No. 196, 12 October 1993

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.





RUSSIA



YELTSIN OFFERS CONDOLENCES; TENSIONS REMAIN. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin on 12 October began his visit to Japan by officially
offering condolences for "the inhuman treatment of Japanese prisoners
of war" who had been interned in the USSR in 1945 and subsequently,
ITAR-TASS reported. Yeltsin, who had arrived in Tokyo the previous
evening, spent the morning meeting with the Japanese Emperor
and Empress. Later he was to confer with Prime Minister Morihiro
Hosokawa and his top economic advisors. At the Moscow airport
just prior to embarking for Tokyo Yeltsin was quoted by Reuter
as saying that he hoped the Japanese would "not raise the territorial
question and spoil the visit." That remark reportedly provoked
an indignant response from Japanese Foreign Ministry officials,
one of whom, according to AFP on 11-October, called it "impolite."
Another asked why Yeltsin was coming to Tokyo if he did not intend
to discuss the territorial issue. Both in Moscow and after his
arrival in Tokyo Yeltsin singled out the promotion of economic
cooperation as the primary goal of his trip. -Stephen Foye

YELTSIN NOT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT? PRESIDENT YELTSIN'S PRESS MANAGER
MIKHAIL POLTORANIN TOLD EKHO MOSKVY ON 9 OCTOBER THAT HE EXPECTS
YELTSIN NOT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENTIAL REELECTION IN 1994. He stated
that Yeltsin's aim is to make the democratic process in the country
irreversible and prepare the way for new politicians. Talking
on possible crown princes, Poltoranin expressed the opinion that
economist Grigorii Yavlinsky has no chance because he does not
fit the Russian traditional image of a leader. But a high ranking
member of the presidential staff, Nikolai Medvedev, said that
Yeltsin may cancel early presidential elections altogether and
stay until 1996. Other Moscow observers say that Yeltsin is considering
holding presidential elections, together with parliamentary elections,
on 12-December. Poltoranin also said that the coup leaders in
parliament had carefully prepared their actions on 3-October.
He revealed, for example, that they had given orders to the Russian
custom services at Sheremetevo airport to prevent government
officials leaving the country. -Alexander Rahr

COMMENTS ON PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr
Shokhin told Ekho Moskvy on 11 October that the government should
avoid suspicion that it is trying to usurp power by financing
the electoral campaigns of its own ministers. He said if government
members want to participate in parliamentary elections, they
should first resign from the executive structures. As of today,
four deputy prime ministers, including Egor Gaidar, want to run
for parliament seats. Ostankino TV on the same day quoted its
media expert, Evgenii Khlov, as saying that the Democratic Party
of Nikolai Travkin would receive all opposition votes since all
other parties on the conservative side have been banned. Travkin
himself believes he will receive 30 percent of the votes. -Alexander
Rahr

YELTSIN'S REGIONAL CRACKDOWN CONTINUES. Yeltsin on 11 October
dismissed another regional administrator for failing to carry
out his orders during the recent crisis, namely, Viktor Berestovoi,
head of administration in western Russia's highly conservative
Belgorod Oblast. Meanwhile, regional administrators loyal to
Yeltsin took over the property and functions of the local soviets
in Perm' Oblast in the northern Urals, in the city of St.-Petersburg,
and in Leningrad Oblast, Russian news media reported. Banks in
St. Petersburg were ordered to conduct no transactions with the
disbanded councils, Radio Liberty reported. -Elizabeth Teague


HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER SITUATION IN MOSCOW.
A Russian human rights group expressed concern on 11 October
about what it said were violations of human rights in Moscow
under the state of emergency. A statement circulated by the human
rights center of the "Memorial" society complained of incidents
of "cruel, inhuman and humiliating treatment" of citizens by
security forces in the Russian capital. Meanwhile, a group of
former Soviet dissidents, including Larisa Bogoraz, one of the
seven people who took part in the demonstration in 1968 in the
Red Square in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia,
set up an independent "Oversight Commission" to monitor violations
of human rights in Russia. On 9-October, Nezavisimaya gazeta
published a letter to President Yeltsin by the US Helsinki Watch
human rights organization, which expressed concern over the crackdown
on opposition groups and the media in Russia. -Vera Tolz

