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Russians protest higher prices,
advocate revival of Soviet Union
Hard-liners desire
return to socialism
to rescue economy
MOSCOW — Thousands of
people angered by soaring prices
waved red Soviet flags and por
traits of Josef Stalin on Sunday
during rallies organized by pro
Communist groups to protest the
policies of Boris Yeltsin.
In another sign of growing con
cern over economic problems in
the former Soviet Union, the news
agency Tass reported that leaders
of the fledgling Commonwealth of
Independent States would meet Jan.
24 to discuss the pace of reforms.
Protesters in Moscow’s central
Manezh Square demanded resur
recuon ot the soviet union, powci
“in ihe hands of the working people,’
and a return of prices to previous
state-subsidized levels, Russian
television reported.
AP photographers said aboul
5,000 people participated, cover
ing a small portion of the huge
square next to the Kremlin. Rus
sian television and Tass estimated
as many as 55,000 took part in the
rally organized by pro-Communisl
groups such as Trudovaya Moskvz
(Moscow Labor) and Nashi (Our)
In St. Petersburg, aboul 1(K
people picketed in front of the Wintei
Palace, holding signs that read ‘Take
the Country’s Traitors to Court,’
the Russian Information Agencj
reported.
The “Vcsli” television news show
said “similar mass meetings ol
____\ ? , •
Brian ShellitoON
Bolsheviks” were held in the Rus
sian cities of Rostov and Chelyab
insk as well as in the Turkmen
capital of Ashkabad.
The rally in Moscow was about
the same size as similar pro-Com
munist demonstrations in recent
weeks to denounce Yeltsin, the
president of the Russian Federa
tion. But the reports of rallies in
other cities indicated the small hard
line groups might be gaining sup
port as a result of the soaringpriccs
that have accompanied his plan for
a “necessary but painful” transi
tion to a market economy.
Since controls were lifted Jan.
2, prices for food, clothing, cars
i and other consumer goods have as
much as quadrupled. Yeltsin says
the increases will encourage pro
1 duccrs to get more goods to stores,
but he has warned that results might
not be seen for six months.
The anti-Yeltsin rallies havenot
attracted near the numbers of pro
reiorm ueiiioiiMiduuns uiui ---
cities across Russia before and
during the August coup attempt.
Leaders of other tormcr Soviet
republics also let prices rise to avoid
having Russians flowing in to cart
off cheaper goods. But officials in
some cities already have cut regu
lated prices on some staple items to
head off public unrest.
Economic reforms arc the next
major hurdle for the 11 republics
of the Commonwealth of Independ
ent Stales. On Saturday, Russia
and Ukraine agreed to divide the
prized Black Sea Fleet and soothed
at least temporarily a dispute that
had threatened to unglue the group
and break up the former Soviet
military.
Yeltsin has shown some sensi
tivity to the despair. In the Russian
city of Ulyanovsk, southeast of
Moscow, officials said Saturday
that they would lower prices of
bread, dairy products and other items
after Yeltsin traveled there and
became enraged when he found
prices on many items were far
beyond the reach of the average
consumer.
In the republic of Turkmenis
tan, President Saparmurad Niyazov
halved the prices of butter and some
meat products, Radio Moscow said
Sunday. Butter was cut from 41
rubles a pound to 21 rubles, and
sausage from between 27 and 34
rubles a pound to 17 rubles, the
Russian Information Agency said.
Russian labor officials said
Wednesday that the average
monthly wage is now 960 rubles.
Algeria cancels elections
to prevent Muslim victory
ALGIERS, Algeria — Seeking to
shut out the fundamentalist Muslims
who were poised to take power, Alge
ria’s government prepared Sunday to
scrap last month’s election results,
put off a new vote and revamp itself,
reports said.
A day after the surprise resigna
tion of President Chadli Bcndjcdid,
the army - which opposes the funda
mentalists - kept a tight lid on the
capital, with tanks in position at key
buildings,
Algiers and other large cities were
calm Sunday, but in recent months,
the government has blamed the fun
damentalists for sparking bloody riots,
and it apparently feared an angry
reaction to the latest developments.
Some such anger was already
apparent. The fundamentalists, who
overwhelmingly defeated Bcndjcdid’s
ruling party in the first-round parlia
mentary elections two weeks ago,
bitterly objected to the government’s
reported plans to put off the second
round elections scheduled l hursday.
In a statement, the fundamentalist
party, the Islamic Salvation Front,
said it “insists on the continuation of
the electoral process... the only guar
antee of stability and the cvcrlasting
ness of the people and the country.”
But the government appeared de
termined to halt the fundamentalists’
march to power - even though it means
putting an abrupt end to the transition
to democracy.
j Reports of the government’s plans
came from the French television net
work Anlcnnc-2 and the Algerian
newspaper Lc Matin.
Without citing its sources, Antcnnc
2 said the second round of parliamcn
J tary voting would be put off and the
first-round balloting invalidated. Le
Matin also said without attribution
that Thursday’s election would be
canceled.
The network also said elections
for a new president would be post
poned well beyond the 45-day period
set by the Constitution, possibly tak
ing place between June and Septem
ber. It also said a new government
body, the State Council, would be
formedf and would include Prime
Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali and the
military chief of staff.
The Antcnnc-2 report said an
announcement would be made later
Sunday following a meeting of the.
Constitutional Council, whose presi
dent Abdelmalck Bcnhabylcs has been
named interim head of slate.
A fundamentalist victory in Thurs
day’selections, which had been widely
expected, would have paved the way
for the first Islamic republic in North
Africa.
The military was loyal to Bendj
■ • j a_4_ L’ j_
CU1U diiu d)mpaui^uv ms uumr
cratic goals, but some elements in the
army had been pressuring him to inter
vene to prevent a take- over.
Following Bcndicdid’s resignation
announcement on Saturday, the mili
tary quickly look up positions around
government and communications
buildings in the capital.
However, the Defease Ministry said
in a statement early Sunday that the
army “reaffirms its loyalty to the
Constitution and its confidence in the
existing constitutional institutions.’’
The interim leader could declare a
stale of emergency, virtual martial
law under which rallies would be
banned and the military given wide
ranging powers of search and arrest.
Japan trip defended by White House
WASHINGTON — Top Bush administra
tion officials denied Sunday that President
Bush’s trade mission to Japan was a flop, with
the secretary ofcommcrcc describing it as the
economic equivalent of Operation Desert Storm.
But Bush challenger Patrick Buchanan de
rided it as “a fiasco” and Sen. Lloyd Bentsen,
D-Texas, called it “obviously a political trip to
assist (Bush) in his re-election campaign.”
Bentsen announced that his Senate Finance'*
Committee would hold hearings next week to
examine the Japanese trade concessions that
Bush has said will create at least 200,000
American jobs.
National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft
sought to sidestep the criticisms, saying he
didn’t believe “anything really negative hap
pened” on Bush’s controversial journey to Asia
with U.S. automakers and other executives in
tow.
“The trip as a whole was really a definite
success,” Scowcroft said on CBS’ “Face the
Nation.”
Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbachcr,
who quits the Cabinet this week to become
general chairman of Bush’s re-election drive,
said the president “was supporting the eco
nomic security of this country as he did in
Desert Storm for our military security.”
Mosbachcr, on CNN’s “Newsmaker Sun
day,” said Bush “was out there selling jobs and
getting business overseas.”
Much of the criticism at home and in Tokyo
zeroed in on the high-paid auto executives in
Bush’s parly, who despite ihcir criticisms of
Japanese trade practices appear to have made
few efforts to design cars for Japanese consum
ers.
Asked if the auto executives should have
been left home, Mosbachcr said: “We talked
about that but you couldn’t... because the autos
were one-half of our total trade deficit with
Japan.”
Scowcrofl acknowledged that taking the
businessmen on the presidential trip was highly
controversial.
“I don’t think it ought to be a normal prac
tice,” he said, but added that it did develop “a
better understanding between business and
government... (on) how they could cooperate.'
Buchanan, who hopes to wrest the GOP
nomination from Bush, described the trip as “a
fiasco.” Bush “got a reality check in Tokyo”on
his vision of a new world order, Buchanan said
on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Bentsen said the S4I billion trade deficit
with Japan defies economic logic, because it’s
declined by only S5 billion in the last six years
while the dollar has fallen more than 50 percent
against the yen in the same period.
Bentsen, also on “Face the Nation,” ques
tioned why Bush look his national security
adviser to Tokyo, but not his trade representa
tive, Carla Hills.
“The fact is that trade has always been an
afterthought for this administration and the
previous one,” said Bentsen, the 1988 Demo
cratic vice presidential candidate.
Nebraskan
Editor Jana Pedersen, 472-1766 , Night News Editors Adeana Lettln
Managing Editor Kara Wells John Adklsson
Assoc News Editors Chris Hoplensperger Wendy Mott
Kris Karnopp .. Tore Kunz
Opinion Page Editor Alan Phelps ' Art Director Scott Maurer
Wire Editor Roger Price General Manager Dan Shattll
Copy Desk Editor Wendy Navratll Production Manager Katherine Pollcky
Sports Editor Nick Hytrek Advertising Manager Todd Sears
Assistant Sports Editor Tom Clouse Sales Manager Eric Krlngel
Arts & Entertainment Editor Stacey McKenzie Classified Ad Manager Annette sue per
Diversions Editor Dionne Searcey Publications Board Chairman Bill Vobejda, 472-2588
Photo Chief Michelle Paulman Professional Adviser Don Walton, 473-7301
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