No. 224, 23 November 1993

	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.



RUSSIA



POLITICAL PARTIES BEGIN TELEVISION CAMPAIGN. The parties contesting
Russia's 12-December elections began their TV campaigns on 22
November, Interfax and Reuters reported. Parties have been allocated
limited free air-time until 8 December, the order of appearance
having been decided by drawing lots. The first parties to broadcast
were the Civic Union for Stability, Justice and Progress, and
Russia's Future-New Names blocs on Russian TV; and the Communist
Party on Ostankino TV. Civic Union leader Arkadii Volsky rejected
media characterization of his party as anti-reformist but asked,
"why should [reforms] be embraced in the way indicated by Gaidar
when any departure [from them] amounts to an escape attempt which
prompts the need for tank fire?" The Civic Union broadcast ended
with pictures of the recent shelling of the Russian parliament.
-Wendy Slater

COMMISSION CREATED FOR RUSSIAN REFERENDUM. The Russian government
has set up a commission to help conduct the referendum on the
new Russian constitution which is scheduled to take place on
12 December, ITAR-TASS reported on 22 November. The commission's
main tasks are to provide organizational and financial support
and maintain public order during the vote. First Deputy Prime
Minister Vladimir Shumeiko is the new commission's chairman.
Other members include the head of the presidential administration,
Sergei Filatov; the transport and communication ministers; and
the deputy ministers of finance, internal affairs, defense and
security. -Vera Tolz

GAIDAR ACCUSED OF FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY? ON 19 NOVEMBER, OSTANKINO
TV'S "POLITBURO" PROGRAM HINTED AT POSSIBLE FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES
BY RUSSIA'S RULING DEMOCRATS. It alleged that Egor Gaidar, who
is both First Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the pro-government
electoral bloc, Russia's Choice, went to the Russian Central
Bank on 5 October with a request for eleven billion rubles ($5.5
million) "for the defense of democracy." The allegation that
Gaidar had been involved in financial irregularities was first
made on 13-November during another Ostankino TV program, "Krasnyi
kvadrat" (Red Square). During that program, the deputy chairman
of the Central Bank, Vyacheslav Solovov, said the Bank had granted
Gaidar's request. -Julia Wishnevsky

GAIDAR LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF NEW CONSTITUTION. Gaidar
has begun a tour of the Russian provinces to mobilize support
for the new constitution ahead of the next month's referendum,
Reuters reported on 23 November. Addressing a conference of local
officials in the Volga city of Samara on 22-November, Gaidar
said that, while there was no ideal constitutional draft, that
which will be put to the referendum "appears to provide the best
guarantees against the kind of unlimited power which characterized
the totalitarian Soviet-Communist regime." Critics of the draft
say, however, that it contains insufficient checks on the power
of the executive. -Vera Tolz

GERASHCHENKO, SHOKHIN CRITICIZE FOREIGN BANK BAN. The chairman
of the Russian Central Bank, Viktor Gerashchenko, told Russian
TV on 22 November that the recent presidential decree restricting
foreign banks to non-Russian clients until 1 January 1996 was
a pre-election handout to the domestic banking lobby. Deputy
Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin told a news conference in Moscow
the same day that he was surprised by the Yeltsin decree, Interfax
reported. Shokhin said the decree could cause friction with the
European Union (as the European Community is now called) since,
during earlier negotiations between Russia and the EU, a consensus
had formed that restrictions on foreign banks would be limited
to the size of deposits and the types of assets handled. The
Yeltsin decree went far beyond this. -Erik Whitlock

KOHL NEWS CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
told reporters after his four-hour stopover in Moscow and following
his talks with Boris Yeltsin on 22-November that the meeting
with Yeltsin was "intensive and fruitful". He said that Russia's
current difficulties in political and economic reform could not
be judged by Western standards. Kohl expressed his support for
Yeltsin and described his stopover visit as an attempt to show
Russians that Germans wholeheartedly support Russia's efforts
for reform, ITAR-TASS reported. -Suzanne Crow

PEACE ACTIVITIES COMMISSION FORMED. An interdepartmental commission
to coordinate Russia's participation in "peace activities" will
be set up and headed by two co-chairmen: Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov and Deputy Defense Minister Georgii Kondratev.
The two co-chairmen will draft regulations for the commission
and select its members (with government approval) over the next
two months. The secretariat of the commission will be based at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interfax reported on 22-November.
-Suzanne Crow

