From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Subject: RFE/RL Daily Report 09 SEP, 1992 (long)
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 12:34:54 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri-Rolla, Missouri's Technological University

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of lastest 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. 173, September 9, 1992

                   SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

SITUATION IN TAJIKISTAN.  The Presidium of Tajikistan's Supreme
Soviet and the Cabinet of Ministers announced on 8 September that
they would run the country in the wake of President Rakhmon
Nabiev's resignation the previous day, ITAR-TASS and Western
agencies reported from Dushanbe. The Presidium and Cabinet appealed
to the country's inhabitants to refrain from strikes and
demonstrations for six months and not to indulge in displays of
nationalism or local patriotism.  Elections for a new legislature
are scheduled for December; apparently there are no plans to try to
assemble the deputies before the election. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL
Inc.)

RUSSIA WARNS AGAINST MOVES ON TAJIKISTAN. Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky warned against outside interference
in Tajik affairs. During his briefing on 8 September, Yastrzhembsky
cautioned, "such a development would threaten the security not only
of the Central Asian states but also of Russia . . . No
interference in the internal affairs of Tajikistan . . .wherever it
comes from and whatever its motive, can be justified."
Yastrzhembsky also noted that Russian troops in the Kurgan-Tyube
region, the locus of hostilities, were protecting 16,000 refugees,
mostly ethnic Uzbeks, Reuters reported on 8 September.  (Suzanne
Crow, RFE/RL Inc.)

ABKHAZ CEASE-FIRE VIOLATED At a session of the Georgian State
Council on 8 September, Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze accused the
Abkhaz leadership of gross violations of the cease-fire agreement
reached in Moscow on 3 September, according to Interfax.
Shevardnadze argued that the continued shooting demonstrates that
the Abkhaz leadership has no control over its own armed forces--a
charge that could equally be made against the Georgians. Interfax
further reported that Abkhaz Parliament Chairman Vladislav Ardzinba
has fired Abkhaz troop commander Colonel Viktor Kakalia, who on 6
September signed a protocol on implementing the cease-fire
agreement, and appointed Vladimir Arshba in his place. (Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL Inc.)

KARABAKH CEASE-FIRE NEVER EXISTED.  On 8 September, the second day
of the fifth round of CSCE-sponsored preparatory Karabakh peace
talks in Rome, Armenian and Azerbaijani delegates announced that
the Kazakh-mediated ceasefire accord signed on 27 August applies
only to unspecified "hot spots" along the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border and not to the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, where
fighting continues unabated, Western agencies reported.  (Liz
Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE EXPRESSES LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN
KHASBULATOV.  At a session of the presidium of the Russian
parliament on 7 September, the head of the parliamentary committee
on mass media, Vyacheslav Bragin, read the committee's statement
expressing no confidence in the speaker of parliament, Ruslan
Khasbulatov.  ITAR-TASS quoted the statement as accusing
Khasbulatov of authoritarian methods of rule and of issuing
resolutions that were in violation of existing Russian legislation.
Members of the reformist factions in the parliament, "Radical
Democrats" and "Reform," also called for Khasbulatov's ouster.  At
the same time, a hard-line pro-Communist faction "Russia," headed
by Sergei Baburin, began a campaign to support Khasbulatov, an
RFE/RL correspondent in Moscow reported on 8 September. (Vera Tolz,
RFE/RL Inc.)

NATIONAL PATRIOTS DEMONSTRATE IN ST. PETERSBURG. "Social Security
for Workers," was the slogan under which the extreme nationalist
Russian Party held a meeting in St. Petersburg on 7 September,
Ostankino TV reported. The meeting was permitted by the mayor's
office. The demonstrators condemned Yeltsin's leadership as
"criminal and Zionist." The demonstrators also demanded the release
of the chief editor of the newspaper Narodnoe delo, who has been
arrested and charged with the dissemination of anti-Semitic
material.  The "red-brown opposition" in Russia plans to hold mass
demonstrations on 15 September. The protests will reportedly
include the picketing of the St.  Petersburg and Ostankino TV
centers.  (Vera Tolz, RFE/RL Inc.)

