Soviet Asian republic lifts state of emergency
DUSHANBE, U S S R (AF) Angry demonstrators
forced Tad/.hlkistan's parliament to lift a statu of emer
gency Monday, whlln protusturs in Georgia worn
warned to lay down tlioir arms or fai n "radii al minis
urns."
I’ollticnl and ethnic turmoil revorfieraled across the
crumbling Soviet Union Monday Russian officials
warned Moldavia against harming ethnic Slavs in their
bitter dispute in that western republic, saving they
would take any legal steps net essary "to defend the
rights, lives, honor and dignity of ethnic Russians
And the upheaval apparently worried Soviet Presi
dent Mikhail S Gorbachev On Monday, he reiterated
a vow to resign if the 12 remaining republic s do not
agree on a common market, according to the Tass news
agency
"I will immediately leave my post because, without
integration, the iountry is threatened with collapse
unci this is a lethal path I myself will not Imi cnnni'i ted
with such a course," (kirbuchev was quotixi as saying
In other developments
• Lawmakers in the Central Asian republic of Turk
menia scheduled an ()< t 2I> referendum on indepen
dence. Turkmenia, Russia and Kazakhstan are the only
Soviet republics that have not formally declared inde
pendence. although many of the independence state
ments an' seen merely as establishing bargaining posi
tions
• Teat hers staged a brief strike on the Soviet Kuril is
land of Iturup, vowing never to give up the territories
seized from Japan after World War II.
• Thousands of people rallied in the Azerbaijani capital
of Baku demanding new parliamentary elections, the
Interfax news agency said. Some also called for a mo
bilization to Tight Armenians, despite a cease-fire.
• Election officials in the Georgian-controlled territory
of Abhnzia reported widespread fraud in balloting for u
now legislature and said only 39 out of 230 seats could
t>e filled. Tass reported.
• The broadcasting center in the Azerbaijan-controlled
region of Nakhichevan was destroyed by mortar fire in
a running ethnic dispute TV and radio transmissions
were knot ked out and may take many months and mil
lions of rubles to restore, local officials told Tass.
• Three days of demonstrations ended in the Chechen
Ingush autonomous republic in Georgia after a Russian
delegation arrived to mediate in an ethnic dispute at
tlie retjuesl of local officials, according to Tass.
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Japanese
Parliament
axes reform
TOKYO (AP) — Parliament
scrapped a package of political
reform laws on Monday, snub
bing Prime Minister Toshiki
Kaifu but not necessarily burl
ing bis re-election drive,
Kaifu's two-year term as par
ty president and primo minister
expires at the end of October
Several senior politicians are
vying for the post, which is to
be decided in a party election
Oct. 17.
Vowing to restore public
trust in politics, Kaifu bas
made political reform his main
domestic policy goal. Ho was
i hoson as prime minister two
years ago when other members
of the governing Liberal Demo
cratic Party were tainted by an
influence-peddling scandal.
The reform package rejected
Monday would have over
hauler) Japan's election system
and tightened controls on poli
tic al funds. A parliamentary
committee blocked a vote on
the package during tine current
legislative session, which ends
Friday, and failed to place it on
the agenda of the next session.
Kyodo News Service said
Kaifu had threatened to dis
solve Parliament's lower house
and call general elections if the
decision were allowed to stand
It quoted unnamed sources as
saying Kaifu's party hud ugreed
to negotiate the package with
opponents.
The ri:forms includi; creating
single-seat election districts to
replace tho multiple-momber
districts now used in voting for
Parliament's lower house.
Since members of the same
party often battle one another
in these districts, critics suy
campaigns oiten focus on pork
barrel politics and not on is
sues.
But critics of the plan includ
ed opposition members, who
said it would ullow Kaifu’s Lib
eral Democrats to win landslide
victories. Currently, tho top
several vote-getters in a district
all gain seats, meaning an op
position candidate could run
behind a LiberaI Democrat and
still be elected.
Opponents of the plan, in
cluding many Liberal Demo
crats unwdling to give up their
seats, said single-member dis
tricts will not end money-domi
nated politics.
Backers of the bill were an
gry.
Homo Affairs Minister Akira
I'ukida complained that he had
not boon informod the package
would bo dropped. “It’s non
sense," said Masayoshi Ito, a
former foreign minister and a
proponent of the bill.