From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian
Subject: RFE/RL Daily Report 02 OCT, 1992 (long)
Date: 2 Oct 92 18:41:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: umr.1992Oct2.184112.27425
Organization: University of Missouri-Rolla, Missouri's Technological University

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of latest developments
in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It is published
Monday through Friday (except German holidays) by the
RFE/RL Research Institute (a division of Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty, Inc.). Copyright 1992 RFE/RL, Inc.


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                        RFE/RL Daily Report

                                     No 190, 2 October 1992

                   SUCCESSOR STATES OF THE USSR

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES OUT CABINET. The Ukrainian parliament on
1 October overwhelmingly approved a motion of no confidence in the
cabinet of ministers, Western agencies reported. The decision
followed Prime Minister Vitold Fokin's request to step down as head
of government the day before.  Ukrainian lawmakers gave President
Leonid Kravchuk ten days to appoint a new prime minister, who then
will work together with the President to form a new cabinet.  The
fall of Fokin and his cabinet was the result of constant charges by
the opposition that the government was failing to implement
economic reforms in the country. (Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

KRAVCHUK VS CENTRALIZED CIS. Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk
told parliament on 30 September that Ukraine will never allow
itself to be subordinated to any kind of centralized CIS
structures, Ukrinform-TASS reported. Kravchuk said that these kinds
of ideas are currently being propagated, and that they are oblique
references to recent proposals for tighter CIS integration made by
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev.  At the same time,
Kravchuk emphasized that as in the past, the closest possible ties
will be maintained with Russia.  (Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

ADMIRAL KASATONOV REASSIGNED FROM BLACK SEA FLEET. Interfax on 1
October reported that the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral
Igor Kasatonov, has been reassigned to the position of first deputy
commander of the Russian Navy. The report indicated that a
Russian-Ukrainian group of officers would assume command of the
fleet in accord with a Russian-Ukrainian agreement to place the
fleet under joint command until the end of 1995.  The removal of
Kasatonov had long been demanded by the Ukrainian government, which
recently accused him of illegally selling off fleet assets to
private concerns.  (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY AFFIRMS KURIL WITHDRAWAL PLANS.  Japan's
Kyodo news service reported on 30 September that the Russian
government has reaffirmed its commitment to withdraw all Russian
troops from the disputed Kuril islands. In a written reply to a
query from Kyodo, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the
withdrawal, announced by President Yeltsin in May, will start after
"politicians' decisions." No timetable was given for the
withdrawal, although earlier Russian-Japanese talks had specified a
one to two year time period.  The Russian Defense Ministry has in
the past opposed any such withdrawal. (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL
Inc.)

RUSSIAN SUBMARINE SALE TO IRAN STILL ON? A Russian submarine is
still sailing to Iran, the Washington Post reported on 2 October,
despite Russian indications that the submarine sale was cancelled.
The Post article indicated that the submarine was nearing the
English Channel en route to the Persian Gulf. In response to the
Russian sale, the US Senate on 1 October attached an amendment to a
foreign aid bill that would cut assistance to Russia if it sells
arms to Iran, Western news agencies reported.  While the final bill
must still be coordinated with the House of Representatives, the
amendment was a sign of the seriousness with which the arms sale
was being viewed. (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL Inc.)

CONTINUED STRIFE IN TAJIKISTAN. Fighting continued in southern
Tajikistan on 1 October, ITAR-TASS reported, and the Russian
division stationed there was taking additional measures to protect
its equipment, some of which supporters of deposed President
Rakhmon Nabiev have already stolen or otherwise acquired. Troops of
the Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs and prison administrators
issued an ultimatum to the government and party leaders that they
will release the inmates of correctional institutions if attacks on
them are not stopped; armed groups have been raiding prisons in
order to obtain arms from the guards. Meanwhile, Russian border
guards reported more battles with persons seeking to cross the
Tajik-Afghan border illegally.  (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

