No. 203, 25 October 1994

                              RUSSIA

SENATORS CONFIRM MOST CONSTITUTIONAL, SUPREME COURT JUDGES . . .
Russian TV newscasts reported on 24 October that Russia's upper
house of parliament, the Federation Council, approved the eight
judges nominated by President Boris Yeltsin to the Russian Supreme
Court. But the council approved only three of the six candidates
nominated by Yeltsin for vacancies on the Constitutional Court. A
secret ballot was used in the vote on all of the candidates. --
Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

. . . BUT REJECT ILYUSHENKO AS PROSECUTOR-GENERAL. At the same
session, the Federation Council once again refused to confirm
Aleksei Ilyushenko as Russian Prosecutor-General. According to
ITAR-TASS, 76 senators voted for and 72 against Ilyushenko at the
24 October session, with 90 "yes" votes necessary for
confirmation. (Prior to the vote, some liberal newspapers--such as
Nezavisimaya gazeta on 19 October and Obshchaya gazeta on 21
October--accused Ilyushenko of having committed "crimes against
justice" and abuse of office.) The Federation Council also failed
to confirm Ilyushenko as Prosecutor-General in April when Yeltsin
first nominated him for the office. Since then he has served as
acting Prosecutor-General, although the constitution does not make
provision for this. According to 24 October TV newscasts,
Ilyushenko will continue to serve as acting Prosecutor-General.
This provides his judicial opponents with the opportunity to
dispute and take to court virtually every decision made by
Ilyushenko's office, since by law he is not entitled to serve in
that office. -- Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

STALEMATE IN CHECHNYA. Interfax reported on 21 October that
opposition forces attacked, and claimed to have wiped out, two
minor government posts northwest of Grozny. Opposition Provisional
Council Chairman Umar Avturkhanov issued an appeal to the Russian
leadership to intervene in Chechnya in order to prevent further
mass killing of civilians by troops loyal to President Dzhokhar
Dudaev. Former Russian parliament chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov told
a rally of supporters at his headquarters in Tolstoi-Yurt that he
will not leave Chechnya until Dudaev has been ousted. The
situation on 22-23 October was reportedly calm. On 24 October, the
chief of the Chechen armed forces called on the opposition to
desist from confrontation and unite with the government to meet
the "external threat," Interfax reported. The deputy chairman of
the Russian Federation Council, Ramazan Abdulatipov, issued an
appeal to Russian and Chechen political leaders to step up their
efforts to bring about an end to hostilities in Chechnya. Also on
24 October, a group of Chechen elders gathered in Tolstoi-Yurt and
called on Dudaev to resign; they also called on parents to
withdraw their sons from the Chechen armed forces. -- Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIA WANTS PART OF NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR DEAL. A "high-ranking
official" from the Foreign Ministry, who asked to remain
anonymous, told ITAR-TASS on 22 October that Russia would like to
be part of the international consortium headed by the United
States that will provide so-called light-water nuclear reactors to
North Korea. The previous day the United States and North Korea
signed an agreement in which North Korea pledged to freeze its
present nuclear program in return for two light-water nuclear
reactors to replace its present heavy-water units. The latter can
produce plutonium--a fissile material used in nuclear weapons.
South Korea and Japan have already indicated they would meet most
of the cost of the project. The Russian official noted that the
Soviet Union had signed an agreement with North Korea in 1985 to
supply a light-water reactor. He also said that Russia wished to
contribute to the establishment of peace and stability on the
Korean peninsula. -- Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.

GERMAN THINK-TANK ON RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES. The Frankfurt-based
Institute for Soviet Studies claims that the Russian armed forces
are more than twice as large as the official figures show. In a
report published in the 23 October issue of the German newspaper
Bild am Sonntag, the institute reported that Russia had 4.8
million men under arms instead of the 2.3 million officially
claimed. The institute estimated that the Defense Ministry
controlled 2.57 million personnel as opposed to the 1.7 million
credited to it in the recent annual report of the International
Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The remainder were in the
various paramilitary forces, such as Interior Ministry troops,
Border Forces, and Civil Defense units. In most categories the
Frankfurt figures were significantly higher than the IISS
estimates. The former, for example, said there were 370,000
interior troops while the IISS put their strength at 180,000. Doug
Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.

YELTSIN URGED TO VETO NEW MEDIA LAW. On 21 October Vladimir
Shumeiko, the speaker of the Federation Council, asked Yeltsin to
veto a law preventing state bodies from sponsoring newspapers or
journals other than simple information bulletins. The law was
passed by the State Duma last year but then rejected by the upper
house; the Federation Council's decision was subsequently
overturned by a two-thirds majority in the Duma. At present,
Viktor Chernomyrdin's cabinet and the president's administration
publish two national daily newspapers--Rossiiskaya gazeta and
Rossiiskie vesti--as well as a number of journals and magazines.
Both newspapers are subsidized heavily by the state. -- Julia
Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

ZHIRINOVSKY WINS CASE AGAINST MOSCOW NEWS. Vladimir Zhirinovsky
has won a libel case against Moscow News, ITAR-TASS reported on 23
October. Last month the leader of the extremist Liberal Democratic
Party won a similar case against Izvestiya and Egor Gaidar, who
had publicly called Zhirinovsky a "fascist." In the past two years
Zhirinovsky has won over 30 legal cases against prodemocracy
national and regional mass media. One of the reasons for his
success is the absence of a definition of "fascism" in Russian
law. -- Victor Yasmann, RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIA AND NATO TO EXCHANGE MILITARY MISSIONS. The Russian Foreign
Ministry told Interfax on 24 October that Russia and NATO are
planning to exchange military missions as part of the Partnership
for Peace (PFP) program. While the details need to be worked out,
Russia would probably send an army colonel to the PFP coordination
cell at NATO's military headquarters in Europe near Mons, Belgium.
In exchange, a NATO military representative might be attached to
the Russian General Staff, the foreign ministry representative
said. Earlier this month NATO announced it would open an
information bureau in Moscow by the end of the year. -- Doug
Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.

DIRECTOR OF RED ARMY THEATER ATTACKED. On 22 and 23 October
Russian TV reported that Leonid Kheifets, the director of the Red
Army Theater in Moscow, had been attacked earlier in the week.
According to the reports, Kheifets' attackers broke into his
apartment in central Moscow and severely beat him; they demanded
that he never visit his theater again. According to Nezavisimaya
gazeta of 22 October, Kheifets had been asked to hand the theater
building over to a business concern but had refused to do so. The
newspaper added that the theater still officially belonged to the
Defense Ministry and that Defense Minister Pavel Grachev supported
the demands of Kheifets' foes. -- Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

                  TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

RUSSIA DEMANDS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KARABAKH PEACEKEEPING. At a
closed meeting of the CSCE in Vienna on 24 October to discuss
Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian delegate Vladimir Shustov demanded that
the CSCE abdicate to Russia responsibility for achieving a
settlement of the conflict, an RFE/RL correspondent reported.
Shustov made the demand on the grounds that the Minsk Group that
was set up in 1992 to mediate a settlement of the conflict had
never been given legal status. Shustov called on the CSCE to draw
up a legal mandate for the peace negotiations in which Russia
would be given prime responsibility in settling the conflict, with
the CSCE playing a supporting role. Also on 24 October, Ukrainian
Defense Minister Valerii Shmarov told Interfax that the CSCE had
asked Ukraine to provide a contingent of peacekeeping troops for
Nagorno-Karabakh. -- Roland Eggleston and Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIA MODIFIES STANCE ON AZERBAIJAN OIL DEAL. Speaking on
Azerbaijani TV on 23 October, President Heidar Aliev said that
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin had assured him that
Russia "will not hinder" implementation of the contract signed on
20 September between Azerbaijan and a consortium of Western oil
companies to exploit three major Caspian Sea oil deposits,
Interfax reported. Chernomyrdin emphasized the importance of
cooperation on ecological issues and fishing in the Caspian, The
deal had been strongly criticized by both the Russian Foreign
Ministry and the Ministry for Environmental Protection. -- Liz
Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.