ATTEMPT TO REVIVE CPSU AS MASS MOVEMENT. On 8 September, Pravda
published a draft program aimed at reviving the Communist Party as
a mass movement.  The program said Communists should hold a
conference in Moscow next month. The program also called for a
"rebirth" of the Soviet Union and its return to socialist
development. It said state socialism experienced "crisis" in the
1970s, but it blamed the "mistakes" and the "treason" of Mikhail
Gorbachev and others for turning the USSR toward capitalism. (Vera
Tolz, RFE/RL Inc.)

EXPORT OF RUSSIAN OIL PRODUCTS HALTED. The major Russian exporter
of petroleum products, Rosnefteprodukt, has suspended deliveries to
Japan and Western Europe, Reuters reported on 8 September.  An
official of the company explained that this happens most years
because of increased domestic demand during the harvesting campaign
and because of the need to ship oil to the Far North before rivers
froze.  An aide to the Russian Energy Minister was quoted as saying
that shipments of crude oil were continuing.  Aleksandr Shokhin,
the deputy prime minister for foreign economic relations, was
quoted by the Financial Times of 9 September as saying that the
government had "lost control" over state-owned oil exporters and
wanted to recentralize purchases in order to meet obligations to
foreign states. (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIA TO TAKE ON DEBT FOR ASSETS. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr
Shokhin has announced that Russia has concluded bilateral
agreements with Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan concerning the
foreign debt of the USSR, ITAR-TASS reported on 8 September. No
details were given, but in return for Russia assuming their share
of debt liabilities, these nations have agreed to transfer or
renounce claim on former Soviet assets, including embassies and
gold reserves, according to the Financial Times on 9 September.
Similar negotiations are currently underway between Russia and the
other republics of the former Soviet Union.  (Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL
Inc.)

RUSSIAN INFLATION DATA. The Russian government's statistical
committee, Roskomstat, reported that consumer prices in Russia rose
by 1,270% during the twelve months ending in June 1992, according
to Interfax of 7 September. The rate of inflation has slowed, with
prices rising by 13% in June and 7% in July. Several government
officials have been openly critical about Roskomstat's data, and
particularly those on inflation. It is said that many in the
government prefer to use the inflation estimates published in
Kommersant.  (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

WESTERN ASSISTANCE ON LEGISLATION AND MARKET SKILLS. A European
Community task force on law reform in the Commonwealth of
Independent States will shortly publish its recommendations for
writing new legal and commercial codes, The Wall Street Journal
reported on 8 September. The task force has found that CIS members
have tended to adopt or copy foreign laws not on the basis of
evaluation but have taken whatever was offered to them by foreign
governments and international agencies.  The result has been a
hotchpotch of incompatible laws that do not interact with one
another. A World Bank grant is to fund the preparation of textbooks
and a program of training in market skills such as accounting and
banking, The Financial Times reported on 9 September.  (Keith Bush,
RFE/RL Inc.)

GROUP PRESSES FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION OF SERVICEMEN. Leaders of the
"Assambleya" association met with Ruslan Khasbulatov, the speaker
of the Russian parliament, on 8 September.  According to ITAR-TASS,
Khasbulatov stressed that the parliament was sincerely concerned
about the welfare of those in the Russian military. Speakers for
the association told Khasbulatov that Russia lacked a consistent
program for reforming its armed forces, as well as laws regulating
the social status and rights of those serving in the military.
Board Chairman Colonel Vasilii Sadovnik called for the
establishment of a public-government center to monitor the
development and implementation of social protection programs for
servicemen. (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

JAPAN AGAINST CHINESE PURCHASE OF EX-SOVIET CARRIER. Japanese Vice
Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa on 7 September advised China not to
buy an ex-Soviet aircraft carrier under construction in Ukraine.
UPI quoted Kakizawa as warning that such a purchase would
destabilize the Asia-Pacific region.  There have been persistent
rumors that China plans to buy the "Varyag," a sister ship of the
Russian Navy's "Admiral Kuznetsov," that was being fitted out in a
Ukrainian shipyard at Mykolaiv prior to the breakup of the Soviet
Union. The September edition of the "U.S.  Naval Institute
Proceedings" says that the deal has been finalized, and that Russia
will provide twenty-two SU-27 fighters to equip the ship. (Doug
Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