ABKHAZ FORCES LAUNCH NEW OFFENSIVE, TAKE STRATEGIC TOWN.  A
spokeswoman for the Abkhaz Supreme Soviet told an RL/RFE
correspondent in Moscow on 1 October that the withdrawal from
Abkhazia of volunteers from the North Caucasus had been suspended
because Georgian troops were attempting to advance on Gudauta,
where the Abkhaz leadership is currently based.  Abkhaz and North
Caucasian troops subsequently launched an attack on the coastal
town of Kolkhida, ten kilometers south of Gagra, using tanks and
rocket launchers, and took the town, inflicting heavy casualties on
Georgian troops; they then advanced towards Gagra. The Georgian
State Council convened an emergency session to discuss the
situation. Whether State Council Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze
attended the session is unclear; all scheduled sessions had been
cancelled on 29 September because Shevardnadze was sick, according
to ITAR-TASS.  (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUBLE PLUNGES ON CURRENCY EXCHANGE. The ruble lost nearly 22% of
its value against the dollar in narrow trading on the Moscow
Interbank Currency Exchange on 1 October, Interfax reported.  The
dollar rose from 254 rubles to 309 rubles.  The fall in the value
of the ruble was generally attributed to fears of very high
inflation (an annual rate of over 2,000% is expected in 1992) or
hyperinflation.  Acting Russian Central Bank Chairman Viktor
Gerashchenko blamed the pending increase on the price of
energy-carriers.  Government adviser Aleksei Ulyukayev promised
that the government would take unspecified joint measures with the
Russian Central Bank to stabilize the exchange rate of the ruble,
ITAR-TASS reported.  And writing in Trud, Deputy Prime Minister
Vladimir Shumeiko called on the West to expedite the $6 billion
stabilization fund to "correct" the ruble exchange rate. (Keith
Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN RUBLE TO BE INTRODUCED?  The Acting Chairman of the Russian
Central Bank, Viktor Gerashchenko, told Interfax on 1 October that
while his bank favored the retention of the ruble zone, Russia may
have to introduce its own monetary and currency unit if other CIS
governments insist on pursuing different economic policies and fail
to agree upon and to coordinate policies.  He called for clear
government agreements on the size of credit emission in the ruble
zone and on regulating credits provided to importers of Russian
goods.  Many observers believe that the ruble zone exists only on
paper and that "Russian rubles" are already distinct from "Moldovan
rubles" or "Kazakh rubles." (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

OTHER CURRENCY DEVELOPMENTS.  Belarus replaced the ruble on 1
October with a special coupon system in areas near the Lithuanian
and Ukrainian borders, ITAR-TASS reported. A Belarusian National
Bank official explained that the move was made because the
introduction of non-ruble currencies in Lithuania and Ukraine could
prompt an unwanted influx of rubles into Belarus. Lithuania
replaced the ruble on 1 October with temporary coupons that will be
used until the new Lithuanian currency, the litas, is introduced,
Reuters reported. And Moldovan Economics Minister Sergiu Certan was
quoted by Interfax on 1 October as saying that it would be a
mistake to introduce a national currency now when Moldova is in an
economic crisis. (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

GORBACHEV ATTACKS YELTSIN.  Former CPSU Secretary General Mikhail
Gorbachev told journalists that he is thinking about creating his
own political party as part of a political comeback, but he added
that the time for this was not yet right, Nezavisimaya gazeta
reported on 30 September.  He called President Boris Yeltsin "a
loss," arguing that terrible mistakes had been committed in foreign
and economic policies. He said Yeltsin's privatization plan was a
"deception." He also criticized Yeltsin for not responding to
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's proposal for tighter
integration of CIS member states. Gorbachev recommended that
President Yeltsin and other Russian leaders welcome Gorbachev
advisors like Aleksandr Yakovlev into the inner circle of
government decision-makers. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

FILATOV SUPPORTS YELTSIN.  First deputy parliamentary speaker
Sergei Filatov has joined forces with the democrats and called for
an expansion of President Boris Yeltsin's executive powers. In an
interview with Stolitsa (no.  38) he warned that parliamentary
speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov is violating the constitution and
seeking to create an administrative-command system in parliament,
thereby restricting the rights of the deputies. He argued that the
president should be given the right to dissolve at least part of
the legislature, since parliament has the right to impeach the
president. He noted that at the moment, the balance of power in
Russia is distorted to the disadvantage of the executive branch.
(Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

