M AT C2 F11 O" ^2 ^ Associated Press
X %Z W w JL^ JL 2hL A Edited by Brandon Loomis
Gorbachev orders Lithuanians to give up arms
VILNIUS, U.S.S.R. - President
Mikhail Gorbachev increased pres
sure on the breakaway Lithuanian
republic Wednesday, by ordering its
citizens to turn in their guns and tell
ing the KGB to strengthen controls on
the republic’s border.
In a decree certain to heighten
tension between Lithuania and the
Kremlin, Gorbachev also temporar
ily banned the sale of firearms in
Lithuania and said those citizens who
do not surrender weapons within a
week will have them confiscated.
Premier Kazimira Prunskicnc of
Lithuania told reporters in Vilnius
her government still was counting on
negotiations with Moscow on the
republic’s declaration of independ
ence March 11.
“All these questions should be
resolved by negotiations,’’ she said.
“We are not getting too worked up
about this. We hope common sense
will prevail.’’
Gorbachev has proclaimed the
declaration of independence invalid,
but Lithuania refuses to recognize his
authority.
In issuing the decree, Gorbachev
used powers given him when he was
elected to the new, more powerful
presidency last week.
“The decree demands that citi
zens living in Lithuania turn all their
firearms in to temporary police cus
tody within the next seven days,’ ’ the
Tass news agency said.
He directed the Interior Ministry
“in the event of citizens’ refusal to
turn in these weapons, to ensure their
confiscation.’’
Gorbachev said despite previous
A A
some Lithuanians serving in the So
viet armed forces have deserted.
Gorbachev previously said he
expected to talk with Lithuanian lead
ers about the declaration of independ
ence, and senior officials have said
the Kremlin docs not intend to use
force to bring the Baltic republic back
into the Soviet fold.
The White House reacted “with
concern” to the latest developments.
All these questions should be resolved by
negotiations. We are not getting too worked
up about this. We hope common sense will
prevail. Prunskiene
Lithuanian premier
-• 9 -
directives from the Kremlin, “the
Lithuanian parliament and govern
ment continue passing bills that vio
late the rights of Soviet citizens and
the sovereignty of the U.S.S.R.”
Access to firearms is severely re
stricted in the Soviet Union, and it is
unknown how many weapons might
be in the hands of Lithuania residents.
Lithuanians have begun signing
up for voluntary defense service, and
“ITs a mailer lhal we arc walching
seriously,” said presidential press
secretary Marlin Fitzwater.
Gorbachev demanded that national
and local governments ensure that
Soviet law and the rights of citizens
be observed and called for KGB bor
der troops to increase security on
Lithuania’s section of the Soviet border.
It ordered the government to “lighten
control over issuance to foreigners of
visas and permission lo visit Lithu
ania.”
That move apparently was aimed
at many ethnic Lithuanians, who have
relumed recently to help set up an
independent government and market
economy in the republic.
A draft law outling requirements
for secession passed its first legisla
tive hurdle in Moscow on Wednes
day. Deputies said the secession pro
cedure, which requires a republie
wide referendum and a transition period
of up to five years, would have to be
observed by Lithuania.
But Lithuanian legislator Vaido
tas Anlanailis said it did not affect his
republic. “The bill doesn’t apply to
us, we’ve already left,” he said.
On Tuesday night, the republic
sent a telegram lo the Kremlin com
plaining about increased activity of
Soviet soldiers stationed on its terri
tory.
“The people of Lithuania are deeply
disturbed about the actions of the
Soviet armed forces: the intense
mobilization of armored vehicles and
tanks, the intensified flights of mili
tary air force planes, and unauthor
ized sorties into Lithuanian territory
by paratroopers involved in intelli
gcncc activities,” Lithuanian Prime
Minister Ka/.imicra Prunskicne said
in the cable to Gorbachev.
A group of Soviet deputies Wednes
day complained that Lithuania was
planning legislation that ‘‘subjects to
summary judgment Soviet citizens
speaking out for preservation of the
existing government structure and the
governmental unity of our country,”
Tass reported.
The Interfax news service of offi
cial Radio Moscow reported that the
legislation would permit a sentence
of up to three years for ‘‘calls for the
forcible violation of the sovereignty
or territorial integrity of the Lithu
anian republic, or for the overthrow
of the lawful authorities.”
A senior Lithuanian legislator,
Romualdas Oz.olas, confirmed in an
interview that such legislation exists,
but suggested that the Lithuanian
parliament will not approve it. “Such
stupidity will get us nowhere,” he
said of the proposal.
The Soviet deputies, whose group
is called Soyuz, appealed to Gor
bachev to use the new powers of the
presidency to impose direct rule on
Lithuania, Tass said.
