No. 190, 04 October 1993

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.





RUSSIA



SITUATION AT WHITE HOUSE UNCLEAR; KHASBULATOV STILL DEFIANT.
Paratroopers were reported by CNN at 12.20 Moscow time to have
taken over the first five floors of the White House; Yeltsin-loyalist
troops must by now be in control of Parliament Chairman Ruslan
Khasbulatov's office and that of Vice-President Aleksandr Rutskoi.
Khasbulatov's office has come under fire from tanks on the street
outside. As of 1 p.m. Moscow time fire was raging in some of
the offices on upper floors of the White House and riot police
had arrived, presumably to disperse a crowd of several thousand
bystanders on the bridge close to the White House. Khasbulatov
and Rutskoi were refusing to surrender or leave the building.
-Elizabeth Teague

RUTSKOI SEEKS NEGOTIATIONS. Rutskoi was reported by CNN on the
morning of 4-October to have asked for negotiations with the
Russian government. A spokesman for the government said however
that the assault on the parliament building by troops loyal to
Yeltsin would end only when the fighters inside had surrendered.
Rutskoi's offer followed several hours of gunfire around the
parliament building and attacks by troops loyal to the president.
Before the assault on the parliament building started Russian
TV broadcast President Boris Yeltsin's taped address in which
the president said that "the armed fascist rebellion in Moscow
would be suppressed." -Vera Tolz

RUSSIAN ARMY ON THE OFFENSIVE. TV and news agency reports indicate
that the forces involved in the assault on the White House are
drawn from a number of units based near Moscow. The Taman Guards
division apparently started the attack, with support from the
Interior Ministry's Dzherzhinsky division. The latter was formerly
a special division under the KGB and is comparatively heavily
armed for Interior Ministry forces. Units drawn from the airborne
division based in Tula are reportedly storming the building.
The Pskov airborne division has also apparently been deployed
in Moscow. The size of the pro-Yeltsin force is thus much greater
than that which appears to be deployed around the White House,
suggesting that substantial reserves are available. -John Lepingwell


CHERNOMYRDIN CONVENING FEDERATION COUNCIL ON 4 OCTOBER. Prime
Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin is convening the Federation Council
at 1400 hours Moscow time on 4-October, Radio Rossii reported
on the evening of 3 October. This was stated by Constitutional
Court chairman Valerii Zorkin after a meeting with Chernomyrdin.
Earlier on 3 October Yeltsin had issued a decree calling a meeting
of the Federation Council for 9 October, ITAR-TASS reported.
Participants in a conference of subjects of the federation being
held in the Constitutional Court building have appealed to Chernomyrdin,
demanding that the force of the constitution be immediately and
fully restored, that conditions be created urgently for the activity
of the Supreme Soviet, that all shades of opinion be reflected
in the mass media, and that the violence be halted, Radio Rossii
reported. -Ann Sheehy

CHERNOMYRDIN TO ASSUME PRESIDENCY IN CASE YELTSIN INCAPACITATED.
Yeltsin has issued a decree stipulating that Prime Minister Chernomyrdin
would assume presidential powers if Yeltsin could not carry out
his duties, ITAR-TASS reported on 3-October. Presidential advisor
Sergei Stankevich told Russian TV that Chernomyrdin has not been
actually appointed Vice President. Yeltsin also ordered Aleksandr
Rutskoi dismissed from the post of Vice President and fired from
the armed forces. Russian TV carried an appeal of Chernomyrdin
to the Russian population to support the government's use of
force against the opposition. -Alexander Rahr

ANTI-YELTSIN FORCES SEIZE MAYOR'S OFFICE. In the afternoon of
3 October thousands of anti-Yeltsin protesters gathered outside
the parliament building and the Moscow mayor's office after breaking
through police cordons on the city's Ring Road, ITAR-TASS reported.
RFE/RL correspondents in Moscow said police offered surprisingly
little resistance. The crowd began moving toward the mayor's
office after being addressed at the parliament building by Vice-President
Rutskoi, who urged them to attack the mayor's office and the
Ostankino TV center. Parliamentary chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov
also addressed the crowd, calling on the demonstrators to attack
the Kremlin. Both Rutskoi and Khasbulatov issued an "Address
to Russian People," stating that "the time to defend the motherland
has come." The demonstrators seized and destroyed five stories
of the Moscow's mayor's office and captured one official. The
media said that two military men and two policemen were killed
during the attack on the mayor's office. ITAR-TASS quoted a leader
of the ultra-nationalist National Salvation Front Ilya Konstantinov
as saying the protesters were armed with a variety of weapons
"including armored personnel carriers." -Vera Tolz

