, it was stressed that such a move is
not tantamount to a return to "directive planning" and did not
signify abandonment of the government's commitment to market
reforms. -Roman Solchanyk

UKRAINE MAY CUT GAS TO ENTERPRISES. Oleh Savatyuk, the deputy
chairman of the Ukrainian state corporation Ukrgaz, told an RFE/RL
correspondent on 14 September that the government is considering
cutting gas supplies to chemical and metallurgical enterprises
that have not paid their bills. Enterprises were warned a week
ago that this would be the consequence of nonpayment. Russia
is still supplying Ukraine with gas, but its hard line on Ukraine's
debt has prompted the Kiev government to take a similar attitude
towards its own enterprises. -Ustina Markus

LATVIAN RUBLE TO BE TAKEN OUT OF CIRCULATION. On 14 September
Bank of Latvia president Einars Repse announced that from 18
October the Latvian ruble will no longer be accepted in payment
for goods and services, and the lats will be the sole currency,
Diena reports. The Bank of Latvia and other banks will, however,
continue to exchange Latvian rubles for lats in unrestricted
quantities after that day. -Saulius Girnius

SLEZEVICIUS ADDRESSES SEIMAS. On 14 September Lithuanian Prime
Minister Adolfas Slezevicius gave a speech at the parliament,
broadcast live by Radio Lithuania, outlining the state of the
republic's economy. He said that the major achievement of his
administration is the successful curbing of inflation that has
enabled pensions and wages, especially of health and education
workers, to be increased more than the cost of living since June.
He noted that in the first half of the year Lithuania had a favorable
trade balance of 1,081 million litas. Privatization is continuing
successfully; 3,800 enterprises (68% of total number, but with
only 23.8% of capital) have been privatized, but hard-currency
sales for are proceeding very slowly. Lithuania has already filled
80% of its fuel reserves for the winter and will continue to
subsidize home heating heavily. -Saulius Girnius

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Keith Bush and Charles Trumbull











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