No. 113, Part II, 12 June 1995

This is Part II of the Open Media Research Institute's Daily Digest.
Part II is a compilation of news concerning East-Central and
Southeastern Europe. Part I, covering Russia, Transcaucasia and Central
Asia, and the CIS, is distributed simultaneously as a second document.
Back issues of the Daily Digest, and other information about OMRI, are
available through OMRI's WWW pages: http://www.omri.cz/OMRI.html

EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE

UKRAINIAN NUCLEAR REACTOR SHUT DOWN AFTER MINOR LEAK. A minor leak in
the gasket of the generator in the No. 3 reactor at Pivdennyi nuclear
power plant, in southern Ukraine, prompted the shutdown of the reactor
only 24 hours before it was due to be taken off line for routine
repairs, Interfax-Ukraine and Reuters reported on 10 June. There was no
release of radiation reported in connection with the leak, which
occurred in the non-nuclear power generator within the bloc. Meanwhile,
Interfax-Ukraine on 11 June reported that former Crimean president Yurii
Meshkov has been hospitalized with diphtheria. The hospital's chief
physician said she was perplexed as to how Meshkov could have contracted
the disease, since he has barricaded himself in the presidential office
in Simferopol following Kiev's decision to abolish his post in March. --
Chrystyna Lapychak, OMRI, Inc.

IMF RELEASES MORE CREDITS TO UKRAINE. International agencies on 10 June
reported that the IMF has released the second half of a $700 million
credit to Ukraine. The decision to release the funds was taken by the
IMF Executive Board the previous day because Ukraine has been abiding by
its economic reform program. Kiev is now waiting for the IMF to release
the first part of the larger $1.5 billion credit it has been promised.
-- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.

LOCAL ELECTIONS FLOP IN BELARUS. AFP and ITAR-TASS on 11 June reported
that turnout at local elections in Belarus was below the 50% minimum
required for the elections to be valid. If the elections are declared
invalid, the local representatives appointed by President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka will be the sole authorities in the regions. Belarusians
failed to elect a new parliament in May, and even less interest has been
shown in the local elections. Voter apathy has helped strengthen the
president's authority. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.

BALTIC FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET. Riivo Sinijarv (Estonia), Valdis Birkavs
(Latvia), and Povilas Gylys (Lithuania) signed a trilateral agreement on
visa-free travel in Riga on 9 June, BNS reported. Additional protocols
list the 32 countries whose citizens need have a visa to only one Baltic
State in order to enter the other Baltic States without a visa and stay
there up to 30 days at a time but no more than 90 days a year. Lithuania
and Latvia agreed to have six railroad and six road border control
points for international traffic and 17 other crossings for Latvian and
Lithuanian residents only. The agreements will go into effect on 1 July.
The ministers also coordinated their positions on seeking membership in
the European Union. -- Saulius Girnius, OMRI, Inc.

CONSTRUCTION OF LITHUANIAN OIL TERMINAL STARTS. Prime Minister Adolfas
Slezevicius opened the ceremonies marking the official beginning of the
construction of a floating oil terminal at Butinge on 9 June, Interfax
reported. Work has already begun on constructing roads, communication
and power lines, as well as water and sewage systems on the mainland.
The project is expected to be completed within 24 months under the
supervision of the Flour Daniel Williams Company at an estimated cost of
$220 million. The U.S. Eximbank has offered a $80 million credit, but
the Lithuanian parliament has not yet authorized its signature. It is
unclear where the remaining funds will come from. -- Saulius Girnius,
OMRI, Inc.

WALESA UNDER ATTACK AT SOLIDARITY CONGRESS. Solidarity's Seventh
Congress ended in Gdansk on 11 June with delegates accusing Polish
President and Solidarity founder Lech Walesa of giving too much support
to the postcommunist ruling coalition. Walesa refrained from openly
declaring his candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections, Polish
media reported. In other news, the Sejm on 9 June voted 143 to 122 to
amend the penal code to introduce a five-year moratorium on capital
punishment. The amendment must still be approved by the Senate. -- Jakub
Karpinski, OMRI, Inc.