SIBERIAN WORKERS STRIKE FOR BACK PAY. Workers in 44 enterprises
in the Western Siberian city of Nadym (in the Yamal Nenets Autonomous
Okrug, which in turn is in Tyumen Oblast) began an indefinite
strike on 22 November. They are complaining they have not received
wages for the past six months. Those striking are construction
and transport workers and workers in the region's natural industry
are not involved. However, a representative of the strikers told
RFE/RL's Moscow correspondent that, if the government did not
meet the strikers' demands, they might block gas shipments from
Tyumen to other Russian regions or boycott next month's parliamentary
elections. -Elizabeth Teague

NEW TAX CODE FOR RUSSIA? DEPUTY FINANCE MINISTER ALEKSANDR POCHINOK
WAS QUOTED BY INTERFAX ON 21-NOVEMBER AS SAYING HE HOPES RUSSIA
WILL HAVE A NEW TAX CODE BY MARCH 1994. He said the government
wants to keep taxes on manufacturers steady and reduce those
levied on individuals, but that taxes on vodka and imported luxuries
such as cars and furniture would be increased. -Elizabeth Teague


MOSCOW RELAXES RULES FOR VISITORS. Moscow mayor Yurii Luzhkov
has amended regulations governing the rights of former Soviet
citizens visiting the Russian capital. The regulations, which
came into force on 15 November, require visitors from other former
Soviet republics who are not Russian citizens to pay a registration
fee if they plan to stay in Moscow longer than 24 hours. Luzhkov's
press office told RFE/RL's correspondent on 16 November that
people visiting close relatives, those with refugee status or
who have registered as migrants, handicapped people and those
coming to the city for medical treatment, students and members
of official religious or cultural delegations would be exempt
from the fee. The Russian foreign ministry had asked the Moscow
authorities to soften the regulations, which have attracted a
good deal of unfavorable comment in the Russian media. On 20-November,
however, Luzhkov defended the regulations, telling Interfax they
were aimed only at those who came to the capital "to kill, rape
our women, rob, and hijack cars." Moscow police have already
collected 30 million rubles in fines from unregistered visitors,
RFE/RL's Moscow correspondent reported on 22 November. -Elizabeth
Teague

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



OPPOSITION TRIAL ENDS IN TASHKENT. A trial of three officials
of the Uzbek opposition Erk Party has ended in Tashkent with
suspended two-year sentences for the defendants, RFE/RL learned
on 23 November. Two of the three defendants were Ibrahim Haqqulov,
chief editor of Erk's newspaper which has been closed down by
the authorities, and deputy editor Nazar Ishankulov. The third
defendant was the party's accountant. -Timur Kocaoglu and Bess
Brown

OLD RUBLES DISRUPT TAJIKISTAN. Soviet rubles from neighboring
countries that have introduced their own currencies are flooding
into Tajikistan and causing rapid inflation, Western and Russian
news agencies reported from Dushanbe on 22 November. Tajikistan
is the only former Soviet republic that has said it is willing
to meet Russia's terms for a new ruble zone and which is still
using the old Soviet rubles as its only currency. Tajik citizens
are reported to be hoarding goods, causing severe shortages and
further increasing inflationary pressure. Diplomats in Dushanbe
were quoted as saying that Russia's military commitment to Tajikistan's
present government ensures that Russia will not let the Tajik
economy collapse. -Bess Brown

UZBEKISTAN THREATENS TO SHUT OFF GAS TO KYRGYZSTAN. Radio Mayak
reported on 22 November that the Uzbek government has threatened
to shut off the supply of Uzbek gas to Kyrgyzstan if the latter
country does not settle its debt to Uzbekistan within three days.
Uzbek gas is one of Kyrgyzstan's most important energy sources
and its loss would severely disrupt Kyrgyzstan's already weakened
economy. In June Uzbekistan used the same threat against oblasts
of Kazakhstan that border Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan, which owes
$9 million to Uzbekistan, has appealed to the IMF for help. -Bess
Brown

