Major events in the Baltics in 1999

ƒ Trade disputes kick off the year. Danish dockers join their Finnish
counterparts in boycotting Estonian ships until sailors' wages are
brought up to Nordic levels. The Latvian government backs down on
planned quotas on pork imports after Estonia and Lithuania protest.

ƒ The Russian city of Ivangorod started dumping waste into the Narva
River after Estonian utilities just over the border cut off services
because of unpaid bills.

ƒ OSCE minorities commissioner Max van der Stoel criticizes Estonian
and Latvian language laws.

February

ƒ Lithuanian doctors rule that Aleksandras Lileikas, accused of
World War II genocide, is too ill to stand trial. Jewish groups and
the U.S. Justice Department condemn the decision.

ƒ British authorities crack down on Lithuanian asylum seekers, 1,000
of whom have claimed refugee status in the UK.

ƒ Lithuanian health authorities express alarm at the explosion in
AIDS cases in neighboring Kaliningrad where close to 3,000 people are
reported HIV positive.

ƒ Estonia's EVEA Pank is declared bankrupt in a wave of smaller bank
closures brought on by the Russian crisis.

ƒ Daira Silava, head of the Latvian models association, is arrested
at Riga Airport in possession of two kilos of Colombian cocaine.

ƒ There are calls to reintroduce the death penalty in Latvia after
the stabbing murders of three children and their teacher in the
country town of Gulbene.

March

ƒ The Center Party, led by former prime Minister Ed-gar Savisaar,
wins the most seats at Estonia's March 7 elections but not as many as
three right wing parties who agree to form a coalition. Mart Laar of
the Pro Patria Union, another former premier, gets the top job.

ƒ Veterans of Latvian Waffen SS units march in Riga, drawing
condemnation from Jewish groups, mixed feelings from Latvians, and a
blaze of unwanted international publicity. The Latvian government
avoids any official connection with the event.

ƒ Rigas Komercbanka shuts its doors after being savaged by the
Russian crisis, but a general crash in Latvia's banking sector is
avoided.

ƒ The resignation of all 20 European Commissioners following fraud
allegations leads to fears that EU expansion might slow down.

*Baltic leaders give verbal support to NATO air strikes against
Yugoslavia over its ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosovo.

April

ƒ Baltic leaders see progress in NATO membership hopes after the
al-liance's Washington summit said they might enter by 2002.

ƒ Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius resigns after public
feuding with President Valdas Adamkus.

ƒ World Bank officials meeting in Riga praise Lat-via's
anti-corruption legislation as a potential model for other transition
countries.

ƒ Record numbers of people look for jobs in Estonia as the Russian
crisis starts to hurt across the Baltics.

ƒ Lithuania celebrates as the Kaunas Zalgiris basketball team grabs
the Euro-league championship.

May

ƒ Lithuania's parliament elects former Vilnius Mayor Rolandas Paksas
as the new prime minister.

ƒ Estonia is officially admitted to the World Trade Organization.

ƒ A young girl is killed by a leftover World War II bomb on the
Estonian island of Aegna in Tallinn Bay.

ƒ Seven people are killed at Madona in a provincial Latvian speedway
when two racing cars plunge into a crowd of spectators.

June

ƒ Vaira Vike-Freiberga, an academic who has spent most of her adult
life in Canada, is elected president by Latvia's parliament, beating
five better-known candidates who had the backing of political parties.

ƒ Over 2,000 Latvian high school students are disqualified for
cheating in nationwide final exams.

ƒ 16 MPs from the Christian Democrats walk out on their coalition
partners, the Conservatives, but say they will still support the
Lithuanian government.