                               CIS

SECURITY ISSUES AT CIS MEETING. Meeting in Moscow on the eve of
the CIS summit of 21 October, the Councils of Foreign and of
Defense Ministers of CIS member states discussed what Russian
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev termed "strengthening the
Commonwealth's peacekeeping role in its zone of responsibility."
The forums discussed a "collective peacekeeping" operation within
the CIS framework in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. Armenia
voiced readiness to send "a limited military contingent and
observers," Tajikistan a motorized platoon, and Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan observers. The contributing states would also bear the
costs of their participation in the operation. Russia favored the
earliest possible sending of "peacekeepers" from other CIS states,
as "in this way the operation would have an international status."
The commander of CIS (in fact mainly Russian) "peacekeeping"
troops in Tajikistan, Colonel-General Valerii Patrikeev, pledged
to step up military support to Russian border guards there, as
"the borders of Tajikistan are the borders of the CIS." He
supported a plan to send 16,000 "peacekeeping troops" to
Tajikistan, where "today we have only half that number." Also on
the margins of the CIS summit, Russia's Foreign Intelligence
Service (FIS) and Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National
Security signed a cooperation agreement, with Kyrgyz President
Askar Akayev attending the ceremony. FIS announced that Kyrgyzstan
becomes the ninth CIS member state to have signed such an
agreement, leaving Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan as the only
holdouts. Interfax reported on these developments from 20 to 24
October. -- Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.

RUSSIA, MOLDOVA SIGN TROOP WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENTS. In Moscow on 21
October, after two and a half years of negotiations, an agreement
on the withdrawal of Russia's 14th Army from Moldova was signed by
Prime Ministers Viktor Chernomyrdin and Andrei Sangheli. The text
is not yet available, but the document is known to provide for the
troops' withdrawal from Moldova within three years of the signing.
The Defense Ministers, Pavel Grachev and Pavel Creanga, signed
several accompanying agreements, including one on legal matters
relating to the "Russian military units temporarily stationed in
Moldova" and another on the activity of Russian "air force units
temporarily stationed in Moldova" and the use of Tiraspol airport
by Russia's military transport aircraft. Moldovan Foreign Minister
Mihai Popov told a news conference, reported by Interfax on 22
October, that Moldova will give the officers of the 14th Army
"every opportunity" to serve in Moldova's army. -- Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

IS A DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGH IN THE OFFING FOR CROATIA?
International media reported on 24 October that Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman has agreed in principle to a French proposal to
meet with his Serbian and Bosnian counterparts to promote peace.
He added, however, that such a session must be sponsored by the
international "contact group" and that it must promote Serbia's
recognition of Croatia's borders. Elsewhere on the diplomatic
front, the Croatian and Serbian press in recent days have been
full of reports suggesting that a settlement may be in the offing
between Croatia and its Serb insurgents, who occupy about a
quarter of the republic's territory. Borba said on 24 October that
the latest in a series of meetings between the two sides could
take place in Zagreb on 27 October. The Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung reported on 22 October that secret meetings have been
under way for some time. AFP on 24 October quoted UN envoy Yasushi
Akashi as saying that under "a complex and ambitious plan" Croatia
would be federalized, with the Serbs apparently having their own
laws, an army under joint command, and a Serb currency. It is to
be assumed that Croatia would benefit from the return of peace and
the restoration of infrastructure links. Ranking Croatian
officials told RFE/RL, however, that no plan could be imposed on
Zagreb and that Croatia could not accept any arrangement that did
not provide for refugees from Serb-held territories to return to
their homes. -- Patrick Moore, RFE/RL Inc.

SITUATION AROUND SARAJEVO TENSE. CNN reported on 25 October that
some 100 of the 500 Bosnian troops stationed in the Mt. Igman
demilitarized zone left the area the previous day. As they
withdrew, however, they shot at French UN forces, who returned the
fire. There were no casualties. It is not clear whether the
remaining 400 men will obey the UN order to leave or whether the
UN will agree to government demands that the UN secure the safety
of a nearby supply road. Meanwhile, the Serbs have reneged on an
earlier pledge to give free passage to UN fuel convoys to Gorazde
and Zepa, allowing instead only a token shipment through their
lines. The BBC added on 25 October that Muslim forces near the
demilitarized zone staged a commando raid on nearby Serbs, who
called the attack unprovoked and unjustified. Hina reported that
Serb forces had intensified artillery pressure on Gradacac in
northern Bosnia, a strategic town where the Croat and Muslim
defenders' alliance held even during the worst days of 1993. In
another example of Croatian and Muslim cooperation, Prime
Ministers Nikica Valentic and Haris Silajdzic left together on 24
October for a visit to some south Asian Islamic countries. The
International Herald Tribune reported on 19 October that 15 US
officers arrived in Sarajevo to help promote the integration of
Bosnian Croat and government forces. -- Patrick Moore, RFE/RL Inc.

