BRAMA, December 21, 2000, 10:00am EST

Tax police removes block on Matlid Publications (Eastern Economist) Matlid Publications, Inc., publisher of Eastern Economist and EE Daily, announce that after having blocked the main bank account of their Kyiv subsidiary, Matlid Publications Ltd., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000, and raided the subsidiary's premises on Wednesday, Dec. 13, the police of the Ukrainian State Tax Administration has offered an apology and unblocked the company's account as of Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Although a meeting with the STA officers on Friday, Dec. 15, provided no results, the Pechersk District tax police chief met with company representatives on Tuesday, Dec. 19, to resolve the matter. He expressed concern that the guidelines laid down in a recent presidential decree with regard to the treatment of media organizations might not have been properly followed.

"The State Tax Administration appears to have responded quickly and positively to our efforts to clear up this matter," publisher L.A. Wolanskyj commented Dec. 19. "We hope that this reflects a general improvement in the official attitude towards business in Ukraine. Matlid Publications is particularly grateful to the many Ukrainian and foreign officials, media, and private organizations who have supported our efforts."

On Friday, Dec. 15, a formal complaint by MPL was accepted by the Prosecutor's Office of the Pechersk District [Rayon] in Kyiv. STA agents committed a slew of violations in freezing the subsidiary's account and raiding its premises without prior notice and without providing any basis for their actions. Meanwhile, the Dec. 18 issue of Eastern Economist has come out on schedule. Matlid Publications is working to re-establish normal business operations in Ukraine and intends to publish its next issue, as planned, on Jan. 8, 2001.

The Ukrainian company, which had not previously been subjected to hostile pressure from goverment agents, will continue its operations as normal as of Wednesday, Dec. 20. Matlid Publications intends to publish its next issue of Eastern Economist weekly, as planned, on Jan. 8, 2001. EE Daily will continue publishing throughout the holiday period.

EASTERN ECONOMIST has provided a daily headline news service for the public on BRAMA.com's UkraiNEWStand since 1997.

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