From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian
Subject: Moldova/Romania  News, RFE/RL 9/2/92
Date: 2 Sep 92 15:19:59 GMT
Article-I.D.: umr.1992Sep2.151959.14937
Organization: University of Missouri-Rolla, Missouri's Technological University

RFE/RL DAILY REPORT           No. 168, September 2, 1992


                 SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

[...]
MOLDOVA FEARS "YUGOSLAV" SCENARIO.  Moldova's ambassador to
Russia, Petru Lucinschi, told a news conference in Moscow on
26 August that Moldova fears "a situation on the Yugoslav
model in which Moldova's eastern area would be cut off" from
the rest of the country, Izvestiia reported. The forces of
the "Dniester republic" are using the pacification process
and the presence of Russia's peacemaking troops in order to
consolidate their gains and strengthen their structures of
state power, Lucinschi said.  Alluding to a possible chain
reaction leading to the unraveling of Moldova, Lucinschi
expressed concern that a "victory for the 'Dniester republic'
could have negative consequences in the [Gagauz-inhabited]
south and other parts of the republic". (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.)

MOLDOVAN LEADERS ON LANGUAGE PROBLEMS. Addressing the people
of Moldova on "Language Day," 31 August (the anniversary of
the 1989 legislation elevating the native language to
official status and reinstituting the Latin script in
Moldova), President Mircea Snegur said that the
implementation of the language laws has been hindered by the
fact that "Moldova exists in an imperial space, which proves
much more difficult to break away from than we could imagine
a few years ago." In another address, Parliament Chairman
Alexandru Mosanu said that the implementation of the language
laws is difficult and uneven owing to "the weakness of state
power at all levels...the continuing dominance of the Russian
language in important social functions...the nonobservance of
the language laws by parts of the Russian-language population
hoping to revert to the linguistic situation of the Soviet
period...and the damage done by the separatist forces on the
left bank of the Dniester and their supporters," Moldovapres
reported on 31 August and 1 September.  (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.)

                   CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

[...]
ROMANIAN POLL SHOWS OPPOSITION LEADS. A new public opinion
survey conducted by the independent Institute of Marketing
and Polling again shows the Democratic Convention as likely
to win most seats in the parliamentary elections scheduled
for 27 September, Rompres announced on 2 September. The poll
was taken between 10 and 20 August. It shows the convention
as winning 31.3% of the seats, as against 13.6% for the
National Salvation Front, and 11.6% for the (pro-Iliescu)
Democratic National Salvation Front.  The poll confirms
earlier trends. (Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.).

HUNGARIAN INTERIOR MINISTER IN ROMANIA. According to MTI and
Western media, Interior Minister Peter Boross arrived in
Romania on 1 September for a 24-hour visit at the invitation
of his Romanian counterpart Victor Babiuc. The two ministers
signed agreements on the return of illegal refugees,
cooperation between the interior ministries, and opening new
border crossings.  Discussions also touched on improving
cooperation between the border guards, police, and refugee
organizations of the two countries. (Judith Pataki, RFE/RL
Inc.)

[...]
NEW ROUND OF SUBSIDY CUTS IN ROMANIA. A new round of subsidy
cuts, the second in 1992, went into effect in Romania on 1
September.  Western and local media report that the prices of
many staples have doubled.  Under the new measures, meat
became fully unsubsidized.  The prices for bread, sugar and
cooking oil have all doubled, and electricity prices rose by
62%.  The government has announced cash handouts and raised
minimum wages in the state sector by 15%. (Michael Shafir,
RFE/RL Inc.)


[As of 1200 CET]
Copyright 1992, RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian