Interior Ministry provides zl. 98 mln lifeline to Lucznik

The Interior Ministry will extend a helping hand to troubled handgun manufacturer Lucznik by placing a zl. 98 million order for Glauberyt submachine guns and MAG 98 pistols. The Ministry signed an agreement yesterday with the plant and the Industry Development Agency (ARP), stressing that it is meant to help tame the high unemployment rate in the Radom region and counteract the social unrest it causes. ARP will grant Lucznik zl. 25 million for investments necessary for the completion of the order. Last June Lucznik employees staged a violent demonstration in Warsaw in an effort to save the plant, in which over a dozen people were injured and one reporter lost an eye. The Glauberyt, similar to the world-famous Israeli Uzis, will replace currently used Kalashnikov rifles, which are too heavy and inaccurate. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 3) T.J.