PROTEST IN MINSK AGAINST MUZZLING OF THE MEDIA.

Some 2,000 supporters of the opposition rallied yesterday in Minsk against the repressive law on the mass media, adopted last week by the presidentially-appointed legislature. (See Monitor, October 17). Russian ORT TV ‘s Minsk bureau chief Pavel Sheremet, who is due to stand criminal trial soon, was the keynote speaker at the rally. He said that independent journalists may be imprisoned but not intimidated, and urged Belarusan citizens to defend their own right to receive information. Some 50 journalists, mouths gagged, headed a procession through central Minsk under the motto "Freedom of expression for Belarus." Independent and opposition groups of all colors, from the Popular Front to the moderate Communists, participated in the action. (Russian and Western agencies, October 19)

U. S. Envoy to NATO Maps Out Cooperation with Baku and Tbilisi.