PEOPLE'S PARTY OF FREE RUSSIA TO BE REHABILITATED? ON 11 OCTOBER
THE PUBLIC COUNCIL OF DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATIONS IN RUSSIA PROTESTED
THE SUSPENSION BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE'S
PARTY OF FREE RUSSIA, AN RFE/RL CORRESPONDENT IN MOSCOW REPORTED.
One of the leaders of the party, which is a part of the Civic
Union, was Aleksandr Rutskoi, but in the past few months the
party had issued several statements dissociating itself from
the former Vice-President. The RFE/RL correspondent said the
government might rethink its ban on the party and permit it to
participate in the parliamentary elections in December. -Vera
Tolz

TRADE UNION CHIEF RESIGNS. Igor Klochkov has resigned as chairman
of Russia's formerly communist-dominated Federation of Independent
Trade Unions (FNPR), ITAR-TASS reported on 11 October. He is
clearly another casualty of the recent crisis. In an emotional
speech on 22 September, Klochkov denounced Yeltsin's dissolution
of parliament and called for a general strike. On 4 October,
when it was clear Yeltsin had won, the FNPR did an about-turn
and called on its 50 million members "not to yield to extremist
slogans." Yeltsin meanwhile seized the opportunity to strip the
unions of the right they have enjoyed since Stalin's time to
administer the social security system. FNPR leaders will meet
on 14 October to elect a new chair. -Elizabeth Teague

RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVED NEW CIVIL CODE. The Presidium of
the Government of the Russian Federation has approved the draft
of the new Civil Code, which supercedes the acting Code inherited
from Communist regime, ITAR-TASS reported on 8-October. Presenting
the draft, Vice-Premier, Sergei Shakhrai said that new Code will
be a "heart-core of market legislation". The new Civil Code includes
provisions on freedom of movement of capital and goods and legal
guaranteesof the inviolability of private property. The Minister
of Justice, Yurii Kalmykov stressed that the significance of
the new Civil Code is second only to that of the future Constitution.
The Code must be approved also by President Boris Yeltsin. -Victor
Yasmann

NO AGREEMENT ON COMMERCIAL DEBT RESCHEDULING. Talks in Frankfurt
between Russia and representatives of 600 Western creditor banks
ended on 8 October without the hoped-for rescheduling of an estimated
$37.5 billion in commercial debt, Western agencies reported.
Russia declined to abandon its sovereign immunity, that is, to
offer assets, including natural resources and property, as collateral.
Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin subsequently announced
that Russia will make no further repayments until an agreement
on restructuring its commercial debts is reached. Deliberations
will continue on the repayment of the debt incurred mostly by
the former Soviet Union but now assumed in its entirety by Russia.
-Keith Bush

MALEI ON DEFENSE INDUSTRY COMMISSION. In an interview with Nezavisimaya
gazeta on 2 October 1993, Mikhail Malei noted that he had resigned
as Yeltsin's advisor on defense industry affairs due to his lack
of influence over the industry. He remarked that many mistakes
had been made concerning the defense industry and that he was
the only one in government with a good overview of the situation.
Consequently, Malei accepted an appointment on 28 September as
Chairman of the Inter-Departmental Commission of the Security
Council for Scientific-Technical Questions Concerning the Defense
Industry. The exact role of the new commission is unclear, but
Malei clearly opposes what he termed attempts by the defense
ministry to control the defense industry and wants to make his
commission a strong coordinating body for the defense industrial
sector. -John Lepingwell

CIS

RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN TROOP AGREEMENT SIGNED. On 9 October the heads
of the Russian and Georgian General Staffs signed a treaty on
the legal status of the Russian troops currently stationed in
Georgia together with eight protocols inclsuding one on the joint
use of all port facilities and airfields, ITAR-TASS reported.
According to the Russian Chief of Staff Colonel-General Mikhail
Kolesnikov, the treaty does not specify a date for the final
withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian territory. -Liz Fuller


GAZPROM TO OFFER UKRAINE DEBT-FOR-LEASE DEAL? IN UPCOMING PAYMENT
NEGOTIATIONS, THE RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS MONOPOLY, GAZPROM, WILL
OFFER TO FORGIVE UKRAINIAN DEBT FOR GAS DELIVERIES IN EXCHANGE
FOR LONG-TERM LEASES ON SEVERAL UKRAINIAN GAS DISTRIBUTING FACILITIES,
ACCORDING TO THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE ON 8 OCTOBER. Gazprom will
ask for leases on supply facilities in Kiev, Uzhhorod and Mykolaiv,
two storage facilities in Western Ukraine and some port installations
in Illichivsk and Odessa. Ukrainian overdue payments, according
to Gazprom, now total 710.5 billion rubles ($598 million). Gazprom
also accuses Ukraine of siphoning off gas from transit pipelines,
which has cost it $10 million in penalties for breach of contract
with West European customers between the beginning of the year
and 20-September. -Erik Whitlock and Ustina Markus