FOUR CIS STATES WANT TO DISCUSS BORDER ISSUES WITH CHINA. Russia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan agreed on 8 September to
raise the issue of mutual troop reductions along their combined
8,000 kilometer border with China, as well as other border issues.
ITAR-TASS, which announced the agreement, said that it was reached
on the periphery of a meeting of CIS foreign ministers in Minsk.
The Russian and Chinese defense ministers discussed troop pullbacks
from their mutual border when they met in Moscow last month, but
failed to agree on how far back the troops should be withdrawn.
(Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

KRAVCHUK CALLS FOR SPEEDY REFORMS.  Ukrainian President Leonid
Kravchuk called for speedy implementation of economic reforms and
criticized political groups for engaging in polemics, Western news
agencies reported on 8 September.  Kravchuk addressed a group of
cabinet ministers and other officials on the eve of the opening of
a new parliamentary session, saying that the time for political
rallies was over.  At the same meeting, the new first deputy prime
minister, Valentyn Symonenko, outlined a new economic program
stressing "mass privatization." Symonenko argued that new
legislation was needed for the program to be successful. (Roman
Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

DISGRACED SHEVARDNADZE ASSOCIATE MAKES COMEBACK AS VICE PRESIDENT.
Soliko Khabeishvili, the former Georgian Communist Party Central
Committee secretary for industry, who was sentenced in the spring
of 1987 to 15 years' deprivation of freedom for allegedly accepting
75,000 rubles in bribes from three raikom first secretaries, is now
Georgia's vice president, according to Die Welt of 8 September.
Khabeishvili has been a close associate of Shevardnadze since the
late 1950s when both men were members of the Georgian Komsomol
Central Committee apparatus. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

RISING TENSION IN UZBEKISTAN? On 8 September, Uzbekistan's former
Vice-President Shukrullo Mirsaidov resigned his post as deputy
chairman of the Uzbek parliament, warning in an open letter that
"democracy and a policy of openness are being replaced by an
authoritarian regime," AFP reported.  During the summer there were
a growing number of indications that President Karimov was cracking
down on the opposition, possibly as a preventative measure against
Tajik-style disturbances.  Mirsaidov was forced out of the
vice-presidency by Karimov after what was reported to have been
differences over the pace of economic reform. Possibly the two men
also disagreed over political reform. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

KARIMOV APPEALS TO UN ON CENTRAL ASIA. Uzbek President Islam
Karimov, who fears that the unrest in Tajikistan will spill over
into Uzbekistan, appealed to UN Secretary-General Butros-Ghali on 8
September, warning that Central Asia could become a hotbed of
tension, ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported.  Karimov cited the heavy
flow of arms from Afghanistan to Tajikistan and complained that
external forces want to encourage political and interethnic strife
in the region.  Karimov has been so disturbed over events in
Tajikistan that he has authorized the closing of the Uzbek-Tajik
border. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

MOLDOVAN-BULGARIAN RELATIONS AND THE MINORITY ISSUE. Returning from
an official visit to Bulgaria (see RFE/RL Daily Report, September
8, Eastern European section), Moldovan President Mircea Snegur
cited Bulgarian President Zheliu Zhelev as expressing satisfaction
that the provisions on Bulgarian minority rights in Moldova, which
were included in the bilateral treaty just signed in Sofia, are
based on Snegur's March 1992 decree guaranteeing the Bulgarian
minority's rights. Snegur added that a similar document is being
prepared with Ukraine, Moldovapres reported on 7 and 8 September.
TASS reported from Sofia on 7 September that Snegur expressed
appreciation for Bulgaria's cultural aid to ethnic Bulgarians in
Moldova and that Zhelev praised "the Moldovan leadership's efforts
to conserve and develop the ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and
religious identity" of the Bulgarian minority.  (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.)

MOSCOW HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP REFUTES ATROCITY CHARGES AGAINST MOLDOVA.
 In a report issued after a recent fact-finding trip to Moldova,
and made available to RFE/RL, a team of the Moscow-based human
rights society Memorial refuted allegations that the Moldovan side
had murdered and raped teenagers, and that they had dismantled or
damaged industrial plants there during the fighting for that city
in June.  Those allegations have since been spread further by the
mass media in Moscow. The team from Memorial found that the
"Dniester republic" authorities, including the Bendery militia, had
no evidence of such atrocities. (Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.)