HOW HOSTILE IS THE MILITARY TOWARD MILOSEVIC? The New York Times
on 25 October runs an article on discontent in Serbia's military
with Slobodan Milosevic's presidency. A number of soldiers with
relatives in Serb-held Bosnia and Herzegovina are opposed to the
president's seeming break with the Bosnian Serb leadership, the
article claims. But the main cause of discontent is the issue of
wages: Serbian soldiers reportedly receive less pay than
policemen. The article suggests that this situation may be partly
due to Milosevic's plan to increase his personal power by building
up the police as a counterweight to the military. -- Stan
Markotich, RFE/RL Inc.

MACEDONIAN OPPOSITION REPEATS CALL FOR ELECTION BOYCOTT. Politika
reports on 25 October that the Macedonian nationalist VMRO-DPMNE
and smaller opposition parties have demanded that the 16 October
elections be declared null and void and that a new vote be held.
They added that they will otherwise boycott the second round of
parliamentary elections, slated for 30 October, to fill 110 of the
120 legislative seats. Borba said on 24 October that the
Macedonian Election Commission had rejected the complaints.
European observers noted there were irregularities on 16 October
but said they were not deliberate. They also maintained that they
could be corrected in time for the second round. President Kiro
Gligorov of the Alliance for Macedonia handsomely trounced his
opponents in the first round and has been reelected. The New York
Times on 24 October concluded that "the main message of the
elections has been that the Slavs and ethnic Albanians of this
impoverished country have shown little appetite for nationalist
sloganeering after two years of watching the horror of the Bosnian
war on television." Meanwhile, Macedonian and Greek sources now
predict a breakthrough in the troubled relations between those two
neighbors, the Athens-based Balkan News wrote on 23 October. --
Patrick Moore, RFE/RL Inc.

KOSOVO UPDATE. Zeri on 19 October profiled Fehmi Agani, deputy
leader of the main ethnic Albanian political group, the Democratic
League of Kosovo. The newspaper said the former university
director and sociologist can be described as someone who "does not
look for a role in Albanian or Kosovar politics but nonetheless
claims one." Agani advocates a "policy of survival aimed at
managing ongoing conflicts" and is opposed to "radical approaches
or revolutionary marches." Even though Kosovar President Ibrahim
Rugova still heads the party, Zeri described Agani as the party's
"first hand." The newspaper noted that both politicians have
become indispensable to the Democratic League of Kosovo: much
energy has expended building up Rugova's image over the past four
years, while Agani has carved a role for himself as Rugova's chief
ideologue. -- Fabian Schmidt, RFE/RL Inc.

POLISH CATHOLIC BISHOPS WANT MORAL VALUES IN NEW CONSTITUTION.
Polish Catholic bishops on 24 October appealed for moral values to
be enshrined in the country's new basic law, currently under
debate in the parliament, Gazeta Wyborcza reported on 25 October.
They are demanding, in particular, that the new constitution
provide for the protection of human life from the moment of
conception as "the basis for all human rights and the foundation
of democracy." They also want to see guaranteed religious
instruction in state schools, the protection of the family and
marriage, and compliance with Poland's agreement with the Vatican
on Church-state relations. The bishops noted that the state should
remain neutral with regard to religion but should not be
explicitly secular. Its relations with the Catholic Church, they
stressed, should reflect the principles of "independence and
autonomy" rather than a complete separation between Church and
state. -- Jan de Weydenthal, RFE/RL Inc.

NEW POLISH CONSTITUTION WILL PROVIDE FOR PRESS FREEDOM.
Representatives of the media and the government agreed on 24
October that the new constitution, rather than separate
legislation, should provide guarantees of freedom of information,
Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza reported the next day. This
agreement was in response to recent attempts to curtail freedom of
information through legislation on state secrets. A restrictive
law on state secrets has been rejected by the Senate, after being
approved by the Sejm. It is highly unlikely that a new attempt
will be made in the face of growing opposition in both the
government and the media. -- Jan de Weydenthal, RFE/RL Inc.