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



ALIEV SWORN IN AS AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENT. Following his landslide
victory in the 3-October elections, Geidar Aliev was sworn in
as President of Azerbaijan on 10 October, ITAR-TASS reported.
Aliev pledged his loyalty on the Koran and the Constitution of
Azerbaijan, which deputies to the National Assembly had amended
the previous day to excise all references to "Soviet", "socialist",
and "the Communist Party", and vowed to work for an end to the
Karabakh conflict and the strengthening of Azerbaijan's independence
and the implementation of economic reform. -Liz Fuller

GEORGIA UPDATE. Fighting between Georgian government troops and
forces loyal to ousted President Zviad Gamsakhurdia around the
strategic rail junction of Samtredia continued on 11 October,
Radio Tbilisi reported. Ostankino TV reported, quoting Georgian
TV, that Gamsakhurdia had demanded a ransom of $200,000 for the
release of kidnapped Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Giorgi
Gulua. Speaking at a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgian parliament
chairman Eduard Shevardnadze characterized Gamsakhurdia's actions
as treacherous and immoral, according to Radio Tbilisi. Shevardnadze
has appointed Igor Giorgadze as head of the Georgian intelligence
service in place of Irakli Batiashvili, who on 11-October announced
that he was resigning to protest Shevardnadze's decision that
Georgia should join the CIS, Radio Tbilisi reported. -Liz Fuller


NAZARBAEV AND POPULAR UNITY. Popular Unity, one of the largest
of Kazakhstan's political movements, held an organizational congress
on 9 October in preparation for next year's parliamentary elections,
which the organization intends to contest. ITAR-TASS, reporting
on the congress, said that Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev
has agreed to be the unofficial head of the organization. He
supported the rival People's Congress of writer and political
activist Olzhas Suleimenov when that group was set up, but the
People's Congress quickly turned into a vehicle for the political
ambitions of Suleimenov. -Bess Brown

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



CROATIA QUESTIONS REPORTS OF MASSACRES. The BBC's Croatian Service
on 12-October said that Foreign Minister Mate Granic denied reports
from local Serbs and UN officials that retreating Croatian troops
carried out a wholesale massacre of Serb civilians in the Gospic
area in September. Two officers have subsequently been sacked
for what the Croatian media call "human rights violations," but
the normally cautious Granic reportedly said that most of the
Serb dead were wearing uniforms and killed in the course of combat.
No additional report on Granic's remarks is as yet available.
Meanwhile, Vjesnik on 12 October carries an article urging readers
to heed the message of the highly popular US Ambassador Peter
Galbraith to the effect that any reunification of Croatian territory
must be carried out peacefully. -Patrick Moore

BOSNIAN CROATS "PREPARE FOR THE WORST." For weeks the Croatian
press has been running articles about the plight of the makeshift
hospital in the church at Nova Bila, near Vitez in central Bosnia.
The Bosnian Croats, who have a better history of living at peace
with their Muslim and Serb neighbors than do the more militant
Herzegovinian Croats, tend to feel that their interests have
been betrayed by Zagreb in favor of the Herzegovinians. Cardinal
Franjo Kuharic and other prominent figures in Croatian public
life have similarly warned against letting Herzegovinian interests
dictate Croatian policy in the embattled neighboring republic.
Now the 70,000 Bosnian Croats near Vitez are threatened with
being swamped and ethnically cleansed by Muslim forces, and The
Guardian of 11 October speculates that the Muslims will not sign
the peace plan until they can rack up more territory in central
Bosnia. One Croat described the situation in Nova Bila as like
being in "a room with two doors, one saying no entrance, one
saying no exit." Some people, however, do seem to be planning
for the future in Bosnia. On 10 October The New York Times quoted
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as hoping for a peaceful
life with the Muslims. He said: "we are all of the same blood.
We are all Slavs." Meanwhile in Zagreb, Vecernji list of 12 October
quotes President Franjo Tudjman as telling his regular press
conference that he hopes for better relations in the future with
the Muslims and wishes an end to the fighting in central Bosnia.
-Patrick Moore

