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Subject:      RFE/RL Daily Report 04 JAN, 1993

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of the latest developments
in Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and Central 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 1993 RFE/RL,
Inc.


----------------------------------------------------------------
             RFE/RL Daily Report

                                No. 1, 4 January 1993

Russia

Bush and Yeltsin Sign START II Treaty. In a 3 January Moscow
ceremony, the Presidents of Russia and the United States signed
the START II strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty, thus
pledging their countries to do away with roughly two-thirds of
their most powerful nuclear weapons.  According to Interfax,
President Yeltsin described the treaty as surpassing all the other
disarmament agreements ever signed, and called it a "treaty of
hope." It said that it strengthened Russia's security rather than
weakening it, and noted that it would be considerably cheaper to
destroy the strategic weapons than to maintain them.  Doug Clarke,
RFE/RL, Inc./Russia


J
Yeltsin on Efforts to End Yugoslav War. During his press
conference with U.S. President George Bush on 3 January, Russian
President Boris Yeltsin said that he and Bush had discussed the
crisis in former Yugoslavia and claimed that "we are close in our
stands" on the Yugoslav crisis. Yeltsin added that Russia supports
"the U.S. stand on adopting a UN Security Council resolution,"
apparently in reference to the proposed no-fly zone in Bosnia.
Yeltsin stated that Russia "will carry on pursuing a similar
policy line," but added that "we would like to try, more actively
than we have ever done before, to pursue a policy aimed at
establishing a truce in Serbia and Yugoslavia as a whole," Russian
TV reported.  Suzanne Crow, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia


J
Yeltsin's New Year's Address. In his New Year's address to the
Russian people, broadcast by Russian TV on 30 December, Russian
President Boris Yeltsin acknowledged that he had been wrong when
he predicted that there would not be any major prize rises in
1992. Yeltsin said that he will now devote himself more to
foreign, security, and social matters and leave economics more to
the cabinet. He called upon the people to support the creation of
a democratic Russian state in the April referendum.  He promised
that there will be no departure from market reforms.  He thanked
former Acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar for having introduced a
market economy in Russia. He stated that Gaidar will return to
politics in future. Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Progress of Russian Privatization. By the end of 1992, 600 large
state enterprises and more than 40,000 small businesses such as
stores had been privatized in Russia, ITAR-TASS reported on 2
January. The sale of enterprises last year brought 85 billion
rubles.  The State Property Committee reckons that 4,700 more
large enterprises will be sold off during 1993. Keith Bush,
RFE/RL, Inc./Russia


J
Land Reform in Russia. Russian citizens now have the right to buy
and sell private plots of land, as long as it is used for
gardening or the construction of private housing, i.e. not for
commercial purposes.  According to an ITAR-TASS report of 31
December 1992, a total 10 million hectares of land has been
acquired by citizens since 1990, and 20 million families have
acquired private plots, of which 16 million families are urban
dwellers. The increase in private plot ownership is said to
contribute to solving the problem of food supplies. There are
currently 173,000 private commercial farmers, 2,300 agricultural
cooperatives, and 19,000 livestock collectives, but the purchase
of land for commercial farming is still reported to be hampered by
red tape. Sheila Marnie, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Lukyanov, Zhirinovsky Join Hardline Meeting.  After being released
from jail for his alleged participation in the failed August 1991
coup, former Soviet parliament speaker Anatolii Lukyanov took part
in a meeting organized by former Communist Party leaders dedicated
to the 70th anniversary of the USSR, according to Russian TV on 30
December. He told the meeting, which was also attended by
nationalist leaders such as Viktor Alksnis and Vladimir
Zhirinovsky, that "the USSR will live forever." Other speakers
condemned the leadership of President Yeltsin and his reform
policy and also called for the reestablishment of the Soviet
Union.  Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia


J
Russian Arrears with the US and South Korea.  The US Agricultural
Department announced on 29 December that Russia had missed another
agricultural loan repayment, pushing the total arrears to $100
million.  The Journal of Commerce of 31 December suggested that
Russia will wait until the Paris Club restructures its foreign
debt before resuming payments under the US Export Credit Guarantee
Program.  And on 29 December, a South Korean official told Reuters
that Russia had failed to pay interest by the due date of 15
December on a loan of $465 million granted by Seoul to the former
Soviet Union. Robert Lyle & Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Russia Draws Down IMF Credit. Russia has finally drawn down the
IMF credit of about $1 billion that was extended in early August,
Reuters reported on 31 December.  The delay was attributed partly
to the IMF's insistence that the money be added to Russia's
hard-currency reserves rather than be used to finance imports.
Russian officials have also expressed reservations about the
republic's ability to repay the principal and interest. Keith
Bush, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia


J
Labor Minister Makes Unemployment Forecast for 1993. Gennadi
Melikyan, the Russian Minister of Labor, has forecast that 5-6
million people could be out of work in 1993, according to an
Interfax report of 12 December 1992. Approximately 500,000 out of
a workforce of 70 million were registered as unemployed in
December 1992, but Melikyan reckons that the number of unemployed
(including those not registered) is nearer 2 million. He is also
reported as saying that consumer prices increased by 25 times in
1992 (apparently from February to December), whereas incomes
increased by only 7.4 times.  Sheila Marnie , RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Travel Law Goes into Effect in Russia. A law governing travel
regulations in Russia and some other CIS states went into effect
on 1 January, Russian and Western agencies reported.  The law was
initially adopted in 1991 by the USSR Supreme Soviet.  It gives
citizens the right to leave the country and return, and the right
to hold travel documents for five years.  The law abolishes exit
visas which were needed to leave the USSR and Russia.  Only people
with access to state secrets may be barred from leaving the
country for periods of up to five years.  The law is designed to
end the practice through which the government could arbitrarily
permit or forbid citizens to travel. However, high travel costs
and tight visa regulations that have been introduced by many
countries in anticipation of a possible flood of refugees from the
former USSR, may continue to prevent many citizens from traveling
abroad.  Vera Tolz, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Moscow Cigarette Factory Workers on Strike.  Workers at the Moscow
factory which produces the "Dukat" brand of cigarettes are
striking in protest against the decision taken by Moscow city
authorities to sell the factory to the US company "Brook Mill,"
according to an ITAR-TASS report of 31 December 1992. The workers
are demanding that the factory be transformed into a private
enterprise, with shares being sold to Russians, and factory
employees being given priority in the purchase of shares.  Sheila
Marnie, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Child Abuse in Russia. An official of the Russian Children's
Scientific Research Institute has claimed that child abuse is a
growing problem in Russia, according to Reuters on 30 December
1992. Approximately 2,000 children and adolescents are reported to
have committed suicide in 1992.  In Moscow alone 5,000 homeless
children a year are picked up from the streets, most of whom have
run away from home to escape some form of violence.  Sheila
Marnie, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Russia Informs Nuclear Three of New Treaty.  Russian Foreign
Minister Andrei Kozyrev told Interfax on 3 January that he had
sent messages to his counterparts in Ukraine, Belarus, and
Kazakhstan--the three other ex-Soviet republics where strategic
nuclear weapons are based--informing them of the basic elements of
the START II treaty. He said that groups of experts would be
traveling to the other countries soon to familiarize their
officials with the details of the new treaty. Kozyrev indicated
that Ukraine had already announced its willingness to receive the
experts.  Although the other three states are not parties to the
new agreement, it will not enter into force until the START I
treaty does.  Doug Clarke, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

Abandoning the SS-18s a "Rational Measure" Russian Defense
Minister Pavel Grachev was quoted by Interfax on 3 January as
explaining that Russia's decision to give up all of its giant
SS-18 land-based missiles was an "exclusively rational measure."
The Russian military had planned to modernize this missile and
continue to produce it. He pointed out, however, that these
missiles were built in Ukraine, and it would have been too costly
to move the production to Russia.  Grachev said that the service
life of the current missiles would expire about the time they must
be destroyed under the terms of the new treaty, and Russia would
have had to destroy them any way.  Doug Clarke, RFE/RL,
Inc./Russia

All Russian Troops Out of Mongolia. The Mongolian National Defense
Ministry announced on 30 December 1992 that Russia had completed
the withdrawal of its troops from Mongolia, according to
ITAR-TASS.  In the mid-1980s there were an estimated 50,000-70,000
Soviet military forces in Mongolia. Former Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev announced a partial unilateral pullout in 1989, and the
two governments signed an agreement for a complete withdrawal on 1
March 1990. Doug Clarke, RFE/RL, Inc./Russia

  Transcaucasia and Central Asia

Azerbaijani Opposition Protests Government Crackdown On
Demonstrators. On 2 January Azerbaijan's opposition Movement for
Democratic Reform issued a statement condemning the violent
dispersal by Azerbaijani security forces of participants in a
demonstration in Baku on 24 December convened by the independent
Turan trade union, Interfax reported. Two hundred of the
demonstrators, who were calling for the resignation of the
Azerbaijani government and its replacement by a new coalition,
were detained; four have declared a hunger strike.  The 2 January
statement calls on the Azerbaijani government to release the
detainees, dissolve the existing parliament, and to hold new
multi-party elections.  Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc./Azerbaijan

Damage to Tajik Economy Assessed. Tajikistan's government has
issued a report on the damage sustained by the country's economy
as a result of the civil war in 1992, ITAR-TASS reported on 31
December.  According to the report, Tajikistan's economy is nearly
at a standstill, industrial production declined 23%, and economic
losses exceeded 90 billion rubles.  The report gave a figure of
537,000 refugees officially registered in Tajikistan, and around
70,000 who have fled to Afghanistan.  The assessment says that
Tajikistan will need help from other CIS states and foreign
countries to overcome the effects of the war.  On 2 January German
TV reported that three Western human rights organizations have
condemned abuses by Tajikistan's new government, which is accused
of countenancing executions of anti-Communist fighters. Bess
Brown, RFE/RL, Inc./Tajikistan

  Central and Eastern Europe

Czechoslovakia Splits.  At midnight on 31 December Czechoslovakia
split into two independent states--the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic. CTK reports that the celebrations of independence
in both new countries were low-key. In Bratislava some ten
thousand people gathered in the city's main square to watch the
raising of the new Slovak flag and fireworks and to listen to
speeches by Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar and Parliament chairman
Ivan Gasparovic.  No official ceremonies were held in the Czech
capital of Prague. In speeches broadcast on federal TV and radio
shortly before midnight, Czechoslovak Prime Minister Jan Strasky
and Federal Assembly Chairman Michal Kovac praised the peaceful
nature of the split.  Federal radio and TV as well all other
federal institutions ended their existence at the stroke of
midnight. Relations between the two new states will be governed by
a number of intergovernmental agreements and 25 interstate
treaties, including those on forming a customs union and
maintaining a common currency for the time being. CTK reports that
on 30 December Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec and Slovak
Foreign Minister Milan Knazko established diplomatic ties between
their two countries.  Jiri Pehe/ RFE/RL, Inc./Czech Republic/
Slovakia

Czech, Slovak Declarations.  The two parliaments issued
declarations in which they vow to be democratic states. CTK
reported that the declaration adopted by the National Council of
the Slovak Republic on 31 December states that "by taking over
obligations following from international treaties, the Slovak
parliament confirms its decision to live in a pluralistic
democracy." It also says that Slovakia will respect human rights
and fundamental freedoms and is ready to become a member of the
United Nations and the Council of Europe. According to the
declaration, the Slovak Republic "is ready to establish diplomatic
relations will all democratic countries of the world." The
declaration approved by the Parliament of the Czech Republic at
its inaugural session on 1 January stated that the Czech Republic
will be a stable, democratic state and a reliable political and
economic partner in foreign relations.  Jiri Pehe RFE/RL,
Inc./Czech Republic/ Slovakia

International Recognition.  A number of countries have declared
their intention to recognize officially the independent Czech and
Slovak republics. By 31 December, France, Germany, China, Belgium,
and a number of other states had done so, international agencies
report. The US followed suit with an annoucement on 2 January. On
1 January both republics became members of the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development.  The Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe has also said it considers both states to be
its members as of 1 January.  The two new states should become
regular United Nations members in mid-January and members of the
Council of Europe in the spring. An RFE/RL Washington
correspondent reports that the IMF executive board says both new
republics will have one month to accept the division of assets and
liabilities and notify the fund whether they agree to be successor
states to Czechoslovakia.  Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc./Czech Republic/
Slovakia/


