ry j^f "1 CP" Associated Press NelJraskan
^ X ^1 W f L7 JL-^ X£b^L»L7^ Edited by Brandon Loomis Monday, April 30,1990
Soviets ease Lithuania’s economic blockade
MOSCOW - The Soviet Union
unexpectedly eased part of its eco
nomic blockade against Lithuania,
nearly doubling the natural gas flow
ing into the Baltic republic, Lithu
ania’s official radio said Sunday.
But a Lithuanian government
spokesman said Sunday evening that
the increased supply had not actually
begun to arrive at the factory that was
to receive it. The plant supplies
Moscow with chemicals and fertiliz
ers.
Residents of the Baltic republic,
which declared independence March
11, organized a bicycle rally Sunday
to show their defiance of the block
ade.
Thousands more gathered in Ca
thedral Square in the capital, Vilnius,
to hear the republic’s orchestra per
form Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Lithuanian President Vytautas
L.andsbcrgis, a music professor, has
said that for him, the symphony
symbolizes hope and humanity’s
“victory over slavery.”
Word of the sudden casing of the
gas restriction came after both Lithu
ania and a spokesman for President
Mikhail Gorbachev praised a pro
posed compromise to their dispute
offered by France and West Germany.
The two Western countries proposed
Lithuania delay implementing its
independence without rescinding the
declaration itself.
The Soviet Union has cut off all oil
supplies, and shipments of many
manufactured goods, raw materials
and food items in an effort to make
Lithuania back away from the decla
ration of independence.
Vilnius Radio, monitored by the
British Broadcasting Corp. in Lon
don, said the industrial plant at Jonova,
whose natural gas supplies had been
drastically cut. was being resupplied.
The plant supplies the Soviet Union
with concentrated ammonium res
ins, methanol and other products.
If the amount promised the plant
were delivered, it would nearly double
the total natural gas Bowing into the
republic.
But Paul Pauparas, manager of the
Supreme Council legislature’s infor
mation department, said in a tele
phone interview that no extra sup
plies of gas had been received as of
Sunday evening.
Operators at the plant “have no
exact information whether it will be
really renewed or it is only prom
ises,” he said.
He said details of the agreement to
increase the flow of gas likely were
provided directly to the plant director
by Moscow, but that government
officials in Vilnius had not been able
to confirm specifics.
Earlier, Rita Radzavicius, a spokes
woman for the information depart
ment, had confirmed that the Jonova
plant had started to receive its allot
ment of gas.
The radio said the Jonova plant
was to receive about 105 million cubic
feel of natural gas each day - “al
most sufficient for the plant to keep
operating normally," it said.
Radio Vilnius said from the begin
ning of the blockade, all of Lithuania
had been receiving about 123 million
cubic feet of natural gas per day -
“just enough for everyday household
needs." Before the blockade began,
the republic received about 635 mil
lion cubic feet of natural gas a day.
Pauparas said the Jonova plant had
been receiving only about 24.7 mil
lion cubic feet of gas a day, and that
most of its major production facilities
already had been shut down.
That meant a loss to the Soviet
Union of chemicals and fertilizers
normally supplied by the plant, he
said, adding that Lithuania uses a
relatively small proportion of the
products made there.
If the plant resumes full produc
tion, it will continue fulfilling its
previous contracts, Pauparas said.
The radio said about 30 percent of
the plant’s work force, or more than
1,000 people, would be going back to
work today. They had been forced out
of work because of the gas shortage.
There was no oflicial announce
ment by Moscow of a change of pol
icy, but in an interview with the Tass
news agency Saturday, the deputy
chairman of the Soviet Stale Supply
Committee Vladimir Kosyunin said
Lithuania was receiving 30 percent of
its normal share of natural gas. When
the restriction went into effect more
than a week ago, it was receiving only
about 16 percent.
In the bicycle protest Sunday, many
young Vilnius residents hiked 6 miles
from the legislative building in the
city center to the outskirts of the city,
said Radzavicius of the information
bureau.
Many Lithuanian motorists, faced
with strict rationing that limits them
to about 7 gallons of gasoline a month,
have simply parked their cars. Some
bus routes in Vilnius have been cut
and the number of buses running on
other lines has been reduced.