RUGOVA DENIES KOSOVARS PLAN ARMED UPRISING. The president of
the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, said
that "Serbian propaganda is trying to call into question the
peaceful policy of the Democratic League of Kosovo and all Albanians
when it claims that big armed groups have allegedly been discovered
in Kosovo," Rilindja reports on 9-October. Meanwhile, in Mitrovica
the police raided currency black markets, arrested high officials
of ethnic Albanian political parties, and confiscated documents
of the Council for the Protection of the Rights and Freedom of
Man, an ethnic Albanian human rights group. Elsewhere, the party
leader of the ethnic Albanian Democratic League of Montenegro,
Mehmet Bardhi, said in connection with a meeting with Geneva
conference representatives that "the constitution of the Republic
of Montenegro is discriminatory [because] it says nothing about
citizens rights but [talks] only about the rights of one nation."
In Montenegro there is a minority of about 50,000 ethnic Albanians.
Finally, Reuters on 12-October reports from London that Amnesty
International says that Serb authorities have denied its representatives
access to Kosovo. AI concludes that the Serbian authorities have
something to hide, adding: "without any monitors in place, we
know that abuses continue unabated." -Fabian Schmidt

SERBIAN AND MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENTS SURVIVING UNDER PRESSURE.
It appears that the Republic of Serbia's government will survive
a no confidence motion while Montenegro's won a vote of confidence.
After two days of intense debate, the Socialist (SPS) government
of Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic is countering an attempt by
73 deputies of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) to pass a no confidence
motion. Tomislav Nikolic, parliamentary head of the SRS, accused
the SPS of "criminal mismanagement and treason." SPS deputies
leveled similar charges against the SRS. Vuk Draskovic's opposition
Serbian Renewal Movement made good on its promise not to support
the SRS motion as its 27 deputies walked out of parliament on
8 October. Debate resumes on 12 October. On 9-October Montenegro's
Socialists, headed by Prime Minister Milo Djurkanovic, held to
power in the 85-seat parliament. The session was characterized
by fierce verbal exchanges between the 11 deputies of the nationalist
People's Party (NS), who initiated the no confidence motion,
and the government ministers and most of the 46 deputies of the
majority Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). NS leader Novak
Kilibarda accused the government of violating the republic's
constitution and for failing to implement a 7-point program for
economic and social reform. Fifty-one deputies voted to support
the government, 11 against and the remaining opposition deputies
did not participate. Radio and Television Serbia carried the
reports. -Milan Andrejevich

POLISH COALITION PARTIES JOSTLE FOR POSTS. A decision is expected
on 12 October as to the fate of the government coalition under
negotiation by the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), the Polish
Peasant Party (PSL), and the Union of Labor (UP). With the outlines
of a government program agreed upon, conflict has now centered
on the division of ministerial and parliamentary posts. SLD spokesman
Zbigniew Siemiatkowski presented his party's potential coalition
partners with an ultimatum on 11 October, PAP reports. If the
PSL and UP fail to support the election of the SLD's candidate
(either Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz or Jozef Oleksy) for Speaker
of the Sejm, he warned, the coalition deal is off. PSL and UP
leaders have been discussing candidates for the post from their
own ranks. Siemiatkowski added that the SLD wants "influence"
over the following ministries: finance, industry, foreign trade,
privatization, agriculture, transport, construction, communication,
and public administration. He stressed his party's determination
to maintain control over the economic posts in any new government.
PSL leaders indicated on 11-October that they will fight for
one of the four key economic ministries, PAP reports. The real
first test of the viability of the coalition thus seems likely
to come on 14 October, during the elections of the Sejm leadership.
-Louisa Vinton

