The World - News from Nov. 2, 1988

Soviet police used tear gas to break up a rally by tens of thousands of people in the Byelorussian capital of Minsk and detained 80 demonstrators, a member of the anti-Stalinist group Memorial said. The meeting was called by local groups to commemorate victims of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, including thousands massacred between 1937 and 1941, a spokeswoman for the group, Karina Musaelyan, told reporters in Moscow. Musaelyan, who said she had spoken to Memorial supporters in Minsk, said it was not clear how many people, if any, are still being held by authorities. Estimates of those who took part in the rally varied from 10,000 to 30,000, she said.