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SCHEDULE SET FOR TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM LITHUANIA . . . On 8
September at the Kremlin, Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev
and his Lithuanian counterpart, Audrius Butkevicius, agreed upon a
schedule that provides for the withdrawal of Russian troops from
Lithuania to be completed by 31 August 1993, Radio Lithuania
reports. Troops are to be gone from Vilnius by the end of November,
1992.  Butkevicius told a press conference that there are 20,500
Russian troops in the republic.  Two documents detailing housing,
property, and social provisions for the withdrawing troops were
also approved. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Algirdas Saudargas and
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vitalii Churkin also used the
opportunity to sign a consular treaty.  (Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL
Inc.)

 .  .  BUT LAST-MINUTE HITCH HALTS SIGNING. Parliament Chairman
Vytautas Landsbergis and Russian President Boris Yeltsin failed to
sign the agreement when they met in Moscow on 8 September.
ITAR-TASS quoted Vyacheslav Kostikov, a Yeltsin spokesman, as
saying the agreement was held up for "technical reasons" rather
than any last-minute political change of heart.  The "technical
reasons" were probably Landsbergis's comments to BNS that "unknown
forces in the Russian Defense Ministry are trying to disrupt" the
withdrawal signing after a scheduled meeting between Butkevicius
and Grachev did not take place.  Landsbergis later told a press
conference that there are a number of technical details that
Yeltsin would like changed, but the reworked agreement will be
signed at his next scheduled meeting with Yeltsin on 1-2 October.
(Doug Clarke & Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

BALTIC FLEET TO LEAVE LATVIA BY END OF 1993? Radio Riga reported on
8 September that Vice Admiral Vladimir Egorov, commander of the
Baltic Fleet, told Latvian officials that Russian naval facilities
could be vacated and personnel could leave Latvia by the end of
1993. Eriks Tilgass, adviser on defense issues to Latvia's minister
of state, said that the Russians specifically mentioned leaving the
military harbor in Liepaja and the submarine training base in
Bolderaja and their readiness to pull out troops. (Dzintra Bungs,
RFE/RL Inc.)

ALL OR NOTHING? Estonia's Supreme Council Chairman Arnold Ruutel
has indicated that he may not be in favor of a complete withdrawal
of Russian troops from Estonian territory.  According to a 6
September Svenska dagbladet interview with Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Fedor Shelov-Kovedaev, when the two men met in May, Ruutel
"reacted positively to the possibility that [Russia and Estonia]
could use [the Paldiski naval base] jointly." On 7 September,
Ruutel consulted by telephone with his Latvian counterpart
Anatolijs Gorbunovs about recent reports that Gorbunovs might be
willing to let Russia maintain some bases in Latvia after the main
contingent leaves. (Riina Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

UN PEACEKEEPERS KILLED.  International media report on 8 September
that two French peacekeepers were killed and at least two others
wounded in an attack on a UN convoy by as yet unknown assailants.
Bosnian Muslims and Serbs each accusing the other of the attack,
which UN observers say was clearly deliberate.  The 35-vehicle
convoy originated in Belgrade and was delivering supplies to UN
peacekeeping forces in Sarajevo.  The attack occurred near
Sarajevo's airport.  Fighting throughout most of Bosnia-Herzegovina
continues.  Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen, cochairmen of the
international peace conference on the former Yugoslavia are due in
Zagreb today to start a three-day official visit which will also
take them to Belgrade and Sarajevo. The envoys are seeking ways of
resuming humanitarian aid flights and are expected to press for
guarantees from the warring parties to stop the attacks on relief
efforts. Sarajevo officials say that the city's food supply will
run out on 10 September. (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

RIFT AMONG BOSNIAN SERBS?  Radios Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia
report on 8 September that Bosnia's ministry of internal affairs
has obtained evidence of a rift between Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic and Gen.  Ratko Mladic, the commander of the Bosnian Serb
army.  The document charges that Karadzic is applying a double
standard to the army: in the past month he has been praising the
army and emphasizing its successes publicly, while privately
working toward replacing Mladic and his inner circle.  For their
part the Bosnian Serb military leadership is unhappy with
Karadzic's behavior and handling of policy, particularly over his
handing control of Serb artillery over to UN forces, which Mladic
feels is being done at an unsuitable time for the Serbian army.
Mladic believes that the army now has no chance of holding its
current positions and will suffer further setbacks, as in Gorazde.
(Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

