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Show Thursday, June 14, World 1990 The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah ,6 As economic merger nears, E. Germans face unknown HEILIGENSTADT, East GerHubert Rulitschka many (AP) knows exactly what he's going to do when he swaps his East German money for West German marks next month. "It's going right into the bank. I can't afford to go crazy with money. After all, I might lose my job after July 2," said Rulitschka, who sells baked goods on this border town's tiny market square. East Germany is less than three weeks from its official plunge into capitalist waters, and there's much concern about how high and dangerous the resulting waves will be. West Germany's powerful mark will become East Germany's legal tender and the two nations will merge as a single economic entity. East Germans will be able to exchange up to 4,000 East marks at a rate and the remainder at under the economic merger agreement. Exchanging the first 4,000 marks will give an East German the equivalent of nearly $2,400. Economic merger will be a huge step toward German unification and dislocations are inevitable. As many as 2 million people could lose their jobs as inefficient factories and businesses disappear. But no one is certain how high unemployment will really fierce in - The ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) government said today that the fundamentalist Islamic opposition has won a clear majority of seats in Algeria's municipal and provincial elections. The fundamentalist victory in the country's first multiparty elections since independence from France in 1962 was the first outright election victory for an Islamic fundamentalist party in any Arab country. In neighboring Tunisia and Morocco, which have refused to recognize the fundamentalists as political Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Government troops backed by helicopter gunships, artillery and thousands of reinforcements fought fierce battles with Tamil rebels today in the embattled north and east, witnesses and officials said. The government's latest bid to end the fighting collapsed when rebel leaders said they were unwilleasting to come to the strife-tor- n ern town of Batticaloa for talks, said Deputy Defense Minister Ran-ja- n Wijeratne. Defense Secretary Gen. Cyril Ranatunge told a news conference troops were launching aerial attacks against the rebels in Batticaloa. "In such a situation there should be civilian casualties," he said. So far, at least 90 government .troops, rebels and civilians are believed to have died in four days of fighting, the worst violence since negotiations began between the government and the dominant rebel Tiger militia in May 1989. , One unconfirmed report said Tiger rebels also killed 125 to 150 policemen who were among 600 officers captured by the Tigers when they overran 11 police Monday. T The bloodshed has raised the specter of a return to the all-owar between Tigers and government forces that prevailed before India sent thousands of peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka in July 1987. India withdrew its forces in March on Sri Lanka's request after an unsuccessful effort to disarm the Tigers. Tamil rebels have been fighting for more political autonomy in Sri Lanka since 1983. They claim they are discriminated against by the majority Sinhalese. Tamils form 18 percent of Sri Lanka's 16 million people, while Sinhalese make up 75 percent. Today, residents of Vavuniya, 135 miles north of Colombo, said Tamil Tiger rebels continued their seige on police stations in the east and northwest. Vavuniya was the only northern town reachable by tele-- ; phone from Colombo. sta-tio- ut th . Israelis stage general strike to protest pay - Israeli JERUSALEM (AP) workers staged a general strike today to press for a new wage agreement, paralyzing the country only three days after the new right-win- g government was installed. The job action by 900,000 of Israel's 1.5 million workers shut down schools, banks, government offices, the airport and the stock exchange. State-ru- n Israel radio and television stayed off the air. Chaim llaberfeld, the No. 2 official in the Histadrut Trade Union Federation, warned that job actions would continue if the one-da- y strike did not lead to a quick wage agreement. "I hope that this strike will produce some results. There is no point in striking today and then doing nothing for several months," Haberfeld said on Israel army ra- -' dio. Finance Minister Yitzhak Modai had appealed to the Histadrut to call off the strike, saying it would cost the economy up to $150 million, the radio report said. The strike was seen as a show of strength by the Ibor Party, which controls the Histadrut and was relegated to the opposition this week after Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir formed a right-win- g government. The strike, the first major job action in five years, was called to press for new wage contracts for public sector employees and workers in state-ru- n companies. All government offices were closed, expect for the Finance Ministry whose employees defied the strike order. Public transportation operated, and shops in some areas were crowded with workers using the day off to go shopping. g buckles and other small items, will likely emerge relatively unscathed from the merger because it already has a good position in the international market. But even at Solidor, workers worry about job security. "This job is boring, but I don't fancy the idea that I might lose it. I have not been told whether I'll have it after the ecomomic merger," said a young woman working on an assembly line. Hartmut Scherf, Solictor's general director, said up to 160 people g work force among the may have to be let go immediately. Hope and trepidation are reflected in East Germans' plans for their newly acquired marks. There are people like Rulitschka, who figure it's best to build up a security net in case the transformation to capitalism gets rocky. But there are others anxious to use their hard currency to improve their lifestyles. Rudolf Kessel a Heiligenstadt gynecologist, has big plans for the marks he and his wife will receive. His wife is also a physician, and she wants to start a private practice at home. "We'll buy new equipment to be used at home. It all comes from West Germany, and costs a lot of money," said Kessel. A colleague of Kessel's said she 2,400-stron- is eager to get marks, but also worried because her rent will go up as East German subsidies are scrapped. "I'm paying 100 marks (about $30) right now," she said. "I figure that will triple." In Muehlhausen, an industrial city about 12 miles away, a young woman said she's going to buy a second-han- d Mercedes. "We've been dreaming about the West's wealth for a long time," said the woman. "I'm not going to miss this chance to get exactly what I want." Even though the official starting date for economic union is July 2, it has in fact already begun. ; Algeria says fundamentalists clearly won Fighting that government climb. There also is worry that handing marks to East Germans could cause a nationwide buying spree and a rise in inflation on both sides of the border. Residents of this town of 16,000 appear to have faith in Western promises of eventual affluence. Their optimism is not surprising. The East German economy is near collapse as the result of four decades of Communist mismanagement. But East Germans also are worried that the possible aftershocks especially the loss of jobs could be severe. Heiligenstadt's giant Solidor factory, which makes zippers, m parties, leaders expressed fears that the apparent success of extre- Abassi Madani waves to supporters after election in Algeria. mism in Algeria would eventually affect all the countries of northern Africa. In France, the ruling Socialist Party called the fundamentalist victory "cause for deep concern." It cited the fact that numerous women had their right to vote "confiscated" by their fathers or husbands. Under the Islamic family code, men can vote on behalf of their wives or daughters without their permission. Sheikh Abassi Madani, president of the victorious Islamic Liberation Front, thanked the Algerian people and government Wednesday for the "high level of political maturity" that made his victory in Tuesday's voting possible. He demanded the dissolution of the National People's Assembly, to be followed by legislative elections. But he stopped short of asking for the resignation of President Chadli Bendjedid. National elections are now scheduled for February 1992. The government had no immediate response to Abassi Madani's demand. The ruling National Liberation Front, for 28 years Algeria's only political party, had been widely expected to win because of its grip on government machinery and the media, as well as its greater financial resources. It holds every seat in Parliament. But the official Algerian News Agency said today that with a third of the official results tabulated including those from most of the Isthe large cities lamic Salvation Front had won by absolute or relative majorities. Earlier, Interior Minister e, Lithuania waits for easing of embargo - MOSCOW (AP) Lithuanian officials said today that more than 1,600 workers who were laid off at a fertilizer plant will be called back to work if Moscow eases its embargo and steps up natural gas supplies. Leaders of the Baltic republic's independence drive said Wednesday that Moscow promised to restore 15 percent of Lithuania's natural gas needs as the two sides tried to reach a compromise. Moscow imposed a crippling embargo on many natural resources after Lithuania declared independence. Also today, Lithuanians paused to mark 49 years since the Soviets deported thousands of people to Siberia after seizing control of the republic. Lithuanian Parliament spokeswoman Rita Dapkus said there was no sign the additional gas was being provided today. However, "Today is not a working day," she said in reference to the memorial day. "And I don't think something like (( that would be done overnight anyway," she said in a telephone interview from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. The promised supply of 122 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, which will bring Lithuania back to about 30 percent of its usual level, will allow a fertilizer plant to reopen and 1,650 workers to return to their jobs, she said. The Soviet Union cut off the republic's entire oil supply, most of its natural gas and some raw mateil to try to force the rials in mid-Apr- republic's leaders to back away from their March 11 independence declaration. The shortages have forced factories to close, putting 26,000 people out of work. agency Tass quoted Prunskiene as saying after meeting Ryzhkov in the Kremlin that the embargo would probably be lifted. The conciliatory gesture came as Ryzhkov and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev offered Lithuania a trade: cancellation of the embargo and negotiations on independence if Lithuania agrees to freeze the implementation of its independence drive during the talks. Gorbachev "is not insisting on this precise formula," his spokesman, Arkady Maslennikov, told a news conference Wednesday. "We are searching for critical Dapkus said Prime Minister Ryzhkov on Wednesday told his Lithuanian counterpart, Kazimiera Prunskiene, some gas would be restored. v0 solutions acceptable to all sides without degrading the dignity of people who elected the parliament that adopted those acts," Maslennikov said. Gorbachev and Ryzhkov met with the presidents of all three Baltic states Tuesday and, significantly softening their stance on secession, offered deals that would lead toward negotiations on the republics' independence demands. 32 PAGES OF RECIPES... In Washington, the White House applauded the moves toward com- FREE! in promise. Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater called them "positive steps." the Creamette cookbook in today's paper Give Dad Our Best Ryzhkov made no Dromises on restoring other supplies, Dapkus saia. But the official Soviet news i i y))n 49 Gold Miner I j One More Time, One year ago we opened our customer service center at 2275 North University Parkway to provide users in the Provo area a "one stop" location where all of their cellular needs could be met. I 38 We would like to invite you to join in our this June 1 Participate in our free foul shooting contest, or free drawing and you can win one of these great prizes: iwlj. Snadcr J'i" 26 Beef 'N Cheese cell-u-brati- Father's Day ". A Motorola MC300 cellular telephone Tickets to the Osmond Stadium of Fire Show SuperSonic Car Washes Automobile Window tinting Week-enget away at the University Park Hotel Dinner for two at Mulboons is June 17th. Give Dad a selection of delicious meats, dairy-fres- h cheeses tangy mustards and more. 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