No. 184, 24 September 1993

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.





RUSSIA



TWO KILLED IN OVERNIGHT ATTACK ON MILITARY HQ. The first violence
of the Moscow crisis occurred late in the evening of 23 September,
when a group of about a dozen armed men attacked the military
headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States. ITAR-TASS
and Western agencies said two people were killed: one a police
guard and the other a woman who lived nearby who was caught by
a stray bullet. The raiders fled when interior ministry troops
arrived on the scene. The CIS headquarters houses special military
communications facilities. An attack on another communications
center-that of the State Committee for Emergency Situations-was
made on 22-September by a group of armed men led by the hard-line
retired General Albert Makashov. -Alexander Rahr

KOBETS ORDERS TROOPS TO SHOOT TO KILL. Russian Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev and his deputy Konstantin Kobets laid the blame
for the bloodshed on Makashov and on Vladislav Achalov, the man
named by Vice-President Aleksandr Rutskoi as his defense minister,
ITAR-TASS reported on 24 September. Kobets said he had ordered
his troops "to open fire to kill in the event of similar sorties."
Meanwhile, the Congress of People's Deputies, which Yeltsin says
no longer exists, continued its emergency session in the Russian
White House. Some deputies called for a statement dissociating
the Congress from the raid on CIS headquarters. -Elizabeth Teague


YELTSIN DISBANDS PARLIAMENTARY GUARD. President Boris Yeltsin
has decreed the transfer of the troops of the parliamentary guard
from the jurisdiction of parliament to that of the Interior Ministry,
ITAR-TASS reported on 24 September. The parliamentary guard is
a separate unit answerable only to the parliamentary leadership.
Yeltsin also ordered the defense and interior ministries to disarm
demonstrators outside the Russian White House. According to a
Moscow police spokesman, the assault on the CIS military headquarters
was ordered by the head of the hard-line "Union of Officers,"
Stanislav Terekhov, and the leader of the pro-communist "Working
Russia" organization, Viktor Anpilov. -Alexander Rahr

SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS TO ALL BRANCHES OF POWER PROPOSED. Countering
Yeltsin's proposal that early presidential elections be held
on 12-June 1994, several regional and republican leaders have
proposed holding pre-term presidential and parliamentary elections
simultaneously. They include the president of Kabardino-Balkaria,
the chairman of the Karelian parliament, and the chairman of
the Irkutsk oblast soviet, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on 23-September.
ITAR-TASS said economist Grigorii Yavlinky, who has said he intends
to run as a candidate in the next presidential elections, Rutskoi,
and Constitutional Court chairman Valerii Zorkin have also advocated
simultaneous elections. Rutskoi issued a statement on 23 September
saying he was not seeking political power and would not run in
a pre-term presidential election. But Ekho Moskvy quoted the
chief of the presidential apparatus, Sergei Filatov, as saying
Yeltsin would not agree to such a proposal. -Alexander Rahr and
Vera Tolz

RESIGNATIONS FROM PARLIAMENTARY LEADERSHIP. Splits appeared in
the parliamentary leadership on 23 September, according to reports
from AFP and ITAR-TASS. Deputy parliamentary chairman Nikolai
Ryabov has resigned, as have the Chairmen of the parliamentary
Committees on Defense and Security and Budget and Finance, General
Sergei Stepashin and Aleksandr Pochinok, respectively. All three
have for some time been critical of the leadership of parliamentary
chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov, and they appear now to have joined
the presidential camp. Yeltsin has appointed Stepashin as Deputy
Defense Minister, while Ryabov will be appointed to head the
electoral commission which, according to Yeltsin's decree, will
organize the December elections to a new parliament. -Wendy Slater


RESOLUTIONS ON FUTURE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE. Yeltsin has issued
two resolutions detailing Russia's future constitutional structure,
ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported on 23 September. The resolutions,
based on the constitutional draft adopted in July by the Constitutional
Assembly, will remain in force until the Federal Assembly (the
new parliament) adopts a full constitution and a law on elections.
In the interim, the Federal Assembly will consist of an upper
house (Federation Council) comprising the head of administration
and the chairman of the local soviet in each of the republics
and regions of Russia until the soviets' current term of office
expires; and a lower house (State Duma), to be elected in December.
Of the Duma's 400-members, 270 will be elected in single-seat
constituencies and 130 by proportional representation according
to party lists. -Wendy Slater