CZECH REPUBLIC EXPELS ANGOLAN AMBASSADOR. Czech Foreign Minister
Josef Zieleniec on 24 October ordered Angolan Ambassador Manual
Quarta Punza and other diplomatic staff to leave the country
within 72 hours, CTK reports. The ministry said the reason for the
expulsion is that the Czech embassy in Angola can no longer
perform its functions. The Czech embassy was occupied by Angolan
troops on 21 October amid a dispute over embassy rights dating
back to the 1970s. Angola says its embassy building in Prague is
inferior to that used by the Czech embassy in Luanda. -- Sharon
Fisher, RFE/RL Inc.

CZECH-ROMANIAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT. Czech Premier Vaclav Klaus on
24 October signed a free trade agreement with his Romanian
counterpart, Nicolae Vacaroiu, during the latter's two-day visit
to the Czech Republic. The agreement, which takes effect on 1
January, provides for duty-free exchange of more than 50% of
industrial commodities traded between the two countries, CTK
reports. The two leaders also signed a protocol validating
agreements signed between former Czechoslovakia and Romania. Klaus
praised Vacaroiu's efforts to ensure debt payment, noting that
Romania recently paid off half its $20 million debt to the Czech
Republic. He also said he favored Romania's membership in the
CEFTA group. Meanwhile, Vacaroiu said Romanian economists were
analyzing the Czech model of privatization and would seek to apply
it in Romania. Vacaroiu is to meet on 25 October with Czech
President Vaclav Havel, Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec, and
other officials. Meanwhile, Czech Deputy Premier and Finance
Minister Ivan Kocarnik on 24 October signed an accord in Tallinn
with Estonian acting Finance Minister Andres Lipstok on protecting
investments and avoiding double taxation. -- Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL
Inc.

SLOVAK POLITICAL UPDATE. Movement for a Democratic Slovakia Deputy
Chairwoman Olga Keltosova on 24 October announced that a third
round of coalition talks will take place after the opening session
of parliament, to be held on 3 November. When asked if the party
would set up a cabinet even if it finds no partner other than the
Slovak National Party, Keltosova said "What else would be left for
us to do? That is the only possibility." Meanwhile, Association of
Slovak Workers Chairman Jan Luptak, in an interview with TASR on
23 October, said he would give tacit support to any government
that meets his party's requirements but noted he favored abiding
by the constitutional order. Luptak also said his party is against
Slovakia's entry into the EU and NATO. In other political news,
the campaign for Slovakia's local elections, to be held in
mid-November, began on 24 October. -- Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL Inc.

CONTINUED INTEREST IN SLOVAK COUPON PRIVATIZATION. Despite the
preelection promise of Movement for a Democratic Slovakia Chairman
Vladimir Meciar to slow down the second wave of coupon
privatization, Slovaks have continued to show an interest in
buying coupons. More than 1.46 million Slovaks have registered,
and many more are expected to do so as the registration deadline
of 30 November approaches, TASR reported on 24 October. In
Bratislava alone, more than 184,000 people have applied to become
coupon-holders. -- Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL Inc.

NEW TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION SET UP IN ROMANIA. The Confederation
of Democratic Trade Unions was set up in Bucharest following a
meeting of 34 trade unions on 22 and 23 October, Romanian media
reports. The founding of the new organization comes in the wake of
a split in the Fratia National Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
Victor Ciorbea, a former co-chairman of Fratia NCFTU, was elected
leader of the new organization, which will work closely with the
opposition but remain politically independent. -- Michael Shafir,
RFE/RL Inc.

UPDATE ON ROMANIAN CHOLERA OUTBREAK. Romanian health authorities
say four Romanians have died of cholera and the number of
confirmed cases totals 78, Radio Bucharest reported on 24 October.
Three of the victims were elderly and were also suffering from
other diseases. The fourth victim, a man in his 40s, died in
Turkey. The Romanian authorities have identified that country as a
source of infection. -- Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.