Radzavicius said the performance
of Beethoven’s Ninth was meant to
be symbolic. During World War II
the British broadcast the symphony
as a symbol of victory, because the
opening notes correspond to “V” in
Morse code.
Rita Dapkus of the information
bureau estimated that about 2(),0(X)
people gathered in the capital’s cen
ter to hear the Lithuanian Symphony
Orchestra and the Kaunas National
Choir perform Beethoven’s last sym
phony.
Gorbachev demanded two weeks
ago that Lithuania rescind new laws
that exempted Lithuanians from the
Soviet military draft, gave ownership
of Communist Parly buildings to Lithu
ania’s independent Communists, and
established new rules on citizenship
that Russians living in Lithuania
considered discriminatory.
When the demands were not met,
the Kremlin imposed the economic
blockade. Earlier, Moscow seized
buildings, conducted military maneu
vers and barred most foreigners from
the republic of 3.8 million people.
Abortion poll |
No abortion under any circumstances
119% 1 j ! 1 I
178%
--r—i--—1
!
Abortion allowed whenever a woman chooses
53% --L—
Agree J
Disagree |
Abortion only in case of rape, incest, _ 2
K , Don’t >•
57% know |
Refused |
Margin of 01
BBfij *
Poll shows Nebraskans
opposed to abortion ban
OMAHA - Seventy-eight per
cent of Nebraskans questioned in a
newspaper poll said they oppose a
complete ban on abortion.
The poll, published in Sunday
editions of the Omaha World-Her
ald, also showed that 53 percent of
those surveyed said abortion should
be permitted if a woman chooses to
have one.
Nine hundred registered voters
statewide were questioned about
abortion by SRl-Gallup of Lincoln
in telephone interviews April 18
20. The margin of error for the
abortion questions was plus or minus
3.3 percentage points.
Those surveyed in The Worid
Herald Poll were asked three ques
tions on abortion. The questions:
“Please indicate whether you
agree or disagree with the follow
---
ing statement about abortion:
Abortion should not be allowed
under any circumstances.
Abortion should be allowed if
the woman chooses to have one.
Abortion should be allowed only
in cases of rape or incest, or when
the woman’s life is in danger.”
While 78 percent of those sur
veyed said they opposed a total ban
on abortion, 19 percent said they
favored a total abortion ban.
On leaving the abortion deci
sion to women, 53 percent of those
surveyed said they agreed the deci
sion should be left to the woman
and 43 percent said they disagreed.
Asked whether abortion should
be allowed only in cases of rape,
incest or danger to the life of the
woman, 57 percent said they agreed
and 39 percent said they disagreed.
Orr s advisers say Democrats
are in for a ‘rude awakening’
OMAHA - Gov. Kay On’s politi
cal advisers say her Democratic op
ponents arc mistaken if they think the
governor’s attempt to win a second
term in office is doomed.
Norm Riffel, Republican slate
chairman, and Steve Mitchell of East
Lansing, Mich., the governor’s poll
ster, said Democrats who think Gov.
Orr’s job-performance rating is too
low to win re-election are misreading
the political situation.
Some Democratic Party leaders
predict that she will lose in the No
vember election, regardless of which
of :he seven Democrats wins his party’s
nomination in the May 15 primary.
David Hunter of Lincoln, 1st
Congressional District Democratic
chairman, said the most recent Omaha
World-Herald Poll is “definitely sig
nificant and shows she is not re
electable. That is a perception among
a number of Republicans, as well.
Mike Dugan, state Democratic
chairman, said, “We have felt she is
very vulnerable, and the poll cor
roborates that.”
In the poll, 39 percent of those
surveyed approved of Orr’s perform
ance and 51 percent disapproved.
Mitchell said the poll is mislead
ing because the Democratic candi
dates have been campaigning against
her.
“It’s easy when the governor is
running against a straw man for people
to say, ‘Oh, 1 don’t know. I don’t like
uie governor,”’ Mitchell said.
Once those people have a chance
to focus on the Democratic nominee
and compare his record to Orr’s rec
ord, Mitchell said, “they will go with
the governor.”
In the surveys he has conducted
for the Orr campaign, Mitchell said,
Gov. Orr has led each of the four main
Democratic candidates in head-to-head
match ups.
Much of the fire from four major
Democratic candidates — Ben Nel
son, Mike Boyle, Bill Harris and Bill
-14-;—
There will be a lot of
issues out there to
separate Kay Orr
from the Democratic
nominee,
Riffel
Republican state chairman
-99
Hoppner - has been directed at the
governor, Mitchell and Riffel said. In
the final days of the campaign, the
two Republicans said, they expect the
Democrats to train their guns more on
each other.
“They are starling to talk about
their opponents in the primary now
and not the governor,” Mitchell said.
Riffel said, “In the last two weeks
they are going to work harder to show
the differences between themselves.
While they are doing that, they arc
going to more clearly define our
opponent for the general election.”
Hunter and Dugan said they do not
expect friction among the Democratic
candidates in the primary campaign
to divide the party for the fall cam
paign.
Now is the time for the candidates
to make distinctions, Dugan said.
“That's campaigning,” he said.
“You can’t expect them to buy TV
time and newspaper ads and just put a
big smile on their face and say, ‘Please
vote for me.’”
Differences between Hoppnerand
Nelson over a state lottery and Harris’
criticism of other candidates on their
abortion views are about as tough as
the fighting is likely to get. Hunter
said.
“They will make significant po
litical points, but they will not kill
each other,” Hunter said.
Hunter and Dugan said unity w ill
come quickly after the election, al
though it is unlikely that the primary
winner will have more than 30 to 35
percent of the Democratic vote.
The prospect of the Democratic
nominee winning with less than 50
percent of the voles is another reason
Riffel and Mitchell said they think
Gov. Orr will be the favorite.
“I think that plays to our advantage,’ ’
Riffel said. “The Democrat nominee
can’t claim a mandate to go on.’
“There will be a lot of issues out
there to separate Kay Orr from the
Democratic nominee,” Riffel said.
“1 hope they assume that their candi
date is a shoo- in. I feel confident they
will be in for a rude awakening.'
Pony Express to allow women riders
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - It took 130
years and threats of legal action, but
women riders will be saddling up in
June to join the ranks of 650 National
Pony Express Association members
on the 1990 rerun between Sacra
mento, Calif., and St. Joseph.
Ken Martin of Marysville, Kan.,
national president, said this week the
organization’s state chapters had voted
to permit women to hit the trail with
them in June.
The male-dominated organization
had refused to allow women to take
part in the annual 10-day ride from
Missouri through Kansas, Nebraska,
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada
and California.
“The reason was that we are an
historical organization,” explained
Martin “Young, skinny wiry fellows
carried the mail for the Pony Express
back in 1860 and 1861, and we try to
be as authentic as possible. There
were no women Pony Express rid
ers.”
The organization, chartered in
California in the late 1970s, was “open
to all adult citizens 18 years old and
older regardless of race, creed, sex,
religion, nationality, or political af
filiation.”
Women who paid the annual S10
national dues, however, learned an
unwritten rule that kept them onlook
ers, nol riders. They poked fun at the
claim of authenticity, pointing out
that many of today’s riders arc portly
men over age 50 who drive to their
assigned trail rides in pickup trucks.
The decision to allow women rid
ers did not come easy. Last fall na
tional board members were threat
ened with legal action and possible
loss of a tax exemption. It was de
cided that each stale would poll its
members this spring.
“The state chapters have voted to
condone women to ride,’ ’ Martin said
recently. “We will have women rid
ers in California and Nevada, and
perhaps some other states.*’
Nebraskan
Editor Amy Edwards Photo Chief Dave Hansen
472-1766 Night News Editors Jana Pedorsen
Managing Editor Ryan Sleeves Diane Brayton
Assoc News Editors Lisa Donovan Art Director Bftan Shellito
_ ... . _ _ Erie Planner General Manager Dan Shaltll
Editorial Page Editor Bob Nelson Production Manager Katharine Pollcky
Wire Editor Brandon Loomis Advertising Manager Jon Daehnke
c-opy'Desk Editor Darcia Wlegert Sales Manager Kerry Jeffries
a,., a csP°rts Editor Jeff Apel Publications Board
Arts & Entertainment Chairman Bill Vobe|da
Editor Michael Deeds 436-9993
Diversions Editor Mick Dyer Professional Adviser Don Walton
Graphics Editor John Bruce 473-7301
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