European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 b the stars and stripes monday March 23, 1992 tatars an Leader downplays big vote for Independence Kazan Russia apr tatars and a president said sunday that his first act following the regions overwhelming vote for Independence would be to reaffirm and strengthen its ties with Russia. President min timer Shalmiyev sought to allay fears that his so called autonomous Republic of 3.7 million people would secede from Russia starting a process that could unravel the russian federations Patchwork of ethnic homelands. In a referendum saturday citizens of the Oil producing Region 500 Miles East of Moscow voted nearly 2-to-l in favor of declaring tatars an a Sovereign state. Tatar separatist Leader Marat a Ulukov said sunday that tatars an should now receive diplomatic recognition join the United nations and become a full fledged member of the Commonwealth of Independent states now composed of Russia and 10 other former soviet  cleaners scrub away part of prehistoric Art montauban France apr the idea was to clean up Graffiti but a youth group in southwestern France got carried away and wiped out a bit of prehistory As Well damaging Cave paintings thousands of years old. French cultural officials Are furious and say they plan to file a complaint against the group. A absolutely stupid a fumed rend Gachet director of cultural affairs Tor the Tarn it Garonne department 400 Miles Southwest of Paris. The damage was done last sunday when about 70 members of eclair curs a protestant youth group whose name Means a those who show the Way a descended on the Madrieres Cave near the Village of Bruni Quel armed with steel brushes to clean up Graffiti. Southwest France is dotted with hundreds of caves containing palaeolithic Art the most famous being the Lascaux caves in the Dordogne Region discovered by schoolchildren in 1941. Youth group officials acknowledged saturday that the youths damaged a portion of the Madrieres caves 15,000-year-old Bison paintings before realizing what they were. In a statement the officials expressed regret but were also a indignant that the actions of Well meaning youths should be called into  the head of a caving club that arranged the cleanup blamed cultural officials for failing to designate the site a historic treasure and act to protect it. A we told them the cultural officials that the Cave was in danger that people were writing on the Walls a Thierry Monthe Illet whose up clunkers group discovered the paintings 40 years ago told France info radio. A they did absolutely  accounts of the damage vary. Cultural officials say two paintings were severely damaged by vigorous brushing. A on one Bison the hindquarters have practically disappeared while on the other animal there a nothing left but the Tail and the Back legs a said Francois Rou Zaud a state archaeologist. Monthe Illet said one Bison was damaged losing part of its Back and one Hoof. Gachet said the culture ministry will file a civil but the russian government has refused to accept the referendum which was declared unconstitutional by a russian court and strongly opposed by president Boris n. Yeltsin. The huge russian federation which stretches across 11 time zones from the Baltic sea to the Pacific Ocean dwarfs and completely encircles tatars an a territory about the size of West Virginia. But the apprehension in Russia is that if tatars an Breaks away so eventually will Many of the other 16 autonomous republics a such As Karelia on the finnish Border Tuva on the chinese Border and Yakut a in Eastern Siberia. Shalmiyev sensitive to russians anxiety promised sunday to follow a moderate  plan to act constructively without being carried away by emotion in the interests of the Peoples of tatars an and Russia in the interests of us  a member of the eclair curs youth group uses a steel Brush to erase Graffito in a Cave earlier this month. Complaint against the up clunkers club and the youth group. The action could result in a Fine but the site was not officially classified a National treasure and thus not protected. The caving club discovered the faded paintings in 1952 about 200 feet from the Cave Entrance. The paintings Are the Only ones of their kind in the Region and draw tourists even though the Cave is located on private property and no signs Point it out. Over the past two decades vandals had scarred the Walls of the Cave with Graffiti and last month the up clunkers arranged for the eclair curs to remove it. Anthropologists believe the Cave paintings generally were Secl in religious rituals to bring Luck in the Hunt. The Cro Magnon artists used a variety of techniques painting with fingers Sticks pads of fur or Moss or lowing paint through a tube. E satellite carrying chinese rocket fails Beijing apr in an embarrassing failure televised live on its nationwide network a chinese rocket did not make it off the launch pad sunday dealing a blow to the country s Young commercial launch Industry. The rocket a a Long March 2-e, the latest Model in the series a was to have carried a  australian satellite into space in what would have been China a second foreign commercial launch. The Hughes aircraft satellite apparently was not damaged a representative of the builder said. The live broadcast reflected the governments Confidence and Pride in competing with Western companies in the High technology Field. Chinese authorities seemed chagrined by the failure. The telecast was halted after a Brief announcement that did not explain what went wrong. The state run Xinhua news Agency still had not reported the failure hours later. Television viewers saw a Man in the control room of the launch Center in Yichang in Remote Southwest China hitting a Button to Start the launch. Flames appeared underneath the rocket and red and yellow smoke billowed but the rocket did not move. The broadcast showed the Man in the control room who said the launch had not been successful and added a in scientific experiments its unavoidable for there to be defeats but they Are  world embassy bombing probe results in five arrests from wire reports Buenos Aires Argentina a five people were arrested saturday in connection with tuesdays bombing of the israeli embassy in which at least 28 people died the official news Agency team reported. The Agency said four men and a woman were arrested by members of a Federal police anti terrorist brigade in a raid on an apartment near downtown Buenos Aires. It said the raid was connected to the bombing but further details were not immediately  socialists losing Paris a the struggling socialist party scored less than 20 percent in nationwide regional elections sunday As the far right National front and surging environmental parties captured nearly 15 percent each Early estimates showed. Polling firms and television networks predicted the socialists would get 18 to 19 percent of the vote below the 20 percent hoped for by party leaders. The estimates put the governing party at its lowest Point since president Francois Mitterrand won his second seven year term in 1988.pro-army parties elected Bangkok Thailand a in the first general elections since a military coup a year ago pro army parties captured More than half the seats in parliaments lower House sunday according to unofficial tallies. The election was the first since the feb. 23, 1991, bloodless military takeover that overthrew the democratically elected government of prime minister Chatrchai Choo Shavan. Military leaders say they toppled a corrupt  voting generally was hailed As a cautious return to democracy.12 killed in train crash Beijing a a passenger train and a freight train collided in Central China and derailed smashing into an apartment building and killing at least 12 people official news reports said sunday. Five other people were missing and feared dead according to the daily Renmin Ribao. It said 34 people were injured eight  in Anc killed Johannesburg South Africa an african National Congress official was killed sunday when a grenade he was holding exploded police said. Two other people in the House also died and two were injured. Police col. Dave Bruce said it was not known Why the Anc member Saul to Sotetsu had a grenade in his hand. To Sotetsu was a member of the Anc executive committee in the Black township of Evaton South of Johannesburg. To Sotetsu was in a Home in the township of be Bokseng when the grenade went off Bruce  Alert continues Mexico City a Mexico c to residents endured their fourth Day under a severe smog Alert saturday that banned the use of 40 percent of the City a automobiles Mexico a official news Agency said. Ozone Levels reached 250 Points on the 500-Point Simeca scale in some parts of the City by 2 p.m., Down from the 360 Points registered Friday no Timex said. Smog is considered a very dangerous at 300 Points.10 die in turkish fighting Cire Turkey a separatist turkish kurd and Security forces renewed their duels sunday killing at least 10 people and wounding 35, following some of the heaviest fighting of an eight year kurdish insurgency officials said. Sundays incidents brought the number of people killed in clashes involving kurd Over the weekend to at least 40. Marxist guerrillas of the outlawed kurdish labor party or pkg had called for a general uprising Over the weekend