WORLD BANK CONFIDENT ABOUT POLISH REFORMS . . . Polish Finance
Minister Jerzy Osiatynski and World Bank managing director Ernest
Stern signed an agreement on 11-October granting Poland a $450-million
loan to pursue a program of debt relief for state firms and banks,
Polish TV reports. Stern also met with President Lech Walesa,
who pledged that there will be no change in Poland's reform course,
despite the new political situation. Walesa criticized Western
Europe for its lack of solidarity with the reforming Eastern
democracies. After meeting with leaders of the three parties
preparing to form a government coalition, Stern expressed confidence
that reforms will proceed uninterrupted and pledged continued
support from the World Bank. In other news, Osiatynski announced
on 11-October that the government is suspending energy price
hikes scheduled to take effect in August and November. Osiatynski's
reasoning was both economic and political. Tax revenues are running
ahead of schedule, making price hikes less urgent. Moreover,
he does not wish to tie the new government's hands, especially
if it is formed by parties that campaigned against price hikes.
-Louisa Vinton

. . . SUCHOCKA CONCERNED. Addressing a final meeting of regional
officials in the state administration on 11-October, Polish Prime
Minister Hanna Suchocka defended her government's performance
and criticized charges by the victorious SLD, PSL, and UP that
Poland remains stagnant and has not really embarked on economic
growth. "Poland has genuinely overcome the decline in production
characteristic of postcommunist countries," she said. Suchocka
also expressed concern that the new coalition will treat posts
in the state administration as "political booty" rather than
pursue her own plans to create an apolitical civil service. The
regional officials present at the meeting said they expected
rapid personnel changes under pressure from local SLD and PSL
organizations. Suchocka and her public administration minister,
Jan Maria Rokita, pledged to fight such practices in the parliament.
-Louisa Vinton

CZECH, SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARIANS MEET. Representatives of the Czech
and Slovak parliaments met in Casta-Papiernicka, Slovakia, on
11 October to discuss Czech-Slovak relations and cooperation.
CTK reports that Slovak deputies raised the possibility of introducing
dual Czech and Slovak citizenship for some citizens of former
Czechoslovakia, such as those who are now citizens of one of
the two states but reside permanently in the other. The Czech
Republic currently does not allow former Czechoslovak citizens
who have become Czech citizens to hold dual citizenship. According
to CTK, Milan Uhde, chairman of the Czech parliament, rejected
the Slovak proposal, saying that the Czech Republic currently
"does not want and cannot afford" to tackle the issue of dual
citizenship. -Jiri Pehe

ECONOMIC NEWS FROM SLOVAKIA. The Slovak Ministry of Labor announced
on 11 October that there were some 350,000 unemployed people
in Slovakia at the end of September. The unemployment rate was
13.73%, showing a 1.2% increase since June 1993. Also on the
11th, the Bratislava Stock Exchange began daily operations. Before
that date, the market had been open only every 14 days. TASR
quotes exchange manager Marian Sasik as saying the change is
designed to keep prices up-to-date and increase trading volume.
The exchange now trades a total of 15 types of state and industrial
bonds and provides a market for shares issued by 497 Slovak enterprises.
Sasik said he expects a big increase in trading in Slovak capital
markets within the next six months. -Jiri Pehe

HUNGARIAN, SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET. Geza Jeszenszky and
his Slovak counterpart Jozef Moravcik met in Vienna on 8 October
at the Council of Europe's summit, Radio Budapest reported on
9 October. Moravcik said Slovakia would fulfill its commitment
to the Council of Europe and allow the use of Hungarian family
names and locality signs and had invited Jeszenszky to visit
Slovakia within a month or two to discuss the two countries'
bilateral state treaty, including the guarantee of minority rights
asked by Hungary and a clause on the inviolability of borders
demanded by Slovakia. According to TASR, Jeszenszky said Budapest
intended to support the right of self-determination of its own
national minorities, including the Slovaks living in Hungary,
whose present exact number (estimates run as high as 150,000)
is not known because of a post-World War II population exchange
between the two countries. -Alfred Reisch

HUNGARY TRIES TO REPAIR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. On 11 October an
international conference on the ecological damage caused during
nearly 50 years by the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary began
in Budapest, MTI reported. According to Minister of Environmental
Protection Janos Gyurko, the cleaning up of the 20 most polluted
installations out of a total of 171 had begun in the past two
years at a cost of 930-million forint. To continue the task would
require an additional 600 million forint in 1994, while only
200-million can be allocated for this purpose from the state
budget. -Alfred Reisch