RYZHKOV TESTIFIES AT THE CPSU TRIAL. Speaking at the CPSU hearing
in the Constitutional Court on 1 October, former USSR Prime
Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov denied receiving instructions from the
Communist Party leadership, Russian TV reported. Since the
abrogation of the provision in the Soviet Constitution on the
leading role of the Communist Party, Ryzhkov said that he answered
only to the USSR President and his Presidential Council. However,
Ryzhkov said that Gorbachev, who had combined the post of the CPSU
General Secretary with that of the President, had often mixed up
these two roles.  Ryzhkov denied that the CPSU was the sole cause
of the country's crisis. He said that immediately following the
election of Boris Yeltsin to be Speaker of the Russian parliament
in 1990, the CPSU in fact ceased to be the governing party, since
its largest component, the Russian communists, became an opposition
movement and could not act in the party's traditional manner.
Ryzhkov also denied any wrongdoings by his government during the
Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.  (Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL
Inc.)

TWO CHERNOBYL REACTORS TO BE RESTARTED? The director of the
Chernobyl nuclear energy station told Reuters on 1 October that two
of the station's four reactors will be restarted soon. The No. 3
reactor will be restarted in October and the No.  1 in November to
meet increased demands for electric power in winter. Official
pronouncements on whether the Chernobyl reactors will be
recommissioned have been inconsistent and contradictory. The
current intention appears to be that all power generation at the
Chernobyl station shall be halted at the end of 1993 (see The
Guardian, of 10 September). (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

KGB EXTERNAL SURVEILLANCE CODE MADE PUBLIC. The voice of the right
nationalist opposition, Den, (Numbers 37-39) has published the
complete instructions of secret surveillance methods employed by
the former KGB. The document describes the techniques and equipment
used by the KGB in overt and covert monitoring of its victims and
opponents.  The weekly obtained the instructions from former KGB
officers, which left the agency because of "chaos and uncertainty
prevailing in the present state security organs." Giving its own
reason for the publication, Den wrote that the instructions can be
used in support of the so-called "patriotic resistance" and
underground activities in case pro-Western forces attempt to impose
a direct dictatorship". (Victor Yasmann, RFE/RL Inc.)

SENATE RATIFIES START TREATY.  On 1 October the US Senate ratified
the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which calls for Russian
strategic to be reduced to approximately 6000 nuclear warheads,
Western news agencies reported.  The agreement must still be
ratified by Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.  Kazakhstan has ratified
the Lisbon protocol, which commits the former Soviet republics to
observe the treaty.  A second US-Russian agreement to reduce
Russian warhead levels to approximately 3,000 by the year 2003 has
not yet been formalized as a treaty. (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL Inc.)

UKRAINE PLANS TO RATIFY START TREATY. In Washington on 1 October,
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko said he hoped that
Ukraine would ratify the START treaty but noted that there were
many opponents of ratification. Zlenko also met with U.S. Secretary
of Defense Richard Cheney to seek US assistance in dismantling
ex-Soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to RFE/RL
correspondents' reports. (John Lepingwell, RFE/RL Inc.)

MILLENNIUM OF CHRISTIANITY IN BELARUS. The Belarusian Orthodox
church,the largest in the republic,is concluding celebrations of
its thousand year anniversary in Belarus, Radio Minsk reported on
29 September. In addition to special church services, an
international conference in the Academy of Sciences was held, as
well as a festive gathering in Minsk attended by state leaders.
Speaking to journalists, Belarusian Metropolitan Filaret rejected
accusations that the church is an instrument of Russian
imperialism, arguing that priests are now encouraged to use the
Belarusian language in sermons.  However, the Belarusian eparchy is
still a part of the Moscow Patriarchate.(Alexander Lukashuk, RFE/RL
Inc.)

ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS ON MOLDOVAN STATEHOOD.  Challenged by
an interviewer to speak out for the unification of Romania and
Moldova, Romanian President Ion Iliescu told ECO Magazin (see the
September-October 1992 issue , RFE/RL Inc.) that pro-unification
propaganda in Romania "has backfired in Moldova, and not just among
the Russian-speakers but among the Romanian Moldovans themselves.
During the last two years one has witnessed there a movement away
from unification...The [Moldovan] people's reservations on the
issue of unification have grown." Moldovan President Mircea Snegur
in turn told visiting Hungarian journalists on 30 September, as
cited by Moldovapres, that "Moldova's independence is the choice of
its people and no one has the right to conduct a policy opposing
that choice...The existence of a Moldovan independent state is in
the interest of all its neighbors, including Romania. (Vladimir
Socor, RFE/RL Inc.)

