PRESS RELEASE (for immediate publication ) Prague, 8 September 2000 ŽELEZÁRNY VESELÍ OFFERS REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO CLARIFICATION OF UNION LEADER'S

On 7 September 2000 ing. Virgil Sahleanu, union leader at theTEPRO pipe rolling mill, was murdered in the Romanian town ofIasi. The company is part of the subholding company Z-Group. Thenews of the murder in connection with a rumour that the unionleader's death was ordered by TEPRO's owner - Železárny Veselí,led to demonstrations by the workers in front of the Iasiprefecture. The management of Železárny Veselí was deeply shocked bythe news that Virgil Sahleanu had been murdered. The allegationsmade by the demonstrators greatly angered them. Chairman of theBoard of Directors JUDr. Ing. Zdeněk Zemek made the followingstatement, "I held talks with trade union president Ing. Sahleanuvery often in the last few months and despite our often differingopinions I regarded Mr. Sahleanu and the whole trade union as aserious partner for the resolution of the complicated problemsrelated to ensuring the rolling mill's future. "I, personally, and the whole company want the murderersfound and the motive for the murder clarified, just as the TEPROunion members do. Železárny Veselí will therefore give a rewardof twenty thousand American dollars to the person who effectivelycontributes to the murderers' arrest and the clarification of thecrime's motive. "We completely reject any connection between the murderof Ing. Sahleanu and the differing opinions of and disputesbetween the company's management and the rolling mill's union inconnection with the privatisation and on-going restructuring ofTEPRO. The speculation, which has appeared in the press in thisconnection, is absolutely false. We regard statements such as"Czechs ordered the murder ." as scandalous and damaging torelations between our nations. Will we therefore fully co-operatewith the official investigation during which we believe that thefalsehood of the above statements will be proved, the murderersfound and the motive clarified."

On the basis of information provided by JUDr. Ing. ZdeněkZemek Chairman of the Board of Directors, Železárny Veselí a.s.Prepared by:V.I.A. PRAHA, a.s.Bělohorská 9169 00 Prague 6Attachment : Letter from the management of Železárny Veselí a.sto the trade union TEPRO, IASIEND_______________________________________________Further information : Mgr. Pavel Šefl, tel.: 02 - 20515334 - 5,fax: 02 - 20154762e-mail : via-praha@telecom.cz

Veselí nad Moravou, 8 September 2000SYNDICAT LIBERO TEPRO, IASIWe were informed of the murder of the president of yourorganisation, Ing. Virgil Sahleanu, yesterday afternoon.

Se were particularly shocked and angered by the murder as wehad often met him in the last few months and started to regardboth him and the Syndicat as a serious partner for the resolutionof the complicated conditions for the future of TEPRO.

We would therefore like to ask you to convey our sympathy andcondolences to Mr. Sahleanu's widow and family and the employeesof TEPRO. Please also assure Mrs. Sahleanu and the deceased'sfamily that TEPRO and its shareholder Železárny Veselí willprovide the social assistance they need to overcome theirdifficult situation.

However, at this time of sadness we must categorically rejectany connection between problems related to privatisation andŽelezárny Veselí's alleged interest in Mr. Sahleanu's demise.This claim, which has appeared in the press and during publicappearances is completely false and its dissemination in the form"Czechs ordered the murder."damages relations between ournations. The falseness of such statements will certainly beproved by official investigations, during which we will co-operate in full. As we have emphasised several times in the pastthe town Veselí nad Moravou and its surrounding area wasliberated by the Romanian army in 1945 and we therefore havegreat respect for the Romanian nation.

With our sympathy and deepest respect for Mr. Sahleanu'smemory.

JUDr. Ing. Zdeněk Zemek Chairman of the Board of Directors, Železárny Veselí,a.s.JUDr. Ing. Zdeněk Zemek

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