ERIN ON SECURITY SITUATION IN MOSCOW. Interior Minister Viktor
Erin told journalists that spetsnaz troops (special commandos)
had been deployed in Moscow, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 September.
He said that interior ministry troops have been moved to the
neighborhood of the parliamentary building, while the regular
police had been strengthened by the addition of 3,000 to 5,000
additional officers. Erin warned of the possibility that provocations
might be staged by the 1,500-strong parliamentary security troops
who are not subordinate to the Interior Ministry and are armed
with machine guns. The speaker of the dissolved parliament, Ruslan
Khasbulatov, claimed on the same day that more than 7,000 troops
were defending the parliament building. -Alexander Rahr

JUDGES SUPPORT YELTSIN. Four members of the Constitutional Court,
including its deputy chairman Nikolai Vitruk, have proposed that
the court review its 21 September ruling on the illegality of
Yeltsin's decree, ITAR-TASS and Mayak Radio reported on 23 September.
The judges also suggested that the court retrospectively reverse
its ruling on the April referendum to allow the question of early
parliamentary elections to be decided on the basis of those who
actually voted rather than all those who were eligible to vote.
(On 25 April, 67.2% of the electorate voted in favor of early
parliamentary elections, which translated into an insufficient
43.1% of the electorate.) Vitruk said that a retrospective ruling
would make Yeltsin's proposed parliamentary elections "more legitimate."
-Wendy Slater

KHASBULATOV SAYS NO COMPROMISE WITH YELTSIN. Speaking at a news
conference on 23 September, parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov
said he planned no compromise with Yeltsin. Western agencies
quoted Khasbulatov as calling the president and his supporters
"the coup plotters" and saying the only compromise to be discussed
was what punishment they should receive. He said that if any
bloodshed took place, Yeltsin and his supporters would be responsible.
He claimed the parliament had "considerable opportunities in
the security and defense ministries," but was not using them
in order not to provoke a civil war. Khasbulatov also said he
believed he might end up in jail for his opposition to Yeltsin.
-Vera Tolz

MORE ON THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ARMED PROVOCATION. Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev said that rival-defense minister Vladislav Achalov
and other military officers loyal to the parliament had ordered
Moscow-based military commanders to send troops to the Russian
White House, ITAR-TASS reported on 23-September. According to
the chief of the presidential apparatus, Sergei Filatov, Rutskoi
and Khasbulatov had sent representatives to military academies
to appeal for support, but the cadets refused to cooperate with
the parliament in any way. Filatov said the communications system
of the parliamentary building had been cut on order to prevent
Rutskoi from contacting regional leaders. -Alexander Rahr

REGIONAL SOVIETS CONDEMN YELTSIN'S DECREE OR REMAIN ON SIDELINES.
The list of regional soviets that have condemned Yeltsin's decree
as unconstitutional has grown. Sergei Yushenkov, deputy chairman
of the Federal Information Center, told journalists on 23-September
the decree had been condemned by the parliaments of Karelia,
Khakassia, and Udmurtia, and by the krai and oblast soviets in
Magadan, Barnaul, Kostroma, Nizhnii Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk,
Samara, Voronezh,and Orenburg, and by the small soviets of other
republics and oblasts, ITAR-TASS reported. Bashkortostan, Kabardino-Balkaria,
Mordovia, and Amur and Bryansk oblasts had also come out against
the decree, and others were likely to do so. At the same time
other regions have not made up their mind. Leonid Smirnyagin,
a member of the Presidential Council, said at a press conference
on 23-September, reported by ITAR-TASS, that many chairmen of
krai and oblast soviets were waiting to see who would come out
on top-the president or parliament. In Smirnyagin's view it was
therefore necessary for Yeltsin to strengthen his position in
the next two days. -Ann Sheehy

US SENATE APPROVES AID PACKAGE FOR RUSSIA. On 23 September, the
US Senate approved legislation appropriating $2.5 billion in
economic assistance for Russia and other former Soviet republics
in fiscal year 1994, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Of the
roughly $2.2 billion earmarked for Russia, the largest appropriation,
$772 million, is set aside for private sector development. Among
amendments attached to the legislation is one setting up a computer
network to retrieve, store, and analyze historical data about
the environment of the former Soviet Union. Another requires
the US president to certify every 6 months that Russia is making
progress towards completing the withdrawal of troops from Estonia
and Latvia. -Keith Bush

CIS

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

NINE CIS PRIME MINISTERS INITIAL AGREEMENT ON ECONOMIC UNION.
At the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government in Moscow
on the morning of 24-September, the prime ministers of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan initialed the agreement on the creation
of an economic union, ITAR-TASS reported. The idea of a purely
Slav economic union therefore appears to be dead. The agreement
is expected to be signed by the CIS heads of state at their summit
in the afternoon Turkmenistan and Ukraine said before the meeting
that they would probably take out associate membership only.
After the meeting ended, Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
said that Ukraine had some observations on the agreement, that
an effort would be made to take care of these in the next few
hours, and that he hoped that Ukraine would, after all, become
a full member of the union. The Georgian prime minister attended
the meeting as an observer. -Ann Sheehy

ABKHAZ UPDATE. In the third attack in three days, a Georgian
passenger aircraft was hit by an artillery shell while preparing
for takeoff from Sukhumi airport on 23-September; no one was
killed but an unspecified number of people were injured, Western
agencies reported. In continuing fighting, Georgian reinforcements
advanced from Ochamchira and broke through to the encircled town
of Sukhumi from the south, Georgian TV reported late on 23 September.
Georgian parliament chairman Eduard Shevardnadze told ITAR-TASS
that the situation in Sukhumi is improving. -Liz Fuller

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



CROATIA SETS TOUGH TERMS FOR UNPROFOR. Vjesnik on 24 September
reports at length on a speech made by Foreign Minister Mate Granic
to the lower house of parliament the previous day, in which he
outlined the government's firm conditions for renewing the UN
forces' mandate slated to expire on 30 September. UNPROFOR must
carry out all existing UN resolutions and the terms of the January
1992 Vance Plan for Croatia to grant the six-months' extension
that Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has requested. Specifically,
Granic continued, Croatia's sovereignty and frontiers must be
respected and reaffirmed, Serb paramilitaries disarmed, and refugees
allowed to go home in safety. The "pink zones" adjacent to UN
administrative areas in the 30% of Croatia in the hands of Serb
rebels must be cleared of Serb forces by 30 November, and the
infrastructure and communications links in the Serb-held territories
restored and reconnected with the rest of Croatia. Meanwhile,
a Globus article on 24 September reflects a subject that many
Croats fear, namely that the Serbs will relaunch their war in
Croatia now that the Croat-Muslim alliance in Bosnia has been
broken and that republic divided. Reuters reports that Serbs
may be on the verge of "ethnically cleansing" 117 Croats from
the village of Podlapaca in Serb-held Croatia as revenge for
the brutal killing of 66 Serbs by Croat forces during the Croats'
offensive near Gospic earlier this month. -Patrick Moore

KIDNAPPED SERBIAN JOURNALIST RESURFACES. The foreign editor of
the independent weekly Vreme, Dusan Reljic, has returned to his
home, Borba reports on 23 September. Reljic had been abducted
by three unidentified men, who later identified themselves as
being with counterintelligence, on 21 September in front of his
house. The men questioned Reljic and proved that "they knew everything
about (Reljic's) conversations with colleagues, foreign diplomats
in Belgrade, everybody," international media report. Reljic is
the first journalist to be so abducted, at least recently, but
there have been threats against oppositional journalists and
attacks by nationalists before. Borba on 24 September, however,
quoted military intelligence (KOS) spokesmen as denying that
they would have had anything to do with "such an adventure."
Vreme is well-known as the leading independent weekly in Serbia
for its opposition to the nationalist government of President
Slobodan Milosevic. -Fabian Schmidt

ALBANIA, SERBIA ON RUSSIAN DEVELOPMENTS. Reuters reports that
Albanian President Sali Berisha, the country's first non-communist
head of state, has come out in strong support for his Russian
counterpart Boris Yeltsin and the latter's measures to end the
protracted power struggle in Russia. A presidential spokesman
is quoted as saying that Berisha believes the actions taken by
Yeltsin to be "necessary to overcome the difficulties created
by anti-reformist forces." He also said the Albanian president
hopes the showdown means the reform process in Russia can be
speeded up, noting that it has considerable influence on developments
elsewhere in Eastern Europe and beyond. Key government officials
in rump Yugoslavia, in contrast, do not appear to have made any
official comments or position statements on recent developments
in Moscow. Major print media sources, notably Politika and Borba,
have carried no mention of an official Belgrade line on the impending
Russian elections. Although Belgrade politicians are understandably
preoccupied with other problems, the silence seems to indicate
that relations with Russia are a sensitive area where no mistakes
can be afforded. -Kjell Engelbrekt and Stan Markotich

FINAL RESULTS ANNOUNCED IN POLISH ELECTIONS. The Polish national
election commission announced the official division of seats
in the new Sejm late on 23 September, PAP reports. Of the total
460-seats, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) has 171 and the
Polish Peasant Party (PSL), 132, giving the two "postcommunist"
parties a commanding majority. The Democratic Union (UD) won
74 seats; the leftist Union of Labor (UP), 41; the Confederation
for an Independent Poland, 22; and President Lech Walesa's Nonparty
Reform Bloc, 16. The German ethnic minority won four seats, three
in Opole and one in Katowice. The delay in reaching final totals
was caused by the mixed election system, with 391 seats awarded
in regions and another 69 "bonus" seats divided among the "national
lists" of parties winning over 7% of the vote. Only four parties-the
SLD, PSL, UD, and UP-cleared 7%. Turnout, at 52.08% of eligible
voters, was far higher than in 1991. -Louisa Vinton

POLISH COALITION TALKS INCONCLUSIVE. Economic experts from the
Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the Polish Peasant Party (PSL)
announced on 23-September that there are no irreconcilable differences
between the two groups on economic policy, Polish TV reports.
This concord did not seem to make a joint coalition any more
certain, however. SLD officials told reporters they will respond
to President Lech Walesa's request for three prime minister candidates
only after the alliance meets on 26 September. They indicated
that an SLD candidate will be proposed only if the alliance succeeds
in building a majority coalition. Gazeta Wyborcza speculated
that the SLD may prefer not to succeed in this attempt, in order
to remain in the relatively comfortable role of opposition for
another year or two. In his first political meeting since the
elections, President Lech Walesa hosted leaders of the Democratic
Union (UD) at Belweder on 23 September. UD Chairman Tadeusz Mazowiecki
said afterward that "we cleared up a few matters and now understand
each other better," Polish TV reports. Meanwhile, Cardinal Jozef
Glemp strenuously avoided any assessment of the elections on
his return from an ecumenical session in Italy, saying only that
the "new situation" does not worry him. A PSL leader met with
Bishop Alojzy Orszulik on 23 September but refused all comment
on the meeting, Polish TV reports. -Louisa Vinton

POLISH PRIVATIZATION PUSHES ON. The German electronics giant
Siemens purchased 80% of the Polish telecommunications firms
ZWUT in Warsaw and ELWRO in Wroclaw on 23-September, Zycie Warszawy
reports. Siemens paid $38.5 million and pledged to invest an
additional $57 million over the next six years. Polish government
officials announced on 22-September that income from privatization
for 1993 is running ahead of schedule for the first time since
the program began, and that the revenue goal of 4 trillion zloty
($211 million) planned in the budget was met already in September.
Since August 1992, privatization contracts have won guarantees
of new investments worth 13 trillion zloty ($684 million) over
the next five years and secured 110,000 jobs. So far this year,
37 major state firms have found new private owners through "capital
privatization," officials said. The ministry plans to sell another
30 firms by the end of October. -Louisa Vinton

VOLKSWAGEN APOLOGIZES FOR SKODA LOAN EMBARRASSMENT. Ferdinand
Piech, chairman of the board of directors of the Volkswagen corporation,
traveled to Prague on 23-September to apologize for embarrassment
caused by Volkswagen's last-minute cancellation of an $870 million
modernization loan for the Skoda Automobile Works in the Czech
Republic. Czech and international media report that Piech assured
the Czech government that Volkswagen would fulfill its original
obligation to modernize and expand Skoda facilities even without
the extra financing. Czech officials have criticized the cancellation
of the modernization loan and expressed fears it would lead to
less Volkswagen investment in Skoda. Volkswagen bought a 31%
share in Skoda in 1991, pledging to invest up to $5.6 billion
in capital expansion by the turn of the century. Explaining their
move to cancel the modernization loan, Volkswagen officials said
that Skoda has been making progress and no longer needed the
money. -Jiri Pehe

ILIESCU IN SLOVAKIA. On 23 September, Romanian President Ion
Iliescu arrived in Slovakia for a two-day official visit, which
is to culminate with the signing of a friendship and cooperation
treaty between the two countries. He is accompanied by Foreign
Minister Teodor Melescanu. Slovak media report that Iliescu met
with Slovak President Michal Kovac after his arrival, while Melescanu
held a meeting with Slovak Foreign Minister Jozef Moravcik. Iliescu's
visit comes in the wake of the signing on 20 September of a Slovak-Romanian
treaty on repatriating illegal immigrants. In June Slovak Premier
Vladimir Meciar signed a trade-payments agreement in Bucharest
aimed at increasing commerce between the two countries. -Jiri
Pehe

HUNGARIAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP. Hungarian industrial production
was up 2.5% in the first seven months of 1993 as compared to
the same period last year, AFP reported on 22 September. This
suggests that the industrial decline of the last four years has
been halted. Industrial output is estimated to have declined
by some 40% over the last four years. In comparison with January-July
last year the average sales volume has grown by 1.2%; domestic
sales are up by 2.2%; and exports down by 2.1% Production of
manufacturing industries was up 20% during the first seven months,
while machine industry production rose 12.9%, with domestic sales
up 16.8%. The food, drink, and tobacco industries nevertheless
report a 8.3% loss in domestic sales and a 31.7% drop in export
sales in the same period of time. -Judith Pataki

HUNGARIAN RECOMMENDATION FOR ROMANIAN ENTRY INTO THE COUNCIL
OF EUROPE. On 23-September, the Foreign Affairs Committee of
Hungarian Parliament headed by Laszlo Kovacs (of the Hungarian
Socialist Party) recommended that the government supports Romanian
membership in the European Community and the Council of Europe,
MTI reported. The committee stated that it is in the interest
of both Hungary and the Hungarian minority living in Romania
that Romania be integrated into the EC as soon as possible, and
that, as a first step, the country should be admitted into the
Council of Europe. The committee nevertheless stressed that Romania
needs to provide guarantees that minority rights henceforth will
be observed. -Judith Pataki

ROMANIAN CABINET ON RECENT ETHNIC VIOLENCE. In a statement broadcast
by Radio Bucharest on 23 September, Romania's government expressed
concern over recent clashes between Gypsies and non-Gypsies in
the village of Hadareni, Mures County, in which four people died.
The statement said that the killing of a young Romanian by a
local Gypsy "triggered the spontaneous reaction of other villagers,
both Romanians and Hungarians, which degenerated into acts of
violence." The cabinet ordered an investigation into the case
and pledged to bring all culprits, irrespective of their ethnic
origin, to justice. It also announced a decision to provide funds
for rebuilding Gypsy homes destroyed during the events. -Dan
Ionescu

TRIAL AGAINST ROMANIAN MINERS' UNION ENDED. Radio Bucharest reported
on 23-September that a court in Petrosani, the center of Romania's
Jiu Valley mining region, decided to end a trial against the
coal miners' labor union. The trial had been ordered following
a complaint of the state-owned coal mines administration in Petrosani,
which wanted compensation for economic losses suffered during
a pay strike by miners in August. The losses were put at 4.1
billion lei (some $5 million). The Petrosani court said that
the mines' administration withdrew its complaint and asked that
the trial be stopped. -Dan Ionescu

BULGARIA HOSTS CONFERENCE ON DRUG TRAFFICKING AND ORGANIZED CRIME.
On 23-September a two-day international conference devoted to
drug trafficking and organized crime opened in Sofia, BTA reports.
Representatives of law enforcement agencies and governments of
24 European nations are attending, as well as officials of the
International Narcotics Control Board. In a welcoming address
to the participants, Interior Minister Viktor Mihaylov said Bulgaria's
efforts to stem illegal production of and trade with drugs are
being stepped up and that new laws will soon bring domestic legislation
up to international standards. Chief Secretary of the interior
ministry Kosta Bogatsevski spoke of the need for more international
cooperation to fight organized crime, offering an example when
Bulgarian and German security agencies earlier this year jointly
broke up a major drug-ring. The conference should be seen as
another effort on the part of Bulgaria to shrug off its previously
bad reputation as a channel for more than half of all drugs reaching
Western Europe. So far in 1993 Bulgarian authorities have seized
270 kilograms of heroin and other narcotics at border crossings
and elsewhere. -Kjell Engelbrekt

PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON EARLY ELECTIONS. The Ukrainian parliament
is expected to vote shortly on whether to hold early presidential
and parliamentary elections, an RFE/RL correspondent reported
from Kiev on 23 September. President Leonid Kravchuk told the
parliament that "only through the reelection of all branches
of power can we consolidate society in a civilized fashion."
He also warned that the proposed referendum on confidence in
the president and parliament would be pointless. He suggested
that a newly elected parliament should, as its first priority,
set a date for the presidential elections. Kravchuk's term of
office is due to end in 1996. During the session some 5,000 people
demonstrated outside the building in favor of elections. -Wendy
Slater

MOLDOVA SUPPORTS GEORGIA, SEES SIMILARITY TO MOLDOVA. Moldova's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on 23 September a statement
of "deep concern" over the situation in Abkhazia. It said that
"the violation of the cease-fire agreement is yet another proof
of the unwillingness of the secessionist forces and those who
support them to accept a peaceful settlement." Moldova, the statement
went on, "highly appreciates the efforts and political flexibility
of the Georgian leadership . . . [and] considers it necessary
that Russia should honor its commitments as a guarantor of the
Sochi agreement." The statement stressed that "the conflict in
Georgia, which has many similarities to the conflict in the eastern
districts of Moldova, proves the need for a more active involvement
by the international organizations, especially the UN, in efforts
for a peaceful settlement." Meanwhile in Chisinau, President
Mircea Snegur has made another strong statement in support for
Boris Yeltsin. In an unexpected phone interview with Izvestiya,
carried on 23 September, Snegur said that he "assesses the Russian
president's actions positively and considers that [Yeltsin] proceeded
wisely and correctly." -Vladimir Socor

NO PARALLEL ELECTIONS IN ESTONIA'S RUSSIAN CITIES. On 23 September
at a meeting of Estonia's Russian-Speaking Population's Representative
Assembly in Tallinn representatives of the Narva and Sillamae
city councils declared that they will not hold parallel local
elections on 17 October, BNS reports. On 21-September Estonian
Prime Minister Mart Laar told a press conference that the government
would not grant citizenship to non-citizens that had been nominated
as candidates for the Narva elections since the city had held
an illegal referendum on 16-17 July. Non-citizens can vote, but
not run for offices in the local elections. -Saulius Girnius


CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER IN THE BALTICS. On 22-September Josef
Zieleniec traveled to Riga where with his counterpart Georgs
Andrejevs he signed two agreements. The first provides a most
favored nation status for trade and encourages the formation
of joint ventures while the second allows visa-free travel between
the two countries. On 23 September in Vilnius Zieleniec signed
an agreement on trade and scientific-technical cooperation with
his Lithuanian counterpart Povilas Gylys, BNS reports. A visa-free
agreement with Lithuania had been signed last year. On 24-25
September Zieleniec will be in Tallinn where he is expected to
sign agreements similar to those with Latvia. In all three countries
he also had talks with the presidents and other ministers. -Saulius
Girnius

EIGHT LITHUANIAN VOLUNTEERS RETURN TO FORESTS. On 23 September
Lithuanian parliament deputy chairman Egidijus Bickauskas declared
that with the return of previously seized weapons the insurrection
by members of the Volunteer Home Guard Service (VHGS) had ended.
The leader of the insurrection junior lieutenant Jonas Maksvytis
with 7 other volunteers, however, did not surrender and withdrew
to the forests with their personal weapons, the RFE/RL Lithuanian
Service reports. President Algirdas Brazauskas discussed the
situation with military leaders that day and said that he would
ask the parliament to adopt some of the laws the insurrectionists
had demanded. Lieut. Col. Arvydas Pocius was named to replace
Jonas Gecas who resigned on 20 September as the head of VHGS.
-Saulius Girnius

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Elizabeth Teague and Kjell Engelbrekt











THE RFE/RL DAILY REPORT IS PRODUCED BY THE RFE/RL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
(A DIVISION OF RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, INC.) with the
assistance of the RFE/RL News and Current Affairs Division (NCA).
The report is available by electronic mail via LISTSERV (RFERL-L@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU),
on the Sovset' computer bulletin board, by fax, and by postal
mail. For inquiries about specific news items, subscriptions,
or additional copies, please contact: in North America: Mr. Brian
Reed, RFE/RL, Inc., 1201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC-20036
Telephone: (202) 457-6912 or -6907; Fax: (202) 457-6992 or 828-8783;
Internet: RIDC@RFERL.ORG or Elsewhere: Ms. Helga Hofer, Publications
Department, RFE/RL Research Institute, Oettingenstrasse 67, 80538
Munich, Germany;.Telephone: (+49 89) 2102-2631 or -2624; Fax:
(+49 89) 2102-2648, Internet: PD@RFERL.ORG 1993, RFE/RL, Inc.
All rights reserved.