University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, October 8, 1991
5
EC promises food aid to Soviet Union
The Associated Press
LUXEMBOURG — The European Community challenged the United States, Canada and Japan yesterday to match $2.4 billion in aid it plans to give the Soviet Union to stave off an expected food shortage this winter.
The 12 EC finance ministers called for a total Western aid package of more than $7 billion, saying their loans and credit guarantees were condition- on getting a similar commitment from other major, trading powers.
"Burden-sharing is important," said Henning Christophersen, the EC's top finance official.
The EC ministers from Britain, France, Italy and Germany will prodd their U.S., Japanese and Canadian counterparts to commit themselves to the aid package during a meeting later this week in Bangkok, Thailand.
"I very much hope our figure will be matched, "Norman Lamont, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, told the British Broadcasting Corporation.
But Christopherpers admitted Japan had been hesitant to now.
"Japan has given a very small amount so far," he said, estimating it at $36 million. "They have the capacity to (do more). Why shouldn't they do it?"
The United States has earmarked $2.5 billion in farm credits to the Soviet Union since last fall, officials said.
The EC agreed last year to provide $900 million in emergency aid and
Student opinion mixed about U.S. aid
By Jennifer Bach Kansan staff writer
Although Natasha Pasherstnik did not go hungry in Moscow last winter, she remembers the harsh conditions that caused other Soviets to go without food.
"For three days last winter, something happened in the bread factory in Moscow and there was no bread in the city," said Pashernik, a Moscow graduate student in her first semester at KU.
"Moscow was in a real panic. In order to buy milk, you had to spend half a day looking for where you could buy it."
The United States has been asked by the Soviet Union and by the European Community to help the struggling nation, and students and faculty.
ty members at the University of Kansas said they were not sure how far the helping hand of the United States should extend.
Pasherstnik said she did not think U.S. aid would solve the Soviet Union's problems.
"Aid is really important, but it's not the way out," she said. "It won't influence the internal production."
Alissa Oatman, Denver sophomore, said the United States could not improve Soviet conditions.
"Our economy is in such bad shape," she said. "Just because we are a superpower, people seem to think we have our act together."
Giving clothes, food and medical aid would be the most effective support the United States could give, she said.
"My first reaction is that money would not be utilized right," Outman said. "I have a feeling that because of a lack of organization, they would not know what to do with it."
Ruslan Kassabov, St. Petersburg,
U.S.S.R., graduate student, said that
the United States should give any
kind of aid to the Soviet Union.
"I don't think anyone is obliged to do it, but it would be nice since the United States is so interested in Soviet politics," he said.
William Fletcher, head of the department of Soviet and East European studies, said he did not think the United States could make a significant impact, no matter how much support was given.
"We are not capable of salvaging the country," he said.
credit guarantees, and yesterday the EC promised an additional $1.5 billion in credit. Because of the urgency, the EC ministers proposed sending a mission to the Soviet Union within weeks to prepare contingency plans for food and medical aid.
Originally, Soviet authorities had asked for twice as much Western aid to help them deal with expected shortages caused by a poor food distribution system, but they reduced their request
to $10.2 billion.
Dutch Finance Minister Wim Kok said the $1.5 billion credit was a contingency program and would "only be put in practice as soon as we know what the needs are."
But there is little doubt that the Soviet people are facing tough times, officials said. "Everybody accepts that something has to be done," Christopher said.
Officials said people in large industrial cities would be especially vulnerable to food shortages because there were no guarantees farmers would be willing to ship food to urban centers.
The aid would "bring food to large cities, to old people, children and people in hospitals. Christopheren said.
Half the EC loans would be used to buy about $750 million worth of grains, sugar and beef available from East European nations and the newly freed Baltic nations.
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The University of Kansas Theatre and the Department of Music and Dance Present the Tony Award Winning
Side By Side By Sondheim
A Musical Entertainment
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sandheim
and Music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers, Jole Styne
Continuity by Ned Sherrin
Produced on Broadway by Harold Prince
in association with Ruth Mitchell
Tickets on sale in the Murphy Hall Box Office; student tickets available at the SUA Office, Kansas Union; all seats reserved public $10, KU students $2, senior citizens and other students $5, to charge by phone call 913/864-3982
8:00 p.m. October 11,12,17,18,19, 1991
2:30 p.m. October 13, 1991
Crafton-Preyer Theatre/Murphy Hall
KANSAN CLASSIFIED WORK
Mock-Ts, Rugbys, T-Necks, Henleys . . .
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SUNFLOWER 804 Massachusetts 843-5000
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Tuesday: 1:00-5:00; 6:00-9:00
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