From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian
Subject: RFE/RL Daily Report 10 SEP, 1992 (long)
Date: 11 Sep 92 01:07:14 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. 174, September 10, 1992


                   SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN ABRUPTLY CALLS OFF JAPAN VISIT. On 9 September, Russian
President Boris Yeltsin indefinitely postponed his long-planned
visit to Japan just four days before it was scheduled to begin.
Japanese Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe would not confirm whether
or not Yeltsin's decision stemmed from Japan's refusal to provide
large-scale economic aid to Russia until the Kuril Islands dispute
is resolved in Japan's favor, Western agencies reported.  On 6
September, Yeltsin had noted that "I have to consider the attitude
of 150 million Russians," when considering the Kuril Islands issue,
"Novosti" reported on 7 September.  Yeltsin also announced that his
trip to South Korea would be postponed until December when Yeltsin
is already scheduled to visit China.  (Hal Kosiba, RFE/RL Inc.)

BURBULIS CRITICIZES JAPAN.  Russian State Secretary Gennadii
Burbulis has warned Japan not to "exaggerate its role and
importance to the detriment of other states in the Pacific region."
He told ITAR-TASS on 9 September that Russian-Japanese relations
"are not the only prospects in this region" for Russia. Burbulis
said that according to a recent opinion poll published by Interfax
on 8 September, 60 percent of Russians oppose returning the Kuril
islands to Japan, and he noted that Yeltsin and government
officials must take the opinion and sentiments of the Russian
population into account. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

ON THE ROLE OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL. Russian President Boris
Yeltsin indicated in his phone conversation with Japanese Prime
Minister Kiichi Miyazawa that the decision to postpone his visit to
Japan had been made by the Security Council rather than by him
personally. If this statement is accurate, it demonstrates the
extent to which this recently created committee has become a major
collective decision-making body in Russia. However, First Deputy
Parliamentary Speaker Sergei Filatov, who is also a member of the
Security Council, was not present at the meeting and was unaware of
the postponement, Western news agencies reported on 9 September.
(Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

CSCE KARABAKH TALKS IN JEOPARDY? Azerbaijan's intransigence in
refusing to agree to the proposal made by Mario Raffaelli, chairman
of the CSCE-sponsored Rome Karabakh peace talks, for a cease-fire
in Nagorno-Karabakh may lead to the complete collapse of the
negotiations, unnamed Western diplomats told Reuters on 9
September. ITAR-TASS quoted Armenian presidential advisor Gerard
Liparitian as stating that the US, France, and Russia had condemned
Azerbaijan's use of military aircraft against the civilian
population in Nagorno-Karabakh, and that delegates to the Rome
talks had demanded that Azerbaijan respond to Raffaelli's proposal
by 15 September. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

NEW CEASE-FIRE IN ABKHAZIA. The tripartite Russian/Georgian/ Abkhaz
commission to monitor implementation of the 3 September Moscow
agreement met in Sukhumi on 9 September and concluded a new
cease-fire agreement to take effect at midnight local time on 9
September, ITAR-TASS reported. Beginning on 10 September, military
formations on both sides will be disbanded and hostages and
prisoners released. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

VOLSKY FOR GOVERNMENT CHANGE. The leader of the industrial lobby,
Arkadii Volsky, said that his main goal is the struggle to correct
the government's reform course. He told Pravda on 9 September that
the government is gradually losing its authority to conduct
reforms. He stated that he has many differences with acting Prime
Minister Egor Gaidar. For instance, he dismissed Gaidar's efforts
to create a market economy and an ownership class, stressing
instead the need to improve the efficiency of the economy and to
raise the living standard of the population.  He asserted that the
industrial lobby will ensure that the leaders and the parties which
gain power will protect the people's economic interests. (Alexander
Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN FOOD SUPPLY DOWN. The Russian State Committee for
Statistics (Roskomstat) announced on 9 September that food
production during the past few months has declined by an average of
22% when compared with the same period of 1991, ITAR-TASS reported.
Roskomstat attributed part of the decline to shortfalls in
contractual deliveries from other CIS members and from the Baltic
states.  (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