KOZYREV CONDEMNS ARMENIAN ATTACK ON ENVOY. Speaking at an unscheduled
press conference on 22 November, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei
Kozyrev called for a public apology from Armenia for what he
termed the "extraordinary incident" on 20-November in which the
car of Yeltsin's special envoy, Vladimir Kazimirov, was fired
on crossing the frontier from Azerbaijan into Armenia, ITAR-TASS
reported. Kozyrev rejected as "a formal and personal attack"
a note from Armenian Foreign Minister Vahan Papazyan blaming
Azerbaijan for the incident, and warned that Russia would respond
swiftly and decisively to further attacks on its official representatives.
Also on 22 November, Armenia accepted, but Azerbaijan rejected,
the latest timetable proposed by the CSCE for a ceasefire in
Karabakh, ITAR-TASS reported. -Liz Fuller

ARMENIA INTRODUCES OWN CURRENCY. On 22-November Armenia introduced
its own currency, the dram, to replace the ruble, Western agencies
reported. In a statement carried by Radio Erevan on 19-November,
President Levon Ter-Petrossyan said the move was necessitated
by Armenia's inability to meet Russia's terms for remaining in
the ruble zone. The exchange rate was originally envisaged as
200 rubles to one dram and citizens were to be able to exchange
up to 50,000 rubles, but a correspondent for Radio Liberty's
Armenian Service reported on 22 November that those stores in
Erevan that were open were accepting only US dollars and 1993
Russian rubles; the dram was only available in exchange for US
dollars at a rate of one dollar for 14.5 drams, which corresponds
to 90 new rubles for one dram. Nagorno-Karabakh has also decided
to go over to the dram, according to an AFP report of 21 November.
-Liz Fuller CIS

SHOKHIN ON RUSSIA'S CIS DEBTORS. Russian Deputy Prime Minister
Aleksandr Shokhin told ITAR-TASS on 22 November that total indebtedness
of other CIS states to Russia for energy products currently stands
at 3 trillion rubles (about $2.5 billion). Shokhin said he expects
that in the future these overdue payments may be transformed
into promissory notes, which would circulate in CIS financial
markets. In addition to the introduction of these notes, Shokhin
called for advance payments for deliveries, accelerating the
start-up date of the CIS Interstate Bank, and encouraging the
development of convertible national currencies in the region.
Shokhin also mentioned that it was not clear whether equity-for-debt
swaps could be institutionalized in CIS economic relations at
present because the process of commercializing property in the
region had only just begun. -Erik Whitlock

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



SERBIAN AND CROATIAN INTELLECTUALS MEET. Vjesnik on 23 November
reports on a three-day gathering of some 40 prominent Croatian
and Serbian intellectuals that just ended in Zagreb. It was the
first such session of its kind since Serbian forces attacked
Slovenia and Croatia in 1991, and involved much careful organization
and secrecy. Breaking the ice was difficult even among old friends,
but participants seemed pleased that the gathering could take
place at all and applauded it as part of a "strategy of small
steps" to reestablish contacts. One Serbian sociologist said
that "Milosevic and his clique are allowed to communicate with
the world, but dissenting intellectuals are not. I think that's
crazy." -Patrick Moore

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE YUGOSLAV AREA. International media
reported on 22-November that Macedonian Transportation Minister
Antoni Pesev resigned as a consequence of the 20 November air
crash that killed 115 people, mainly ethnic Albanians. Macedonia's
air traffic capacities have been strained by carriers using it
as a substitute for international flights to Serbia, which are
banned under UN sanctions. Meanwhile, Vreme on 22 November writes
on the growing links between Serbia and another object of international
sanctions, namely Libya. The article notes that Tripoli has bad
relations with the Bosnian Muslims, who regard the Libyan leader
as pro-Serbian. Finally, international media report that Serbs
continue to bar relief convoys in wintry Bosnia, while mediator
Lord Owen repeated that spring could mark an end to such aid
efforts if the Bosnian conflict is not ended by then. -Patrick
Moore

EC MINISTERS CONSIDER LIFTING SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
Western media report that European Community foreign ministers
meeting in Luxembourg on 22-November offered Serbia a "gradual
suspension" of the UN sanctions as part of a deal to bring peace
to ex-Yugoslavia. The offer to ease sanctions is but an element
in a package of trade-offs designed to bring peace, which might
include an easing of the sanctions against Serbia in exchange
for the Bosnian Serbs agreeing to territorial concessions. According
to AFP, some EC countries have voiced some disagreement over
the sanctions issue with, for instance, Germany favoring "a gradual
suspension" while the French government has advocated "lifting
sanctions after a period of suspension." Meanwhile, Bosnia's
ambassador to the UN, Mohammed Sacirbey, expressed some alarm
in a BBC interview over the plan to ease sanctions against rump
Yugoslavia. Sacirbey argues that Serb forces in Bosnia might
not necessarily be prepared to negotiate a peace settlement in
good faith and that therefore prematurely weakening sanctions
against Serbia might be a counterproductive measure. In addition,
both the US and Croatian governments have disapproved of the
idea of easing sanctions, arguing that sanctions should not be
tampered with until Serbia demonstrates a clear and unmistakable
desire for peace. -Stan Markotich

PAWLAK MEETS WITH POSTCOMMUNIST UNIONS. Polish Prime Minister
Waldemar Pawlak, two of his deputies: Marek Borowski (economy)
and Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz (social issues), and Labor Minister
Leszek Miller attended a meeting of the postcommunist National
Trade Union Alliance Council (OPZZ) on 22-November. The OPZZ
belongs to the Democratic Left Alliance, the senior partner in
the governing coalition. According to PAP, the unionists complained
that the government was taking decisions without consulting them
and demanded that it implement promises made during the election
campaign, in particular to raise pensions, increase wages for
public service employees, abolish the excess wages tax, and rid
state-owned enterprises of the debts they have incurred. Pawlak
promised the OPZZ to sign by the end of 1933 a "social agreement"
between the government and the unions, defining "the basic parameters
of the state's social and political policies." -Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka


CIMOSZEWICZ ON PERSONNEL CHANGES. Polish deputy prime minister
Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz told postcommunist union leaders at that
same meeting that the government had noticed "instances of disloyalty
to the government on the part of state officials," both among
the voivods and those representing Poland abroad. PAP said that
Cimoszewicz announced that appropriate measures would be taken,
including replacement of voivods who "did not meet the substantive
criteria." -Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka

POLISH ECONOMIC TRENDS CONTINUE. A deputy chairman of the Main
Statistical Office, Roman Sawinski, said at a press conference
on 22 November that the economic trends apparent in the Polish
economy over several months: stabilization of the labor market,
reduction in the rate of inflation, increase in industrial production,
and improvement in the profitability of animal farming had continued
in October and no radical departures were in sight. Sawinski,
as quoted by PAP, said consumer goods prices had risen by 2.1%
over the previous month's figure. Wages in the industrial sector
had risen by 3,3% in the same period. Real wages were up by 0.9%
relative to September but down by 1.8% in comparison with the
previous year. Production remained stable (up by 3.4% over last
year). Over the nine months of 1993 industrial enterprises were
showing profits of 2 zloty per 1000 zloty income, compared to
losses of 8 zloty last year. The budget deficit over the same
period amounted to 31.4 trillion zloty. -Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka


MUNICIPAL PILOT SCHEME REINSTATED. Head of the Council of Ministers
Office, Michal Strak, told Polish senators on 19 November that
the government would reinstate as of 1-December its predecessor's
pilot scheme to transfer administrative powers from the central
government to the 46 largest municipalities. The pilot scheme
was conceived as a prelude to the second stage of Poland's public
administration reform: the reintroduction of the powiat as an
intermediary territorial division. Strak halted the scheme on
the very next day after the new government was sworn in, "in
order to study it," as he later explained, although political
observers suggested that the Polish Peasant Party, to which Strak
belongs, is opposed to any decentralization of power. By that
time only 26 of the 46 municipalities eligible had managed to
complete the necessary formalities enabling them to take over
from the voivod responsibility for running secondary schools,
hospitals, health centers, some welfare institutions, libraries,
and theaters; supervising roads and building construction; and
issuing driving licenses. Strak was forced to yield by strong
protests from the remaining municipalities. -Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka


UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS IN PRAGUE. A delegation of the Ukrainian
parliament, headed by its Chairman Ivan Plyushch, began a three-day
visit to the Czech Republic, CTK reports on 22 November. The
delegation met with President Vaclav Havel, Premier Vaclav Klaus,
Parliament Chairman Milan Uhde, and a number of government members
to discuss Czech experiences with economic reform and their possible
application in Ukraine. Also on the agenda was a Ukrainian proposal
for the creation of a new collective security system in Europe.
CTK reported on 23 November that Plyushch explained Ukrainian
President Leonid Kravchuk's plan to Czech legislators. -Jan Obrman


HUNGARIAN VISIT TO SLOVAKIA DELAYED. Hungarian Foreign Minister
Geza Jeszenszky postponed an official visit to Slovakia scheduled
for this week during which the two countries were to have signed
several bilateral agreements. The Slovak foreign ministry issued
a statement on 22 November saying the visit was delayed because
of incomplete negotiations on the agreements to be signed, which
include a readmission agreement. On 20 November, however, Jeszenszky
said Hungary would not sign any agreements with Slovakia or Romania
until the rights of ethnic Hungarians living there are guaranteed.
His statement sparked controversy among Slovak officials and
political parties. On 22 November, Jozef Prokes, the newly appointed
deputy premier charged with Slovakia's integration into European
structures, said that since 1918 Slovakia has met the needs of
its minorities. That same day Anton Duris of the extraparliamentary
Democratic Party said Slovakia's minority policies fully comply
with European standards. On 21 November Slovak Foreign Minister
Jozef Moravcik said his country guarantees all minority rights
for ethnic Hungarians and that "there is no obstacle" to signing
a bilateral agreement on fundamental relations between the two
countries. Moravcik also said he supposes Jeszenszky's statement
is a component of his preelection campaign. Also on 21-November
Vojtech Bugar, chairman of the Hungarian Christian Democratic
Movement in Slovakia, said he sees no problem with Jeszenszky's
statement since the country promised to respect the rights of
minorities upon gaining membership in the Council of Europe in
June, TASR reports. -Sharon Fisher

HUNGARY PROBES SHOOTINGS DURING 1956 REVOLUTION. Frigyes Kahler,
a Justice Ministry official who heads a governmental historical
committee, told a press conference on 22 November that special
units killed over 1,000 people when they fired more than 50 salvos
into unarmed demonstrators between outbreak of the revolution
on 23 October and 28-December when last resistance ceased. The
committee, set up early this year to identify those responsible
for the death of demonstrators in 1956, found that in most cases
regional communist leaders and military commanders were responsible
for the shootings. The committee's report showed that the shootings
were more widespread and systematic than earlier thought. Justice
Minister Istvan Balsai is to submit the findings to the Chief
Public Prosecutor soon. This is the Hungarian government's latest
attempt to bring to justice communist officials responsible for
past crimes; earlier attempts were overruled by the Hungarian
Constitutional Court. -Edith Oltay

HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZED FOR STATEMENT ON MEDIA. On 22
November the parliamentary factions of the three-party ruling
coalition criticized President Arpad Goncz for stating in an
interview with the Italian daily La Stampa that the Hungarian
electronic media have become mouthpieces of the government, MTI
reports. Citing La Stampa's subtitle "The President is also Against
the Right-Wing Government: Let Europe Help," the factions said
in a joint letter to Goncz that the article damaged Hungary's
reputation and called on Goncz to distance himself from it. -Edith
Oltay

ROMANIAN CABINET MARKS ONE YEAR IN OFFICE. Speaking at a press
conference on 22-November, Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu admitted
that his government has failed to cut the yearly inflation rate
down to 70-80%, in keeping to a pledge made in its program. He
said that the rate might reach some 220-230%, adding that this
would have a serious impact on the government's program of social
security. Vacaroiu also admitted failures in restructuring and
privatization, but dismissed as "false" accusations by the opposition
that the reform process had come to a stand-still in Romania.
According to Vacaroiu, his cabinet's main success was in bringing
a four-year decline in industrial and agricultural production
to a halt. The prime minister claimed that industrial production
registered slight month-to-month increases beginning in April,
and predicted that the 1993 production will be 0.5-0.7% higher
than that of 1992. At a press conference on the same day, a spokesman
for the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic, one of the
main opposition forces in Romania, denounced the cabinet's performance
as totally unsatisfactory. -Dan Ionescu

