Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 23, 1993 TAG: 9303230223
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By From Knight-Ridder/Tribune and The Associated Press
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
YELTSIN COUNTERATTACKS
Boris Yeltsin's supporters, sensing the tide is turning their way in the showdown with the parliament, stepped up a campaign of public scorn and private pressure Monday to derail an impeachment drive.Their confidence was bolstered by the failure of Russia's Constitutional Court to make a quick ruling on the legality of Yeltsin's weekend seizure of special decree-making powers.
The court's chairman had declared earlier that Yeltsin had obviously breached the law, and his legislative foes, led by Parliament Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, had hoped a decisive court ruling against him would clear the way for a rapid impeachment vote.
Yeltsin remained out of the public eye Monday, attending his mother's funeral in Siberia.
But he moved to shore up one of his barricades by ordering the Interior Ministry to tighten protection of newspapers and TV and radio stations.
Yeltsin declared Saturday night that he would rule by decree - and ignore the legislature and the Constitutional Court - pending an April 25 referendum on which power should be pre-eminent, the president or the parliament.
Some legislators said the impeachment effort might be losing steam just one day after parliament set it in motion by asking the Constitutional Court to rule on Yeltsin's power grab.
They said the Cabinet's endorsement Sunday of Yeltsin's drastic measures is causing some lawmakers to lose their nerve, while others are wavering in the face of threats from Yeltsin's allies.
One tactic being employed by Yeltsin's supporters involves intimidating his opponents with the use of dossiers that detail either illegal behavior or personal peccadillos, several deputies said.
Public attacks by Yeltsin supporters were directed mainly at Vice President Alexander Rutskoi and Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Constitutional Court, both of whom condemned Yeltsin.
At a pro-Yeltsin rally in Moscow Monday evening, First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Shumeiko called Rutskoi a coward for not backing up Yeltsin.
The 13 high court justices met late into the night Monday trying to agree on the constitutionality of Yeltsin's actions. Splits among them surfaced over Zorkin's apparently partisan behavior.
Zorkin defended his actions Monday, reiterating that Yeltsin had acted unconstitutionally. "The court is not in confrontation with the president and, of course, it doesn't do the bidding of the Congress. . . . The Constitutional Court believes that a compromise is still possible and will always be possible. When a compromise is no longer possible, that means that a war is about to start."
Statements by Clinton administration officials reminded Yeltsin on Monday that the U.S. support and pledges of financial aid extended during his power struggle depend on his adherence to democracy and free-market reforms.
However, Secretary of State Warren Christopher also called him "the one person in that country who has the support of the Russian people." And, he said, "We believe President Yeltsin has chosen a responsible course."