SCALE OF RUSSIAN CAPITAL FLIGHT MINIMIZED. The Russian First Deputy
Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Sergei Glaziev, announced
on 9 September that Russia has exported some $2 billion to date in
1992, Interfax reported.  About half of this sum has been retained
abroad legally to purchase foreign goods and materials. The rest
has been transferred illegally but has also been used to buy
foreign goods. The total sum is far below some Western estimates of
capital flight: these Glaziev attributed to Western banks which
spread the reports in order to raise their interest rates charged
because of the implied risk factor. (Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

FURTHER RAISES FOR RUSSIAN COAL MINERS.  Acting Prime Minister Egor
Gaidar and coal union officials signed an agreement on 8 September
that provides for gradual increases in coal miners' wages, Interfax
reported on 9 September.  Starting on 1 September, average wages
for those working in mining, processing, and transportation of coal
will rise by 60%; by the end of the year, the increment will reach
80%.  The average monthly wage for coal miners in July was 10,900
rubles. A union official said that the raises will not be funded by
means of budget subsidies.  Instead, mines will increase wholesale
prices of coal by up to 30%--the current average price of coal is
95 rubles a ton--which should cover the pay raise. (Keith Bush,
RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIA ASKS PARDON FOR OFFICER CONDEMNED TO DEATH IN AZERBAIJAN.
Russian authorities have asked Azerbaijan to pardon an Russian
officer sentenced to death by the Azerbaijan Supreme Court's
military collegium on 31 August.  According to ITAR-TASS, the
Russian Defense Ministry and a public committee concerned with
servicemen's social rights appealed on 9 September to Azeri leaders
to stay the execution of Lieutenant Evgenii Lukin.  Lukin was in
charge of the guard at the Baku Military School on 7 September 1991
when it was attacked by an armed group seeking to obtain weapons in
the school's depot.  When the attackers failed to retreat in the
face of warning shots, Lukin ordered his men to shoot to kill.
Three attackers lost their lives. The Russians claim that Lukin
should have been tried by a Russian court. (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL
Inc.)

RUSSIAN/SOUTH KOREAN NAVAL AGREEMENT IN THE WORKS. Russian and
South Korean naval officials on 9 September ended two-days of talks
in Seoul on a bilateral agreement regarding the prevention of
incidents at sea. Vice Admiral Vladimir Lyashenko, the first deputy
chief of the CIS naval headquarters, told ITAR-TASS that the
negotiations had gotten off to a successful start. The next round
will take place in a month.  The agreement would provide
confidence-building measures between the two navies. (Doug Clarke,
RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN OFFICER DEFECTS TO FINLAND.  ITAR-TASS on 9 September
reported that a officer of the border guards defected to Finland on
1 September. According to the press center of the Russian Border
Forces, Major Andrei Vykhrystyuk--the commander of a guard unit on
the border with Finland--had been on the brink of a nervous
breakdown and was drinking heavily prior to the incident. The
agency report said that the major's father and wife were insisting
that he be repatriated.  (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

"NEW UKRAINE" CALLS FOR ORGANIZED OPPOSITION.  The opposition
coalition "New Ukraine" held a press conference in Kiev on 8
September devoted to the current political situation in Ukraine,
DR-Press reported on 9 September. Volodymyr Filenko, the chairman
of the coalition, emphasized the need to form an organized
opposition aimed at gaining a majority in the parliament. Filenko
also did not exclude the possibility of "New Ukraine" participating
in a government of popular trust. The former economics minister,
Volodymyr Lanovyi, told reporters that he intends to establish a
National Center of Market Reforms. (Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

UKRAINIAN DELEGATION IN WASHINGTON. A Ukrainian parliamentary
delegation led by Ivan Plyushch, head of the Ukrainian parliament,
is in Washington for meetings with top American officials, Radio
Ukraine reported on 8 September.  Members of the delegation are
scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Dick Cheney, National
Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, senators and congressmen, and
other US officials.  (Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

