Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991 TAG: 9104110679
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MINSK, U.S.S.R. LENGTH: Medium
The strike, triggered by steep price increases that took effect nationwide April 2, was called to demand higher pay and sweeping changes in the republic and national governments.
Together with a strike by miners across the country, the walkout in Byelorussia reflected bitter disappointment with President Mikhail Gorbachev, whose promises of free-market reforms and greater democratization are meeting with increasing skepticism.
Workers on the second shift in several Minsk-area factories were reporting for work as usual this afternoon, strike leaders said. The first-shift workers had walked off the job in the morning, following Wednesday's daylong strike at scores of factories and plants.
Strike leader Georgi Mukhin said all of the strike committees' economic and political demands remained open for negotiation, which could begin as early as Friday.
"The main victory for us is that the people now understand that they cannot live in the old way any longer," Mukhin told The Associated Press.
He said the agreement brought dignity and respect to the workers. With it, Byelorussians could live "not like animals, but like human beings," he said.
The strikers in Byelorussia had demanded the resignation of Gorbachev, the removal of his cabinet, the resignation of the Byelorussian parliament and the transfer of power to a coalition government.
Byelorussia, a western republic traditionally loyal to the Kremlin, was seething with anger at unfulfilled promises and plummeting purchasing power.
Workers had ignored threats of lost pay and walked off the job on Wednesday.
After word of the agreement was reached, thousands of protesters who had gathered in central Lenin Square approved it with a show of hands, strike leaders said. The square then began emptying.
In the miners walkout, between 200,000 and 300,000 workers are on strike at coalfields across the country, and the official Tass news agency today said the 5-week-old protest showed no signs of ending.
by CNB