Census workers meet
problems in counting
After sending 15,000 workers
into camps and eaves, streets and
shelters, the Census Bureau de
clared success Wednesday in its
first-ever tally of the nation’s
homeless. Bui critics found fresh
ammunition to charge that the
special census failed to do its job.
Census workers, many of whom
were themselves homeless, endured
gunfire, robbery, insults and foul
weather to count the number of
Americans with no fixed address.
Past guesses have ranged from
250,000 to 3 million.
The results won ’ t be announced
until late 1991, and the debate over
the census will continue until then
and beyond. It was framed again
Wednesday by two men on oppo
site sides of the country.
In New York, Dwayne Mays
stood up for the census, in which he
participated both as a counter and
as one of the counted.
“Hopefully, it will let people
realize there is a whole population
of homeless people that is not
dehumanized, still maintains self
respect and self-esteem, that is living
in conditions that arc abhorrent,’’
Mays said. “We’re here, and we
arc counted now.”
Not all the homeless were
counted, though, even by the Cen
sus Bureau’s assessment. In some
eases, homeless people avoided the
census takers; in others, they were
apparently overlooked.
In Manchester, N.H., census
lakers failed to count a man who
was sleeping on the steps of City
Hall — he was outside their survey
area.
In San Diego County, Calif., a
group of farmworkers in a migrant
camp said a team of Census “enu
merators” walked past them with
out stopping to count.
In New York City, reporters
watched Census workers mill around
a newsstand on the ground floor of
the Port Authority bus terminal,
apparently avoiding the upper floors
where hundreds of homeless sleep.
Census officials insisted they had
Canvassed the entire station.
The Census Bureau spent $2.7
million on the homeless count,
which it carried out between 6 p.m.
Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday in
every city with a population over
50,000.
In several cities. Census work
crs said homeless people had van
ished from their usual spots, appar
ently to avoid the govcmmcnl.
“That tells us something,” said
Don Weese, manager of the Cen
sus Bureau office in Tulsa, Ok la.
“It tells us there’s a large segment
of that homeless population that
simply docs not want to be recog
nized, known or encountered at
all.”
The issue is politically impor
tant because federal money goes to
Cities and states on the basis of
population. Urban leaders have been
fuming for a decade, saying the
Census Bureau ignored most of the
homeless in the 1980 census.
“Shelter and Street Night ap
pears to have been a success,”
Census Bureau Director Barbara
Bryant said. “I believe our efforts
have given us a good start on achiev
ing our goal of a full and fair cen
sus of the American people.”
Bryant conceded that Census
workers had missed some shelters
and other homeless hangouts, and
would have to try- again Wednes
day night in a handful of cities.
They included Washington, New
York, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Criucs found nothing in the tally
to change their view.
“Yyu can’t use this census with
any degree of legitimacy,” said
Much Snyder, an advocate for the
homeless in Washington. “Politi
cians can use these figures to say
anything that they want ... be
cause there’s no way that you can
legitimately count how many
homeless people that arc in this
city or in this country.”
For the most part, the census
was carried out as planned. There
were some frightening moments,
however.
In New York City, a group of
Census workers scattered when a
gunshot was fired from a building
they were approaching in Brooklyn.
They weren’t injured, and Census
officials said it wasn’t clear whether
they were the targets.
In Oklahoma City, police turned
back two Census workers who
unwittingly stumbled onto a stake
out.
In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., two
Census workers were robbed at
knifepoint by a man in a homeless
shelter. Neither was injured.
Judge honors Reagan s privilege
WASHINGTON - The judge in
John Poindexter’s Iran-Contra trial
reversed himself Wednesday, saying
that former President Reagan docs
not have lo produce diary entries sought
by his one-time national security
adviser.
U.S. District Court Judge Harold
Greene issued the ruling as the jury
began watching eight hours of vide
otaped testimony by Reagan.
Greene had ordered Reagan to turn
over the diary, but said after reading
the three dozen entries sought by
Poindexter that the material was not
“essential to the achievement of jus
tice in this ease.”
Poindexter said he needed the
excerpts because Reagan, in his taped
testimony, “professed a total inabil
ity to recall” the diversion of Iran
arms sale proceeds lo the Nicaraguan
Coniras and a 1985 Hawk missile
shipment.
Defense lawyers also said Reagan
was unable to recall Poindexter’s
activities on behalf of the Coniras.
Poindexter is charged with five
felony charges of conspiracy, making
false statements and obstructing
Congress in connection w ith the Iran
Contra affair.
“Mr. Reagan did testify under oath
at great length about many specific
activities in his administration • an
event that is unprecedented in Ameri
can history,” Greene said in a 14
page ruling.
