Kremlin Orders End to Protests by Armenians

The Kremlin ordered authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan today to “take necessary measures” to end a wave of protests by Armenians demanding control of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Tass press agency released the text of the resolution supporting the Republic of Azerbaijan’s control over the predominantly Armenian enclave today--24 hours after the Kremlin’s decision was announced.

The nation’s newspapers, apparently fearful of the Armenian reaction, omitted any mention of the decision taken Monday by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the nation’s highest state body.

Strikes, Demonstrations

The release of the full text of the Kremlin resolution follows months of mass strikes and nationalist demonstrations in the neighboring republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The resolution ordered national and local authorities “to take necessary measures to normalize the situation in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan.”

It said authorities must “provide for strengthening labor discipline, to provide for keeping the constitution of the U.S.S.R. and Soviet laws, and to stop resolutely any activity that is inciting national enmity and attempts to use democratic rights for anti-democratic aims.”

Fearful of Reaction

Reflecting nervousness about the reaction, even the speech by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev at the conclusion of the one-day meeting of the Presidium failed to appear in the state newspapers, although the decision clearly reflected his support for the status quo.

Gorbachev said Monday’s emergency debate before the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet “reflected an understanding of the need to reaffirm the existing realities, including that Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan,” Moscow Radio said after the meeting.

The announcement of the Supreme Soviet decision had been foreshadowed by Tass reports on the proceedings.