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

CZECHOSLOVAK PARLIAMENT REJECTS LAW ON MODES OF SPLIT .  . . On 1
October the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly failed to pass a law on
the modes of dividing the country.  CSTK reports that in each
chamber of the parliament the measure fell just short of the
required three-fifths majority.  The law would have allowed the
federation to be dissolved without a referendum, which would
represent only one four possible courses; the others would be a
Federal Assembly declaration, an agreement by the republican
parliaments, or unilateral declaration by one of the republics.
Currently, secession by one republic based on the results of
referendum held in that republic is the only "constitutional" way
of dissolving the country.  (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

 .  .  AND ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON UNION. The Federal Assembly
approved a resolution calling for legislation to create a
"Czech-Slovak Union," which would replace the current federation.
The resolution proposes a union consisting of a president,
legislature, and governing council.  The resolution was approved
when deputies representing Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia banded together with opposition parties in
voting for the resolution.  Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus
opposes the idea of the union. CSTK reports him as saying that the
union "is not in the interest of the citizens of the Czech
Republic, and we will not create it by any means." Klaus also
sharply criticized the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia for
supporting the resolution.  (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

ETHNIC CLEANSING CONTINUES APACE IN BOSNIA.  The 2 October New York
Times reports at length on the ethnic cleansing of some Muslim
neighborhoods in central Sarajevo by Serb militants under the
paramilitary leader known as Arkan.  Their actions are in violation
of pledges made by Serbian leaders at the London Conference in late
August to halt the practice.  The Washington Post adds that
detention camps continue to operate despite similar promises by the
Serbs to close them, although 1,500 Muslims were taken by 35 buses
from the Trnopolje camp to Croatia on 1 October, the first such
evacuation of inmates.  Some of these refugees told reporters about
massacres at the camp, including one of 125 Muslim men between 14
and 40 from the village of Hambarina near Prijedor in northwest
Bosnia. Trnopolje has since been turned into "a kind of gruesome
sanitized tourist attraction" for foreign visitors, but experts
know of at least 21 other camps and suspect that many more exist
unknown to the outside world.  (Patrick Moore, RFE/RL Inc.)

SITUATION TENSE IN EASTERN CROATIA. A Russian colonel serving with
UNPROFOR in Sector East near Osijek, Croatia, persuaded some 1,000
refugees not to continue a march to reclaim their homes in what is
now Serb-held territory. Croatian politicians and the media have
widely accused UNPROFOR, which they expected to return Serb-held
areas to Croatian control, of helping to consolidate the Serbs'
hold there instead. Osijek's outspoken mayor Branimir Glavas told
Reuters that "patience is at an end." Meanwhile, international
media said on 30 September that UN Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali warned in a report that ghting could resume in Sector
East, given the determination of the Croats and the presence of
lawless armed bands of Serb militias, estimated at 16,000 men. One
UN official called the situation "profoundly insecure." (Patrick
Moore, RFE/RL Inc.)