CONTINUED MOLDOVAN UPROAR OVER ROMANIAN STATEMENTS. Nicolae
Andronic, deputy chairman of the Moldovan parliament, told Radio
Chisinau on 19 October that "the Romanian leadership's statements
regarding eventual unification . . . may activate those elements
in Moldova who favor joining the CIS collective security system,
possibly resulting in the introduction of CIS collective forces on
the Moldovan-Romanian border." Dumitru Diacov, chairman of the
Moldovan parliamentary Foreign Relations Commission, told Interfax
on 21 October that Romania may force Moldova "to turn to
international organizations with an appeal to defend Moldova's
independence" against Romania. The leadership of Moldova's ruling
Agrarian Democratic Party said in a statement carried by Moldovan
media on 22 October that the election defeats of pro-Romanian
groups had "radicalized Romania's position toward Moldova." It
went on to say that Romanian leaders "have made increasingly clear
their wish to unite the former Romanian territories into a Greater
Romania, and that must be assessed as a violation of the
principles of the UN and the CSCE on the inviolability of borders
as well as an attempt to revise history." -- Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.

CALLS FOR LANGUAGE REFERENDUM IN BELARUS. The Belarusian Central
Commission on Elections and Referendums has been approached by an
initiative group seeking a referendum on granting Russian the
status of official language, along with Belarusian, according to
reports by Belarusian Television on 21 October. The group also
wants a referendum denouncing the Belavezha agreement of 1991,
which dissolved the USSR and created the CIS. But Ivan Likhach,
secretary of the Central Commission, said the proposed referendum
questions contravene Belarusian law, which states that questions
violating the rights of Belarusian citizens or the country's
sovereignty, culture, or language may not be put to the vote. --
Ustina Markus, RFE/RL Inc.

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT IN CANADA. AFP on 24 October reported that
Leonid Kuchma signed six agreements on consultation and
cooperation in economic and military affairs with Canada. At the
same time, Canada announced it would provide Ukraine with a US
$17.6 million technical assistance package to support economic and
political reform in Ukraine. Kuchma, on a five-day visit to
Canada, met with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and other
cabinet members. He also is scheduled to meet with representatives
of the G-7 and Ukrainian emigre representatives. -- Ustina Markus,
RFE/RL Inc.

SEVASTOPOL WILL NOT PAY TAXES TO KIEV. Viktor Semenov, head of the
Sevastopol City Council, has said the city is in a grave economic
situation and cannot afford to hand over tax revenues to Kiev,
Ukrainian Television reported on 21 October. He noted that almost
all taxes will be withheld from Kiev regardless of whether the
Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers is agreed. Semenov also said the
city was exploring the possibility of receiving credits from
Russia. Sevastopol has so far failed to pay almost 1 trillion
karbovantsy into the national budget. -- Ustina Markus, RFE/RL
Inc.

IMF APPROVES LOAN FOR LITHUANIA. The International Monetary Fund
on 24 October approved a $201 million loan to Lithuania to be made
available over the next three years, Reuters reports. It projected
economic growth in Lithuania to reach 1.5 percent in 1994 and 6.75
percent the following year. The loan is expected to help the
country push ahead with economic reform and bring down inflation
to 20 percent in 1995. Lithuania is the first Baltic country to
have its three-year economic memorandum accepted by the IMF. This
should help Lithuania obtain loans from other international
financial institutions that may help cut local interest rates to
about 30 percent by year's end. -- Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.

POLISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER IN LITHUANIA. Josef Oleksy on 24 October
met with his Lithuanian counterpart, Ceslovas Jursenas, in Vilnius
to discuss issues related to the implementation of the recently
ratified friendship treaty. Oleksy proposed setting up bilateral
commissions on border cooperation and on preparing a free trade
treaty. He then met separately with Prime Minister Adolfas
Slezevicius and President Algirdas Brazauskas. Olesky welcomed
Brazauskas's proposal for holding a summit meeting of the Baltic
States and the Visegrad group. Oleksy, in a speech to the
Lithuanian parliament broadcast live by Radio Lithuania on 25
October, stressed the need to prepare and ratify a free trade
treaty as quickly as possible. -- Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.

APPOINTMENT OF NEW LATVIAN DEFENSE COMMANDER POSTPONED. Gundars
Zalkalns, military adviser to Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis,
told Diena on 24 October that the appointment of a new commander
of Latvia's Defense Forces to replace Col. Dainis Turlais has been
postponed. This suggests that the ongoing reorganization of the
military leadership has not been completed. The Defense Ministry
says the Defense Forces staff will continue to operate until
replaced by personnel from Latvia's National Armed Forces. Juris
Dalbins of the Home Guard was recently endorsed by the parliament
to head the National Armed Forces. -- Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.

[As of 1200 CET] (Compiled by Jan Cleave and Pete Baumgartner)
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