Kremlin takes special powers in troubled Azerbaijan

Press, 23 September 1988, Page 8

Kremlin takes special powers in troubled Azerbaijan

NZPA-Reuter Moscow The Kremlin has assumed special powers to curb disturbances in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, more than seven months after ethnic unrest flared in the mountainous Azerbaijani region. m „ nrn

Soviet authorities imposed a curfew on volatile districts on Wednesday, putting them on “special status”, following a new wave of violence in the region. One man died and 24 were injured in fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis on Sunday. "With regard to the complex situation, Stepanakert and Agdam district are being put on special status and a curfew imposed,” the official Soviet news agency Tass said, giving no details. Stepanakert is the regional capital of NagornoKarabakh, part of the

Soviet republic of Azerbaijan since 1923, despite having a 75 per cent Armenian population which seeks unification with Armenia. The decades-old dispute reflects tensions between Armenians who have a Christian tradition and Azerbaijanis who have a Muslim heritage. Agdam, an Azerbaijani district on the border with Nagorno-Karabakh, was the scene of ethnic clashes reported soon after the start of the unrest in February. “All necessary measures are being taken to ensure calm and guar-

antee the safety of the population,” Tass said. Earlier a spokesman for the Nagorno-Karabakh Communist Party newspaper, “Sovetakan Karabakh,” told Reuters that the situation in the region was extremely tense. He said people were keeping night vigils for fear of being attacked. The Tass report said a number of houses and cars in the region had been set alight on Tuesday night, without making clear whether Armenians or Azerbaijanis were involved. It also said gunfire had been heard, although there were no

casualties. Tass said the new powers were announced in an address on local radio and television by Arkady Volsky, a special Kremlin envoy sent to Armenia and Azerbaijan in July to help restore order. Mr Volsky, a member of the Communist Party’s policy-making Central Committee, was charged with implementing a Kremlin ruling rejecting Nagorno-Karabakh’s request to be transferred to Armenia but ordering a development programme for the region. “The Communist Party

and Government applied a series of important measures aimed at developing the Nagorno-Kara-bakh autonomous region and at the swiftest solution of all the different problems here,” Tass quoted him as saying. “But apparently a certain group of people were not satisfied,” he said. Interior Ministry troops sent to back up the police in the region had apparently failed to maintain order. Tass said the situation had deteriorated sharply in recent days, with strikes and demonstrations and schools closed.

An aiiacK on uie piusecutor’s office was provoked. Insulting assaults were made on the organs of power. Attempts were made to undermine the dignity of Interior Ministry troops and police attempting to keep the peace,” Tass said. It said local Government and party officials had. appealed for “selfcontrol and soberness” in the region. “The developments of the past few days have been developing under a scenario written by provocateurs seeking to destabilise the situation and whip up tension,” it said.