No. 59, 25 March 1994

RUSSIA

SHOKHIN BECOMES DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER. Economics Minister Aleksandr
Shokhin, a moderate reformer, has been appointed to the post of
Deputy Prime Minister, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 March. He will now
become the chief architect of economic reform in the government of
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Shokhin belongs to the Party of
Russian Unity and Concord led by Sergei Shakhrai. He was formerly a
member of Egor Gaidars team of young academics which started market
reforms in Russia immediately after the breakup of the Soviet
Union. Later, however, Shokhin distanced himself from the team
because he rejected Gaidars focus on monetaristic reforms, favoring
a more socially-oriented economic policy. His appointment suggests
that Chernomyrdin wants to continue with reforms, although more
cautiously. Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.

SHOKHINS BLUEPRINT FOR 1994. At the weekly cabinet meeting on 24
March, Shokhin presented four options for future economic strategy,
prepared by his ministry, ITAR-TASS reported. The first provided
for a continuation of the current policy. The second featured a
strict monetary course leading to low inflation but a sharp drop in
output. The third envisaged a major shakeup, resulting in higher
inflation and financial imbalance. His own preference, the fourth,
settled for active economic stabilization, together with a
moderately strict monetary policy. This should yield, in 1994, a
fall in GNP of 8 percent; a drop of 12 percent in industrial
output; an unemployment rate of 5-6 percent, translating into about
3 million unemployed; an annual inflation rate of around 500
percent, with monthly inflation falling to 7-9 percent by the end
of the year. This fourth variant was approved. Keith Bush, RFE/RL
Inc.

SHOKHIN ON FOREIGN DEBT RESCHEDULING. Before his new appointment
was announced, Shokhin told Interfax on 23 March that he hopes for
a major restructuring of Russias foreign debt, which is believed to
total more than $80 billion. An estimated $28 billion of this
matures in 1994, and there is little prospect of much of this sum
being repaid this year. The agreement with the IMF should, in
Shokhins view, facilitate the restructuring. Shokhin also disclosed
at a news conference on 23 March that revenues in the current draft
of the federal budget for 1994 include foreign credits totalling
$2.1 billion. This figure presumably refers to the IMF second
tranche of $1.5 billion, and the World Bank rehabilitation deal
amounting to $600 million. Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.

PROPOSED REVAMP OF RUSSIAN BANKS. A high-ranking source in the
Ministry of Finance told Interfax on 23 March that the World Bank
and the EBRD are considering investing nearly $400 million to
improve the operation and technical modernization of selected
commercial banks in Russia. Successful candidates will have to
submit to annual audits by leading international accounting
companies. Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.

SAKHALIN OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS PROJECT. A consortium of Western
companies and the Russian government have agreed in principle to
develop a major deposit of oil and gas off the island of Sakhalin,
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on 24
March. The consortium includes Marathon Oil Company, The Royal
Dutch/Shell Group, McDermott International Inc., Mitsui & Co., and
Mitsubishi Corporation. Minister of Fuel and Energy Yurii Shafranik
told a news conference on 23 March that the deal could bring $10
billion in new investment and that, under the terms of the 25-year
production-sharing deal, Russia would receive more than 50 percent
of the profits. The contract has to be approved by the Russian
government and by members of the consortium. Work on the project
will commence only after Russias parliament has taken appropriate
action. This last proviso may refer to the provision of better
safeguards for foreign investment, improvements in contract law,
and, perhaps, a more benign tax regime. Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIA PROPOSES NORTH KOREA CONFERENCE. Deputy Foreign Minister
Vitalii Churkin on 24 March proposed that an international
conference be held to discuss the standoff on nuclear weapons
inspections in North Korea. Western press agencies reported that
the conference would include both North and South Korea, Japan,
Russia, the US, and representatives of the IAEA. Churkin proposed
discussing the issue of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula
(the US has already withdrawn its tactical weapons from South
Korea) as well as the inspection issue and security guarantees for
the two Koreas. The US response to the proposal was cool, with a
State Department spokesman noting that the UN remains the most
appropriate forum to solve this matter, according to AFP. John
Lepingwell, RFE/RL Inc.

