From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian
Subject: RFE/RL Daily Report 14 SEP, 1992 (long)
Date: 14 Sep 92 15:31:15 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. 176, 14 September 1992


                   SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN CRITICIZES LOCAL OFFICIALS . . . On 11 September,
addressing an all-Russian conference of administrators of the
Russian Federation in Cherboksary, President Yeltsin accused local
officials of "weakening Russia's nascent statehood" by ignoring
his decrees and government resolutions, of violating Russian laws
and of corruption.  The Russian media quoted Yeltsin as saying
that "the people will never forgive us if the hardships they are
going through turn out to be in vain, if reforms fail to bring
about positive results only because of disputes between the two
branches [representative and executive] of power, especially at
the local level." The president accused regional legislatures and
city councils of interfering in the everyday affairs of executive
organs and criticized mayors and chief administrators for assuming
lawmaking powers. (Vera Tolz)

 .  .  REVERSES HIMSELF ON CONGRESS. In the same speech, Yeltsin
retreated from his previous demands to abolish the
reform-resistant Congress of People's Deputies.  The president
said that since the "most difficult stage of reform is over, it is
important to end all talk about the uselessness of deputies'
work." He stated that the deputies should serve their term
"established by law" and added that "the Supreme Soviet is capable
of passing laws which are needed for Russians and Russia." Only
two weeks ago, Yeltsin had called for the creation of a
constitutional assembly in order to adopt a new constitution and
abolish the Congress. (Alexander Rahr)

 . . GRANTS CONCESSIONS TO LOCAL LEADERS.  Yeltsin gave in to
pressure from regional officials and decided to hand his right to
appoint heads of local administrations to the local authorities,
according to the Interfax report on Yeltsin's 11 September speech.
As a result, Yeltsin has lost his major control mechanism over the
Russian periphery to local leaders, most of which are former
Communist Party leaders.  Acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar also
indicated that the government lost its capability to conduct
reform from the center and has to share power with local leaders.
The Russian government promised to give local leaders access to
its communication system and introduce a post of deputy prime
minister in charge of regional affairs.  (Alexander Rahr)

RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION TO BE ADOPTED ONLY IN 1993.  Oleg Rumyantsev,
Secretary of the Constitutional Drafting Commission said that the
draft of the new Constitution will be presented to the parliament
in the autumn of 1992 and reviewed by the Congress of People's
Deputies in March of 1993.  He told ITAR-TASS on 12 September that
the draft had also been studied by the European Commission for the
Development of Democracy through Law.  According to Rumyantsev,
the parliament accepted 25 suggestions of the European Commission
for altering the draft. (Alexander Rahr)

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HEARINGS ON CPSU TO RESUME. The
Constitutional Court hearings on the status of the communist party
in the Russian Federation are scheduled to resume on Tuesday, 15
September. A spokesman for the Constitutional Court made the
announcement on 11 September, according to ITAR-TASS. The court
had adjourned on 3 August after three weeks of hearings. The
recess was called to allow the judges to review the evidence and
testimony presented and to consider whether additional witnesses
should be called.  The court is considering the constitutionality
of President Yeltsin's ban of the communist party and whether or
not the communist party was itself constitutional. (Carla Thorson)

THE DECISION ON JAPAN. State Secretary Gennadii Burbulis said,
during an interview on Russian TV broadcast on 13 September, that
the decision to postpone Yeltsin's trip to Japan came after
"discussions were held within the government, the Supreme Soviet,
and finally in the Security Council... It was in line with the
collective views of these three bodies that the president made his
final decision to postpone the trip." It is noteworthy that
Burbulis did not mention any role played by the Russian Foreign
Ministry in making the decision. Nonetheless, Burbulis explicitly
rejected the idea that conservatives had pressured Yeltsin into
canceling the trip. For his part, Yeltsin defended the trip's
postponement.  Speaking to reporters upon arrival in Cheboksary on
11 September, Yeltsin said that Japan had been "too categorical"
on the issue of returning the islands to Japan.  "We cannot deal
like that," the Russian president said. (Suzanne Crow)