TENSE SITUATION IN THE SANDZAK. In a letter to the Geneva
conference on the former Yugoslavia, the Muslim Council of the
Sandzak says that about 70,000 Muslims have fled the region,
allegedly because of "Serbian military terror." Council president
Sulejman Ugljanin says that the Sandzak has been occupied by the
Serbian and Montenegrin army, which deployed 29,000 reserve troops
to the area between early February and June. According to Ugljanin,
the terror the Muslims are subjected to and the display of military
might and combat hardware have been stepped up since the London
conference in late August and show no sign of abating.  The letter
states that 70 explosions have destroyed shops and properties owned
by Muslims in the Montenegrin towns of Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, and
Priboj. The Sandzak is a region straddling the Serbia-Montenegro
border.  Radio Croatia carried the report on 8 September. (Milan
Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

VOJVODINA HUNGARIANS PROTEST RESETTLEMENT.  Janos Vekas, vice
president of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Vojvodina, said
that by forcefully settling large numbers of Serbs in Vojvodina,
Hungarian-Serbian relations could be spoiled for a long period of
time. According to Vekas, each city in Vojvodina will have to make
room for some 4,000 Serbs, and citizens will have to take in the
refugees without compensation.  The report was carried by Radio
Budapest on 8 September.  (Judith Pataki, RFE/RL Inc.)

CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER ON FUTURE CZECH-SLOVAK RELATIONS. Speaking
to reporters in Prague on 8 September, Czech Foreign Minister Josef
Zieleniec said that the Czech Republic and Slovakia will exchange
ambassadors early next year.  He also said that the priorities of
Czech foreign policy will remain the same as those of the
Czechoslovak foreign policy but that the Czech Republic will wield
less international influence and will scale down some of the
foreign policy projects initiated by former Czechoslovak Foreign
Minister Jiri Dienstbier.  The Czech foreign minister further said
that attaining membership of the European Community, NATO, and West
European Union will be among the priorities. (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL
Inc.)

KLAUS REJECTS CZECH-SLOVAK DEFENSE UNION.  Speaking on Czech Radio
on 8 September, Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus ruled out the
possibility that the Czech Republic and Slovakia could form a
defense union or have a common army after 1 January 1993, when
Czechoslovakia is to split into two independent states. Klaus said
that there exists a strong army lobby in Czechoslovakia, consisting
of generals and high officers who would like to preserve a federal
arrangement for the army even after the breakup of Czechoslovakia.
Klaus rejected such a scenario but said that, in physical terms, it
may not be possible to separate the Czech and Slovak parts of the
army completely before 1 January 1993. (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

INTERIM PRESIDENT FOR LATVIA? The Latvian Supreme Council has begun
discussing a law establishing the office of an interim head of
state for Latvia until the new parliament--Saeima--is elected.
Though an election date has not been set and a new election law
must be adopted, it is widely believed that the elections may take
place next fall.  The Saeima would be authorized to consider the
issue of who should choose a president for Latvia. The Chairman of
the Supreme Council is the highest ranking official in Latvia, but
he is not officially the head of state, a lack that causes some
diplomatic problems. The final vote on the draft law is expected on
15 September and it is likely that Supreme Council Chairman
Anatolijs Gorbunovs will become the interim head of state of
Latvia, Radio Riga and Diena report. (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

POLISH GOVERNMENT FIRM ON STRIKES. Reviewing the strike scene on 8
September, the Polish cabinet restated its basic principles of
action.  In a statement issued after the meeting, the government
reminded the public that Polish law does not permit the payment of
wages for strike days; that strikers' pay demands cannot be
addressed to the government, which is not a party to wage talks;
and that the government will do everything in its power to ensure
that no pay increases result from current strikes. Responding to
the proliferation of strike "mediators," the government stressed
that all official talks with unions must have the labor ministry's
approval and that no agreements will be reached with parties or
parliamentarians.  Meanwhile, President Lech Walesa met with Maciej
Jankowski, leader of Solidarity's radical Warsaw region, to discuss
his idea of a "confederation of reformist forces." (Louisa Vinton,
RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIAN MINERS HOLD PROTEST RALLY. On 8 September some 1,500
miners from Cluj County took part in a protest rally in the city of
Cluj. The rally, which was also attended by delegations from other
regions, including Maramures, Moldova, and the Banat, demanded
state subsidies for the mining industry, cash payments to
compensate for recent subsidy cuts in prices for staples and
services, and adequate social protection.  Radio Bucharest quoted
Eugen Tamas, president of the Federation of Romania's Mining Trade
Unions, as saying that 90% of union members favor a strike if
demands are not met by the authorities. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