TURKEY PROVIDING WEAPONS TO NAKHICHEVAN? According to an
unconfirmed report on 9 September by Armenia's Snark News Agency,
the military council of the Ninth Corps of the Turkish army has
decided, with the Turkish government's consent, to supply
considerable quantities of Soviet-made weapons and combat material
to the government of Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.
To date, the Turkish government has publicly resisted pressure to
offer military assistance to Azerbaijan. Turkish Prime Minister
Suleiman Demirel visited Nakhichevan last month and promised
financial and food aid worth $10 million to counter the effects of
the Armenian blockade of the region. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" ESTABLISHES OWN AIR FORCE.  The "Dniester
republic Supreme Soviet" on 8 September formally approved the
establishment of its own air force and a "department of military
aviation," consisting of "airplanes and helicopters based on its
territory," DR-Press reported from Tiraspol on 9 September. The
report clearly refers to the aircraft of Russia's 14th Army. Some
aircraft have already been turned over to the "Dniester" forces by
that Army, and they took part in the "Dniester" military parade on
the anniversary of the "republic" on 2 September in the presence of
the Army's commander, Major General Aleksandr Lebed, DR-Press
reported that day. An RFE/RL correspondent and the St.  Petersburg
TV program "600 Seconds" reported on 7 and 8 September,
respectively, that the "Dniester republic" had warned that any
Moldovan overflight of the area without "Dniester" permission would
be treated as a military attack. (Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.)

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" OFFICIALLY REIMPOSES RUSSIAN SCRIPT ON
"MOLDOVAN" LANGUAGE.  The "Dniester republic Supreme Soviet" on 8
September voted in a language law reimposing the Russian alphabet
on the "Moldovan" (i.e. Romanian) language in the territory under
its control. As cited by Radio Rossii, the "law" requires the use
of the Russian alphabet for "all situations in which the Moldovan
language is used." The measure is likely to force part of the local
Moldovan intelligentsia out of their jobs and out of the area.
Although the law formally stipulates the equality of the Russian,
Ukrainian, and "Moldovan" languages, the "Dniester authorities"
promote the old policy of linguistic russification.  Moldovans, who
comprise 40.1% of the population, are the largest ethnic group in
the territory at issue, but ethnic Russians, who form only the
third-largest ethnic group (behind Ukrainians), rule the area.
(Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.)

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

UN COMMANDER BLAMES BOSNIANS FOR ATTACK. On 9 September the
commander of the UN forces in Sarajevo, Egyptian General Hussein
Ali Abdul Razik, said that the two French soldiers were killed on 8
September by bullets fired by "irresponsible elements" who
disobeyed orders of the local Bosnian commander.  The shots came
from positions held by Bosnian government troops, Razik said,
"There is no mistake about this because visibility at the time of
the attack was good." State Presidency member Ejup Ganic denied
that Bosnian forces attacked the convoy. Bosnian Foreign Minister
Haris Silajdzic stated that "it's totally illogical" that Bosnian
forces would fire on "those providing relief." UNPROFOR
headquarters in Zagreb released a statement saying that the Italian
relief plane downed on 3 September was shot down in an area
controlled by Croatian forces. But the statement adds "exactly how
or by whom is the subject of intensive study." The statement also
lays blame on Bosnian government forces for the 8 September attack
on the convoy.  International media carried the reports.  (Milan
Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

VANCE SAYS RELIEF CONVOYS TO CONTINUE.  UN envoy Cyrus Vance told
reporters in Zagreb on 9 September that overland relief convoys to
Sarajevo will continue despite the recent tragedy, which he
described as "cold-blooded murder." Vance, along with EC envoy Lord
Owen were in Zagreb for talks with UN, Red Cross, and Croatian
officials.  They will continue with stops in Sarajevo and Belgrade
in an effort to secure further guarantees that overland convoys and
air relief flights will not be attacked. (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL
Inc.)

