From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian
Subject: Moldova/Romania News from RFE/RL, 9/30/92
Date: 1 Oct 92 00:16:12 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri-Rolla, Missouri's Technological University

RFE/RL Daily Report               No. 188, 30 September 1992

MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER ON HIS WESTERN VISITS.  Back in Chisinau
from visits to Bonn and Washington, D.C. Moldovan Prime Minister
Andrei Sangheli told the Moldovan media on 27 September that
Germany and Moldova have agreed to open embassies in each other's
capitals and that a German delegation is due in Moldova shortly to
negotiate an intergovernmental political and economic agreement.
In Washington, Sangheli obtained the consent of the International
Monetary Fund for a stand-by agreement with Moldova effective 1
January and for a credit to enable Moldova to purchase feed grain
to offset crop losses caused by drought.  (Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL,
Inc.)

MOLDOVAN SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS ON NEED TO BUTTRESS INDEPENDENT
STATEHOOD.  At a consultative meeting with President Mircea Snegur
on 29 September, the leaders of Moldova's Social- Democrat Party
said that the opposition Popular Front's campaign for unification
with Romania risks causing a civil war in Moldova, Moldovapres and
ITAR-TASS reported.  The Social-Democrats agreed with Snegur on
the need to "buttress Moldovan independence" and develop Moldova
as "a state with the full attributes of sovereignty now and in the
future." The Social-Democrats also reserved the right to criticize
the Snegur administration for any policy errors.  (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL, Inc.)

CONSTANTINESCU TO FIGHT ON. Emil Constantinescu, the presidential
candidate of the centrist Democratic Convention, vowed to continue
his fight for the Romanian presidency despite his clear
second-place position. Constantinescu urged all democratic forces
to block Ion Iliescu's reelection in the 11 October runoff. He
also warned that the parties supporting Iliescu might join into a
dominant political force powerful enough to block moves toward
free market reforms. Meanwhile, the vote counting is moving
forward quickly, and final results are expected much earlier than
originally planned.  The latest partial results from 29 September
(9:00 p.m.) are based on complete counts from 92% of all stations.
They show Iliescu leading with 47.6%, followed by Constantinescu
with 30.6% of the votes. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.)

ILIESCU AIDE CALLS FOR GRAND COALITION. On 29 September Adrian
Nastase, Romanian foreign minister and top Iliescu aide, called
for a broad-based government coalition to include reformists from
the rival National Salvation Front and the Democratic Convention.
Nastase, who is widely tipped as Iliescu's choice to lead the
future cabinet, told journalists that the Democratic National
Salvation Front (DNSF) wants "national reconciliation." Latest
figures released by Romania's National Statistics Board show the
DNSF leading in the legislative elections with 28.6% for the
Senate and 27.7% for the Chamber of Deputies.  Nastase was quoted
as saying that "we shall be looking for a government formula that
will not handicap Romania." He was reacting to opposition fears
that a possible coalition of the DNSF, the revived communists, and
the nationalists would polarize the country and harm Romania's
image in the West. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.)

HOUSE VOTES ON ROMANIA'S MFN STATUS. The US House of
Representatives is expected to vote on 30 September on whether to
restore Romania's most-favored nation trade status, an RFE/RL
correspondent in Washington says.  Restoration had been postponed
because members of the Congress wanted to see the results of the
Romanian elections.  On 29 September Assistant Secretary of State
Thomas Niles said that the elections appeared to have been
conducted freely and fairly.  Romania's opposition fears that
restoration of MFN status now might send the wrong signal, and
influence both the presidential runoff and the building of a
coalition government.  (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.)

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