Explosion on Czech-Slovak Border. Czech officials announced on 2
January that unknown attackers attempted to blow up a Czech
customs shed on the Czech-Slovak border, CTK reports. The
explosives were set off near the Moravian city of Uherske Hradiste
in the night of 1 January. Nobody was hurt and the damage was
minimal.  The Czech Republic began setting up border crossings in
late December and, according to official information, they will
begin operating on 4 January.  Jan Obrman, RFE/RL, Inc./Czech
Republic/ Slovakia

Meciar on the Future of Slovakia, Hungarian Minority. Speaking to
reporters on 31 December, Prime Minister Meciar said that 1993
will be a year in which Slovakia will be preoccupied with setting
up its structures, currency, and finances.  He pledged there will
be no problems in Slovakia's relations with the Czech Republic.
Meciar also said that Slovakia faces austerity as it begins "year
zero." He blamed the straitened economic situation on the loss of
traditional eastern markets. Asked whether he had any regrets over
Czechoslovakia's breakup, Meciar said that "the question of
feelings is irrelevant.  The question is whether any other
solution was possible." Meciar also said that "the Hungarian
minority in Slovakia has been assimilated." He claimed that "there
are only a few ethnic Hungarians [in Slovakia] who are faithful to
their nation." In his opinion, "some political forces would like
to revise the Trianon Treaty, in particular, change the
Slovak-Hungarian border." Meciar argued this is the same tactic as
"those used in Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine." Meciar's statements
were reported by CTK.  Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc./Slovakia/Hungary

Antall Statement on Hungarian Minorities. On 3 January Hungarian
Prime Minister Jozsef Antall talked about foreign policy on Radio
Budapest.  He said that his country supports the political
objectives of the ethnic Hungarian minorities in the various
neighboring countries. The government assumes that their
representatives know best what can be done to improve minority
rights. Antall singled out the political aspirations of Magyars
living in rump Yugoslavia, whether individual, cultural, or
territorial autonomy, and said Hungary will support them.  Judith
Pataki, RFE/RL, Inc./Hungary

No Last-Minute Media Law in Hungary. According to MTI, Parliament
failed to pass the long awaited media law after a
more-than-10-hour-long vote that started on 30 December and lasted
into the next morning. Major sections of the law required a
two-thirds majority for passage, but less important sections could
have been passed by a simple majority vote.  Since the opposition
refrained from voting on the important sections, they did not pass
and the law was so much reduced in substance that its other
sections could not be passed either.  Both the ruling parties and
the opposition blame each other for having failed to pass the law.
Judith Pataki, RFE/RL, Inc./Hungary

Mixed Assessments of Bosnian Peace Talks. On 2 January
UN-EC-mediated talks on ending the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina
resumed in Geneva. On 3 January the three warring sides reportedly
narrowed their differences somewhat.  It was the first time since
the war began in late March that Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic sat together
to discuss the future of the republic.  Since August, Izetbegovic
had reiterated that he would never sit in the same room with
Karadzic, whom he called a "war criminal." Discussion focused on
details of a plan proposed by Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen for
dividing Bosnia into ten autonomous provinces making Sarajevo an
open city.  Vance said agreement was reached on only seven of the
proposed provinces because of objections raised by both the
Muslims and Serbs. Izetbegovic rejected the Sarajevo plan, and
sharp differences also arose between Croat leader Mate Boban and
Izetbegovic over northern areas of the republic.  Talks resume on
4 January.  Radio Serbia and international media carried the
reports. Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc./Bosnia/Herzegovina

Panic Says He Is Still Prime Minister. Milan Panic said on 30
December he will not resign as prime minister of the rump
Yugoslavia and will resist being ousted prematurely from office by
the nationalist-socialist majority in the federal assembly. On 29
December deputies in both chambers of the federal assembly passed
a vote of no-confidence against Panic and then named Deputy Prime
Minister Radoje Kontic as acting prime minister.  A statement read
by Panic's press office noted that under the federal constitution
only the President of the Republic, currently Dobrica Cosic, has
the authority to name a successor. Panic says he will remain in
office until Cosic makes a decision. Meanwhile, Panic is in the US
to try to dissuade US officials from possibly taking military
action against Serb forces in Bosnia.  On 3 January, a second
round of parliamentary elections was held in Serbia-Montenegro in
polling areas where irregularities invalidadted results or where
candidates were forced into runoffs.  Radio Serbia and Politika
carried the reports.  Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL,
Inc./Serbia/Macedonia