IRANIAN ARMS SEIZED BY CROATIA. Radio Croatia and Western media
report on 10 September that Croatian security forces have impounded
an Iranian Boeing-747 aircraft loaded with arms bound for the
Muslim-dominated government forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The
incident occurred on 4 September. Officials seized 4,000 guns and
more than one million rounds of ammunition and deported about 40
Iranians found hidden in the aircraft. The New York Times on 10
September stated that the interception of arms from Iran is the
first documented evidence of military support by an Islamic country
to the Bosnian government.  (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

PANIC STRIKES HARD. In his first interview since surviving the vote
of no-confidence in the Federal Assembly on 4 September, Milan
Panic, prime minister of the rump Yugoslavia, told Belgrade Radio
on 9 September that he has replaced the Yugoslav negotiating team
at the Geneva peace conference.  Panic said the previous team had
"lost all battles," a clear reference to the Socialists ,who
brought Serbia-Montenegro into virtually total global isolation
after being accused of fomenting war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The
new team will be led by Ljubisa Rakic, former dean of Belgrade
University's medical school.  Panic also described the
no-confidence motion as a phase of democracy, but said he was
surprised at how "few details . . . and lies" his critics
presented. Panic also singled out the privatization of the media as
one of the most important domestic issues.  Turning to the Kosovo
situation, Panic said that some laws there are clearly "detrimental
to Albanians and they ought to be changed immediately." He also
proposed that the state provide financial assistance for classes
taught privately in the Albanian language at the university,
secondary, and primary school levels.  (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL
Inc.)

WALESA IN ACTIVIST MODE.  After giving Justice Minister Zbigniew
Dyka a tongue-lashing on 8 September for failing to clear up
prominent scandals on time, President Lech Walesa spent another
busy day in his campaign to channel public energies into productive
work rather than strikes. At an early morning mass and breakfast
with former prime minister Waldemar Pawlak, Walesa stressed that
there was room in his "solidarity confederation of reformist
forces" for the postcommunist peasant party.  Next, in a radio
interview, Walesa said that justice for past abuses was not as
important as "building the future." If no progress was made in six
months, he warned, a "presidential system" would be necessary.
Finally, during a visit to a police training center near Warsaw,
the president repeatedly stressed the need to close the chapter on
the past, and begin joint work for the good of Poland. "No one can
be punished without proof of individual guilt," Walesa said.
(Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.)

GOVERNMENT PRESENTS "PACT ON STATE FIRMS." Prime Minister Hanna
Suchocka and five of her ministers held a press conference on 9
September to present the government's proposed "pact on state
firms." This package, now under consideration by the trade unions,
is designed to improve the functioning of state firms and forestall
protest by giving workers a bigger stake in their enterprises. The
pact includes: the chance for struggling firms to choose their own
method of privatization, with 10% of the shares provided free to
the work force; selective debt-relief for firms with sound
restructuring plans; the replacement of the despised popiwek (tax
on excess wages) with negotiated wage limits; and the creation of a
fund to guarantee payment of wages in the event of bankruptcy. The
pact's psychological aims may be as important as its economic
goals; the point is to shift workers' attention from demands on the
state to concern with the fate of their own firms. (Louisa Vinton,
RFE/RL Inc.)

POLAND'S FIRST POLITICAL PRISONER?  On 9 September, Poland's
Supreme Court turned down a request by the chief prosecutor to
reconsider the case of Roman Galuszko, who was sentenced by a
Cracow military court in April to 18 months imprisonment for draft
evasion. Galuszko's request for alternate service on moral and
religious grounds was rejected; the draft board refused to accept
the Catholic faith as a valid argument against military service.
This rationale has stirred controversy.  In another judicial
development, the Bialystok prosecutor announced on 9 September that
"criminal arson" caused the fire in January 1989 that killed
Stanislaw Suchowolec, an activist Solidarity priest.  The communist
police had ruled the death accidental.  Suchowolec was one of three
activist priests killed in mysterious circumstances in the period
before and after the round-table talks. (Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL
Inc.)