US DEFENSE OFFICIAL IN BUCHAREST. US State Undersecretary of
Defense Frank Wisner paid an official visit to Romania over 10-11
October. Wisner, who was heading a Defense Department delegation,
was received by Romania's President Ion Iliescu and Labor and
Social Minister Dan Mircea Popescu. On 11-October the US delegation
attended the first meeting of a newly-created bilateral working
group on defense issues. The Romanian delegation was headed by
Ioan Mircea Pascu, Secretary of State for Defense Policy and
International Relations with the National Defense Ministry. According
to a joint communique, released on Radio Bucharest, the meeting
was held in a "friendly and very constructive atmosphere." The
two delegations exchanged views on European and regional security,
the future of NATO and its possible eastward expansion, the military
responsibility of the US in Europe, and the reorganization of
the Romanian army. They also agreed to hold the next meeting
in spring 1994. -Dan Ionescu

ROMANIAN WRITERS' UNION SPLITS OVER CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS. Romanian
poet Mircea Dinescu, a former opponent of Nicolae Ceausescu's
regime, resigned on 7 October from the leadership of the country's
Writers' Union over allegations of corruption, Romanian media
reported on 7 October. Dinescu has been accused in the media
of misusing printing machinery donated by the German government
as well as union funds in his own interest. In an open letter,
the poet dismissed the charges as slander. Two other writers,
including former dissident poet Ana Blandiana, also quit the
union's management earlier last week in protest at being allegedly
insulted by Dinescu at a meeting to clear the accusations. -Dan
Ionescu

BULGARIAN PRESS REACTS TO US DIPLOMAT'S CONCERNS. Bulgarian media
have reacted sharply to US Ambassador-designate to Sofia William
Montgomery's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
in September wherein he noted dissatisfaction with the status
of minorities in Bulgaria. Papers such as Podkrepa, Standart,
Otechestven Vesnik, Trud, and 24 Chasa have criticized what many
seem to regard as interference in internal Bulgarian affairs.
National leaders have been cautious in their responses and have
reserved judgment while awaiting further data. -Duncan Perry


KRAVCHUK APPOINTS NEW NAVAL COMMANDER. President Leonid Kravchuk
has appointed Vice-Admiral Volodymyr Bezkorovainy as Ukraine's
new navy commander. He replaces Borys Kozhyn. Previously Bezkorovainy
had commanded the nuclear submarine force of Russia's Northern
Fleet. While no reason was given for Kozhyn's replacement, it
comes just days after the appointment of a new defense minister.
Currently the Ukrainian navy consists of five ships with others
under construction. The disputed Black Sea Fleet has some 300
vessels, Radio Ukraine and Reuters reported on 11-October. -Ustina
Markus

SEVASTOPOL NATIONAL SALVATION FRONT RECONSTITUTED. The Sevastopol
branch of the National Salvation Front has announced its self-dissolution,
ITAR-TASS reported on 11 October. The organization said that
it had taken this step in connection with the formation of the
Russian People's Council and the Bloc of Patriotic Forces in
Sevastopol. At the same time, it was announced that a regional
branch of the Russian National Party had been formed in the city.
The latter is headed by Aleksandr Kruglov, who was head of the
Sevastopol branch of the National Salvation Front. -Roman Solchanyk


DEATH PENALTY DEMANDED IN TIRASPOL TRIAL. On 11 October the "Dniester
republic's" prosecutor in the trial of six Moldovans in Tiraspol
demanded the death penalty for three of the defendants and prison
terms for the others, Basapress reported. The defendants have
been in jail since May-June 1992 and on trial since April 1993
on charges of terrorism. Numerous appeals during the course of
the trial from international human rights organizations, European
bodies including CSCE and the Council of Europe, and Western
embassies in Moldova have noted multiple legal flaws and demanded
that the defendants be turned over to a lawful court in Chisinau.
-Vladimir Socor

BALTIC LEADERS ON NATO MEMBERSHIP. Latvian president Guntis Ulmanis
told the press on 11 October that Latvia would like to join NATO
and added that Russia's neighbors would feel more secure if Russia
also joined the alliance. Lithuanian president Algirdas Brazauskas
said he hopes to improve contacts with NATO and noted that he
had been invited to visit NATO headquarters in Brussels in January.
Brazauskas added that Lithuania will need time and money to join
the alliance, and he stressed that Lithuania's aim is to join
the European political, economic, and security alliances. Estonia
has nominated Rein Helme to take part in a North Atlantic Assembly
working group on the possible expansion of NATO membership, BNS
reported on 11 October. -Dzintra Bungs

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Liz Fuller and Stan Markotich







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