He granted Reagan’s motion to
quash Poindexter’s subpoena for the
entries, w hich relate to both the Iran
initiative and Contra resupply opera
tion, saying they “offer no new in
sights about these events.”
Reagan, later joined by the Bush
administration, fought the subpoena
by invoking executive privilege.
“If the concept of executive privi
lege is to retain any meaning, it will
surely shield personal presidential
papers from production ... on so flimsy
a basis,” Greene said.
“The inability of a witness to re
call ... docs not automatically entitle
a party ... to rummage through ...
personal papers, including his per
sonal diary,” he said.
Prosecution witnesses have testi
fied during the 7 1/2 days of the trial
that Poindexter destroyed a presiden
tial document and sent false letters to
Congress about covert aid to the
Contras.
Reagan's videotaped testimony
taken Feb. 16-17 was shown in
Greene’s courtroom on television
monitors, including one positioned in
front of the jury.
The jury spent all day Wednesday
watching the videotape and was to
finish the process this morning.
The jurors watched intently as Iran
Contra prosecutor Dan Webb ques
tioned Reagan in rapid-fire fashion.
“Did you... give authority to John
Poindexter to make any false ...state
ments?’’ Webb asked.
“No,” Reagan replied. “And I
don’t think any false statements were
made.”
“Did you ever... give authorii) to
John Poindexter to destroy ... rec
ords?’’ Webb asked.
“No,” responded the former presi
dent.
“Did John Poindexter ever tell
you ... he planned on destroying an>
documents?” the prosecutor asked.
“No,” Reagan responded.
“Did John Poindexter... tell you
... he had learned that Oliver North ...
altered and destroyed records?” Webb
asked.
“No,” Reagan said.
Copies of the Reagan tapes were
released Wednesday to the media.
Transcripts were released last month
and the tapes were shown several
times in the courthouse.
Clean air amendment fizzles
wftinmoiuiN - inc senate
turned back a third attempt to
strengthen the compromise clean air
bill on Wednesday, defeating a pro
posal supporters said would close
“loopholes” in the battle against urban
smog.
Opponents argued the amendement,
which lost on a 53-46 vote, would
burden loo many small businesses
with expensive pollution controlsand
require unnecessary federal involve
ment in urban air pollution plans.
The vote marked the third unsuc
cessful attempt by a group of sena
tors, mainly from urban areas with
the dirtiest air, to add tougher envi
ronmental controls to a compromise
bill worked out between Senate lead
ers and the White House.
Senate Majority Leader George
Mitchell, D-Mainc, argued on each
vote that the compromise bill already
goes far beyond current federal pollu
tion control laws and that compro
mises arc needed to win approval in
the Senate.
Bui ben. John Kerry, D-Mass.,onc
of the key sponsors of the proposal,
argued the amendment would only
retain requirements in current pollu
tion laws that arc necessary to clean
up the air in scores of cities so they
meet federal health standards.
Kerry’s proposal would have pre
served the federal government’s au
thority to impose air pollution reduc
tion plans if states and local officials
failed to act. It also sought to elimi
nate waivers — based on expense —
for some industrial polluters and
broaden the smog-controlling curbs
to include smaller polluters.
On Tuesday night, the Senate by
52-46 rejected a plan to tighten auto
mobile emissions controls and require
broader use of alternative fuels, in
cluding production of 1 million clean
fuel vehicles by the end of the decade.
Earlier, a proposal which would
have required a reduction in toxic
chemical emissions from automobiles
fell by 65-33.
Nebraskan
Editor Amy Edward*
472- 1766
Managing Editor Ryan Sleeves
Assoc News Editors Lisa Donovan
Eric Planner
Editorial
Page Editor Bob Nalson
Wire Editor Brandon Loomis
Copy Desk Editor Darcle Wlegert
Sports Editor Jett A pel
Arts & Entertain
ment Editor Michael Deeds
Diversions Editor Mick Dyer
Graphics Editor John Bruce
Photo Chief Dave Hansen
Professional Adviser Don Walton
473- 7301
The Daily NeOraskan(USPS 144 080) is
Eublished by the UNL Publications Board. Ne
raska Union 34. 1400 R St.. Lincoln. NE,
Monday through Friday during the academic
year, weekly during summer sessions
Readers are encouraged to submit story
ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan
by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m and 5
p.m Monday through Friday The public also
has access to the Publications Board For
Information, contact Pam Hein, 472-2588.
Subscription price is $45 for one year.
Postmaster Send address changes to the
Dai y Neoraskan. Nebraska Union 34.1400 R
St.,Lincoln. NE 68588 0448 Second class
postage pa d at Lincoln, NE
ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT
1990 DAILY NEBRASKAN