AMBARTSUMOV, LUKIN DEFLECT CRITICISM ON JAPAN TRIP. Evgenii
Ambartsumov, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Committee on
International Affairs and Foreign Economic Ties, said that Japan
had taken too hard a position on the question of the Kuril
Islands, and this put Yeltsin in a difficult position. Speaking on
the Russian TV program "Krasnyi Kvadrat," Ambartsumov said that
the question of guaranteeing Yeltsin's security was not the only
consideration in calling off the visit, adding that in Russia, a
negative feeling had developed about sending Yeltsin to Japan.
Speaking on the same program, Russia's ambassador to the United
States, Vladimir Lukin, said that the postponement of the trip
could not be viewed as a great tragedy. Lukin also blamed Japan,
saying that Tokyo's attempt to pressure Russia for the return of
the islands brought the opposite result and stiffened Russian
opinion against the move, ITAR-TASS reported on 13 September.
(Suzanne Crow)

HIGHER RUSSIAN STATE BUDGET DEFICIT. The Russian government is now
allowing for a deficit "not exceeding" 950 billion rubles in 1992,
Interfax reported on 13 September.  The original budget deficit
was projected at 300 billion rubles, but parliament insisted on
additional expenditures for industrial subsidies and social
programs.  The new limit represents about 7% of GNP at current
prices, and is far above the Gaidar administration's original aims
and the IMF guidelines. It looks like an understatement, though
because on 24 August the Russian finance minister admitted that
the deficit had already risen to almost 1 trillion rubles and was
heading towards a year-end total of 2 trillion rubles "which is
tantamount to hyperinflation." (Keith Bush)

VOLSKY, YASIN WARN GOVERNMENT. Arkadii Volsky, leader of the Union
of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, is turning up the political
heat on the government. Speaking at a news conference in Moscow,
Volsky announced that he would call a conference of industrial
managers by November to pressure the government if it does not
alter its economic policy to his liking, the Financial Times
reported on 12 September. Evgenii Yasin, chief economist at the
institute of Volsky's group, but also an advisor to the
government, had warnings of his own during the news conference.
Yasin said that hyperinflation was "closer than ever" as a result
of disarray in the state's financial and credit policy. He claimed
that new credit emission in September will be ten times greater
than in March. (Erik Whitlock).

UKRAINE DEMANDS REMOVAL OF KASATONOV. The Ukrainian parliamentary
Commission on Defense and Security and the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry demanded on 11 September that the current commander of
the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Igor Kasatonov, be relieved
immediately of his duties, Interfax reported. A statement released
by the two agencies reportedly criticized both Kasatonov and the
Russian Defense Ministry for resisting efforts by Ukraine to take
control of two naval academies in Sevastopol.  Moscow apparently
wants to subordinate the schools to the CIS command and to keep
them under Russian jurisdiction. (Stephen Foye)

GENERALS DISMISSED FOR CORRUPTION IN BELARUS. Interfax reported on
11 September that the Belarus military prosecutor could bring
charges against several top generals, including the commanders of
the 5th and the 7th tank armies--identified as generals Rumyantsev
and Ivanitsky--for, among other things, illegally trading military
property.  The prosecutor denied that Defense Minister Pavel
Kozlovsky was involved in illegal activities. He also said that
crime within the armed forces had more than doubled this year,
attributing the rise at least in part to the disbanding of the
army's military-political organs.  (Stephen Foye)

FIGHTING CONTINUES IN AND AROUND NAGORNO-KARABAKH.  Following the
total deadlock of the CSCE-sponsored preparatory Karabakh peace
talks in Rome on 10 September, Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of
violating the agreement on a cease-fire on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.  Armenian parliament deputy Samvel
Shakhmuradyan was killed during an Azerbaijani artillery attack in
Mardakert on 11 September, ITAR-TASS reported; dozens of
Azerbaijanis and some Armenians were reported killed in heavy
fighting on 12-13 September in the Armenian-controlled Lachin
corridor that links Nagorno- Karabakh with Armenia, according to
the press center of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as cited by
ITAR-TASS. (Liz Fuller)