ESTONIA, LATVIA AGREE TO SETTLE ACCOUNTS.  Estonia and Latvia
agreed on 7 September to settle mutual outstanding bills by means
of correspondence accounts in freely convertible currencies, BNS
reports.  According to the terms of the agreement, Latvia's
correspondence account in Estonia will be figured in kroons,
whereas Estonia's tally in Latvia will be in Deutsche marks. (Riina
Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

BANK OF ESTONIA WANTS PRICE FREEZE.  Bank of Estonia president Siim
Kallas on 8 September called for a price freeze in order to curb
kroon inflation, BNS reports. Kallas told the Supreme Council in
his report on the currency that the new Estonian kroon saw 24.3%
and 17.6% inflation in July and August, respectively--higher than
the 5% that IMF officials had predicted. Kallas also said there was
no reason to regret the currency reform, and that the Bank of
Estonia's hard currency reserves have increased by 225 million
kroons since the 20 June reform. (Riina Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

EBRD GRANTS BULGARIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOAN.  On 8 September the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London released
a statement saying that Bulgaria will receive credits worth $46
million to update its telecommunications system, Western agencies
report. EBRD officials put the total costs of the project at $271
million and said that other financial institutions, such as the
European Investment Bank and the World Bank, will provide the rest
of the funding. (Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL Inc.)

DEMOCRATIC FORUM DEPUTY ON HUNGER STRIKE. Miklos Reti, a deputy of
the ruling Hungarian Democratic Forum went on a hunger strike on 8
September MTI reports. By his action Reti wants to secure the
dismissals of Hungarian TV and Radio chiefs Elemer Hankiss and
Csaba Gombar.  Prime Minister Jozsef Antall has requested, without
success, that President Arpad Goncz sign the dismissals of the two
media chiefs. (Judith Pataki, RFE/RL Inc.)

POLISH AUTO NEWS: FIAT PULLS BACK . . . On 8 September, Fiat
demanded that Poland's strike-plagued FSM automaker make immediate
repayment of a 1.5 trillion zloty ($100 million) loan granted to
finance the production of Cinquecento cars.  Fiat has a 90% stake
in FSM, but the strike there has blocked the firm's final
assumption of control.  FSM officials said the plant cannot repay
the loan.  Fiat's move may be designed to put pressure on the
strikers, who represent a minority of the work force. On 8
September, 15,000 nonstriking FSM employees presented Katowice
authorities with a petition demanding that their right to work be
respected. For their part, the strikers appealed to the six radical
trade unions for money and asked yet another contingent of
left-wing parliamentarians to intervene on their behalf. (Louisa
Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.)

 .  .  WHILE GM PRESSES ON. General Motors announced on 8
September that it will speed up plans for the production of Opel
Astras at the FSO auto plant in Zeran. Officials said that the
first Polish Astras could roll off the assembly line in August
1993, six months ahead of schedule.  GM initially proposed target
production of 35,000 cars per year and pledged to invest $75
million in the plant, but officials indicated that the final
agreement, to be signed in October, may scale down these plans.
GM's Warsaw representative told Gazeta Wyborcza on 8 September that
GM was observing the FSM strike carefully "but we are not
discouraged by the difficulties that Fiat has experienced in
Poland." (Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.)

"KING OF ALL GYPSIES" CROWNED IN ROMANIA. Ion Cioaba, self-styled
King of all Gypsies, was crowned on 8 September at the Bistrita
Monastery in Oltenia. Radio Bucharest reports that thousands of
Gypsies cheered as a priest laid a two-and-a-half-kg Swiss-made
golden crown on his head.  The 57-year-old Cioaba swore to fight to
overturn centuries of contempt for Gypsies. Rival Gypsy groups that
do not recognize Cioaba as a leader and accuse him of collaboration
with Nicolae Ceausescu's regime protested the ceremony.  According
to the last census, taken in January, 410,000 Gypsies live in
Romania, but Gypsy leaders maintain the figure is much higher. (Dan
Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

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

                               (END)
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