STOLOJAN APPEALS TO RAILWAY UNION LEADERS TO END HUNGER STRIKE.
Romanian Prime Minister Theodor Stolojan sent a letter to four
railway union leaders who have been on a hunger strike for more
than 20 days. The full text was read on Radio Bucharest on 4
September. Stolojan pleaded with the union leaders to abandon their
protest until a solution can be found to their claims. The
four--Stefan Siromascenco, Cristian Peride, Victor Condurache, and
Nicolae Fieraru--are protesting the signing of a labor contract as
well as their dismissals. Stolojan met the protesters on 3
September and promised to set up an inquiry commission to examine
the demands. He insisted, however, that he has no right to overturn
decisions made by Romanian Railways board of directors. (Dan
Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIA'S ETHNIC HUNGARIANS URGE TOKES TO END HUNGER STRIKE.
Magyar Bishop Laszlo Tokes has been urged by his supporters to
abandon his week-old protest fast. In a statement read on Radio
Bucharest, the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania, which
represents the country's Hungarian minority, urged Tokes to
"preserve his strength to fight for the victory of truth and moral
values." Tokes began his hunger strike in an attempt to force the
authorities to identify the murderers of the 1,033 victims of the
1989 Romanian uprising. President Ion Iliescu offered last week to
meet Tokes but has effectively rejected the latter's demands from
the outset. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE ELECTIONS.  Patriarch Teoctist of
Romania said in a pastoral address that the Romanian Orthodox
Church "would not express a preference for any candidate or party
in the presidential and parliamentary elections" scheduled for 27
September, Radio Bucharest reported on 4 September. However, the
patriarch added that this "political neutrality" did not mean
"indifference from the moral and social point of view;" he urged
the faithful to vote for "belief in God" and the "safeguarding of
freedom," in what Reuters reported to be an appeal "for the
preservation of Christianity against atheism and Communism."
(Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.)

REMAINS FOUND IN MASS GRAVE IN ROMANIA. Western agencies report
from Bucharest that a mass grave containing about 140 skeletons
dating from the 1950's has been found on premises run by the
Securitate, the former secret police, an Interior Ministry
statement said. The remains, which appear to be from members of
peasant families who opposed collectivization, were found at
Caciulati, near Bucharest, according to the Association of Former
Political Detainees. (Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.)

HEAD OF CZECHOSLOVAK PRESS AGENCY REPLACED. The Czechoslovak
government dismissed Petr Uhl, general director of CSTK, on 9
September and replaced him with Tomas Kopriva, a deputy
representing Vaclav Klaus's Civic Democratic Party in the Federal
Assembly. Explaining Uhl's dismissal, Czechoslovak Deputy Prime
Minister Miroslav Macek told a CSTK reporter that Kopriva would
better be able to carry out the planned partition of CSTK into two
republican agencies.  Uhl, a former dissident who headed the agency
since 1990, is known for his leftist views and is an advocate of
preserving the Czechoslovak federation. He insists that he was
dismissed for political reasons. (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

CZECHOSLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER ON RELATIONS WITH EC. Speaking to
reporters in Brussels after his talks with EC officials on 9
September, Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jozef Moravcik said the
Czech and Slovak republics will need two separate but identical
association agreements with the European Community after
Czechoslovakia splits into two states.  Moravcik said the
agreements should be modeled on the EC association accord that
Czechoslovakia signed last December. Moravcik also said he hopes
that the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be able to apply for full
EC membership at the same time, together with Poland and Hungary.
The EC has taken no official position on the planned breakup of
Czechoslovakia.  (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

NO BREAKTHROUGH IN HUNGARIAN-SLOVAK RELATIONS. The first meeting
since the June 1992 Czechoslovak elections between Hungarian Prime
Minister Jozsef Antall and his Slovak counterpart Vladimir Meciar
in Budapest did not result in any breakthroughs, Radio Budapest and
MTI announced. Meciar thanked Antall for Budapest's recognition of
the division of Czechoslovakia without trying to "make political
capital" out of it. The two premiers agreed to set up three joint
parliamentary commissions: on the situation of their respective
national minorities, on bilateral relations as a whole, and on the
problem of the Gabcikovo hydroelectric plant.  On the latter issue,
questions such as the validity of the Czechoslovak-Hungarian
agreement (unilaterally abrogated by Hungary in May 1992) and the
legality of Slovakia's plans to divert the Danube River (which
forms the Slovak-Hungarian border), are still not resolved.
Budapest has suggested that the International Court of Justice be
asked to rule on the matter--a solution not favored but also not
rejected by Meciar. (Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL Inc.)

MECIAR MEETS WITH SLOVAK MINORITY LEADERS. At the start of his
Budapest visit, Meciar met with representatives of Hungary's
100,000-strong Slovak minority. He rejected the notion of
"collective minority rights," and said that emphasis should be
placed on the assertion of citizens' individual rights. The ethnic
Slovaks asked for Bratislava's support in printing publications in
their language and supported a "sister-city" program for Hungarian
and Slovak towns and villages. (Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL Inc.)

NEW DRAFT CONSTITUTION FOR LITHUANIA.  On 9 September deputies
Aurimas Taurantas and Narcizas Rasimanicius held a news briefing to
report on efforts to prepare a unified draft constitution to be
voted on in a referendum on 25 October, at the same time as
elections to Parliament (the Seimas), BNS reports. Other draft
constitutions, differing greatly on the proposed powers of the
president, had been proposed by a parliament commission and the
Sajudis Coalition for a Democratic Lithuania.  The coordinated
draft changes three much-criticized articles of the commission's
draft.  Now all deputies would be elected for four years instead of
reelecting half every two years, the president would have the power
to dissolve the Seimas under certain circumstances, and procedures
for amending the constitution would be simplified. (Saulius
Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

LITHUANIAN SALARIES TOP 6,000 RUBLES.  The Lithuanian Statistics
Department reports that the average salary before taxes in July was
6,175 rubles, BNS reported on 7 September.  Average salaries range
from 19,615 rubles for workers in the nuclear energy system to
2,257 rubles for kitchen utensil producers.  Industrial workers
earn 7,157 rubles, scientific workers--6,165, and employees of
budget organizations--4,536.  (Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

SWEDISH ROYAL COUPLE IN LATVIA. On 9 September Sweden's King Carl
XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia started a three-day official visit to
Latvia, Radio Riga reported. Arriving in the frigate Visborg, the
traditional salute at the Riga passenger port was executed with
cannons borrowed from Sweden, since Latvia does not own any
(Estonia lent its cannons for the recent visit of the Danish royal
family). A busy day, involving meetings with Parliament and
government leaders and members of the diplomatic corps and visits
to historic and cultural sites in Riga, ended with a dinner hosted
by Latvia's Supreme Council Chairman Anatolijs Gorbunovs at the
Rundale Palace. (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

UNEMPLOYMENT UP IN LATVIA.  BNS reported on 9 September that
unemployment continues to rise with about 30,000 persons seeking
new jobs.  Over one half--approximately 16,500--have been
classified as unemployed and of these 14,726 are receiving
unemployment compensation. Already 181 persons are no longer
getting unemployment benefits since they have been on the dole for
more than six months. Most of the unemployed are laid-off factory
workers whose former employers have had to reduce their labor force
on account declining output. A large number of the unemployed are
well-educated women.  (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

LATVIAN MP: RUSSIA DRIVING A WEDGE BETWEEN BALTS. Supreme Council
deputy Mihails Stepicevs told Diena on 8 September that Russia is
trying to drive a wedge between the three Baltic States by holding
separate talks with each and because President Yeltsin is planning
to meet separately with each country's leaders.  Stepicevs, a
member of the Supreme Council's commission on defense, also accused
Moscow of delaying talks on troop withdrawal from Latvia. (Dzintra
Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

ESTONIA, RUSSIA RESUME TALKS.  Estonian and Russian delegates began
the sixth round of general disengagement talks on 9 September in
Moscow, BNS reports. The agenda focused on economic issues,
including protection of mutual investments, the former USSR's
foreign debt and transportation questions.  Meanwhile, Estonian
Foreign Minister Jaan Manitski met with Russian ambassador
Aleksander Trofimov in Tallinn to discuss troop withdrawals. (Riina
Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

BALTIC-NORDIC WOMEN'S CONFERENCE.  A conference on women, politics,
and economics sponsored by the Nordic Council, was held in Riga on
5-6 September. The conference, the first of its kind in the Baltic
States since they regained their independence, is intended to
provide a forum for exchanging information on women's status in
society and discussing requirements to achieve more equal status
for women in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.  Among the
participants (mostly women) were various ministers, parliament
members, economists, businesswomen and other professionals from
Scandinavia, Finland, and the Baltic States, Radio Riga reported on
6 September.  (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

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

                               (END)
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian