JOURNALISTS DEMAND CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT ATTITUDE TOWARD MEDIA.

In an open letter to the Russian government, the Fund forthe Defense of Glasnost has warned that Moscow must do more thansimply punish the murderers of journalist Natalya Alyakina, whowas killed while trying to cover the Budennovsk crisis; the governmentmust drop its hostility to journalists across the board, the groupsaid on Russian television July 5. In related developments, Kyrgyzpresident Askar Akayev sacked his chief of staff for leaking informationto the press, Interfax reported July 6; and Rossiiskaya gazetanow has a new editor in place of Natalya Polezhayeva, who hadangered both the government and other journalists by her freewheelingstyle, Moscow radio reported the same day.

Latvia Having Difficulty Recruiting for Peacekeeping Battalion.