BLIZZARD KILLS AT LEAST THREE IN ROMANIA. A blizzard and freezing
temperatures plunged much of Romania's transportation network
into chaos. Heavy snowfall up to 1 meter virtually cut off many
towns in south-eastern Romania and isolated mountain communities.
Army troops used heavy machinery to help clear roads in the Bucharest
area and elsewhere. Near the town of Buzau, soldiers had to rescue
a group of children from a stuck bus. Radio Bucharest reported
on 21 November that three persons were found frozen to death
on roads in the Calarasi and Dolj counties. Many trains were
delayed for hours, while some had to be canceled, leaving thousands
of travelers stranded throughout the country. Bucharest was largely
without running water because of freezing temperatures. According
to Romania's chief meteorologist, this has been the coldest November
in Romania since record-keeping began in the last century. Last
week temperatures hit as low as minus 17 Celsius. Bad weather
forced Croatian President Franjo Tudjman postpone an official
visit to Bucharest, scheduled to begin on 22 November. The visit
was meant to repay those by President Ion Iliescu to Croatia
in 1990 and 1993, but Vecernji list made it clear that the main
purpose of Tudjman's trip was to explore a possible Romanian
role in helping to end the conflict in the Yugoslav area. -Dan
Ionescu and Patrick Moore

LATVIA'S ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL FORCES. On 21 November several
groups in Latvia formed an organization, Latvia's Association
of National Forces, to support the citizenship laws proposed
by the Latvian National Independence Movement and the "For the
Fatherland and Freedom" faction, BNS reported on 22-November.
These laws would only recognize people who were Latvia's citizens
in June 1940 and their descendents as citizens and severely restrict
the naturalization process. The ruling coalition plans to present
a more liberal draft citizenship law to the parliament on 25
November. Believing that the Latvian population would support
their position, the association calls for holding a referendum
on the citizenship question. -Saulius Girnius

POPULARITY POLL IN LITHUANIA. A poll of 1,286 individuals conducted
by the Sociological Research Department of Lithuanian TV and
Radio on 1-7 November showed that parliament deputy chairman
Egidijus Bickauskas with a rating of +32.7 was the most popular
political figure, Lietuvos rytas reported on 19 November. Emigre
Valdas Adamkus was second (+29.6) and President Algirdas Brazauskas
third (+23.7). If new parliament elections were held, the Lithuanian
Democratic Labor Party would receive 11.7% (a drop of 3.8% from
September), the Homeland Union-6.1%, Center Union-3.1%, and Christian
Democratic Party-2.6% of the votes. 48.6% were undecided and
19.9% said that they would not vote. The parliament was viewed
favorably by 5.2% and unfavorably by 45.9%. -Saulius Girnius


JOINT BALTIC MILITARY FORCE. The chief military commanders of
Estonia (Maj. Gen. Aleksander Einseln), Latvia (Col. Dainis Turlais),
and Lithuania (Major General Jonas Andriskevicius) in talks in
Tallinn on 19-20 November decided to create a joint 650-man Baltic
battalion in 1994 that will be trained for UN peace-keeping operations,
BNS reported on 22 November. It was proposed that the battalion
would have a Lithuanian officer as commander, a Latvian as deputy
commander, and an Estonian as chief of staff. The leadership
would rotate once a year. English will be the working language
of the common force that still needs the approval of the three
countries' authorities. -Saulius Girnius

WORLD BANK LOAN TO BELARUS. The World Bank has agreed to extend
a $120 million loan to Belarus to be used towards instituting
economic reforms in the republic, Radiofakt reported on 22 November.
The bulk of the loan will be used to import goods necessary to
ease the transition to a market economy. -Ustina Markus

CFE REDUCTIONS IN UKRAINE. The press service of Ukraine's ministry
of defense announced that the second year of CFE reductions began
on 18 November in Ukraine. To date, over 160 military aircraft,
630 armored vehicles, and over 600-tanks have been taken out
of service. A further 400 tanks, almost 900 armored vehicles,
and close to 400 military aircraft are still to be taken out
of service, Ukrainian television reported on 19-November. -Ustina
Markus

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Elizabeth Teague and Jan B. de Weydenthal





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