DESPITE ABKHAZ CEASE-FIRE, FIGHTING UNABATED.  Clashes between
Abkhaz and Georgian troops in which a total of 3 Georgians were
killed and over a dozen wounded were reported on 12 and 13
September despite the completion of the formal disengagement of
the two sides on 12 September under the terms of the latest
cease-fire agreement, Georgian and Russian sources reported.
Following an appeal by the Abkhaz parliament to Russian President
Yeltsin to forestall what it terms the intention of the Georgian
State Council to dissolve the parliament, Georgian and Abkhaz
parliament deputies held a five hour meeting on 13 September in
Sukhumi and signed an agreement pledging adherence to the 3
September cease-fire agreement, ITAR-TASS reported. (Liz Fuller)

WESTERN GEORGIA STILL POLITICALLY UNSTABLE.  Six representatives
of the Georgian National Democratic Party were kidnapped by
supporters of ousted Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in the
West Georgian town of Zugdidi during the evening of 10 September,
ITAR-TASS reported.  In an interview published in Le Quotidien de
Paris on 11 September, Georgian State Council Chairman Eduard
Shevardnadze stated that the parliamentary elections scheduled for
11 October have been postponed to a later (unspecified) date in
Abkhazia and parts of Western Georgia because the situation there
is so unstable.  (Liz Fuller)

TAJIKISTAN REPORTED QUIET.  ITAR-TASS reported on 13 September
that there had been no fighting in the town of Kurgan-Tyube for
one day, and the rest of Tajikistan remained quiet. Fighting had
been reported to be continuing on 11 September between supporters
of the Tajik opposition in Kurgan-Tyube and supporters of
President Rakhmon Nabiev. Nabiev himself, who has taken refuge in
his home base in Leninabad Oblast, told Reuters on 11 September
that he had been forced to resign at gunpoint and described the
events of 7 September as a coup.  Leninabad authorities, quoted by
ITAR-TASS on 12 September, denied that Nabiev was using the oblast
as a base to stage a comeback; they also claimed to be unaware
that he was in Khuzhand, where the Reuters correspondent found
him. (Bess Brown)

INCIDENTS CONTINUE ON TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER.  The NEGA news agency,
as cited by Reuters, reported on 12 September that seven people
had been killed the previous day in a shoot-out between guards on
the Tajik-Afghan border and a group of Tajiks returning from
Afghanistan.  An officer of the border troops was sanguine,
however, in his prediction on 13 September that the border
situation could be brought under control, ITAR-TASS reported,
though he estimated that some 400 citizens of Tajikistan are still
on the Afghan side and will try to return illegally. He also
complained about the lack of support from local villagers and the
unwillingness of local authorities to prosecute those who
illegally cross the border. (Bess Brown)

UN SENDS MISSION TO TASHKENT. In response to Uzbek President Islam
Karimov's plea for help to UN Secretary-General Butros-Ghali after
the events in Tajikistan last week, the ITAR-TASS correspondent at
the UN reported on 11 September that a UN mission was being sent
to Tashkent to study the situation.  The mission will also go to
Tajikistan, if invited. The same day ITAR-TASS reported from
Tajikistan that the authorities in Leninabad Oblast, who are very
unhappy over developments in Dushanbe, had requested that a UN
mission visit the country. (Bess Brown)

TRANSASIAN HIGHWAY DISCUSSED IN ALMA-ATA.  Kazakhstan's minister
of transport construction, Kyrgyzstan's minister of transport and
the head of Turkmenistan's state highway corporation signed a
protocol in Alma-Ata on 11 September on the construction of a
highway that would link the Central Asian countries with Iran,
Turkey and Pakistan and give the Central Asians access to the rest
of the Near and Far East, KazTAG-TASS reported.  Working groups
are scheduled to be formed to study routes and work out the
technical and economic basis for the highway. (Bess Brown)

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" FORGING AHEAD WITH OWN STATE STRUCTURES. Using
the breathing room gained through the cease-fire agreement, and
under the protective cover of the Russian troops, the "Dniester
republic" is creating state structures of its own.  On 11
September, Interfax and DR-Press reported that a decree by
"Dniester president" Igor Smirnov established "Dniester border
troops," subordinated to the "Dniester Ministry of National
Security" which was created last week by the "Dniester Supreme
Soviet." Tiraspol further announced that it had succeeded in
creating the "Dniester republic's" own banking system, fully
separate from that of Moldova, and that it is now conducting its
own transactions with partners in the other CIS states, bypassing
Moldova, DR-Press reported on 13 September. (Vladimir Socor)