POLISH-U.S. MILITARY AGREEMENT. Poland and the U.S. on 9 June reached a
military agreement on the exchange of research and development
information. The document was signed in Warsaw by visiting U.S. Defense
Undersecretary Paul Kamin-ski and Polish Deputy Defense Minister Jan
Kuriata, Polish and international media reported. Poland is the second
country in East Central Europe, after Hungary, to sign such an
agreement. Meanwhile, documents from the Special Operations Executive
released in London on 9 June confirm that British authorities knew the
truth about the 1940 Soviet massacre of Polish officers in Katyn but
decided to conceal it so as not to turn public opinion against their
wartime ally the Soviet Union, Polish and international media reported.
-- Jakub Karpinski, OMRI, Inc.

CZECH TEACHERS CALL STRIKE, DOCTORS THREATEN ACTION. The Czech teachers'
trade union on 10 June called a strike for the first day of the fall
term to press demands for a 20% wage rise, Czech media reported. The
teachers want the rise from July and a further 30% from next January.
They have threatened an all-out strike if their demands are not met.
Government ministers dealing with economic policy say that public sector
employees will receive only a 10% rise this year. The main doctors'
union, meeting over the weekend, also threatened strike action if
doctors do not receive a 100% wage increase. It called on Health
Minister Ludek Rubas to resign, saying that under his direction the
health service is now in a critical condition. Rubas rejected the
resignation call. -- Steve Kettle, OMRI, Inc.

SLOVAK PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM UNDER FIRE. Changes in the coupon
privatization program (see OMRI Daily Digest, 7 and 8 June 1995) have
drawn criticism from the opposition. Peter Zajac from the Permanent
Conference of the Civic Institute said on 9 June that the new model will
exclude citizens from privatization and create the possibility of
"privatization without public control." He also told Sme that since the
conditions for the program have changed, the government should return
the 1,000 koruny that citizens have paid for coupon booklets to those
who do not want to participate in the new program. Former National
property fund chairman Viliam Vaskovic, in a round-table discussion on
Slovak TV on 11 June, said the changes are a "negative step" that
conflict with the government's program declaration. In an interview with
Sme on 12 June, he described the government's draft law on privatization
as "unconstitutional." -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.

HUNGARY TO RESTITUTE CHRISTIAN, JEWISH PROPERTY. Hungarian Prime
Minister Gyula Horn, meeting with World Jewish Congress leaders in New
York on 9 June, pledged to reach an agreement by 30 September to
restitute all Christian and Jewish property seized by the Nazis and
later nationalized by the Communists, Reuters reported. Horn said he
would order government working committees to start separate talks in
July with Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist Church leaders on
the future of some 5,000 pieces of property worth millions of dollars.
According to Horn, all religious property will be restored to its
rightful owners within a decade and any property that cannot be returned
will be paid for over a period of 20 years. The WJC said Horn's pledge
was a major breakthrough in its fight to have East European countries
return nationalized property worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Some
U.S. leaders recently warned East European nations that relations with
Washington would suffer unless they dealt with the issue of confiscated
Jewish property. -- Jiri Pehe, OMRI, Inc.

NATO MEETS PFP PARTNERS IN BRUSSELS. NATO defense ministers on 9 June
met with their counterparts from the 26 countries that have signed up
for NATO's Partnership for Peace program, international agencies
reported the same day. NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes said that
while "PfP is already producing tangible security benefits," many of the
PfP countries have yet to strike the right balance between civilian
authority and the military. He stressed that civilian control of the
military was an important element in consolidating their democracies but
admitted it could take "years and years." Meanwhile, the Polish Defense
Minister Zbigniew Okonski announced at the meeting that Poland was
willing to contribute up to half a Polish brigade to the 10,000-man
rapid reaction force being considered by France, Britain, and the
Netherlands for deployment to Bosnia. -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

