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- WORLD, Page 33AROUND THE BLOC
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- POLAND
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- The Communist Party voted to dissolve, then resurrected
- itself as the Social Democratic Party. Tadeusz Fiszbach, a
- popular party leader who quit in 1981 to protest martial law,
- said a neo-Communist group had "no credibility," and formed a
- breakaway organization called the Union of Social Democracy.
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- CZECHSLOVAKIA
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- Communists relinquished over 100 seats in the 350-seat
- Federal Assembly, which were then distributed among more than
- 40 new political parties. The move was aimed at giving reform
- groups a voice in parliament prior to June elections.
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- BULGARIA
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- The holdover Communist regime of Premier Georgi Atanasov
- resigned, and party chief Petar Mladenov, who had
- unsuccessfully called upon the opposition to join a "government
- of national consensus," was replaced by reformer Alexander
- Lilov. Todor Zhivkov, 78, in jail facing charges of
- misappropriation of state property and abuse of power, was
- hospitalized with "certain old-age ailments."
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- EAST GERMANY
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- The election date was advanced from May 6 to March 18, as
- Premier Hans Modrow warned that the economy was worsening and
- that the government could no longer ensure public safety. Nine
- reform groups agreed to each name a Minister Without Portfolio
- to join Modrow's Cabinet. Former leader Erich Honecker was
- arrested and then released, being too sick to remain in jail.
- The homeless ex-President and his wife Margot are staying with
- the village pastor of Lobetal, near Berlin. Honecker will be
- tried for treason in March.
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