
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991                   TAG: 9103220363
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-14   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

WALESA ENDS VISA NEED FOR AMERICANS

Polish President Lech Walesa announced Thursday that Americans will no longer need visas to visit his country and appealed to them to do business in his economically struggling nation.

Walesa, 47, came to Capitol Hill to ask for help as his country attempts to transform its economy from a state-controlled enterprise to a free-market system.

He made the visa announcement in a closed meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and confirmed it later to reporters.

Poland is following the lead of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, other Eastern European nations that have lifted most visa requirements for Americans, the department said. The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Albania are among countries that still require visas.

by CNB