IS SERBIA CONTINUING TO SUPPORT BOSNIAN SERBS? The New York Times on 11
June reported that Belgrade seems to be still covertly helping the
Bosnian Serbs, despite Serbian President Slobodan Milo-sevic's apparent
break with the Bosnian Serb leadership in August 1994. The U.S. daily
states that according to European and U.S. officials, the Yugoslav army
has continued to pay the salaries of some Bosnian Serb officers and to
supply Bosnian Serb troops with vital commodities such as fuel. But it
is unclear how systematic and significant Serbia's support for the
Bosnian Serbs is. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

BOSNIAN SERBS SEIZE AID. Bosnian Serbs on 11 June seized several tons of
food aid earmarked for Muslims in the besieged enclave of Zepa. The aid,
organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, was to have arrived
at its destination on 10 June but was detained at a Bosnian Serb
checkpoint. According to AFP, Bosnian Serb troops delayed the convoy
after they discovered bullets in a sack of flour, which UNHCR officials
suspect was planted by the Serbs. "We were given two options . . .
Either the Bosnian Serb army would confiscate the convoy or it would go
back fully laden to our warehouse in Belgrade," AFP quoted an UNHCR
official as saying. In other news, international media on 11 June
reported heavy fighting in eastern Bosnia, including near Gorazde, where
government forces fought with Bosnian Serbs over control of strategic
territory. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

BOSNIAN VICE PRESIDENT REJECTS BOUTROS GHALI'S PEACE PLAN. Hina on 11
June reported that Ejup Ganic has rejected UN Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros Ghali's proposal for a new peace plan for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The proposal was published by the German magazine Der Spiegel. It
advocates bringing the Bosnian Serb side back to the negotiating table
in order to restart the peace process. Ganic argues that the Contact
Group's plan, which allocates 49% control of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the
Bosnian Serbs and the remainder to the Bosnian Muslim and Croatian
federation, remains the best solution. He also observed that to invite
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to the table would again signal
that he "can keep the occupied territories," which account for 70% of
Bosnia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

CROATIAN PRESIDENT GIVES SERBS ULTIMATUM. Krajina Serb aircraft on 9
June bombed Croatian positions in the Dinara range in response to a
steady offensive by Zagreb's forces. The following day, Croatian
President Franjo Tudjman visited Okucani in western Slavonia, which his
forces took in Operation Blitz on 1 and 2 May, in his first visit to the
area since the reconquest. International media said he told the Krajina
Serbs that they will face further "lightning offensives" if they do not
seek reintegration into Croatia by the time UNCRO's mandate runs out at
the end of October. He added that he hoped that Croatian refugees from
Serbia and the Banja Luka area of Bosnia would help repopulate western
Slavonia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

TURKISH-LANGUAGE SCHOOLS TORN DOWN IN MACEDONIA. Two buildings in which
ethnic Turkish students have received schooling in their native language
for the past two years have been torn down, MIC reported on 9 June. The
buildings were in the districts of Zhupa and Papradnik and were
reportedly destroyed by the Debar local authorities' "demolition
service." Both schools were constructed without a building license in
the grounds of mosques. The demolition is reportedly unrelated to the
Education Ministry's ban on classes outside the state educational
system. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACKS UNION LEADERS. The Romanian government, in a
statement issued on 9 June, criticized the leaders of Romania's three
main labor unions for allegedly rejecting a dialogue with both the
government and employers, Radio Bucharest reported. The communique said
the leaders of the National Confederation of Romania's Free Trade
Unions-The Brotherhood, the National Labor Bloc, and the Alfa Cartel
were trying to "hijack" the labor movement and "subordinate it to their
own economic and political interests." It further accused them of
indulging in "populist demagoguery" and of "artificially provoking
social tension." The government appealed to rank-and-file union members
not to respond to "inciting calls" for demonstrations aimed at
"destabilizing the country and creating anarchy." -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI,
Inc.