NEW RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPING CONTINGENT INCLUDES MOSLEMS. Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Vitalii Churkin told reporters in Moscow on
24 March that 100 Russian peacekeepers would leave the next day for
Sarajevo, Interfax reported. Churkin said that the new contingent
included Moslems as well as Orthodox believers. This is a vivid
illustration of our unbiased position in this conflict. We reject
accusations of pro-Serb or any other position, he was quoted as
saying. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL Inc.

PLANS FOR WITHDRAWAL FROM KURILS DENIED . . . Interfax reported on
24 March that both a regional administration official from Sakhalin
and the command of the Far Eastern Military District have denied
receiving instructions ordering a withdrawal of military forces
from the disputed Kuril Islands. On 23 March the chairman of the
Dumas security committee, Viktor Ilyukhin, claimed that a secret
order had been issued for the withdrawal, and he linked it to a
planned return of the islands to Japan. According to General Viktor
Ovcharov, a full military withdrawal from the Kurils has never been
considered by the Far Eastern command; he estimated that such an
operation would take a year to carry out. Meanwhile, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Grigorii Karasin on 24 March said that, in any
event, the issue of reducing the number of troops on the islands is
an internal Russian affair and has never been linked by Moscow to
the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan. Stephen
Foye, RFE/RL Inc.

. . . BUT POLEMICS CONTINUE. Despite such denials, the Chairman of
the Duma Committee on Geopolitics, Viktor Ustinov, suggested that
the earlier withdrawal of an aviation unit from the islands
demonstrated that some politicians continue to pursue the aim of
playing the Kuril card and selling the islands to Japan. Ustinov,
who is a member of Vladimir Zhirinovskys Liberal Democratic Party,
also charged that, if the islands were transferred to Japan, there
would be no need for Russia to keep the Pacific Fleet because it
will have no access to the ocean. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL Inc.

RENEWED DUMPING OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES? In what could be another
blow to Japanese-Russian relations, an official of the Russian
maritime territory told Interfax on 24 March that Russia may resume
the dumping of low-level radioactive wastes into the Sea of Japan.
According to Evgenii Stomatyuk, a ban on dumping, imposed earlier
by the Russian government, was not accompanied by measures
necessary to assure the safe storage of such radioactive materials.
Stomatyuk declared that if the Russian government does not solve
the problem of storage and reprocessing, the local administration
may be forced to adopt an independent decision and resume the
dumping. The issue was first raised in October of last year
following Boris Yeltsins visit to Japan. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL Inc.

MISSILE TROOPS SHOOTING INCIDENT. A guard in the Strategic Rocket
Forces shot and killed his commanding officer and several other
servicemen on 10 March, according to a report by ITAR-TASS on 24
March. TASS attributed the report to the newspaper Altaiskaya
pravda, which claimed that the serviceman fired in the direction of
the missile installation. The shooting took place at a base near
Barnaul, probably the Aleysk SS-18 base. (The missiles would
therefore presumably all be in silos and safe from small-arms fire.
Another base in the region, near Novosibirsk, deploys more
vulnerable SS-25 mobile missiles.) The Russian military has not
confirmed the incident, which was reportedly covered up by the
local commander. John Lepingwell

RUSSIAN SUBS COLLIDE. Two Russian nuclear submarines collided with
each other on 23 March in the Barents Sea during exercises,
ITAR-TASS reported on 24 March. Damage to the vessels was
apparently light and there were no injuries. John Lepingwell,
RFE/RL Inc.

MORE ON THE OUSTER OF THE VLADIVOSTOK MAYOR. The special commission
of the State Duma set up to investigate the ouster of the first
democratically-elected mayor of Vladivostok completed its work on
24 March, Russian TV newscasts reported. The commission concluded
that the case could not be adjudicated by the local authorities and
called for greater involvement by the office of the Russian
Prosecutor-General and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The report
of the commission is to be sent to President Yeltsin. The
commission pointed out that it was not interested in the charge of
corruption that had served as a pretext to remove the mayor on 17
March, but only in the political fallout. The mayor of Vladivostok,
Viktor Cherepkov, was forced from his office by the police, who
were acting on behalf of the head of the Primorskii krai
administration, Evgenii Nazdratenko. Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

CANDIDATES FOR CONSTITUTIONAL COURT. According to Ostankino TVs
Novosti, the Third All-Russian Congress of Judges opened in Moscow
on 24 March. They were expected to recommend new members of the
Constitutional Court. There are now at least six vacancies and
another slot will be freed if former chairman Valerii Zorkin
resigns as expected. Over twenty names have been put forward by
various regional conferences of judges held earlier this year. The
Congress makes recommendations, but the final nominations are made
by the president and submitted for parliamentary approval. Julia
Wishnevsky

CIS

CIS MILITARY HOLDS EXERCISES NEAR TAJIK BORDER. Interfax and
Ostankino TV reported on 24 March that the CIS military command has
held its first set of joint exercises just a few kilometers from
Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. Russian Defense Minister Pavel
Grachev observed the exercises, which included a battalion from
Tajikistan, a company from Uzbekistan, and elements of Russias
201st motorized rifle division and border guards. According to
Interfax, the exercises mock attacker deployed attack aircraft,
tanks, and helicopters, and penetrated 15-20 kilometers into Tajik
territory. This description is surprising, since the primary threat
in the area is from Tajik rebels who do not have air and armor
support. Ostankino TV reports on the exercises showed only a small
force, and specifically dismissed suggestions that the exercise was
meant to intimidate Afghanistan. John Lepingwell

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

NEW FIGHTING IN ABKHAZIA. Contingents of Georgian troops invaded
Abkhaz territory in two places on 24 March and clashed with Abkhaz
forces, according to Abkhaz spokesmen quoted by Interfax and
ITAR-TASS. Two battalions of Georgian troops supported by a tank
and two armored vehicles crossed through the Kodori canyon into
Gulripsh raion, and a second contingent of 100 Georgians crossed
the frontier near the village of Otobaya. Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.

AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES UNITE. Five Azerbaijani opposition
parties, including the Azerbaijan Popular Front and the Musavat
Party, have joined forces to create the Democratic Congress bloc,
Interfax reported on 24 March. The blocs program identifies as its
top priorities the defense of Azerbaijans territorial integrity and
the establishment of a civil society founded on democratic
principles. Liz Fuller

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

BOSNIAN SERBS REJECT MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION. On 25 March Borba,
Politika, and Western media report on events which took place in
the assembly of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb republic on 24
March. After discussing the possibility of joining with the
Muslim-Croat federation, the representatives voted on and rejected
the idea outright. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stressed to
the assembly that it would simply be improper for Bosnian Serbs to
join with Muslims and Croats after two years of fighting. Following
the vote, the assembly produced a statement which was critical of
the manner in which the framework of the Muslim-Croat federation
was achieved, noting that the Bosnian Serb side had been shut out
of the process. Karadzic did, however, suggest that the refusal to
join the federation would not necessarily preclude the possibility
of establishing ties or relations with it. The Bosnian Serb leader
stressed that the goal for Bosnian Serbs would be to join with the
rump Yugoslavia, while the assembly also endorsed the notion of
refraining from negotiations designed to conclude a general
cease-fire for Bosnia until such time as the sanctions imposed
against the rump Yugoslavia are lifted. Stan Markotich, RFE/RL Inc.

TURKISH PEACE KEEPERS FOR BOSNIA MET WITH OPPOSITION. On 24 March
Reuters reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin has
announced, during his visit to Romania, that Turkey would send a
total of 2,700 peace keepers to Bosnia. The Turkish contingent
would reportedly consist of 1,200 infantrymen, 500 engineers, and a
logistics team of 1,000. Paving the way for the arrival of the
Turkish peace keepers is a UN Security Council decision of 23
March, accepting the Turkish offer of peace keepers. Yet the
presence of the Turkish forces may continue to generate opposition.
To date, Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev has cautioned the UN
against sending Turkish troops to Bosnia. According to Bulgarian
Radio on 24 March, Zhelev has repeated his fear that the sending of
Turkish troops to Bosnia may reactivate regional disputes grounded
in historical experiences, and lead to an intensifying rather than
a calming of tensions. Zhelev has reportedly outlined his position
in full to UN Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali in a letter. Earlier,
Athens articulated its opposition to the sending of the peace
keepers, and recently has thought of offering its own soldiers for
peacekeeping duties, Reuters reported on 24 March. Meanwhile, on 25
March Borba reports that Radovan Karadzic continues to voice his
opposition to the Turkish peace keepers, and has reportedly said
that if the Turkish forces are deployed, the Bosnian Serb side will
feel compelled to ask for the presence of the rump Yugoslav army.
In other news, both AFP and Reuters reported on 24 March that
Russia expects to send another 100 soldiers to Sarajevo on 25
March. Stan Markotich, RFE/RL Inc.

CZECH JEWS PROTEST RESTITUTION LAW SETBACK. On 24 March spokesmen
for Jewish organizations in the Czech Republic reacted bitterly to
the Czech governments decision on 23 March to turn down a draft law
providing for the return of Jewish property confiscated by Nazi
Germany and retained by Czechoslovakias communist governments,
Czech and international media report. In February, the Czech
parliament rejected another draft law, following last-minute
amendments by Prime Minister Vaclav Klauss Civic Democratic Party
restricting the scope of restitution--changes unacceptable to the
CDPs coalition allies. Following the February vote, Klauss
government promised to decree the return of all Jewish property
owned currently by the state but said it could only plead with
municipalities to return the Jewish property that had been
transferred to them. The latest draft law was reportedly
unacceptable to the government because it could set a precedent for
returning property confiscated before the communist putsch on 25
February 1948. Following the government decision, a spokesman for
Jewish organizations said: The government and parliament do not
want us. They simply do not want to return the property and they
are doing everything possible to prevent it. Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.

OFFICIALS OF SLOVAKIAS AUDITING OFFICE RECALLED. On 24 March, the
Slovak Parliament voted out of office the chairman and the
vice-chairman of the Highest Auditing Office, Marian Vanko and
Peter Sokol, respectively. The vote was preceded by a heated
debate, during which the recently ousted government of Vladimir
Meciar was accused of having misused the Highest Auditing Office
for its political objectives. Slovak media report that the
parliament also elected Marian Jusko as new vice-governor of the
Slovak National Bank. Jusko will replace Marian Tkac who was ousted
on 23 March. Several thousand Meciar supporters demonstrated in
Bratislava on 24 March against what they termed purges by the new
ruling coalition. Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.

SLOVAK DEFENSE MINISTER IN ISRAEL. Pavol Kanis arrived in Israel on
23 March on a three-day visit. He is to meet Israeli Defense
Minister Itzak Rabin and Foreign Minister Simon Peres. Slovak media
report that the trip was prepared by the recently ousted Meciar
government; it is the first official visit by a Slovak defense
minister to Israel. Kanis is to discuss mainly arms production
cooperation. Some observers have suggested that the talks will
focus on possible assistance by Israel in making Slovakias
Russian-made MIG-29 fighter planes compatible with those of NATO.
Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.

HUNGARIAN WEEKLY FINED. On 24 March the Budapest Central District
Court found the chief editor of Heti Szuper Pszt! guilty of
publicly offending an official and ordered that he pay a fine of
75,000 forint ($750), MTI reports. According to the court, the 7
August 1992 issue of the magazine tarnished Foreign Minister Geza
Jeszenszkys reputation and offended his human dignity by publishing
an article with the title Jeszenszky was a Double Spy?! The court
pointed out that the freedom of the media could not be interpreted
as a right to be licentious. The court ruled that the 38,000 copies
of the magazine with the offending article which had been seized be
confiscated. It was then Interior Minister Peter Boross who had
filed in the name of the government the charges against the gossip
weekly. Edith Oltay, RFE/RL Inc.

CONTROVERSY OVER ROMANIAN MINISTERS OUSTER CONTINUES. On 24 March
an RFE/RL correspondent in Bucharest reported new developments in
the controversy over the recent replacement of Defense Minister Lt.
Gen. Nicolae Spiroiu. The report quoted Alexandru Nicolae, a deputy
for the opposition Democratic Party-National Salvation Front, as
saying that Spiroiu had favored buying Western and Israeli military
equipment. Nicolae also said that the ministers ouster was forced
by those who wanted Romania to buy Russian equipment. Nicolae is a
member of a parliamentary panel investigating Spiroius role in arms
purchases. A spokesman for the Defense Minister announced on the
same day that Spiroiu had been appointed an adviser to his
successor, Gheorghe Tinca. Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.

POLL SAYS ILIESCU WOULD LOSE NEXT ELECTIONS. A recent poll by the
Romanian independent polling institute IRSOP shows that President
Ion Iliescus popularity has slumped because of plummeting living
standards. According to a Reuters report from Bucharest, the
centrist Democratic Convention would beat Iliescu and his Party of
Social Democracy in Romania in new presidential and general
elections. The IRSOP results, released on 24 March, mark a dramatic
public opinion shift. Iliescu has led Romania since the end of
Nicolae Ceausescus regime in December 1989. Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL
Inc.

ROMANIAN LAWYERS CONTINUE PROTESTS. Several hundred lawyers in a
number of Romanian counties, including Iasi, Suceava and Mehedinti,
continue to boycott the countrys legal system in an attempt to
obtain legalization of private practices. The lawyers, who refuse
to sign arrest warrants and attend trials, accuse the Chamber of
Deputies of dragging its feet over legislation to permit them to
open private law offices, which had been forbidden under the
Communists. The chairman of the parliaments legal commission
rejected the charges, saying that the lawyers had been misinformed
by the leadership of their national association. The Ministry of
Justice also denounced the strike as detrimental to the citizens
interests. Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.

KRAVCHUK ATTENDS MILITARY EXERCISES. On 23 March the
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, President Leonid
Kravchuk, and Defense Minister Vitalii Radetsky attended military
exercises in the Lviv training center of the Carpathian military
district, Ukrainian radio reported. The exercises were also
attended by the military attaches of foreign embassies accredited
to Ukraine. Following the exercises Kravchuk answered a number of
questions posed by journalists. He stressed that the state would do
everything possible to provide the armed forces with adequate
equipment and training, as well as providing for the daily needs of
servicemen and their families. Some 1,700 servicemen from motorized
infantry regiments participated in the exercise, as well as a
number of auxiliary units. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL Inc.

MORE ON RUSSIAN-BELARUSIAN MONETARY UNION. It appears the
optimistic statement by Belarusian government spokesman Uladzimir
Zamyatalin on 23 March that an agreement on monetary union between
Russia and Belarus on terms favorable to Belarus would soon be
signed was premature. The agreement is now being debated by the
RussianDuma and the terms announced by Zamyatalin have not been
favorably received in Moscow (see RFE/RL Daily Report of 24 March).
ITAR-TASS reported on 24 March that the Russian deputy minister of
economics, Sergei Ignyatev, said that a monetary union between the
two countries cannot take place on equal terms for the two.
According to Ignyatev, the official currency (the Russian ruble)
can only have one master. Belarus would therefore have to
voluntarily cede sovereignty over its monetary and credit policy,
as well as its overall economic policy. He also said that Belarus
would have to give up some political sovereignty. Ustina Markus,
RFE/RL Inc.

LUKASHENKA CHARGES CORRUPTION IN BELARUS. Interfax reported on 24
March that the head of the Belarusian parliaments interim
anti-corruption commission, Aleksandr Lukashenka, intends to
announce a list on 29 March of the top 50 state officials who have
abused their positions and broken the law. Among them are deputy
premiers Mikola Kastikau and Stanislau Bril, the foreign minister
Piotr Krauchanka, defense minister Paval Kazlouski, foreign
economic relations minister Uladzimir Radkevich, and the chairman
of the national bank Stanislau Bahdankevich. Kastikau is a close
associate of the prime minister, Vyacheslau Kebich. According to
Lukashenka, abuses in the top echelons of power have been done with
Kebichs consent, and if Kebich fails to become president, he and
many of his teammates will have to go to prison. Lukashenka
reportedly gained some popularity after he charged the former
chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Stanislau Shushkevich, with
corruption which led to his removal from office and it has been
reported that Lukashenka intends to run for the presidency himself
in the coming elections. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL Inc.

BELARUSIAN MAJORITY FAVORS RESTORATION OF USSR. An opinion poll
conducted by the Independent Institute of Socioeconomic and
Political Research jointly with the International Center for
Promoting Entrepreneurship (a US organization), reported that over
55% of Belarusian citizens favor the restoration of the USSR, 22.3%
were opposed to the idea, and 22.6% were undecided, Interfax
reported on 21 March. The survey was taken in November-December
1993. Of the 1,148 respondents some 63.3% said Belarus and Russia
should form a single state, while 17.9% opposed the idea. On the
question of language, 65.5% said Russian should be given the status
of the second national language in Belarus, while 19.9% opposed the
prospect. About 41% of the respondents stated that Belarus was best
suited for socialism, while 31.6% supported capitalism. On the
question of market economy, 54.1% favored the market, while 43%
preferred a planned economy. The polls error margin was reportedly
5%. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL Inc.

LITHUANIA SENDS TWO DELEGATIONS TO KALININGRAD. On 24 March
Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladislovas Domarkas traveled to
Kaliningrad to discuss terms of transit by car and rail through
Lithuania for Kaliningrad residents, Radio Lithuania reports.
Kaliningrad Oblast administrator Yurii Matochkin told Prime
Minister Adolfas Slezevicius in Vilnius on 23 March that the region
was technically unprepared to issue the passport inserts needed for
travel to Lithuania and urged at least a three month postponement
in the implementation of the transit rules. Another delegation from
the Construction and Urban Planning Ministry also went to
Kaliningrad to discuss with local officials the continued building
of apartments for military personnel after the detention of the
president of the association that was constructing them. Saulius
Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIA GIVES ESTONIA LISTS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL IN PALDISKI. On 24
March, after long delays, the Russian garrison in Paldiski finally
gave Estonia a list of 891 military personnel living and working in
the town, BNS reports. About 600 of them should be required to
leave Estonia by 31 August while the rest are specialists sent to
help with the dismantling of the two nuclear reactors at the base.
Registration of Paldiski residents will last until 26 March and
they will be given special stamps in their passports to allow free
passage through Paldiski during the dismantling. Saulius Girnius,
RFE/RL Inc.

FOURTH ROUND OF PRIVATIZATION SALES IN ESTONIA. On 24 March the
Estonian Privatization Agency published in the Estonian and
international press a list of 49 large companies that would be
privatized, BNS reports. Bids for the companies that include 14
forestry and woodworking firms, four transport companies including
Estonias largest bus company, RAS Motor, six bakeries, and four
fuel depots would be accepted until 26 May. The turnover of the
companies range from a few million to 98 million kroons.
Differences from the previous rounds include the possibility of
accepting lower bids if proposing higher investments, the state
retaining part of the properties for possible future public sale of
shares, and allowing Estonian capital to pay by installments at a
15% annual interest rate. Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIAN ARMY OWES LATVIA $17 MILLION. The Latvian Control Office
for Russian army withdrawal announced that the army owes Latvia
9,865,000 lats ($17 million) for electricity, different taxes and
services, BNS reported on 24 March. It noted that there were nearly
7,000 Russian troops in Latvia, organized into 190 units stationed
at 242 military sites. The offices head, Ilgonis Upmalis, told a
press conference that the Russian army had disbanded 400 units in
Latvia without informing the Latvian authorities whether the units
officers and their families had left the republic or still
remained. He also noted that the Russian Northwest Army Unit
refused to make known its withdrawal schedule, making it unilateral
without any consideration for Latvian interests. Saulius Girnius,
RFE/RL Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Keith Bush and Stan Markotich
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