PANIC RETURNS TO BELGRADE AFTER US VISIT.  Milan Panic, Prime
Minister of the rump Yugoslavia, told reporters in Belgrade on 30
September that his trip to the US was "incredibly successful." He
said the US was supportive of his peace efforts and that his
request for oil imports for humanitarian purposes would be met on
time, i.e. before the winter. Panic described the Tudjman-Cosic
talks in Geneva, as positive and expressed hope that their
agreement will ease the way to a final peace agreement with
Croatia. Regarding Kosovo, Panic said Pristina University must be
opened to the Albanians and that a solution must be found to
reinstate "the several hundred professors" who were dismissed by
Serbian authorities. Panic also reiterated his call for democratic
elections and a free press. He proposed the "division" of Serbian
TV, with its first channel presenting the views of the federal
government and the second channel those of the Serbian government.
Over the past three years, Serbian opposition parties have waged an
intense struggle against the Socialist domination of TV editorial
policies. Radio Serbia reported Panic's remarks. (Milan
Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIA'S OPPOSITION CHARGES ELECTORAL FRAUD.  The Democratic
Convention , an alliance of 18 centrist parties and organizations,
stated on 1 October that it had "irrefutable proof" of manipulation
of election results in at least one county--Dolj.  The DC said it
would ask prosecutors to annul the election and order a new vote
there. Rompres quoted other instances of possible fraud from the
Prahova and Dimbovita counties, where electoral officers had
reportedly campaigned in the polling stations and spoiled ballots
vanished before they could be verified. Meanwhile, the DC launched
a drive to win the rural vote for Emil Constantinescu, its
candidate in the 11 October presidential runoff. (Dan Ionescu,
RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIA REACTS TO MFN VOTE. President Ion Iliescu expressed
bitterness over the vote in the US House of Representatives against
restoration of most-favored-nation trade status for Romania.  Radio
Bucharest quoted him as saying that the decision "protracts the
discrimination to which Romania is unfairly subjected." Iliescu
accused Hungarian-born US Congressman Tom Lantos of having
"misinformed" the House on the situation in Romania.  In a separate
statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the House vote
demonstrates both "a lack of understanding" for the changes in
Romania and the "virulence of the anti-Romanian lobby in the US."
(Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

PRESSURE INCREASING ON BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT.  Osman Oktay,
Secretary of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF, RFE/RL
Inc.), said in an interview with RFE/RL on 1 October that his party
is considering lodging a vote of no confidence against the UDF
minority government next week.  According to Oktay, the UDF should
initiate a "joint analysis" of the present political situation with
the MRF or risk standing alone in parliament. He also warned that
the MRF has lost confidence in Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov.
Meanwhile, President Zhelyu Zhelev told RFE/RL that the UDF cabinet
under Dimitrov has gradually been isolating itself in Bulgarian
politics.  (Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL Inc.)

OECD RECOMMENDS DEBT REDUCTION FOR BULGARIA.  In a report released
in Paris on 2 October, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development suggests that Bulgaria be offered a "substantial
cut" in both its principal foreign debt and interest burden,
Western agencies report.  Without debt reduction, the report
argues, Bulgaria can neither expect a significant inflow of foreign
capital, nor will it be able to consolidate its economic
achievements and speed up structural reforms. After a vote passed
by the National Assembly last Friday, Bulgaria will be paying some
25% of the interest due for the last six months of 1992. (Kjell
Engelbrekt, RFE/RL Inc.)

HUNGARIAN PROSECUTOR REFUSES TO INVESTIGATE 1956 KILLINGS.  The
head of the Military Prosecutor's Office in Gyor, Gyula Varadi,
says that the killings did not constitute war crimes and after 15
years, in 1971, fell under the statute of limitations. Members of
the Christian Democratic People's Party initiated proceedings
against those who ordered soldiers to fire into a crowd at
Mosonmagyarovar during the 1956 revolution.  Some 100 died and 200
were injured.  A CDPP representative says that he will appeal the
decision.  Defense Minister Lajos Fur commented that the killings
should be considered war crimes and called it "unacceptable to
close a case involving mass murder even if it took place 36 years
ago," MTI reported on 1 October. (Edith Oltay, RFE/RL Inc.)

WALESA VISITS FSM PLANT. Polish President Lech Walesa visited the
headquarters of the plant in Bielsko-Biala on 1 October. Walesa
said he is fulfilling an election campaign pledge to help solve
economic problems. He urged workers to take responsibility for
their own fate.  Citing unofficial sources, Polish TV reported that
the president made Fiat's initiation of its formal takeover of the
plant a condition of his visit. The final agreement between Poland
and Fiat is now prepared, the TV report said, and will be signed in
a few days, to take effect on 1 October.  PAP reports that the
plant's enormous debts were the sticking point in talks with Fiat,
and that the state treasury has stepped in to guarantee nearly 2.5
trillion zloty ($180 million, RFE/RL Inc.) in debts. (Louisa
Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.)