Serbian Protest in Macedonia.  On 31 December a village ten miles
north of Skopje was the scene of a pro-Serbian demonstration which
turned violent. According to Western sources, some 150 young
ethnic Serbs fought police and fireman seeking to remove pictures
of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and other Serb nationalist
leaders from a merry-go-round.  Tear gas was used to break up the
demonstration as Serb nationalists shouted "this is Serbian land."
Six people were injured, including one policeman and three police
cars were damaged.  This is among the most serious clashes
involving the Serbian minority and the authorities in Macedonia
since independence from Yugoslavia was declared in September 1991.
Many Macedonians fear the small minority of Serbs living in
Macedonia (estimated at 43,000, or about 2% of the population)
could serve as a pretext for a Serbian invasion of Macedonia.
Duncan Perry, RFE/RL, Inc./Serbia Macedonia

Poles Deny Illegal Arms Deal. Responding to a German TV report
that showed footage of a Polish company allegedly involved in
negotiating the sale of armed transporters to Yugoslavia in
defiance of the UN embargo, the Polish Ministry of Foreign
Economic Relations demanded a written explanation from the company
concerned.  In separate statements carried by PAP on 30 and 31
December the chairman of the Cenzin company, one of the three
Polish companies licensed by the government to trade in arms, and
the director of the Northern Shipyard, which was to have built the
15 transporters, both denied that there had been any mention of
Yugoslavia in the course of initial meetings with the potential
purchaser.  On the contrary, the Poles had clearly said that the
type of ships in question would require special authorization and
insisted on seeing the "end user's certificate." Polish observers
believe the TV report, which apparently contained factual
inaccuracies, was prompted by international competition.  Anna
Sabbat-Swidlicka, RFE/RL, Inc./Poland

Polish Strike Talks Successful.  After talks between striking
miners and government representatives ended on 30 December with
agreement on the immediate implementation of some of the miners'
demands and principles and timetables for the implementation of
others, Solidarity's Regional Strike Committee recommended
suspension of the strike as of 4 January and maintenance of
"strike readiness" until all the demands are fully implemented.
PAP quoted the strike committee as saying that the miners' strike
had achieved "a rescue program for today with guarantees of jobs
and decent pay." Final decisions on the suspension of the strike
will be made by the miners as they familiarize themselves with the
terms of the agreement.  Anna Sabbat-Swidlicka, RFE/RL,
Inc./Poland

Ukraine and START-1 & START-2. Ukrainian leaders have welcomed the
signing of the US-Russian START-2 treaty but have emphasized that
Ukraine will not be "rushed" into ratifying the START-1 treaty.
Parliament, which has cut short its winter break because of the
economic crisis in the country and is due to reconvene shortly, is
expected to discuss Ukraine's adherence to the START-1 treaty
later this month or at the beginning of February.  Ukrainian TV
reports that President Leonid Kravchuk issued a statement on 3
January acknowledging the political importance of the Start-2
treaty, reiterating Ukraine's intention to become a nonnuclear
state, and expressing his belief that Parliament will agree to the
ratification of START-1.  Volodymyr Yavorivsky, the leader of the
Ukrainian Democratic Party, was quoted by Ukrainian TV on 2
January as saying that "Ukraine should hurry, but not rush with
the realization of its nonnuclear status." Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL,
Inc./Ukraine

"West   Not  Yet  Helping  Kiev  Eliminate
Nuclear Arms." Responding to international pressure on Ukraine to
speed  up  its  ratification  of  START-1,
Deputy  Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk is
traveling   to  Washington  this  week  to
explain  his  country's  position. He told
  Reuters  on 3 January that "Ukraine has so
  far  not  received  a single cent from the
  United  States  or  any  other  state," to
  help  cover  the  huge cost of eliminating
  the nuclear weapons based on its
  territory.    "Instead  of  real  help  to
  destroy  intercontinental  missiles, it is
  getting    only   negative  stimuli,'"  he
  complained.  Despite the economic cost and
  what   Reuters  described  as  "continuing
  suspicion  of  Russia," Tarasyuk said that
  Ukraine  is  determined  to  rid itself of
  nuclear  weapons.  Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL,
  Inc./Ukraine

Ukraine Renounces Debt Accord with Russia.  Ukraine sent Russia a
diplomatic note on 31 December saying that it will no longer abide
by a protocol signed in November, ITAR-TASS reported. The protocol
stipulated that Russia would assume Ukraine's 16% share of the
debt of the former Soviet Union while Ukraine gave up any claim to
money owed to the former Soviet Union by third countries. Reuters
reports from Kiev that Ukraine renounced the accord because Russia
did not provide a list of the former Soviet property abroad that
is to be divided up. Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc./Ukraine

Bulgarian Government Approved.  On 30 December a new Bulgarian
government was approved by the National Assembly, Western and
Bulgarian media report. The cabinet is headed by economics
professor Lyuben Berov, a former advisor to President Zhelyu
Zhelev.  While most UDF legislators boycotted the vote, Berov and
his ministers won approval through a cross-party alliance of
deputies from the MRF and the BSP as well as UDF deputies who
broke ranks. Only BSP hard-liners and members of the
socialist-allied Fatherland Party of Labor voted against the Berov
government, protesting that it had been nominated by the
predominantly Turkish MRF party.  Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL,
Inc./Bulgaria

Berov Presents Line-Up.  On the same day Parliament endorsed the
cabinet lineup as proposed by Prime Minister-elect Berov. Although
mainly consisting of technocrats, three ministers are
parliamentary deputies.  One of three deputy prime ministers is
Evgeni Matinchev, an ethnic Bulgarian elected on an MRF ticket.
The other two are Valentin Karabashev and Rumen Bikov from the
Alternative Social Liberal Party, a UDF member organization until
its expulsion last week.  Karabashev will share the job as deputy
premier with Matinchev and nonaffiliated Neycho Neev.  Bikov will
remain industry minister, a post he held in the previous cabinet.
In other key positions, Slavi Pashovski--Bulgaria's UN
ambassador--has accepted the post of foreign minister, and Stoyan
Aleksandrov--head of the tax department of the ministry of
finance--has been confirmed as finance minister. Valentin
Aleksandrov, a lawyer and defense ministry expert on national
security, is the country's new defense minister. Kjell Engelbrekt,
RFE/RL, Inc./Bulgaria

Candidates for Lithuanian President. On 3 January former Supreme
Council Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis said over Lithuanian TV that
he will not run for president in the 14 February elections.  He
urged Acting President Algirdas Brazauskas, who was nominated as a
candidate by the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party on 31 December,
to drop his candidacy in favor of Stasys Lozoraitis, ambassador to
the US, who has, however, not yet declared his candidacy.  On 30
December former Social Democratic Party Chairman Kazimieras
Antanavicius was officially registered as a presidential
candidate. Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc./Lithuania

Energy,  Water  Shortages in Romania. Hard winter conditions have
affected Romania's limited energy resources. Romanian TV announced
announced over the weekend  that  gas
deliveries  for  the  industry  had  to be
drastically  reduced  in  order  to  cover
private  needs.  Crude  reserves  are also
said  to  be  limited,  and the government
admitted  at  its 30 December meeting that
financial    problems  are  hampering  oil
imports.   In  some  urban  areas  central
heating  has  ceased  altogether.  Hardest
hit  was  Suceava,  where thousands shiver
in    unheated  apartments  following  the
  four-day  closure of a local heating plant
  after  an  explosion  on  30  December. In
  another    development,   new  prices  for
  gasoline  go  into  effect  on  4 January.
  Last   month  the  government  decided  to
  reduce  prices  but  also  to  end  a dual
  system    allowing  motorists  to  buy  40
  liters  of  gasoline  each  month for less
  than    half  the  free-market  price.  In
  addition  to  the fuel problems, Bucharest
  has  now been hit by a serious shortage of
  water  for  domestic  use.    Dan Ionescu,
  RFE/RL, Inc./Romania

Fuel, Energy Prices Increase for Enterprises in Lithuania.  On 1
January the Lithuanian government raised the price of energy for
industrial enterprises and other organizations from 8,400 to 8,800
coupons for 1 gigacalorie, Baltfax reports.  The rates for natural
gas will increase from 23,080 to 35,000 coupons per 1,000 cubic
meters.  The prices for other consumers will remain the same.
Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc./Lithuania

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