![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||
Истиной дружбой могут быть связаны только те люди, которые умеют прощать друг другу мелкие недостатки. - Жан де Лабрюйер | |||||||||||||||||||
![]() No. 154, 16 August 1994RUSSIA SITUATION IN CHECHNYA. On 12 August the chief of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's administration, Sergei Filatov, reiterated that Russia did not intend to use force to solve the current crisis in Chechnya, Interfax reported. The same day the Russian government also issued a statement with the same promise; and on 15 August Yeltsin said problems in Chechnya could not be solved by means of war. On 14 August Russian Television reported that only one small unit of Russian Interior Ministry troops was located near Chechnya (in Kursk raion of Stavropol Krai). The report quoted a unit commander as saying there had been no assignments for ensuring order on the Chechen border. In their statements, Filatov and Yeltsin reiterated Moscow's support for the opposition Provisional Council in Chechnya which demands Dudaev's ouster. The Chechen government has accused Russia of sending combat helicopters and arms to the Chechen opposition. Meanwhile, a military mobilization ordered last week by Dudaev had been completed on 15 August, according to the Chechen information ministry. Chechnya's self-described Foreign Minister, Shamseddin Yusef, told Interfax on 13 August that two Afghan Mujahideen leaders had promised to send to Chechnya as many as 100,000 irregulars to fight against Russia. In turn, the Provisional Council said it was also mobilizing volunteers and buying arms for its defense against any attacks by Chechen government forces in the Nadterechnyi raion, where the council has its headquarters. On 15 August Chechen officials said a series of mines blew up in front of the prosecutor's office, the civil defense headquarters and a theater in Groznyi, ITAR-TASS reported. In the same report, the agency quoted President Dudaev as saying Chechnya would seek to have Russia's membership in the UN Security Council suspended because of Russia's actions in the Caucasus. Vera Tolz, RFE/RL, Inc. YELTSIN LAUDS NEMTSOV AS POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR. Interviewed by "Vesti's" correspondent in Nizhnii Novgorod on 13 August, Yeltsin said that the region's governor, Boris Nemtsov, has become so mature during more than two years in office that he "could aspire to become [Russian] president." Yeltsin is on record as having said a few years ago that he would not run for a second term in the 1996 presidential elections, and some of his close associates, including Gennadii Burbulis, have urged the president to choose a successor. The 34-year-old Nemtsov has gained an international reputation for the fast pace of reform in Nizhnii Novgorod Oblast; the region's reform program was authored by liberal economist Grigorii Yavlinsky. Unlike the overwhelming majority of democratic leaders in contemporary Russia, Nemtsov has never been a member of the communist party. He also differs from most of Russia's other reformers in his ability to engineer compromises among various social groups in his domain without provoking the sorts of antagonisms that could provoke violent confrontation or necessitate the use of legally dubious means of suppression. Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL, Inc. DESPITE PROTESTS, MAVRODI CHARGED WITH TAX VIOLATIONS. MMM president Sergei Mavrodi was formally charged on 15 August with concealing income from--and a failure to pay taxes on--the substantial profits earned by his firm, Invest-Consulting. He was also charged with hindering the investigation into the firm's activities, Russian TV newscasts reported. The charges were filed by representatives of the office of the Moscow state prosecutor in the presence of Mavrodi and his two defense lawyers. Meanwhile, the newscasts added, MMM shareholders continued their campaign for Mavrodi's release and started collecting the one million signatures necessary to call a referendum on resignation of the Russian government. Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL, Inc. ROW OVER LATEST CASE OF NUCLEAR SMUGGLING. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said on German television on 14 August that he is deeply concerned over the seizure in Munich of a large quantity of weapons-grade plutonium originating from Russia, and that he intended to send his adviser for national security, Bernd Schmidbauer, to Moscow for talks on the matter with Yeltsin. According to the latest report from the Bavarian Internal Ministry, at about 4 kilograms the confiscated plutonium is the largest amount ever discovered in private hands. The plutonium was detected in the luggage of two Spaniards and a Colombian arriving from Moscow (on the same plane, ironically, as the Russian deputy minister for atomic energy, Viktor Sidorenko). A spokesman for the ministry, Georgii Kaurov, denied that the plutonium had originated in Russia, claiming that "no leak of weapons-grade from [the ministry's] installations" had been detected. He also denied that German authorities have "proof" of the plutonium's alleged origins. In May and July, however, German authorities had already confiscated a small amount of enriched uranium and established that it originated in Russia's nuclear sector. According to German security sources, the nuclear smuggling is made possible by cooperation between corrupt Russian officials, researchers, and criminal networks. Victor Yasmann, RFE/RL, Inc. TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA OPPOSITION CHALLENGE TO SHEVARDNADZE PETERS OUT. The emergency session of the Georgian parliament scheduled for 12 August at the insistence of the radical opposition with the aim of forcing Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation as parliament chairman and head of state failed to take place, Interfax and AFP reported, as only 80 of the 224 deputies were present, while 118 were needed for a quorum. Parliament speaker Vakhtang Goguadze told Interfax that the debate will be postponed until parliament reconvenes in September, and that meanwhile the opposition had agreed to maintain "a stable political situation" in the country. Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc. AZERBAIJAN SCHEDULES NEW PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. Over a year after the ouster of Abulfaz Elchibey and the advent to power in Azerbaijan of Heidar Aliev, relations between the Aliev leadership and the opposition have mellowed to the point where the former have set a date for new parliamentary elections. Rasul Guliev, speaker of the existing rump parliament, which consists of a few dozen of the 350 deputies elected in September, 1990, told Interfax on 15 August that an election law will be published next month for nation-wide discussion and that elections to the new parliament will be held in June or July, 1995. Also on 15 August, in an interview with Interfax from his place of exile in Nakhichevan, Elchibey claimed that the Azerbaijani authorities were planning to assassinate him; the Nakhichevan Interior Minister denied the allegation. Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc. KARABAKH MEDIATION UPDATE. Despite recent predictions by high-level Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian officials that a formal settlement of the Karabakh conflict could be signed by the end of this month, a first round of talks in Moscow ended on 13 August with failure to agree on many fundamental points, Interfax reported. Specifically, Azerbaijan has reportedly retreated from its earlier readiness to acknowledge the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as a party to the conflict, and insists that negotiations on the future status of the enclave can begin only after the withdrawal of Armenian troops from all occupied Azerbaijani territory. Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh endorsed their previous acceptance of international (predominantly Russian) peacekeeping forces, but a senior Russian diplomat argued that this would require a mandate from the UN. Talks are scheduled to resume on 23 or 24 August. Meanwhile the opposition Azerbaijani Democratic Congress continues to reject the participation of Russia in the negotiating process. Meeting in Baku on 15 August with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Hasan Hasanov, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati again called for the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territory, Interfax reported. Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc. JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN TAJIKISTAN. Tajik journalist Muhammadrahim Saidar was arrested by police in Dushanbe on 11 August on a charge of having distributed the outlawed opposition newspaper Charogi ruz, Interfax reported on 15 August. Saidar was the second journalist to be arrested on this charge--Maksud Huseinov, a correspondent employed by the parliamentary daily Sadoi mardum, was arrested on 9 August. Charogi ruz, one of the most important independent publications in Dushanbe between 1990 and 1992, has been published in Russia and smuggled into Tajikistan since May 1993, after its employees fled Tajikistan to escape arrest by the present regime in Dushanbe. Charogi ruz's chief editor, Dodojon Avatullo, pointed out to Interfax that arresting persons for distributing the newspaper is technically illegal, because the publication has never been closed down officially. Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc. CIS YELTSIN QUESTIONING TROOP AGREEMENT WITH MOLDOVA? Interviewed by Interfax on 15 August while touring Volga cities, Yeltsin praised the 14th Army and its commander, Lt.-General Aleksandr Lebed, personally for allegedly "defusing the conflict and halting violence" in 1992 and for "controlling the situation" in Transdniester since. Yeltsin warned against "any hasty actions or decisions" that would increase tensions in the region. "This would be totally out of line with Russia's interests. The price would be too high," he said. Last week, Russia's Ministry of Defense had announced steps to reduce the 14th Army in personnel and status and to ease out its controversial commander following his latest inflammatory political statements; and on 10 August Russia and Moldova initialed an agreement for the Army's withdrawal within three years under certain conditions. Yeltsin's statement in effect supports Lebed against the Ministry of Defense. Lebed has more than once criticized Yeltsin publicly and acerbically, most recently terming him "a minus." Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL, Inc. LEBED CHALLENGES DECISIONS. Lebed for his part has returned from leave to Tiraspol not to "collect his belongings" as predicted in the Russian press, but to resume command of the 14th Army. At a news conference on 14 August, reported by Basapress, Lebed argued at great length that the "Dniester republic" authorities would seize arms and ammunition from the 14th Army in the event of its numerical reduction or insufficiently prepared withdrawal. Lebed described the directive to restructure his army (and relieve him of command in the process) as "guaranteed to destabilize the situation" and as "a crime," and warned that he would rather leave the armed forces than obey it. He claimed that Russia's Foreign Ministry and Federal Counterintelligence Service had been "thrown into a state of shock" by the directive. Exonerating the Land Forces Command (which had actually announced it) and the General Staff of responsibility for the directive, Lebed blamed it on the circle of his former protector, Defense Minister Pavel Grachev, and challenged him to withdraw it. Lebed also warned unnamed "mad dog politicians on both banks of the Dniester" against starting a war. Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL, Inc. OBJECTIONS MOSTLY TECHNICAL. Interviewed by Interfax on 15 August, Lebed stressed that even if the Army is disbanded, the command must be the last, not the first to go; and that before any restructuring of the army, its personnel must be guaranteed social protection and housing in Russia. Despite their vitriolic tone, Lebed's objections to the measures affecting the 14th Army are mostly technical, even when stressing security of arms depots against seizure by the Army's former proteges in Tiraspol. Thus far neither Lebed nor like-minded figures in Moscow have invoked Russian geopolitical interests, a special "peacekeeping" role, or the fate of ethnic Russians in Moldova as arguments against the proposed restructuring and subsequent withdrawal of the 14th Army. No political backlash has yet developed in Russia against the agreement on the Army's withdrawal. Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL, Inc. CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE BOSNIAN SERBS AGAIN REJECT PEACE PLAN. International media reported on 13 August that Radovan Karadzic has again turned down the latest partition proposal for that embattled republic. His parliamentary speaker, Momcilo Krajisnik, said the Bosnian Serbs were ready for a long, hard struggle. Karadzic told the BBC on 15 August that his people had ample reserves of fuel and other resources, adding that they also had money and "with money you can get everything." The Washington Post on 14 August suggested that "the evidence is clear that the blockade [imposed by Belgrade against the Bosnian Serbs] is not exactly watertight." What remains uncertain is whether Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has been truthful about his intentions to impose a blockade, or whether he has simply been unable to make his orders stick. Reuters reported on 15 August that Milosevic has rejected a plan to station international monitors along the Drina border with Bosnia. Patrick Moore, RFE/RL, Inc. WHERE IS GENERAL MLADIC? Several articles in the 16 August issue of Borba focus on the silence of the Bosnian Serb commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic. The normally loquacious and politically shrewd officer has yet to take a public stand in the feuding between Milosevic and Karadzic, and rumors have been rife as to his whereabouts, goals and intentions. Meanwhile on the ground in Bosnia, a Muslim-Serb agreement to stop sniping in Sarajevo seems to have been less than fully effective when it came into effect on 15 August, but international media report that talks are continuing to revive it. Patrick Moore, RFE/RL, Inc. CROATIAN UPDATE. Hina reported on 12 August that blockades of UNPROFOR posts by Croatian civilians have ended and that the roads in question are now controlled by Croatian police. The protests began earlier this summer as refugees from the Serb-held areas sought to pressure UNPROFOR to help them safely resettle in their former homes in keeping with its mandate. While the displaced persons are by all accounts desperate, some observers saw the hand of the Croatian authorities at work, both to deflect the anger of the refugees away from Zagreb and to put pressure on the UN. The protest also served the purpose of diverting attention from the ongoing parliamentary crisis. Meanwhile, on the island resort of Brijuni, President Franjo Tudjman received a number of diplomats over the weekend, Zagreb dailies reported. Rumors had been flying that the president was ill following the cancellation of his regular monthly press conference. A meeting of Tudjman and Milosevic, however, has failed to materialize. It was widely predicted for last week by the Belgrade press. Patrick Moore, RFE/RL, Inc. UPDATE ON ALBANIAN TRIAL. The trial against five ethnic Greeks in the Albanian capital continues to breed tensions between Tirana and Athens. On 15 August police dissolved a demonstration in support of the defendants, who are all members of the Greek minority Omonia organization. Several visiting Greek journalists were arrested in the incident, and Athens immediately lodged a strong protest with Albanian authorities. In Tirana, however, the Ministry for Public Order responded that the reporters had been obstructing justice but nevertheless were released after two hours. Meanwhile in the courtroom, the prosecution demanded that the defendants be charged with spying and, in three cases, with illegal possession of arms, while unexpectedly dropping treason charges. Western agencies quote lawyers as noting that a conviction might still lead to capital punishment. Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc. GLEMP APPEALS TO SEJM. On 15 August Poland celebrated the Feast of the Assumption as both a religious and state holiday. The feast is once again remembered as Polish Army Day, in commemoration of the 1920 "miracle on the Vistula," when Polish forces stopped the Soviet army's westward advance. State and government officials were present at various religious-patriotic events throughout the country. President Lech Walesa, along with several thousand pilgrims, attended a Mass celebrated by Primate Jozef Glemp at the Jasna Gora shrine. Speaking of modern-day threats to Poland, Glemp appealed to Polish parliamentarians to support the president's veto of new provisions liberalizing abortion, Polish TV reports. Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka, RFE/RL, Inc. WALESA: MORE MONEY FOR MILITARY. Walesa then flew to Bydgoszcz for a second Mass, which was attended by senior defense officials and ranking military staff and was celebrated by the chief military chaplain, Bishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz. Addressing the officers, Walesa said national security demanded a state of readiness. In this connection, he expressed concern about the army's difficult economic situation and pledged to do his utmost to remedy it. "It must be changed, even at the cost of sacrifices in other areas of [public] life," he said. PAP reported on 15 August that this was hailed by the military as a promise of more financial support. Walesa later told journalists that the army and the police were the best organized and most competent forces in the country, and--unlike Poland's still weak pluralistic political forces--should be seen as Poland's supporting "pillars." Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka, RFE/RL, Inc. LEPPER ARRESTED. The leader of the radical Self-Defense Farmers' Union, Andrzej Lepper, was taken into custody on 13 August for a period of one month. PAP reports that Lepper was detained after questioning in connection with the beating up of Antoni Chodorowski, who had been appointed by the court to manage a farm in foreclosure. The incident, which took place on 29 July in Kobylnica, was the latest in a series of attacks by Self-Defense militants. A Self-Defense spokesman told PAP on 14 August that his organization considered Lepper's detention as proof that the "police and prosecution authorities are being used against the political opposition." Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka, RFE/RL, Inc. CZECH REPUBLIC WELCOMES VIETNAMESE WORKERS. CTK reported on 12 August that under an agreement between the Czech Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Vietnamese Labor Ministry, about 3,000 Vietnamese will go to work in the Czech Republic. Thousands of Vietnamese worked in former Czechoslovakia under 14-year contracts, but most of them returned to Vietnam in 1991 after Czechoslovakia and Vietnam had signed an agreement for the gradual return to Vietnam of more than 17,000 Vietnamese workers. There were 574 work permits for Vietnamese nationals registered in the Czech Republic at the end of 1993. Czech authorities have not explained why thousands of Vietnamese will again be allowed to work in the Czech Republic; it is known, however, that the country suffers from labor shortages. Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc. SLOVAK CONTROVERSY OVER PRIVATIZATION. On 12 August the Slovak parliament's Economic and Budget Committee approved a list of 632 state firms worth 262.9 billion koruny for privatization, of which 51.3 billion koruny is slated for the coupon method, TASR reported. Still, controversy over several issues has created tensions within the governing coalition. The major issue concerns the referendum, scheduled for 22 October, which will allow the population to decide whether the parliament should pass a law requiring participants in privatization to disclose the source of their funds. Claiming it would cost about 65 million koruny, Premier Jozef Moravcik announced on Slovak Radio on 12 August that the cabinet will examine ways to avoid the referendum; he said the funds would be better spent on pensions, health care or education. Seen as a way of attracting votes to the parties which supported it, the referendum would force voters to go to the polls three times this fall: for early parliamentary elections, for the referendum and for local elections. Another controversy has centered on the decision of the National Property Fund (FNM) to sell its shares of five of Slovakia's biggest firms through direct sales. Although this method has been attacked by the Christian Democratic Movement, it was approved by the coalition council, as it could raise as much as 16.5 billion koruny for the FNM, Pravda reported on 12 August. The issue of direct sales, along with proposals for the privatization of the power and gas industries and legislation governing the capital market, is expected to be discussed by the parliament on 17 August. Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL, Inc. HUNGARIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS UKRAINIAN, YUGOSLAV COUNTERPARTS. Gyorgy Keleti met on 13 August in Mukacheve, Transcarpathia, with Ukrainian Defense Minister Vitalii Radetsky, MTI reported on 14 August. Hungary, in need of more modern arms and equipment but short of money, would like to barter food and pharmaceuticals for Ukrainian tanks, armored carriers, and radar equipment. Ukraine would provide some of the items it must destroy under the Paris CFE Treaty to replace older items which Hungary would destroy to stay within the limits set by the same treaty. Keleti also met in Belgrade on 14 August with his Yugoslav counterpart Pavle Bulatovic to discuss bilateral military relations and the situation of the ethnic Magyars in Vojvodina drafted in the Yugoslav Army. Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc. STRIFE AMONG TRANSCARPATHIA'S ETHNIC MAGYARS. A second ethnic association, the Hungarian Alliance of the Bereh Region, has been set up by 17 dissenting local branches of the Hungarian Cultural Alliance of Subcarpathia (HCAS) in western Ukraine, MTI announced on 12 August. HCAS Secretary Laszlo Brenzovics said the Beregszasz (Berehove) raion Magyars, who make up 78% of the local population, want to create an autonomous district while other inhabitants would be content with cultural autonomy. In the latest Ukrainian elections, HCAS was unable to elect a single deputy to the Ukrainian parliament, which opposes autonomy status, but managed to elect three members to the oblast council and local councils. Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc. MAX VAN DER STOEL IN ROMANIA. CSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel began a four-day visit to Romania on 14 August, Radio Bucharest reports. Van der Stoel discussed minority issues with Justice Minister Gavril Chiuzbaian and secretary general of the Romanian government in charge with ethnic minorities, Viorel Hrebenciuc. He also met with representatives of various ethnic groups in Romania, including the country's large Hungarian minority. The leaders of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania complained about problems facing Romania's Magyar minority, including alleged discrimination through a new education law, recently adopted by the parliament. Van der Stoel is expected to meet Romanian Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu and other senior officials, as well as HDFR leaders in Cluj. Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc. BULGARIAN FORMER "FRONT" ORGANIZATION LAUNCHES PARTY. The successor entity of the communist-era Fatherland Front, the Fatherland Union, is apparently seeking to reenter the political stage. At a press conference on 12 August, the FU leadership announced that it has founded a political party--the Union of the Fatherland. Speaking to journalists, FU chairman and designated party leader Ginyu Ganev said the chief aim is to "promote political tolerance" and, if possible, help dismantle Bulgaria's "bipolar" political model as represented by the dual domination of the Union of Democratic Forces and the Bulgarian Socialist Party. While the FU continues to control significant financial resources, Ganev acknowledged that it has only a few hundred registered members today. Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc. UKRAINE TO HOLD TALKS WITH GAZPROM. On 15 August Reuters reported that a delegation from the Russian gas enterprise, Gazprom, is to arrive in Kiev on 16 August for talks on Ukraine's gas debt. Last week Gazprom threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine by 1 September if the country did not settle its bill, which allegedly totals over 2 trillion rubles ($950 million). Gazprom had cut gas supplies to Ukraine in March, but restored them after Kiev agreed to a payment plan which included giving Gazprom shares in its national gas distributor Ukrhaz, signing over gas transport and storage facilities and building housing for Russian workers in exchange for its debt. So far, however, neither Ukraine's gas distributor or facilities have been privatized, and the construction of the promised housing has not begun. Since 90% of Russian gas exports to Western Europe pass through Ukraine, Gazprom is not eager to completely cut off supplies, as this would halt the flow of gas to the West and thus deprive the company of its hard currency earnings. During the March cut offs, Ukraine was accused of siphoning gas from the pipelines meant for Western Europe. Ukrainian enterprises owe the state oil and gas committee 14.6 trillion karbovantsy ($320 million) for gas, and it does not appear that the state has an effective mechanism for collecting the debt. Even these figures do not reflect the true price of the gas used by Ukrainian firms, however, as the government has continued to heavily subsidize energy costs. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL, Inc. US AID TO UKRAINE, BELARUS, MOLDOVA. US President Bill Clinton has named Glen Hutchins as head of a fund for enterprises of the western CIS states (Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova), Ukrainian Radio reported on 12 August. The fund is meant to help develop the private sector in CIS countries. Over the next 3-4 years the US will contribute $150 million to the fund, which will use the money to give credits and technical assistance to new private companies. In particular, support will be given to small enterprises. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL, Inc. ECONOMIC NEWS FROM BELARUS. The cabinet and the National Bank have decided to lower the denomination of the Belarusian ruble by 10 times, Belarusian TV reported on 12 August. The measure will take effect on 20 August. One ruble note will once again be worth one ruble, instead of ten, as it had since the government raised the value of its denomination. In line with the new denomination, all prices and wages are to be reduced ten times. In other news, Belarusian Radio reported on 15 August that the price of wheat in Belarus has reached world levels, now standing at over $100 per ton. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL, Inc. NEW BELARUSIAN INTERIOR TROOP COMMANDER. Valyantsin Avyaltsa, the new commander of the Belarusian interior troops, officially assumed duties on 11 August, Belarusian TV reported on 12 August. During the presentation ceremony President Alyaksandr Lukashenka emphasized that he is relying on young professionals in his choice of staff. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL, Inc. US AID FOR DISMANTLING SKRUNDA RADAR STATION FACILITIES. Latvian Premier Valdis Birkavs and US Ambassador to Latvia Ints Silins signed accords on US technical and financial assistance worth $7 million for the dismantling of an unfinished building that is part of the facilities at the Russian radar station in Skrunda. American firms are expected to submit their bids soon for accomplishing the task. This building is one of the sites at Skrunda that Russians have vacated. According to the agreements signed on 30 April, Russia may retain control over the Skrunda radar for another 4 years and has an additional 18 months for dismantling the entire complex, Baltic media reported on 12 August. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc. ESTONIA PROTESTS OVER RUSSIAN DEMARCATION OF BORDERS. Estonian Premier Mart Laar lodged a protest with Russian Ambassador to Estonia Aleksandr Trofimov on 15 August, BNS reported. Demanding that Russia stop immediately its unilateral demarcation of the Estonian-Russian border which started on 11 August, Laar added that such actions complicate relations between the two countries and urged Russia to seek solutions at the negotiating table for the practical problems affecting residents of border territories. Estonia is considering taking the problems to the International Court of Justice at the Hague or to the CSCE for mediation. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc. BORDER VIOLATIONS INCREASE IN LITHUANIA. BNS reported on 13 August that figures compiled by the Lithuanian police show 1,059 border violations have been registered during the first 7 months of this year. In July 157 cases of trespassing were registered. The Lithuanian police said that most of the trespassers are citizens of China, Lebanon, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Last year Lithuanian borders guards detained 939 trespassers from 80 different countries. Most persons detained by the Lithuanian authorities at the borders usually attempt to illegally emigrate to the West, and they sometimes receive help from residents of Lithuania. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc. [As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Stephen Foye and Sharon Fisher The RFE/RL DAILY REPORT, produced by the RFE/RL Research Institute (a division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.) with the assistance of the RFE/RL News and Current Affairs Division, is available through electronic mail by subscribing to RFERL-L at LISTSERV@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU. This report is also available by postal mail, as are the other publications of the Institute, and by fax. RFE/RL NEWS BRIEFS, an edited compendium of items first published in the Daily Report, is distributed along with the RFE/RL RESEARCH REPORT, a weekly journal providing topical analyses of political, economic and security developments throughout the Institute's area of interest. Longer analyses are available in a monograph series, RFE/RL STUDIES, and brief analytic summaries appear monthly in the RESEARCH BULLETIN. Requests for permission to reprint or retransmit this material should be addressed to PD@RFERL.ORG and will generally be granted on the condition that the material is clearly attributed to the RFE/RL DAILY REPORT. Inquiries about specific news items or subscriptions to RFE/RL publications should be directed as follows (please include your full postal address when inquiring about subscriptions): In North America: Mr. Brian Reed RFE/RL, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: (202) 457-6912 or -6907 Fax: (202) 457-6992 or 828-8783 Internet: RI-DC@RFERL.ORG Elsewhere: Ms. Helga Hofer Publications Department RFE/RL Research Institute Oettingenstrasse 67 80538 Munich Germany Telephone: (+49 89) 2102-2631 or -2632 Fax: (+49 89) 2102-2648 Internet: PD@RFERL.ORG Copyright 1994, RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
©1996 "Друзья и Партнеры"
Please
write to us
with your comments and suggestions.
|
|