European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 9, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes world tuesday March 9,1993 a a a Quot Quot v a Solzhenitsyn Yeltsin s drive Moscow a exited russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn has endorsed Boris n. Yeltsin Scall for a stronger presidency but says Market reforms have brought misery to his Homeland. Solzhenitsyn expelled from the soviet Union in 1974 for his condemnation of. Communism also repeated his desire to return to Russia. Quot developments in Russia tear my soul apart before 1 even return/1 he said in a letter read sunday night on the weekly to show Ito i. Quot people have fallen into an abyss of their miserable  Solzhenitsyn had Little Praise for Yeltsin but backed his attempt to strengthen the presidency in order to end the Power struggle Between the executive and legislative branches of government. The Issue is expected to dominate an emergency session of the Congress of Peoples deputies on wednesday. Quot the russian federation with its size and diversity cannot exist without a Strong presidential authority which is not weaker than in the United states of America a Solzhenitsyn said in the letter. Yeltsin and the Congress led by Solzhenitsyn speaker Ruslan Kha Bulatov have been battling for months. The communist dominated Congress has been whittling away at Yeltsin executive Powers which he says he needs to carry out economic reforms. The president and Congress agreed to hold a referendum april 11 on who will Rule Russia the president or parliament. But they be been debating the timing and exact questions. Because lawmakers must approve the referendums questions Yeltsin Likely will be forced to Compromise. Polls indicate that russians accustomed to centuries of authoritarian Rule prefer a Strong executive. Yeltsin also wants the referendum to include a question on convening a constitutional Assembly to draft a replacement for the soviet Era Constitution he also would have voters decide whether Russia should have Only a two House parliament and whether private land ownership should be allowed. Solzhenitsyn has not been Back to Russia since he was exiled. He said last year that he was planning to return but has not said  gone to Moscow apr banging pots and pans beneath soviet flags several Hundred women turned International women a Day on monday into a demonstration against president Boris n. Yeltsin. Quot women need to live As we did before we need to return to the Way it was before Quot said 72-year-old Irina Politch Tikova rapping on a frying pan with a stick. Billed As the Quot March of the empty pot a the demonstrators used the kitchenware in a noisy protest of rising prices and falling living standards. International women s Day traditionally was a communist Holiday in the soviet Union but now is Little More than an extra Day off in Post soviet Russia. Stores were closed and most people spent the sunny late Winter Day at Home. About 500 people mostly men gathered at october Square around a huge statue of Vladimir Lenin for the demonstration. The crowd was dominated by die hard communists and russian nationalists most waving banners emblazoned with the names of their various political groups. Quot in a a communist. I never left the party and i never will a said polite Koya a former photo technician. Quot Yeltsin wont do anything for us. They All should . Women made up Only about a third of the crowd and speakers had to Appeal to the protesters to let the women come to the front of the March. Neither the women nor the protesters were unanimous in their views. Quot life has become unbearable. The prices Are unaffordable a said Sonya a 43-year-old housewife who declined to give her full name. Quot but my sentiments Aren t As much communist As patriotic. I can Bear a new system but 1 cannot allow the collapse of my  placards bore Little overt attention to women a problems concentrating instead on politics Quot Yeltsin a enemy of the people Quot and Quot Down with anti people  Western style feminism has found Little support in Russia where most women already have worked for decades alongside men. Many younger women say that rather than professional Equality they want to be liberated from work. His anti communist writings once banned Are now widely available. It is difficult however to gauge the influence of his ideas which Are steeped in russian nationalism religious orthodoxy and monarchist. In his letter Solzhenitsyn opposed Yeltsin a proposal for a constitutional Assembly and predicted a Short life for the Commonwealth of Independent states an Alliance of 10 former soviet republics. Instead Solzhenitsyn proposed a Quot state Union among Russia the slavic Republic of Belarus and Kazakhstan an asian Republic with an ethnic russian plurality. Solzhenitsyn noted that Ukraine the second most populous and wealthiest former soviet Republic was distancing itself from Russia. His letter was sent to russians ambassador to Washington Vladimir Lukin. Women say x Moscow a Poth cad gives russian president Boris n. Yeltsin a spoonful of protest during mondays demonstration. Sharp discrepancies remain in the work Force. Women often occupy the lowest jobs such As janitors and Street sweepers. Women also Are three times More Likely than men to be fired russian television reported monday. Salaries for women on average Are one third lower than those for men according to russian television. Only 5 percent of russian lawmakers Are women and Only one out of two dozen government ministers is a  settler slain hours after Gaza ban lifted Jerusalem a a jewish settler was found stabbed to death in his Tomato greenhouse in the occupied Gaza strip on monday hours after the army lifted a six Day closure of the territory. The victim a resident of the Gan or settlement on the Southern end of the strip was slain monday by palestinian labourers from nearby Khan Yunis As he brought them to work the army and settlement officials said. In the Gaza town of a Baliya a palestinian activist was fatally shot by masked men Arab reporters said. The victim Mohammed a Abu Shubak 25, was killed by Arab collaborators avenging the slaying of a relative by a palestinian vigilante squad headed by so bake a brother the reporters said. Shubak was killed sunday night by three shots fired to the head and one to the Chest. Shubak was a member of the Palestine liberation organization a a mainstream Fatah faction. His brother Rashid was Active in the Black panthers vigilante group before fleeing Gaza the reports said. The slain jewish settler Uri magi dish was stabbed seven times after he drove his car to the front of the greenhouse Gan or spokesman Yitzhak Amitai said. The labourers then dragged the body into the greenhouse and fled on foot he said. Amati said three labourers were involved but the army said magi dish picked up just two workers. Another Arab labourer saw magi dish a body being pulled out of the car and notified settlement officials Amitai said. Settlers know the names of the suspects because like All other Arab workers they had to leave their identity cards at the settlement Gate for Security reasons Amitai said. Gan or a settlement with 47 families employs about 200 palestinian labourer so Amitai said. Last month a Gan or greenhouse was burned apparently by palestinian militants he said. Three weeks ago Gan or resist sent a Telegram to prime minister y Hak Rabin warning that their Greenho area was not secure and that they Fel danger Israel radio said. The stabbing occurred hours after army reopened Gaza following its Clos in which the strips 750,000 palestini were barred from entering Israel. The closure was imposed after a year old palestinian from Gaza went c stabbing spree in Tel Aviv last week i my two israelis and wounding nine. The assailant a supporter of the a cat Muslim group islamic jihad told lice he stabbed his victims in anger cause he could not find work in Israel