SEJM GRUDGINGLY APPROVES BIELECKI'S PERFORMANCE.  By a margin of
181 to 167 (25 abstentions, RFE/RL Inc.), the Polish Sejm voted on
2 October to accept the performance of Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof
Bielecki's government, which left office nearly a year ago. The
vote had no legal implications, but offered an occasion for a test
of strength between the opposition and the current government.
Bielecki and two of his ministers now sit on the cabinet. The Sejm
budget commission had recommended a disapproval vote, charging that
Bielecki had caused a "collapse of public finances." Bielecki
argued that no one could accuse him of shirking decisions and that
a budget deficit of under 4% of GDP was hardly a catastrophe. The
Center Alliance, which has been balancing between government and
opposition, supported Bielecki, a move that may signal readiness to
join the ruling coalition.  (Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.)

ABISALA ON POLISH-LITHUANIAN RELATIONS. At a press conference on 1
October Lithuanian Prime Minister Aleksandras Abisala said that
results of his recent trip to Poland were better than he expected,
BNS reports.  The talks were "correct, open, and friendly," and for
the first time the problems of Lithuanians in Poland were discussed
at a high level raising hopes that more attention will be paid to
them. Polish Internal Affairs Minister Andrzej Milczanowski will
visit Lithuania on 2 October.  He noted that the ministries of
justice should speed up the preparation of an agreement on legal
assistance and that a planned visit by Polish businessmen should
improve economic and trade cooperation.  (Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL
Inc.)

COUNCIL OF EUROPE CRITICIZES ESTONIA. Members of the Council of
Europe's Parliamentary Assembly have criticized Estonia for not
having allowed noncitizens to vote in the national elections.
According to Estonian delegation member and former deputy speaker
of the Estonian Supreme Council Marju Lauristin, quoted by BNS on 1
October, even the conservatives "attacked us very sharply. The
psychological attack against Estonia has proved fruitful." The
Council of Europe delegation that monitored last week's election
has not yet filed its official report.  (Riina Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIA DENIES ANTI-BALT CAMPAIGN. Foreign Ministry spokesman Sergei
Yastrzhembsky told BNS on 1 October that reports of an aggressive
anti-Baltic Russian diplomatic campaign in the spirit of the Cold
War are unfounded. "Such a campaign is just out of the question,"
Yastrzhembsky said, adding that the Baltic response to Russia's
concern over the plight of Russians living in the Baltic "reminds
me of the former Soviet Union's reaction to criticism for its
violations of human rights." Earlier this week, Yastrzhembsky said
that the way Estonia and Latvia are currently treating non-Balts
could lead to a policy of "ethnic cleansing" along Serbian lines.
(Riina Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

LATVIAN REPLY TO MAYOROV. In response to the protest note of Col.
Gen. Leonid Mayorov, commander of the Northwestern Group of Forces,
concerning Latvia's efforts to monitor the movements of Russian
military personnel in Riga and Jurmala, the Foreign Ministry
expressed regret about the inconvenience caused to R-Adm.
Shestakov when he was briefly detained and asked to show his
documents.  The ministry pointed out that the guardsmen were acting
on valid instructions and said that monitoring would continue.  The
incident occurred during the latest round of Latvian-Russian talks
on troop withdrawal in which Shestakov participated, local media
reported on 30 September.  (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

NATO NAVAL DELEGATION IN LATVIA. On 1 October eight ships from five
NATO member states arrived in Riga for a five-day visit.  During
their stay, members of the NATO delegation are to get acquainted
with Latvia's defense and security situation, including the
problems resulting from the continued presence of Russian naval
forces. The arrival coincided with a conference on Latvia's defense
policies, plans, training facilities, and future plans for foreign
diplomats and specialists held by Latvia's Ministry of Defense.
(Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

FUTURE OF "NORTHERN TOWN" IN VILNIUS. The city government is
engaged in discussions on the future of Vilnius's so-called
Northern Town, 60 hectares of land now housing the 107th Motorized
Rifle Division of the Russian army, BNS reported on 1 October.
According to the 8 September agreement on troop withdrawal, the
Russian troops should depart from the territory by 30 November.
All fences, barracks, garages, and other worthless structures will
be demolished and replaced by a modern social and commercial center
with offices, conference halls, hotels, and restaurants.  Since
Lithuanian firms will be unable to build everything on such a huge
territory, foreign investment is being sought.  Depending on the
pace of foreign investment, the project should begin in 1993.
(Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull
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