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

BOSNIAN UPDATE.  International media reported on 13 September that
Serbian and Bosnian forces around Sarajevo have begun making their
heavy weapons available for UN observation but that the Serbs had
failed to take similar steps in three other areas of Bosnia. The
republic's president, Alija Izetbegovic, said he will boycott
peace talks in Geneva this week because of continuing Serb attacks
against Bihac and Gorazde, where Muslims managed to drive the
Serbs back just over two weeks earlier.  The 14 September
Washington Post reports that a UN report backs the Bosnian
government's position on the death of two French soldiers at
Sarajevo airport the previous week.  The report says that the
relief convoy drove into the middle of a firefight between Bosnian
and Serbian forces, and concludes that the two were not
deliberately killed by the Bosnians, as France has charged.
(Patrick Moore)

ANOTHER NO CONFIDENCE VOTE FOR PANIC? Radio Serbia and Politika
report on 12 and 13 September that last week's resignation of the
foreign minister of the rump Yugoslavia may bring about a second
vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Milan Panic.  According to
reports, a group of deputies from the ruling Socialist Party and
the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) will raise the
motion soon, but give no indication when.  SRS leader Vojislav
Seselj, stated on 10 September that Panic continues "to make
mistakes," and specifically criticized Panic's decision to change
the rump Yugoslav negotiating team for the Geneva Conference on
the former Yugoslavia. Panic described the accusations as childish
and rejected the existence of a Serbian foreign policy describing
it as "political Mickey Mouse." (Milan Andrejevich)

MILOSEVIC TO CHANGE POLITICAL OFFICE SOON?  Politika reports on 12
September that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic will be
elected president of the ruling Socialist Party (SPS) at the
party's second congress in early October.  The Belgrade daily says
the move is an attempt by the SPS (former communists) to improve
their chances for the next elections, expected sometime in
December, by placing Milosevic at the head of their party.  By law
Milosevic would have to resign as president of the Republic of
Serbia.  He would have the choice of remaining in office until new
elections are held or, if he requests an immediate replacement,
the Serbian parliament would elect an interim president.  Current
SPS president Borisav Jovic is expected to retire from political
life. Prime Minister Panic has indicated that he would not be
saddened to see Milosevic vacate the Serbian presidency. (Milan
Andrejevich)

PANIC ON RELATIONS WITH HUNGARY. Prime Minister Panic told
Hungarian TV on 11 September that he could envision ties between
Hungary and his proposed economic "Union of Balkan States," MTI
reports. According to MTI, Panic dismissed as ridiculous the views
of some Serbian groups that Yugoslavia should have nothing to do
with Hungary because Hungarians are natural enemies of Serbs.  He
said that Hungarians in Vojvodina have nothing fear as long as he
is prime minister; he will defend the rights of all minorities and
grant equal rights to all citizens regardless of nationality.
(Edith Oltay)

RIFT AMONG KOSOVO ALBANIANS. According to a Radio Serbia report on
13 September, some Kosovo Albanian leaders have openly expressed
their displeasure with the performance in office so far Ibrahim
Rugova, president of both the Democratic Alliance and the
self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. In particular, the results of
the London conference in late August are the focus of criticism.
Redzep Qosija, Kosovo's most prominent intellectual, wrote in the
latest issue of the weekly Zeri i rinise that Albanian observers
should have walked out on the conference because they were treated
only as a national minority. Qosija said Rugova is responsible for
the "new division of the [Albanian] nation into several foreign
sovereignties" because Albanians were represented in London in
four delegations--from Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania.
Qosija said that Rugova's biggest failure, however, was in letting
protests by Kosovo Albanians die down completely, a policy he says
was based on the mistaken belief that "our freedom and
independence will be delivered to us on a silver platter." (Milan
Andrejevich)

ALBANIA'S ALIA ARRESTED. Former communist president Ramiz Alia was
placed under house arrest on 12 September, Western agencies
report. Alia succeeded strongman Enver Hoxha in 1985, but was
defeated in elections in April 1992.  The ruling Democratic Party
has been calling for Alia's arrest for some time to join about 20
other former officials, including Hoxha's widow, already in
detention on changes of abuse of power and misuse of state funds.
In a statement appearing on 13 September in 24 ore ("24 Hours"),
an organ of the Socialist Party (former communists) in Tirana,
Alia protests the action as "purely political:" "I have done
nothing.  I have not given a single oral or written order. I had
the courage well before 1990 to open the way for the democratic
process and for pluralism," he writes. (Charles Trumbull)

SLOVAK PREMIER ON PLANS FOR SLOVAKIA. Speaking in Michalovce on 12
September, Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar said that his
government will ask the Slovak parliament to abolish the so-called
lustration law that stipulates that government employees be
screened for ties with the former secret police. The law also bars
former communist officials from holding government jobs. Meciar
said the law should be abolished before January 1993, when
Czechoslovakia is to split into two states. Meciar also said that
his government will borrow money abroad to be able to implement
economic reform despite the state budget deficit. (Jiri Pehe)

STRASKY WARNS AGAINST REFERENDUM. Addressing the Czechoslovak
parliament on 11 September, Prime Minister Jan Strasky said that
holding a referendum on splitting Czechoslovakia could cause
developments like those in Yugoslavia. According to Strasky, a
referendum may not be realistic because any campaign activities
preceding the referendum could be dangerous. Strasky presented a
government report which says that a constitutional declaration by
the federal parliament is "an adequate and feasible way of
formalizing the split." (Jiri Pehe)

KLAUS ON POLISH VISIT, US FREE TRADE PROPOSAL.  Speaking on Czech
Radio after his talks with Polish Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka on
13 September, Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said that he and
Suchocka found "a common language" and established friendly
relations. Commenting on the future of the so-called Visegrad
Triangle, Klaus said that he and Suchocka, unlike the previous
Czech and Polish governments, feel that "bilateral relations are
the foundation.  One must build the ground floor first, then the
roof, and not the other way around." Also on 13 September, Klaus
told CSTK that US President George Bush's recent pledge to seek
free trade agreements with Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland is
"very interesting for Czechoslovakia." Klaus said he will seek
more information if he meets Bush during his visit to the US this
week. (Jiri Pehe)

POLISH SENATE TINKERS WITH "LITTLE CONSTITUTION." The Senate
accepted 43 of 50 proposed revisions to the "little constitution"
before returning it to the Sejm for consideration on 11 September.
The final vote to accept the amended draft was 59 to 21, only one
vote over the required two-thirds majority.  The revisions mainly
defended the Senate's own prerogatives; motions to expand the
president's powers failed.  The Senate refused to restore the
president's right to request the government's dismissal and struck
all reference to the president's national security office.
Speaking for President Walesa, Lech Falandysz lamented that the
Senate had missed the chance to restore equilibrium in the "little
constitution." But he refused to say whether Walesa plans to veto
the bill. The government is awaiting passage of the "little
constitution," which would allow it to request the right to issue
decrees. (Louisa Vinton)

SUCHOCKA IN POZNAN, CRACOW. Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka attended
two national gatherings of local elected officials in Poznan on 11
September. She pledged reforms aimed at building a "modern
administration for a decentralized state." Speaking in Cracow on
12 September, Suchocka marked the third anniversary of the
creation of Poland's first noncommunist government with words of
praise for the round-table talks and the bloodless revolution that
followed. Democracy is incomplete without respect for the law, she
stressed.  "We do not have democracy," Suchocka said, "in order to
feel threatened by anarchy." Not every demand was just, and Poland
could not be ruled by those "with the strongest elbows." (Louisa
Vinton)

ILIESCU TO SPAIN, ITALY. Romanian president Ion Iliescu attended
festivities on "Romania's Day" at the world exhibition in Seville
on 12 September.  He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Adrian
Nastase, Minister of Culture Ludovic Spiess, and other officials
and well-known cultural and sports figures.  The day before, Radio
Bucharest reported that Iliescu met Spain's King Juan Carlos and
Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales in Madrid. Iliescu cancelled an
unofficial visit to Paris en route for reasons that are not clear,
but he make a stopover in Rome on September 14 to meet Italian
president Oscar Scalfaro and Pope John Paul II. Some independent
Romanian media see in this tour an attempt by Iliescu to persuade
electors that he is not isolated internationally as he fights for
reelection in the 27 September presidential race. (Dan Ionescu)

THOUSANDS RALLY FOR ROMANIAN OPPOSITION CANDIDATE.  Some 15,000
gathered in Cluj on 12 September to show support for Emil
Constantinescu, the main opposition candidate in Romania's
presidential elections.  Constantinescu, who is the rector of
Bucharest university, is running on the ticket of the Democratic
Convention, an alliance of centrist parties and organizations. In
a statement read out at the rally and summarized by Western
agencies, Constantinescu rejected "primitive nationalism,
extremism, and chauvinism." Tension between Romanians and ethnic
Hungarians has been on the rise in Cluj, whose mayor, Gheorghe
Funar, is presidential candidate of the extreme nationalist Party
of Romanian National Unity. (Dan Ionescu)

TOKES ENDS FAST. On 11 September ethnic Hungarian Reformed Bishop
Laszlo Tokes ended his ten-day protest fast in Timisoara.  In a
statement broadcast by Radio Bucharest, he said that he is
breaking off his protest in order to contribute to a peaceful
climate during the run-up to the elections. (Dan Ionescu)

HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CONSENSUS. In an interview with
Radio Budapest on 12 September, Arpad Goncz called on all
political and social groups to work together to overcome the
difficult problems arising out of the transition to a
parliamentary democracy.  He said that social problems pose the
greatest challenge, and, referring to recent clashes between the
government and the opposition over the media, said that it is far
easier to set up the institutions of democracy than to apply it in
everyday political practice.  Goncz further said that while some
anti-Semitism exists in Hungary, one cannot not speak of
institutionalized anti-Semitism or of a threat to the Jewish
population. (Edith Oltay)

ESTONIA SETS MINIMUM WAGE, PENSION. On 14 September the Estonian
government is expected to set the national minimum monthly wage at
300 kroons ($26.40) and the minimum monthly pension at 260 kroons
($22.80), BNS reports.  (Riina Kionka)

MORE CANDIDATES FOR LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT.  On 12 September
conferences of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party (LDLP), the
Sajudis coalition, and the Center Movement approved their campaign
programs and general lists of candidates for the Seimas elections,
the RFE/RL Lithuanian Service reports.  The LDLP list contains 72
names headed by party chairman Algirdas Brazauskas with only one
parliament deputy (Ceslovas Jursenas) but many economists.  The
Sajudis coalition, consisting of Sajudis, Citizens Charter,
Political Prisoner Union, Farmers' Sajudis, and the Greens Party,
approved a list of about 100 candidates, 13 of the top 15 being
parliament deputies headed by Parliament Chairman Vytautas
Landsbergis.  The Center Movement list includes 9 parliament
deputies among the top ten, headed by deputy Mecys Laurinkus,
parliament deputy chairman Kazimieras Motieka, Romualdas Ozolas,
and Egidijus Bickauskas.  It appears probable that the movement
will form an election coalition with the Liberal Union. (Saulius
Girnius)

LATVIA PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS. Although no date has been set and
all necessary legislation has not been adopted, Latvian
politicians are preparing for the elections.  Recently the
Democratic Center Party announced that it will try to represent
the interests of small businessmen.  The Conservative Party is
urging members of the National Independence Movement and the
People's Front of Latvia to join its ranks. On 10 September
leaders of various political parties met in Riga to discuss issues
of common interest and agreed to meet again, even though they
would be competing against each other. The same day the Committee
of Latvia distanced itself from Latvia's National Democratic
Party--American Way and its leader Armands Malins because the LNDP
has been highly critical of the committee and organized a kind of
national guard, an activity that the committee says is illegal,
Diena reported on 4 and 10 September. (Dzintra Bungs)

[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Carla Thorson & Charles Trumbull
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