NEWSBRIEFS (04/14/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

Lukashenka plans to expel diplomats

MIENSK - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka threatened on April 4 to expel diplomats who attended mass rallies denouncing his pro-Russian policies, international media reported. Some 30,000 people demonstrated here on April 2 against the recently signed union treaty with Russia. Among those present were U.S., Polish and other diplomatic observers. Mr. Lukashenka also vowed to withdraw accreditations from journalists who covered the events. He said he had started "active talks" with Russian Television, whose journalists covered the rally. "These journalists will not be working for many more days," he said. Mr. Lukashenka added that Belarus has asked a number of countries to recall diplomats from Miensk for organizing the demonstrations. He did not name those countries but noted that, in his view, those diplomats had "violated the laws of our country." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Crimean Constitution approved

KYIV - The Ukrainian Parliament approved a constitution for the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, where pro-Moscow separatist sentiment is substantial. However, the legislature made long deletions, and the dispute pitting the autonomous republic against the national government appeared far from over. Crimean officials in Kyiv to defend the Constitution tried to reassure Ukrainian leaders that separatism was not an issue; however Parliament took these words with a grain of salt as it voted to strike clauses viewed as separatist - references to Crimean "citizenship" and the Crimean "people" and proclamation of Russian as the sole official language. Deputies also threw out provisions empowering the regional parliament to enact laws. "The main thing we achieved is recognition of the Crimea as an autonomous republic and not some sort of region," said the Crimean Parliament's Deputy Chairman Anushevan Danelyan. "We had hoped the Ukrainian Parliament would adopt the Constitution as a whole. But at least we got two-thirds of it." Kyiv government officials praised the decision to approve the Constitution, saying it would reduce pro-Russian momentum. (Reuters)

Moroz suffers heart attack

KYIV - Ukraine's Parliament Speaker Oleksander Moroz suffered a serious heart attack on April 5, for which he was placed in intensive care at a local hospital, Ukrainian media reported. Mr. Moroz, also leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, has had no visitors since his hospitalization. Parliamentary sources indicate the speaker may be unable to preside over the debate and initial vote on the draft constitution, scheduled for April 17. Simultaneously, Rukh deputies have indicated they intend to move for a vote of no confidence in Mr. Moroz on April 16. According to Volody-myr Kulynych, a deputy from Rukh, this initiative has been co-sponsored by over 150 deputies as of April 10. (Respublika)

Leaders attend Chornobyl conference

VIENNA - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk arrived here on April 9 to participate in a four-day conference on Chornobyl, international agencies reported. Mr. Marchuk told delegates that Ukraine intends to close down Chornobyl by 2000 but can do so only if it receives financial support. He said that support has not materialized to date. Mr. Lukashenka stressed that Belarus must use 20-25 percent of its annual budget to deal with the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster. He appealed to foreign countries to contribute $125 billion to help in that effort. More than 700 participants are attending the conference. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukraine's U.N. dues reduced

KYIV - Ukraine has had its dues to the United Nations budget lowered, achieving an important foreign policy objective, a senior diplomat said on April 5. "It has been decided by the United Nations that Ukraine will be transferred from the 'B' group of states to 'C,'" Volodymyr Yelchenko, head of the Foreign Ministry's U.N. department, said. "Over the next five years, Ukraine's payments will be reduced. This amounts to a saving of tens of millions of dollars. Greece's payments are to increase." Post-Soviet Ukraine, still in the grip of a deep economic crisis, had long pressed the U.N. to reduce its dues. As a founding member of the organization, with a seat separate from the Soviet Union from 1945 because of its wartime losses and Josef Stalin's desire to increase Soviet voting power, Ukraine was automatically put into group 'B' after gaining independence in 1991. The country's current debt to the U.N. budget stands at $243 million, including $189 million for peacekeeping operations. (Reuters)

Poland and Russia disagree about NATO

MOSCOW - Emerging from an April 9 meeting with his visiting Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski, Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced that the two had "agreed on all issues, except one," referring to the possible expansion of NATO, ITAR-TASS reported. While Mr. Yeltsin said there is still time "to find some alternative means" of resolving the NATO expansion controversy, he added that he had "little hope" that such an alternative would be found. Mr. Kwasniewski said that while Poland wants to join the alliance, it "does not want to become a front-line state in the new Europe." Comparing Mr. Kwasniewski's visit to the frosty tenor of bilateral relations over the past few years under President Lech Walesa, NTV termed it a "breakthrough." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Crimean teachers riot

SYMFEROPIL - Teachers demanding back pay, blocked traffic and traded blows with police on April 8 in the regional capital. Trade union officials said two women were injured after police with shields evicted about 3,000 teachers from the main thoroughfare here. About 10,000 teachers struck on the same day to press their claims. Most said they had not been paid their salaries, which average $50 a month, for three months. Crimean Prime Minister Arkadiy Demydenko said his administration had no money to pay their wages. The Ukrainian government estimates that workers in 35,000 factories and businesses have been unpaid for the past three months. Hundreds of thousands of miners went on strike for two weeks earlier this year to pursue pay claims. Ministers were to address the Ukrainian Parliament on the issue on April 9. (Reuters)

| Home Page |