YELTSIN INTRODUCES STATE OF EMERGENCY. On the evening of 3 October,
Radio Rossii broadcast the text of a decree issued by President
Yeltsin introducing a state of emergency in the Russian capital
until 10-October in connection "with attempts by extremist forces
to provoke mass violence." -Vera Tolz

FIGHT FOR OSTANKINO. In the evening of 3 October, anti-Yeltsin
protesters armed with grenades seized the Ostankino broadcast
center, shutting down the first Russian TV channel, ITAR-TASS
and Western agencies reported. Ostankino's Radio Mayak also went
off the air, but the Russian second TV channel continued to broadcast.
A number of people were killed and wounded in the attack at Ostankino.
Work at the ITAR-TASS office was briefly disrupted when protesters
blockaded it. One of the main opposition demands has been that
Russian TV give air time to its leaders. After Yeltsin introduced
a state of emergency, government troops recaptured the broadcasting
center during the night of 4 October and programming was restored.
-Vera Tolz

CHURCH MEDIATION FAILS TO BRING RESULTS. Speaking to reporters
on 3 October, Khasbulatov described Yeltsin as a "criminal" and
said there could be no negotiations with the Russian president
to end the political standoff, ITAR-TASS reported. Khasbulatov
made the statement after attending a church service inside the
parliament building. Meanwhile, the next round of negotiations
in Moscow's Danilov Monastery between representatives of the
president and the parliament on ways to end the political standoff
ended in the afternoon of 3 October without result. Presidential
staff head Sergei Filatov said it was not clear when the talks
could resume. RFE/RL correspondents reported that negotiations
between representatives of the government and the parliament
continued on the night of 4 October, without progress being made.
On 3 October, the media reported that Patriarch Aleksii, who
has been mediating in the negotiations, suffered from heart problems;
earlier in the day he had conducted a church service to pray
for peace in Russia, ITAR-TASS reported. -Vera Tolz

GAIDAR CALLS PEOPLE TO SUPPORT PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENT. In the
evening of 3-October, First Deputy Prime Minister Egor Gaidar
called on citizens of Russia to support the president and government.
Speaking on Russian TV, he said: "Honestly, tonight we need your
support. We cannot place responsibility for saving democracy
just on the police and internal ministry troops. We call those
who are ready to support Russian democracy to assemble at the
Moscow's mayor's office to protect our future, our children's
future and to prevent making our country a huge concentration
camp for decades." Indeed, according to ITAR-TASS and Western
agencies late on 3 October thousands of Yeltsin's supporters
gathered in the center of Moscow, including the Red Square, being
ready to resist the actions of the opposition. -Vera Tolz

REST OF RUSSIA REPORTED CALM. Most Russian cities, including
St. Petersburg, were reported quiet, apparently untouched by
the violence in Moscow. ITAR-TASS reported early in the morning
of 4 October. -Elizabeth Teague

WEST SUPPORTS USE OF FORCE BY YELTSIN. The United States, Britain,
Germany and the European Community all expressed support for
the use of force by Yeltsin against his conservative opponents
in parliament on 3 and 4 October. Bill Clinton said "it is clear
that the violence was perpetrated by the Rutskoi-Khasbulatov
forces . . . it is also clear that President Yeltsin bent over
backwards to avoid the use of force. . . ." Clinton added that
the West cannot afford to give encouragement to Yeltsin's opponents
by wavering in its support for Yeltsin. A spokesman for Britain's
John Major said that the British Prime Minister's position was
the same as that of Clinton. A spokesman for Germany's Helmut
Kohl said, "we hope that President Yeltsin, who is the only freely
elected and legitimate leader of the Russian people, can put
his reforms into practice and that there are free elections soon."
The European Community issued a statement of 4 October via Belgian
Foreign Minister Willy Claes, saying, "we support this [use of
force]. We only hope, of course, that order will come back with
the minimum of casualties," A number of former Soviet republics,
the first of which was Ukraine, also came out in support of Yeltsin.
-Suzanne Crow

MOSCOW DEPUTIES DETAINED. At least six deputies to the Moscow
City Soviet were arrested by policemen loyal to Moscow Mayor
Yurii Luzhkov when the city administration moved from their own
headquarters-seized by supporters of the parliament-to the building
of the City Council, RFE/RL correspondents in Moscow reported
on 4 October. The group included Moscow Soviet Deputy Chairman
Yurii Sedykh-Bondarenko and at least five members of the committee
on legislation. They are members of the radical anti-communist
faction of the council, who strongly opposed Luzhkov's appointment
by the president, urging that the city's mayor be elected rather
than appointed. They have also accused Luzhkov and his team of
corruption. None of them are known to have been involved in the
violent takeover of government buildings by communist hard-liners.
-Julia Wishnevsky

YELTSIN'S RIVAL CONDEMNS VIOLENCE IN MOSCOW. Liberal economist
Grigorii Yavlinsky, Yeltsin's frontrunning competitor for the
post of president, was among many speakers who addressed TV viewers
in the early hours of 4 October from the reserve studio of Russian
TV. Yavlinsky, who is reported to have been censored by Ostankino
TV in the past, lambasted the actions of Yeltsin's opponents
in the strongest terms possible, calling on the Russian President
to undertake "the toughest measures" to cleanse the streets of
Russian cities of the violence-prone "gangsters." Yavlinsky also
called on his fellow countrymen to support the government by
peaceful means.Julia Wishnevsky

KHASBULATOV CRITICIZES REGIONS. Addressing a news conference
on 2 October, Khasbulatov expressed disappointment that Russia's
regions had not taken swifter action to protest Yeltsin's dissolution
of parliament. Khasbulatov said he had been relying on the regions
to apply economic sanctions, including disrupting railway services
and oil pipelines. The legislatures in many Russian regions have
condemned Yeltsin's action, but it seems that the regions are
also profiting from the standoff in Moscow to increase their
autonomy, so they have an interest in seeing it continue at least
for a while. Meanwhile, the parliament in Sakha (Yakutia), Russia's
largest diamond-producing region, on 2 October bucked the trend
and voted in support of Yeltsin, ITAR-TASS reported. -Elizabeth
Teague

RUSSIA ASKS FOR MORE DEBT RELIEF. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr
Shokhin told a Moscow news conference on 1 October that Russia
is seeking further debt relief from its Western creditors, Reuters
reported. A total of roughly $20 billion in principal and interest
is due for repayment in 1994. Government and commercial creditors
have already reduced that to about $6-billion, but Shokhin declared
that Russia will be able to repay only some $2.5-billion next
year. -Keith Bush

WORLD BANK FRUSTRATION AT RUSSIAN DELAYS. World Bank President
Lewis Preston told a news conference in Washington on 30 September
that the Bank is "frustrated" over Russian delays in accepting
and utilizing some of its credits, an RFE/RL correspondent reported.
Preston cited a $90-million loan to aid the privatization process
and a $70-million credit to finance a social safety net. Extension
of the loans had been held up because parliament had not granted
approval. -Keith Bush

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



GAMSAKHURDIA FORCES TAKE POTI, KHONI, VANI. Abkhaz troops continued
on 1-October to liquidate pockets of resistance by Georgian government
troops and advanced to the River Inguri (Abkhazia's southern
border), ITAR-TASS reported. On 2 October forces loyal to ousted
president Zviad Gamsakhurdia took the coastal town of Poti after
a surprise ground and artillery attack in which at least ten
Georgian government troops were killed, Western agencies reported.
On 3 October Gamsakhurdia's troops advanced to occupy the towns
of Vani and Khoni (former Tsulukidze), meeting little resistance
from government forces which are concentrated 20 miles further
east in Kutaisi, said a Georgian Ministry of Defense spokesman.
-Liz Fuller

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN. Speaking to journalists
in Baku on 2-October, Azerbaijan parliament chairman and presidential
candidate Geidar Aliev claimed that security officials had foiled
a plot to assassinate him by a Turkish citizen and Azerbaijan
Popular Front members with links to the extreme right wing Boz
Gurd (Grey Wolves) organization, Turan reported. By late afternoon
local time on 3 October some 88.5 per cent of the electorate
had voted in the presidential elections, in which Aliev is expected
to beat rival candidates Zakhir Tagiev, leader of the Gummet
Party and Kirar Abilov of the United Azerbaijan Party. -Liz Fuller


CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



IMPASSE CONTINUES OVER UNPROFOR IN CROATIA. International media
reported on 1-October that the UN Security Council voted to extend
UNPROFOR's mandate in Croatia until 5 October as negotiations
continue over the particulars of a proposed six-month extension
of the term that ran out on 30 September. Vjesnik reported on
2 October that the resolution largely meets Croatian demands
that UNPROFOR stop being primarily a buffer between Serb and
Croat forces and become an active instrument for restoring Croatian
sovereignty in the 30% of the republic's territory held by Serb
rebels. The Zagreb daily specifically mentioned that the resolution
calls for dividing the UNPROFOR command in Croatia from that
in Bosnia and Macedonia; for returning the "pink zones" adjacent
to Serb-held UN protected zones "to Croatian sovereignty"; for
disarming Serb paramilitaries and restoring Croatian sovereignty
to those zones themselves; for reviving rail, road, and other
infrastructural links; for additional confidence-building measures;
and for allowing UNPROFOR to engage in self-defense. Russia said
it needs more time to consider the proposal, which reportedly
has the backing of the remaining 14 members of the Security Council
led by the United States, according to Croatian media. The hitch
apparently stems from a clause calling for tightening economic
sanctions against Serbia-Montenegro if Belgrade does not exercise
a restraining influence on Croatia's Serb rebels. Borba, however,
on 4 October quotes rebel leaders meeting over the weekend as
reminding Belgrade not to leave them in the lurch. Zagreb, for
its part, did not hide its bitterness at the Russian action,
and the BBC's Croatian Service on 2-October quoted President
Franjo Tudjman as calling Russia "Serbia's Bolshevik, Eastern
Orthodox ally." Vjesnik ran a headline reading "one more Russian
present for Serbia," while AFP quoted Tudjman as telling a military
audience in Osijek that they might have to free "every last inch"
of Croatian territory. -Patrick Moore

CONFUSION OVER THE "BOSNIAN LIECHTENSTEIN." A complex picture
is emerging regarding events surrounding the self-proclaimed
autonomous Bihac pocket region of western Bosnia. President Alija
Izetbegovic was quoted by Reuters on 2 October as calling local
leader Fikret Abdic a traitor and a tribal chief, while Politika
cites Abdic as urging UNPROFOR to intervene on behalf of what
the Sueddeutsche Zeitung calls Abdic's would-be "Bosnian Liechtenstein."
Western news agencies cite Sarajevo radio as reporting that Abdic
has declared himself military commander of western Bosnia against
the pro-Izetbegovic Fifth Corps and that pro-Abdic forces have
blocked roads leading to his power base of Velika Kladusa. Reuters
adds on 3-October that gunmen loyal to Izetbegovic shot up a
Bihac radio station and killed the guard. Croatian media have
been covering the entire Bihac pocket story with sympathy for
Abdic from the start, while the Belgrade papers seem to regard
it as a sort of comic opera between rival Muslims. -Patrick Moore


"ANOTHER CAMPAIGN OF ARRESTS IN KOSOVO." The exile daily Rilindja
reports on 1-October. The paper says that about 60 political
activists of various Kosovar parties as well as ethnic Albanian
former high-ranking Yugoslav army officers have been detained
since 27-September. According to Serb authorities, more than
30-people have been detained since 23-September on the suspicion
of preparing an armed uprising, international agencies report.
According to Tanjug of 1 October, the Serbian Interior Ministry
said that the detainees were part of a self-proclaimed "Ministry
of Defense," adding that the police seized large quantities of
arms, explosives and propaganda material. There is apparently
no word on any comment from those detained, nor any independent
confirmation of the Serbs' story. Meanwhile, Rilindja also reports
about cases of torture and further human rights abuses all over
the province. Elsewhere, in an interview given to the Kosovar
daily Bujku, the president of the self-proclaimed Republic of
Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, said that the question of Kosovo is not
likely to be solved in the near future, adding that for Albania
the "national question is on the back burner." The daily 24 ore
carries the report on 3-October. -Fabian Schmidt

REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA TO SEEK NATO MEMBERSHIP? ACCORDING TO THE
1 OCTOBER ISSUE OF NOVA MAKEDONIJA, THE GOVERNMENT IN SKOPJE
HAS ASKED THE LEGISLATURE TO CONSIDER APPLYING FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP.
Should the deputies decide to endorse the idea, admission would
be an uphill battle both because of current NATO reticence to
admit countries from Eastern Europe and because Greece would
very likely seek to obstruct membership given the tenor of current
Greek-Macedonian relations. -Duncan Perry

POLISH REACTIONS TO MOSCOW EVENTS. In a statement published on
3 October, Poland's Foreign Affairs Ministry said it was following
events in Moscow attentively and with great concern. It expressed
regret that lives had been lost and stressed that Poland and
the entire region were interested in the success of democratic
reforms in Russia. Polish press comments on 4-October expressed
concern for Poland's sovereignty and security. Aleksander Kwasniewski,
leader of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland and
of the Democratic Left Alliance told Gazeta Wyborcza that neither
his party nor the alliance was interested "in cooperation with
those who wished to rebuild Russia's imperialist tradition."
-Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka

POLISH COALITION TALKS UPDATE. The social-democratic post-Solidarity
Labor Union (UP), which has 41 seats in the Sejm, agreed on 1
October to join the Democratic Left Alliance and the Polish Peasant
Party in negotiations aimed at establishing a common program
of government. The UP made its participation in the potential
coalition conditional on amendments in budgetary policy, taxation,
and privatization. Experts of the three parties meet in 6 working
groups on 4 October. -Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka

SLOVAK PREMIER COMMENTS ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS. On 3 October
Vladimir Meciar met with foreign journalists to discuss minority
issues. Regarding rights for ethnic Hungarians, Meciar said Slovakia
is "afraid because some efforts to restore Greater Hungary have
become apparent," TASR reports. He also said that the "rights
of Slovak citizens cannot be subordinate to minority rights,"
but that he is willing to resolve the issue at the European level.
Concerning the possibility of early elections, Meciar said they
"will take place when they will be acceptable for us." According
to Meciar, there is no danger that the Party of the Democratic
Left will win the next election and he went on to say that "in
Slovakia there will be a strong orientation towards the center."
In a 1 October press conference, Meciar said "Slovakia unambiguously
supports turning the Visegrad Group into a permanent institution,
while Hungary and the Czech Republic are busy racing for early
membership in the EC." He also said that Slovakia "follows no
political aims" in its efforts to renew economic ties with Russia,
TASR reports. -Sharon Fisher

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER SUPPORTS YELTSIN. Addressing the Moscow
crisis on Hungarian television on 3 October Prime Minister Jozsef
Antall reiterated support for Russian President Boris Yeltsin
and expressed the belief that Yeltsin would be able to restore
order, MTI reports. Antall said that Hungary was prepared for
an emergency situation in which energy supplies coming from Russia
could be cut. Hungary depends heavily on Russian oil, natural
gas, and raw materials. -Edith Oltay

HUNGARIAN DEMOCRATIC FORUM PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS. Hungarian
Democratic Forum (HDF) managing chairman Sandor Lezsak told a
meeting of the party's local organization on 2 October in Szolnok
that the HDF has been able to overcome its crisis, and is capable
of restoring its self-confidence in time for the 1994 national
elections. He stressed that the "HDF must win the elections...[and]...
a convincing electoral program must demonstrate that the country
has no other choice [but to support the HDF]." Defense Minister
and HDF presidium member Lajos Fur warned that the 1994 elections
will decide whether the country will stay on the democratic path
it had embarked on in 1990 or "swing toward the left." -Edith
Oltay

ILIESCU REACTS TO MOSCOW EVENTS. In what appeared to be a clear
step back from his previous statement on the events in Russia,
President Ion Iliescu refrained from openly backing Boris Yeltsin
in the power struggle in Moscow. In a statement broadcast by
Radio Bucharest on 3 October, Iliescu sought to take a neutral
position, saying the use of force can only hamper Russia's democratization
and that only "free, democratic elections" can ensure stability.
He said Romania was backing "Russia's democratic forces" but
failed to specify which of the two opposing camps in Moscow might
be identified with these forces. -Michael Shafir

ILIESCU OPPOSES SHOCK THERAPY. Romanian president Ion Iliescu
says quick privatization and "shock therapy" are not the way
to modernize the country's sluggish economy. Speaking in Bucharest
on 2 October at the official launch of a mass education campaign
by the government's National Privatization Agency which is assisted
by the US International Development Agency, Iliescu said "the
inertia of the economic system proved greater than the political
one and cannot endure brusque and radical changes." His speech
was broadcast by Radio Bucharest. The president said "shock therapy
proved everywhere to be nothing but words which have not and
cannot have . . . [the] . . . active support" of the population.
He added that privatization was not an easy process and that
any reorganization provokes disorganization. The most complicated
job, he said, was to change the mentality of people. Iliescu
also said that the most difficult enterprises to privatize were
the 6,000 large state-owned enterprises. The speech was in stark
contrast to remarks made by the Minister of State for Economic
Reform and Strategy Mircea Cosea, who, in a press conference
broadcast by Radio Bucharest one day earlier, said Romania must
face difficult decisions in coming months if negotiations with
the IMF are to be successfully concluded. In this connection
he mentioned the ending of subsidies for large, inefficient state
enterprises. -Michael Shafir

NEW AGENCIES TO SUPERVISE BULGARIAN ARMS INDUSTRY. At an extra
session on 1-October the government decided to set up an Interdepartmental
Council on issues concerning Bulgaria's arms industry and mobilizational
preparedness. Chaired by a deputy prime minister, the council
will chiefly coordinate government policies, prepare plans for
the future development of the arms industry, and license purchases
and sales of weaponry. BTA says the council has also been charged
with working out a strategy for the restructuring of the entire
arms industry, dividing it up into trading companies that are
to be partly owned by the state. On 30 September the National
Assembly had voted to create a permanent parliamentary Committee
on Defense Industry and Mobilizational Preparedness. The new
agencies are replacing the Board for Control on the Manufacturing
and Trade with Military and Special Production, which was set
up by the previous UDF government. -Kjell Engelbrekt

YELTSIN, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS BLAST "DNIESTER" FIGHTERS IN MOSCOW.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in an interview with Ostankino
on 1 October, specifically warned fighters from the "Dniester
republic" and other armed supporters of the Russian Supreme Soviet
from outside Russia against "spilling Russian blood" in Moscow.
On the same day Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets
warned that "Dniester" and other "extremists" may end up spilling
blood, ITAR-TASS reported. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister
Vladimir Shumeiko told ITAR-TASS also on 1-October that "criminal
suspects from the Dniester battalion" are among those who "call
the tune in the [Moscow] White House." Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov,
negotiator for Yeltsin at the Church-mediated talks with the
Supreme Soviet, told Ostankino TV on 2 October, that Yeltsin's
side was demanding that the fighters from Dniester and other
outside units vacate the White House and leave Russia as part
of a possible political settlement. -Vladimir Socor

LATVIA OPENS CRISIS CONTROL CENTER. On 3-October Latvian Defense
Minister Valdis Pavlovskis told the RFE/RL Latvian Service that
Latvia had opened a crisis control center in response to the
unrest in Moscow. All branches of the Latvian armed forces have
been placed on alert status and are ready to respond to any violence.
There have not been any Russian troop movements in Latvia and
the leaders of the Northwest Group of Forces based in Riga have
declared that they will remain neutral in the conflict. -Saulius
Girnius

LATVIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES GREATER BUDGET DEFICIT. On 1 October
the Latvian government approved an increase in this year's budget
deficit by 8-million lats to 12.8-million lats, BNS reported
on 2-October. The increase was due to growing expenditures and
a decrease of 6.5 million lats in revenues due to the parliament's
decision to annul increased customs tariffs for oil products.
State Minister for the Budget Janis Platais said that the increased
budget deficit is becoming dangerous and the government must
try to prevent inflation from increasing. -Saulius Girnius

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Bess Brown and Stan Markotich









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