RUSSIAN OFFICIAL SAYS 14TH ARMY TO STAY. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergei Krylov on 10 June suggested that the 14th Russian army might
remain in Tiraspol for a long period of time, Interfax reported. He
noted that the army has played a stabilizing role in the region over the
past years. Krylov also said that although there has been some progress
in talks between Chisinau and Tiraspol over the status of the Dniester
region, negotiations have slowed down of late. Krylov's statement came
shortly after a U.S. Defense Department delegation urged that the army
be pulled out. The head of the delegation, Brigadier General Dale
Nelson, told journalists on 8 June that the only solution was the
withdrawal of the 14th army from Moldova. He added that many countries,
including Russia and the U.S., have recognized Moldovan independence. --
Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

NEW PARTY FOUNDED IN MOL-DOVA. The Party of Social Progress in Moldova
held its founding congress in Chisinau on 8 June, Infotag and BASA-press
reported. The congress was attended by 120 delegates, including some
from the breakaway Dniester region. The party's program describes the
formation as democratic, pragmatic, and multi-national, with a social-
democratic orientation. Some Moldovan media suggested that prominent
members of the ruling Democratic Agrarian Party of Moldova who are
dissatisfied with the political line of President Mircea Snegur were
behind the new formation. Petru Lucinschi, chairman of the Moldovan
parliament, is regarded as the party's possible leader. -- Dan Ionescu,
OMRI, Inc.

BULGARIA, ROMANIA SEEK LOCATION FOR DANUBE BRIDGE. Bulgarian officials
on 11 June said the question of the location for a second Danube bridge
linking Bulgaria and Romania will be solved by July, Reuters reported
the same day. Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu discussed the
issue with his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Pirinski, in Evksinograd.
The new bridge is estimated to cost about $400 million and will ease
bottlenecks from central and western Europe to the Middle East. At
present, there is only one bridge, linking Ruse and Giurgiu, which has
become heavily congested, especially since the UN embargo against rump
Yugoslavia. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

BULGARIAN PREMIER ON EU, NATO. Zhan Videnov, addressing the North
Atlantic Assembly conference in Sofia on 11 June, said Bulgaria wants to
join both the EU and NATO, AFP reported the same day. He noted that EU
membership has top priority for Bulgaria but that it is still early to
discuss either possible Bulgarian participation in NATO's military
framework or the deployment of nuclear weapons and foreign troops on
Bulgarian territory. Videnov also repeated his government's position
that sanctions against rump Yugoslavia must be partially lifted. He
advised against lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia and proposed a
summit of the Balkan countries to discuss infrastructure problems in the
region. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

ETHNIC TURKISH DORMITORY IN BULGARIA ATTACKED. A dormitory for ethnic
Turkish students in Ruse was attacked on 10 June, international agencies
reported the following day. The assailants threw stones and smashed the
windows of the building, but no injuries were reported. Bulgarian media
linked the event to the 12 June trial of Anton Rachev, a local skinhead
leader accused of disseminating fascist propaganda. Rachev's prosecutor
and local newspapers have received letters threatening new attacks if he
is convicted. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

ALBANIAN FORMER COMMUNIST LEADER TO REMAIN IN PRISON. A Tirana court on
10 June rejected Ramiz Alia's claim that he has served out his prison
term and should be released under the new penal code and an amnesty law,
international agencies reported on 10 June. The new penal code, which
went into effect on 10 June, states that every day someone spends in
prison between arrest and trial counts as one and a half days in prison.
Alia was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1992 for "violation of the
rights and freedoms of Albanian citizens." But his sentence was reduced
by various courts of appeal and an amnesty last year. Alia is due to be
released on 29 March 1996. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

GREEK PROSECUTOR ASKS FOR NEW PROBE INTO MAVI. Greek prosecutors have
asked for a new investigation into the Greek extremist Northern Epirus
Liberation Front (MAVI), which is charged with attacking military
barracks in Albania last year, AFP reported on 10 June. They have asked
the Supreme Court to investigate "anyone responsible . . . for troubling
peaceful relations" between Greece and Albania. Five Greek citizens and
four ethnic Greeks from Albania were arrested in March and indicted for
illegal possession and trafficking of weapons. Seven were in possession
of Kalashnikov rifles taken from the Albanian barracks in last year's
terrorist attack. They may now face charges of murder and attempted
murder. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

The OMRI Daily Digest offers the latest news from the former Soviet
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